Can the Meiteis in Tripura save their beloved musical instrument?

I am a pena player residing in Gournagar, a village in Tripura’s Khowai district. The pena is a traditional musical instrument that is deeply rooted in our Meitei culture and is an integral part of Lai Haraoba, the traditional harvest festival of the Meitei community.

The instrument has two main parts: the pena cheijing (bow) and the pena maroo (body). The cheijing, held in the right hand, is considered the epudhou (godfather), while the maroo, pressed against the chest, is regarded as the ebendhou (godmother). According to our ancestors, the sound produced by the friction of the cheijing and maroo symbolises the creation of the world and living beings.

To my knowledge, I am the last pena practitioner in Tripura. Sadly, the others have passed away. Even though I am now 84, I continue to play the pena because I do not want the art to disappear in the state.

I learned to play the pena as a child from my father, the late Chandra Babu. We lived in Sylhet district, Bangladesh, my birthplace and formerly a part of East Pakistan. Back then, a few people in our village played the instrument, and they would gather at our house to learn from my father.

Over the years, I have learned and taught several musical instruments used in other Meitei festivals, and there is demand among students to learn those. But I have not found a single student willing to learn the pena.

Currently, one major challenge in preserving this art form in Tripura is the difficulty of accessing the pena itself—it is not available in Tripura. To get one, we have to travel to Manipur, which costs thousands of rupees. Recently, I travelled to Manipur to buy the shamei (strings) for my pena. The shamei cost only INR 500, but the trip cost me INR 10,000–15,000. Such expenses are difficult to bear, especially for young artists. This has significantly contributed to the decline of pena artists in Tripura.

Every year, Lai Haraoba is celebrated in Tripura. Lakhs of rupees are spent to bring pena artists and amaibas and amaibis (priests and priestesses) from Manipur to perform the rituals and ceremonies. While these efforts keep the tradition alive, I believe we need a more sustainable solution.

I have always advocated for establishing a dedicated Lai Haraoba team in Tripura to train local artists. Relying on artists from another state is not practical, especially with the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur. Road travel is no longer safe; the only alternative is planes, and flight tickets are very expensive. If we truly want to preserve our ancient rituals and festivals, we must become self-sufficient.

I hope that my call to action will inspire future generations to learn the pena and ensure that this sacred tradition continues to thrive in Tripura.

Ningombam Bir Singha is a pena player based in Tripura.

As told to Anupam Sharma, IDR Northeast Media Fellow 2024–25.

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