Bhojpuri folk dance exponent Ramchandra Manjhi no more

PATNA: Chief minister Nitish Kumar and deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav have expressed grief over the death of Padma Shri recipient Ramchandra Manjhi (97), a Bhojpuri folk dance exponent and theatre artist.
Manjhi breathed his last at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences here after a prolonged illness on Wednesday night.In their condolence messages, they said Manjhi's death was an irreparable loss to the world of Bhojpuri folk dance, art and culture."He was a great folk artist and it would be difficult to fill the void," they said.
Manjhi's body was cremated on the bank of the Saryu river at Semaria near Chhapra on Thursday. His eldest son, Shambhu Manjhi, performed the last rites. Chapra sadar SDO Arun Kumar Singh, DSP Muneshwar Prasad Singh and many other administrative officials offered floral tributes to Manjhi.
Manjhi entered into cultural activities at the age of 10. In 2017, Manjhi won the Sangeet Natak Academy award and he was awarded Padma Shri in 2021.
He was presently associated with the Saran-based Bhikhari Thakur Repertory Training and Research Centre. State art and culture minister Jitendra Kumar Rai said Manjhi's demise "has left a huge void in the Indian folk art, music and cultural field".
Born in Saran district in 1925, Manjhi was a famous performer of 'Launda Naach', a type of dance in which men cross dress as women. He was one of the members of the original dance troupe of legendary Bhikhari Thakur.
Jainendra Dost, a research scholar working on the life of Bhikhari Thakur, regretted that in spite of being accorded the Padma Shri award, the family of Manjhi struggled hard due to financial crunch. TNN