Mising artistes perform a dance to the beats of the dhol at the Sankaradeva Kalakshetra on Wednesday. Picture by S.H. Patgiri

June 7: The dhol (drum) beat is the lifeline of every Mising tribesman in the state. But like a host of other folk traditions, the rhythm of Mising dhol is staring at a silent death.

Fortunately, Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra has now taken up the responsibility of documenting the rich legacy of dhol playing of the Mising tribe for posterity.

A workshop for scientific research on Mising Drum Playing got under way at the kalakshetra today.

The four-day workshop, to be conducted under Mising dhol experts Suruj Patir and Pabitro Pegu, has 14 participants from different parts of the state. Both print and audio-visual medium will be used for documentation.

“The art of Mising dhol playing has its unique flavour. The uniqueness of the Mising drum lies in its magic of making everyone dance to its rhythm,” said Gautam Sharma, secretary of the Kalakshetra. “The workshop is an attempt to study the art in a scientific manner and find the basic grammar involved in playing a Mising drum,” he added.

The workshop is a part of the Kalakshetra’s attempt to document the varied folk arts of the state.

Kalakshetra officials, under the guidance of another leading Mising drum player, Nahendra Padung, have visited several Mising-inhabited villages of North Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Majuli and Sivasagar.

“We have interacted with the folk artistes living in the small and inaccessible Mising villages like Baligaon to find out the various rhythms used in playing a Mising drum,” said Padung.

“This documentation involves lot of hard work. We have finished the first leg of our research. Now, after the completion of the workshop and training, we will record everything in an audio-video medium.”

Once the research and documentation is over, the kalakshetra is contemplating starting a school exclusively devoted to the art of Mising drum- playing.

Appreciating the Kalakshetra’s venture, Bonita Pegu, who belongs to the Mising tribe, said, “The very idea of scientifically documenting the art of Mising drum-playing is very thoughtful on the part of the Kalakshetra. The attempt will definitely help the cause of Mising culture, which has very few takers.”