ABSTRACT
Without rhythm a musical art can’t exist. Rhythm is the time configuration of beats and strokes. Manipur, once a princely state had experienced the glorious past of using their own time keeping devices. The people of this land had the knowledge of as many as twenty-seven stars that had been named according to their locations and used as the important element in knowing the rhythm. According to scholars, there are two forms of kirtan in Manipur such as nat kirtan and manoharsai kirtan. In the recital of both the kirtans, the percussion musical instrument namely the Meitei pung and khol are used to control the rhythms of the songs. The manoharsai tradition of Bengal is deemed to have extinct with the advent of other art forms. Thus, the usage of the rhythm of Manipuri khols in the traditional Manipuri manoharsai singing is purified and becomes the most spontaneous activities of social life in general are not without some musical characteristics.
