A REMARKABLE EXAMPLE OF CROSS-CULTURAL HISTORY
The people of Manipur and Bengal provide a most interesting example of cultural and aesthetic fusion. The story begins in the 15th century when religious developments from Bangladesh reached Manipur. By the mid-seventeenth century a full repertoire of songs and dances of Bangla origin took root in Manipur. This was aptly named 'Bangladesh Pala [Note 1.6]. Gradually the main center of Bangladesh's distinctive school of the Kirtan-based songs and dances shifted to Manipur and has remained there ever since as an essential part of Manipuri culture.