Rajkumar Sanaton performs Shumang Leela in Imphal. A Telegraph picture

Imphal, Dec. 28: Only a month ago, he left the audience enthralled with his mesmerising performance as a female dancer in Shumang Leela, Manipur?s most enduring art form.

Last Friday, Rajkumar Sanaton, a very popular artiste of the state, embarked on a journey to spread the message of national integration and communal harmony through dance recitals.

Santon, 38, launched his campaign with a resounding success at the hall of Imphal?s Jawaharlal Nehru Dance Academy by performing solo recitals of five different dances of India ? Manipuri classical, Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi and Bhangra.

The programme, called Dances of India, was sponsored by Sanaleipak Nachom Artistes, a front-running Shumang Leela group in the state.

Never before has an artiste performed five different dances at one go in Manipur.

The audience, which comprised artistes, dancers and gurus, gave Sanaton a standing ovation. ?It was a memorable evening and the performance was excellent,? governor S.S. Sidhu said. ?I am confident that the performance will help strengthen communal harmony and peaceful co-existence among various communities in Manipur. The message of peace can be spread through culture.?

Manipur?s former culture minister and CPI leader Moirangthem Nara Singh said the aim of the presentation is to unite the people through culture. ?Politics divides people but culture unites them,? said Nara Singh, who played a major role in organising the programme.

Nara Singh, now convener of the Secular Progressive Front coalition, has taken the Sanaleipak Nachom Artistes to different cities of the country to stage Shumang Leela plays. ?An elderly couple of Kerala refused to believe that Sanaton is a man after watching him perform in Mem Sahebki Sari (Madam?s Sari). Nara hinted that Sanaton could be taken on tours to stage his dances of India dressed as a female dancer.

Awestruck by his Bhangra performance, Amrik Singh Pawa, a social worker, said, ?Manipur is a mini India. The artiste?s aim was to bring all the communities living in Manipur together. And his efforts have not gone to waste.? Pawa is from Punjab but now is a permanent settler of Imphal.

The audience also included Assam Rifles IG (south) B.S. Ghotra and his family. The artiste dedicated the Punjabi dance to the governor, IG and the social worker.