The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded a grant to an ambitious project that seeks to research, film and archive the history of India’s Manipuri and Tagore dance forms in the UK. It will be run by London based organisation The Rhythm.

“Besides researching and recording the oral history of these two dance forms in the UK, we are keen to disseminate the knowledge that we endeavour to gather during the project period by organising talent hunts, workshops and dance recitals at various venues,” said Mrs Raha who herself has specialised in Manipuri dance form. Lord Dholakia, deputy leader of the Libdems, is a patron of the company.

Manipuri dance is one of the oldest classical dances of India. The first Asian Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, became an ardent admirer of the Manipuri dance in the early 19th century.