The Jalakeli Project: Lyrics of the Choir of the Royal Daughters

The Jalakeli of the Ningol Pala, the Choir of the Royal Daughters, comprises of 6 compositions. Their lyrics are published here in the order in which they are sung. They date to the 19th century royal court of Manipur; the sixth is from the first part of the 20th century.

The first four lyrics are called padavali, songs of praise to Lord Krishna and his consort the Lady Radha. They were composed during the reign of Maharaja Narasingh (regent 1834-1844; r.1844-1850) but gathered in a collection during the reign of his nephew Maharaja Chandrakirti (1834-44; 1850-1886). 

The first lyric is attributed to Ghanashyamara Das, and the second to Basu Ghosh; the fourth is by Kabi Karnapur. All were Bhakti poets of Bengali origin. The lyricist of the third padavali is unknown. All four are in Bangla, the language of worship and ritual in Manipur of the time. 

The fifth and sixth lyrics are called rachna, a lyrical form response of appreciation upon listenging to the Jalakeli. The fifth lyric (and the first rachna) also in Bangla, is attributed to Maharaja Narasingh himself and is in Sanskrit. It is reputed to have been composed upon the funeral services of his guru, Dhamandi.

The sixth lyric (and the second rachna) was written, also in Bangla, during the reign of Maharaja Churachand (1891-1941), the great grandson of Maharaja Narasingh, and is attributed to the monarch himself. The last two lines fof this sixth lyric were added by Maharaja Bodhchandra (1941-1949), the son of Maharaja Churachand, and, who being a poet himself, is thought to have been the composer. 

Nothing is known of the music composers. Attribution to the reigning monarch was enough. The music form is nat sankirtan, the classical music of Manipur that includes dance and movement.