Justyna Rodzinska with Thang-ta guru Chingtham Ranjeet in Imphal on Saturday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Imphal, Jan. 7: A swish of the sword, an expert flick of the wrist and a profound love for martial arts. For Justyna Rodzinska, that was all it took to bridge the distance between Poland and faraway Imphal.

In India to hone her martial mettle and add an eastern edge to the subject of her research — the history of theatre — the 23-year-old from Poland chanced upon Thang-ta while flipping through a tourism brochure in Delhi.

From then on, it was a series of enthusiastic phone calls and emails until she spent the last chunk of her two months in the country pursuing an art she had never heard of at Imphal West’s Haobam Marak Irom Leikai locality.

After 10 days of rigorous practice under Thang-ta guru Chingtham Ranjeet, Justyna learnt the ropes of the art. As she left the capital town today, she promised to return soon. “I wanted to stay longer and learn more about the art form. But the restrictions imposed on visiting foreigners in the state prevented me from doing so,” she said.

The mandatory Restricted Area Permit (RAP) for foreigners visiting Manipur allows only a few days of stay.

Justyna was directed to Ranjeet through a friend of his in Calcutta. “She first contacted me through email, when a friend in Calcutta gave her my address. We thought it would be best for her to come down to Imphal if she wanted to learn about Thang-ta. She stayed with one of my relatives and trained for 10 days,” Ranjeet said.

And when she wasn’t practising, she was tucking into traditional Meitei fare like iromba (a spicy dish) and utti (a curry). “She never complained about the food and said the dishes were tasty,” her guru smiled.

Thang-ta, which arose out of the traditional warfare techniques of the Meiteis, is an essential part of their culture. The word thang means sword, while ta connotes the spear. The art form was of particular interest to Justyna because of its relevance to Manipuri theatre.

“I wish to come back and learn more. I find Thang-ta quite different in form and content and more difficult to learn than any other traditional martial art of India,” said Justyna, who has already mastered karate, kung-fu and indigenous martial techniques of Kerala.

Having toured extensively in countries like Taiwan and Peru, this was not the first time Ranjeet had to familiarise a foreign student with the art form he specialises in. The Thang-ta guru has held several demonstration-cum-lectures abroad. Last year, Ranjeet had for his student a young Japanese who was in India to learn the sitar.

“Many foreign students want to come to Manipur to learn about this art form. But the restrictions imposed on foreigners has been posing a hurdle. I had to run from pillar to post to acquire the RAP for Justyna,” said Ranjeet, who is also associated with a number of theatre troupes of the state.

But though her stay was short, Justyna was happy. “Before I came here, my embassy in New Delhi warned me about the prevailing law and order situation in Manipur. After coming here I found that there is nothing to fear and I am very happy to be here,” she gushed. “I have many friends back home who want to know more about Thang-ta and now I am confident that I can teach them at least some of the basics.”