Ramachandra Manjhi

Ramachandra Manjhi was a Bhojpuri folk dancer and theatre artist, and the last of the performers who had worked with and trained under the playwright Bhikhari Thakur. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2021 in the field of art, from Bihar ^[1].

With Bhikhari Thakur

Manjhi was born on 1 January 1930 ^[2]. He began at 12 as an actor, singer and dancer under his guru Dinanath Manjhi, and then spent four decades with Bhikhari Thakur ^[2]. With Thakur he developed his movement and voice and worked across many forms: launda naach, dhobiya naach and natua naach, and songs ranging from ghazal, qawwali and nirgun to thumri, kajri, purbi and chaiti ^[2].

Rakhailan

Over a career of more than eighty years he was best known for playing women’s roles ^[2]. He was celebrated above all as Rakhailan in Thakur’s famous play Bidesiya, and played leads in his other plays, including Beti-Bechwa, Gabarghichor, Piya-Nisail and Bhai-Virodh ^[2].

In later years he taught young artists and students at the Bhikhari Thakur Repertory Training and Research Centre, and performed for audiences in villages and cities under the direction of Jainendra Dost ^[2]. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2017, and in 2020 the Bihar government’s lifetime achievement award and the Saran Gaurav Samman ^[2].

Manjhi died in a Patna hospital in September 2022 ^[3].