Manipur is a region and culture steeped in intrigue, but with little written recorded history. With legends and stories that depict forces of nature in the form of mighty deities and imposing goddesses, the cultural heritage of the Meitei people is full of inspiring folklore.

Drawing inspiration from his Meitei roots with the prowess of Tanushree Saha’s fresh vocals, avant-garde composer and musician Vishal J Singh reinvents the imagery of Meitei folklore with Serpents of Pakhangba’s new video for their unreleased track Panthoibi. The four-piece lineup comes together with Manas Chowdhary on bass and Fidel Dely Murillo playing the drums.

In Sanamahism (Meitei religion) and Meitei mythology, Panthoibi is the Goddess of power, war, combat, courage, peace, romance, and prosperity. Verses in the track paraphrase Panthoibi Mingkheilol, an old literature which serenades the Goddess, praises her abilities, her tales of glory, and her very existence.

'Every woman has a Panthoibi in her, who wakes up as she understands her personal strength and rekindles her oneness with the divine’ 

Panthoibi is a Mystic, she is unpredictable, she is a warrior who embodies beauty and wisdom, she protects the needy, and she burns everything in her path. She could be an ordinary-looking woman walking past us, revealing nothing about her identity, implying she is incognito, no one essentially knows how she looks because she exists in each of our feminine sides, waiting to be realized, waiting to be Unleashed.

Serpents of Pakhangba is a theatrical avant-garde / experimental / folk / free-jazz band conceptualized and formed by multi-instrumentalist composer Vishal J.Singh (of the internationally acclaimed multi-national avant-prog band Amogh Symphony).

Their line-up includes Fidel Dely Murillo (drums. percussion, sampler, sound design), Vishal J. Singh (guitar, guitar-synth, sound design), Manas Chowdhary (bass, bass-synth, sound design, effects) and Tanushree Saha (vocals, light language, kazoo, valiha, synth/keys).