89-year old renowned Manipuri ballad singer Nameirakpam Ibemni, a recipient of Padma Shri will perform Khongjom Parva at the 3-day Kathakar-International Storytellers Festival to be held at the Amphitheatre of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Janpath in Delhi. The festival organized by Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts and Nivesh will be held from January 30 to February 1, from 4 pm to 8 pm. Ibemni Devi the first woman to play Khol, Mridanga and Dolak in Manipuri folk theatre, is credited with the composition of over 150 ballads which have been aired by the All India Radio and Doordarshan. Kathakar-International Storytellers Festival aims to generate awareness on the traditional methods of storytelling in different parts of the world. Khongjom Parva, a style of ballad singing from Manipur using Dholak depicts stories of heroic battle fought by Manipuris against the British forces in 1891. Nameirakpam Ibemni Devi was born in July 1926 at Wangkhei Ningthempukhri Mapal to Kshetrimayum ningol Keina Devi and Khumanthem Chaoba Singh, a noted exponent of Khongjom Parba. She started learning traditional Manipuri music at the age of six under the tutelage of Guru Yumnam Natum Singh, a known singer of Nata Sangeet. Besides Nata Sangeet, she also learnt other genres of Manipuri music. She is the founder of Khongjom Parba School (1964), and has also established two choir groups, one in 1964 and the other in 1972.