A scene from the mime Cheitheng staged at Imphal

Imphal, Aug. 7: Y. Sadananda could barely suppress a scream.

He and his team specialise in saying a thousand words in silence but becoming the first mime repertory in the country to make it to the International Puppet and Mime Festival in Greece sure deserved some guttural exultation.

A round of jubilation later, the Kanglei Mime Theatre Repertory got down to work.

Rubbing shoulders with the best in business at the Mecca of mime is no mean job and there is less than two months in hand — the festival is in late September — to perfect their show.

Nearly 20 groups from all over the world, including a a few from Germany, France and Hungary, will be part of the 9th International Puppet and Mime Festival, to be held in Kilkis. In fact, it is the Greek republic municipality of Kilkis that invited Sadananda and his troupe to perform there. “The organisers accepted my show after watching a video recording,” said Sadananda, the director of the repertory. For the big show, Sadananda could think of no better representative text of India than the Ramayan. Cheitheng (Agony), the play he plans to stage in Greece, is based on a tale from the epic. It centres around the Shrawankumar story. The only son of a blind couple, Shantavan and Gyanvati, Shrawankumar was killed accidentally by King Dasarath during a hunting trip.

“Man’s false pride of power causes his own downfall and grief. My play, based on the Ramayan, makes an attempt to make a statement on the government’s abuse of power,” the director said. The play will also focus on the ecological imbalance caused by destruction of forests. “Greece is the birthplace of Western mime. I have always wanted to perform there,” Sadananda says.

“With my show I want to show to the world that though small, Manipur has a rich culture and heritage. This is another opportunity to introduce Manipur to those at the festival,” he added.

The group will have to stage at least five shows in Greece — three shows at Kilkis on a single day and two in Thessalonica.

This is the second time that Sadananda and his troupe will perform on foreign soil.

Last year, the theatre group toured South Korea with two productions — My Obedient Doll and Naughty Boy.

A former football player, Sadananda learnt the art from Niranjan Goswami of Calcutta.

Despite his success, the director nurses a grudge.

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations is denying funds to the troupe. The reason is “official”, the council claims.

It extended financial assistance to the group for the Korean tour. According to its rules, the council can help a group only once in four years.

Sadananda is now banking on funds he hopes to receive from ministers and MLAs as donations.