When we arrived at the residence of veteran journalist Mr. Yambem Laba, we were greeted by a very friendly and handsome German shepherd named Kaiser, who was a little vocal during certain moments of the interview. So dear viewers, please excuse the energetic chap for being so curious and exploring! In this episode, we talk about how Mr. Yambem Laba started off with his journalism career from the early days. The senior journalist says that although he learnt economics in the Delhi School of Economics, he learnt all about journalism in the streets of Kolkata. He talks about how journalism used to be just a hobby before it became a passion for him. In 1982, he left his teaching job at his alma mater and later went to Lachen, Sikkim in 1983. There, he worked on his first ever story and published it under the title “Sikkim – The Lost Shangri-la”. His second storyentitled “New Wave of Insurgency in Manipur” was published in The Week, a magazine published in South India. After this, he had a short stint in Leh district and Sopore town in Jammu & Kashmir.

He came back to Imphal in September, 1983 and joined the English weekly called Resistance, published by the Pan Manipuri Youth League as Chief Reporter-cum-Asst. Editor.During this period, Mr. Yambem Laba began realizing that the future of the state of Manipur was evidently shaped by the youth of today. Thus began the movement for Social Entrepreneurship mobilizing the youths of Manipur. His main objective was to impart four attributes into each of the youths – endurance, courage, sense of fraternity and personal excellence. Watch this episode to learn more and find out how our fearless journalist’s question might have saved the life of a teenaged girl from a vigilant act of an insurgent group.