Khagemba Sanabam

/ Monica Ingudam / 6 Comments

Episode 012 FindingTheVoices : Khagemba Sanabam, Entrepreneur starting Manipur’s own production of packaged drinking water and oxygen.

012 FindingTheVoices Khagemba Sanabam, Entrepreneur starting Manipur’s own production of packaged drinking water and oxygen

We have a special Guest Speaker Khagemba Sanabam, Entrepreneur, who have started Manipur’s own production of packaged drinking water and oxygen. Yes, production in Manipur.

Khagemba shares his journey of his struggles and experiences in starting Reliable Hydrotech and Oxygen Plant in Manipur. I am so proud to see such initiatives which will help people in Manipur and we don’t have to depend to get these items from other states in India. He shares his struggles, challenges in getting finance (Loan only if you have Assets !!! No room for innovation without money !!!), lack of basic infrastructure (Electricity, Roads/Transportation, experienced Human Resources) to support production plant in Manipur. And most importantly the experience in doing business in Manipur where the market is mostly dominated by non manipuri.

Thanks to Khagemba Sanabam for sharing your story. Tamo, I am so proud to hear about the products manufactured by your company right there in Manipur and that We don’t have to import packaged bottled water and oxygen from other states of India. Please support such wonderful initiatives by buying products produced in Manipur.

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Marina Spring is the brand name of the packaged drinking water produced by Reliable Hydrotech, a proprietorship firm at Joypur Khunou , Bishnupur District in Manipur.

Oxygen plant has completed installation and awaiting finishing touch for trial run. This plant will fulfill all the requirements for both clinical and industrial oxygen at a very cheap cost. This will really help people in Manipur.

Hosting today’s Show is Monindro Ingudam, Architect by profession, core board member and adviser for FindingTheVoices. Tamo, Thank you, Thank you for all your support. We love your humorous and unique style of podcasting.

It is indeed an honour for FindingTheVoices to present today’s show from 2 special and great personalities.

Episode 011 FindingTheVoices: Part 2 Armstrong Pame IAS officer from Tamenglong sharing the journey in making the 100 KM Road in Manipur without any help or funding from the Government

/ Monica Ingudam / 6 Comments

011 FindingTheVoices Part 2 Armstrong Pame IAS officer from Tamenglong sharing the journey in making the 100 KM Road in Manipur without any help or funding from the Government

Today I am with Armstrong Pame from Tousem sub-division, tamenglong district in Manipur, India. He is an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer serving as Sub-divisional Officer. He also was an assistant commissioner In the Indian Revenue Service.

And most recently he has initiated a very inspiring initiative of making a 100 km road in Manipur with no funding or help coming from the government, a story which have touched people’s heart all over the world …

This year, with the outbreak of diseases like typhoid and malaria, It took two days for anyone in the village to make it to the nearest hospital on foot in the absence of a motorable road. Hundreds of patients were carried on bamboo stretchers, and very few made it to the town alive.  And town doctors were unwilling to come to the village because of its inaccessible terrain. Frustrated with the situation with no response from the government, Armstrong Pame turned to his family and well wishers and initiated the project of making the 100 km Tamenglong – Haflong Road Construction in August this year and targeted to be completed by Christmas this year.

I am proud to present the voice of Armstrong Pame, the voice requested by many listeners of FindingTheVoices, the VOICE we want to hear and should be heard. The podcast is devided into 2 parts. Please listen to Part 1  which focuses on his introduction and journey from Tamenlong to becoming an IAS officer, an episode is dedicated to all the student listeners of FindingTheVoices particularly students from North East India where the parents work very hard, sacrificing and struggling to send money to get their children educated in other parts of India.

This is Part 2 which focuses on details about the making a 100 km road in Manipur with no funding or help coming from the government, a story which have touched people’s heart all over the world. It is touching to hear how he started the project and how people all over the world responded, a story which makes us believe that there are still good people in this world and we still have hope. He is so humble and gives all the credit of this project to his Villagers and thanks to everyone for the support received.

Please contribute and help in making the wish of Armstrong Pame in giving the gift of the Road this christmas for all the villagers and children. Please refer to the facebook group  Tamenglong – Haflong Road Construction for more details or contact 91 9953029135.

Episode 010 FindingTheVoices : Part 1 Armstrong Pame, IAS officer from Tamenglong sharing the journey in making the 100 KM Road in Manipur without any help or funding from the Government

/ Monica Ingudam / 14 Comments

010 FindingTheVoices Part 1 Armstrong Pame IAS officer from Tamenglong sharing the journey in making the 100 KM Road in Manipur without any help or funding from the Government

Today I am with Armstrong Pame from Tousem sub-division, tamenglong district in Manipur, India. He is an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer serving as Sub-divisional Officer. He also was an assistant commissioner In the Indian Revenue Service. And most recently he has initiated a very inspiring initiative of making a 100 km road in Manipur with no funding or help coming from the government, a story which have touched people’s heart all over the world …

This year, with the outbreak of diseases like typhoid and malaria, It took two days for anyone in the village to make it to the nearest hospital on foot in the absence of a motorable road. Hundreds of patients were carried on bamboo stretchers, and very few made it to the town alive.  And town doctors were unwilling to come to the village because of its inaccessible terrain. Frustrated with the situation with no response from the government, Armstrong Pame turned to his family and well wishers and initiated the project of making the 100 km Tamenglong – Haflong Road Construction in August this year and targeted to be completed by Christmas this year.

Please contribute and help in making the wish of Armstrong Pame in giving the gift of the Road this christmas for all the villagers and childrens. Please refer to the facebook group for more details or contact 91 9953029135. 

I am proud to present the voice of Armstrong Pame, the voice requested by many listeners of FindingTheVoices, the VOICE we want to hear and should be heard. The podcast is divided into 2 parts. This episode, Part 1 focuses on his introduction and journey from Tamenlong to becoming an IAS officer.

This episode is dedicated to all the student listeners of FindingTheVoices. Read at this article Armstrong had written at http://www.northeasterner.in/ sharing his journey becoming an IAS Officer from Tamenglong.

Please watch out for upcoming Part 2 where he talks in details about the  making of the 100 km Tamenglong – Haflong Road Construction

Thanks to Manas Maisnam, famous modern cartoonist from Manipur who have contributed Armstrong Pame’s cartoon in support and appreciation for his work. It is an honour that Tamo Manas Maisnam have drawn this cartoon for FindingTheVoices for the release of this episode of Armstrong Pame’s podcast.

Thanks to Hanubi Hanuba for the music (Lai Haraoba with Dotara) used in this podcast.

Happy Thanksgiving, sharing memoirs of cooking in Manipur

/ Monica Ingudam / Leave a comment

Happy Thanksgiving to all viewers and listeners of FindingTheVoices

We have crossed 7000 + hits and have viewers/listeners from 45 countries so far. As always, Thanks , It is always motivating to see your feedback, likes and comments. Please continue tuning in and sharing if you like it…

As we celebrated Thanksgiving, it reminded me of the time how we use to cook …

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Growing up We had used firewood for cooking in a very basic simple kitchen. We still use it now too though we have the choice of cooking using gas (depending on the availability of getting gas in Imphal) …

I remember my mother making cow dung for fuel and we use to help her. My mother fondly remember my sister helping her making cow dung for fuel (Shunthi Saba) with her little fingers as she says. It would be kept out in the sun for drying and we would run to collect and save it in case it starts raining … If we see cowdung on the road, I remember collecting it or running to tell Ema …

I remember seeing Ema with a pipe which is used for blowing the smoke while cooking and at times tears would roll down because of the smokes coming out ….It was a big celebration when our Grandmother gifted us with a hand blower which made it easier to blow the air and make the firewood burn easier.

Baba would cut the firewood using the axe. I remember him telling in a homourous way that is a way of him doing the work & exercise too.

And finally we did upgrade to cooking with Gas and Ema (my mother) was very very happy, always keeping the Gas stove spick and span ….. But till today we do have our cooking place for cooking with firewood where we enjoy cooking & roasting fish.

Photo Source: Google Search, Thanks !!

Episode 009 FindingTheVoices : Madam Saroj Nalini Ingudam talks about her teaching experience in Manipur and about “Ningol Chakouba”

/ Monica Ingudam / 3 Comments

009 FindingTheVoices Madam Saroj Nalini Ingudam talks about her teaching experience in Manipur and about Ningol Chakouba

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Wishing all the Ningols all over the world a very Happy Ningol Chakouba. ‘Ningol Chakouba‘ is one of the popular festival, where married sisters and daughters are invited for lunch to the parental house. It is a very special day where the family gets to spent the day and have the meal together just like it was before the sisters/daughters got married …

This is my very 1st podcast in Meitei-lon. Please enjoy the interview with Madam Saroj Nalini Ingudam, Retired Senior Grade Lecturer in Manipuri language and Literature from Thambal Marik College, Oinam, popularly known by Students of St. Joseph School and HRD Academy. She shares a very interesting journey of her experience being a teacher in Manipur comparing education system between Govt. School and private/mission School in Manipur. She shares little bit about the history of Ningol Chakouba and the changing trend with modern time. Did you know that initially Ningol Chakouba was Ningol na Chakouba (Invitation was from Sister to Brother) ?

Thanks to Hanubi Hanuba for the music (Lai Haraoba with Dotara) used in this podcast.

Happy Diwali, sharing a picture of Lights/Lamps used in Manipur

/ Monica Ingudam / 3 Comments

Happy Diwali, These are the lights I grew up with as a child, as a student in Manipur. I even had an incident where I dozed off studying with a candle light in bed burning almost half the pillow and mattress …

Times have changed but we still have the need to use these lights even now …

Lighting Candles all around, everywhere in the house, lighting these lamps and then going to Kwakeithel Bazaar to watch the lights were memoirs of Diwali growing up in Imphal. All the shops in Kwakeithel were nicely lighted up with candles. No !! You wouldn’t see any electrical lights, mostly candle lights. We would play with fire crackers, rockets were our favorite.

Times have changed .. people are afraid to step out of the house for fear of bomb blast … fear of whether someone who has gone grocery shopping will come back or not ..not knowing what to predict, a person who is just walking the street falls dead due to these bomb blast !!!

 

Photo Source: Google Search, Thanks !!

Episode 008 Manipuri Food: Bobby Soram sharing recipe of Nganum (steamed/baked fish) with herbs

/ Monica Ingudam / 2 Comments

Episode 008 FindingTheVoices Bobby Soram sharing recipe of Manipuri Food Nganum 

Today we are going to talk about Food & cooking with Bobby Soram originally from Manipur and now based in Delhi. Bobby is sharing a recipe for making one of the authentic Manipuri food “Nganum” which is baked fish with herbs. Bobby is mother of 2 wonderful kids. Thanks to Bobby for sharing the recipe, pictures and content of this post. If you try this recipe, please let us know how it came out for you.

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Nganum recipe:

Preparation and cooking time – 40-45 minutes

Ingredients-:

1. Small fish- mukkak nga or nga- sang or any small fish- 250 gms

2. Turmeric leaves, 4-5

3. Banana leaves, half the leaf

4. Maroi napaakpi ( a small bunch say 10-15 of them) or onion/spring onion- cut into small pieces. One small onion or two small spring onions.

4. 4-5 Green chillies sliced into halves

5. Turmeric powder- one teaspoon

6. Mustard oil ( optional)

7. Salt to taste one  teaspoon.

wash the fish gently and drain the excess water

Clean the banana and turmeric leaves with a wet cloth and spread it on a plate, Banana leaves layered with turmeric leaves on top.

In the meantime, boil  some water in a rice cooker putting  the steamer on top. You can do this while cooking rice too.  when the water while cooking rice starts boiling

Gently Mix the fish, cut chillies maroi napakpi or onions, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Some people pour a teaspoon of mustard oil so that the fishes does not stick. But that is optional.

After mixing it, spread the mixture on the leaves. Wrap it up properly and put it on a steel or aluminum  quarter plate. Place the plate with the wrapped fishes on the steamer and close the lid.Steam it for about 15 minutes.

Remove the wrapped fish with a big spatula from the steamer and place it on a tawa on the gas stove. Place a heavy utensil, a heavy plate or toksu on top of it. Heat it on low flame for about 15 minutes turning sides carefully. This is to remove excess water from the leaves.

Now open the  wrapped fish and check. Your aromatic Nganum is ready.

* traditional method in Manipur is to bake it on low flame  without steaming.I prefer steaming it first.

* you can try this recipe with fresh mackerel, tuna, Elish fish or pomphret too.

Customization of Nganum’s recipe using Hilsa fish and spring onions instead of maroi Napakpi shared by our listener Sairem Surjarani from Montreal. Also turmeric leaf used was from dried one. Thanks to Surjarani for sharing the picture.

Episode 007 FindingTheVoices : Maisnam Dhaneswari, Cabin Services Director at Qatar Airways sharing details of choice of career as a Cabin Crew.

/ Monica Ingudam / 6 Comments

007 FindingTheVoices Interview with Maisnam Dhaneswari, Cabin Services Director at Qatar Airways sharing details of her choice of career as a Cabin Crew 

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Enjoy the interview with Maisnam Dhaneswari from Manipur who is working as Cabin Services Director at Qatar Airways, the voted Airline of the Year 2011 connecting to more than 100 plus destinations worldwide. Dhaneswari shares  very interesting details of her choice of career as a Cabin Crew. Thanks you for sharing such details !!

One of the goal for FindingTheVoices is to increase the exposure of different career and job options for young students particularly students in Manipur. I have spoken to many students and the popular career options are to become a Doctor, Engineer or IAS officer. These are great career options, I myself am a Computer Science Engineer, but there are lot of other options.

Out of which Doctor is the most popular amongst the students (and also the parents !!). Students go for extensive tutions and even wait for 2 to 3 years to get into the entrance exam. There are cases where the students become depressed, loose self esteem and stray away on the event of failures on multiple attempts.

Crossing 5000 hits from 42 countries … THANKS for tuning in at FindingTheVoices !!!

/ Monica Ingudam / Leave a comment

Thank you everyone for viewing and listening to FindingTheVoices. We have crossed 5000 hits from 42 countries. Our goal is to have listeners/viewers all over the world and I get really happy when I see hits from a new country 🙂

Thanks for all the comments, messages and spreading the word. Also please continue with your suggestions on Guest Speakers and whose voice you want to hear. I am really touched with the effort and support from listeners suggesting for Guest Speakers passing along all the contact details. Yes we do have a long long list but we will get to all the request/suggestions, so please be patient.

Please come back again for more. This is your show. Here are some selected comments which I wanted to share with all:

Shyamo Khanganba  Dear Sister,I’d been went through your web page it’s kinda interesting also I’d enjoyed and love it, a sincere thanks to you also I’m so proud of you and who you’ve become now. You’re in a world without chains now, you let your heart lead your brain how you always wanted it to be.

Listener from South Korea:  I just checked and listened to all the podcast. I enjoyed all the interviews and waiting for che dhaneshwari too. I just wanted to congratulate u n the efforts you put on is worth it. I wish u & Finding the Voice lots of success in future.

Jamuna Advani: Listening to Monica’s interview with Junichi Kajioka was something very informative and kept me spellbound.

It is really encouraging to see comments, sharing of FindingTheVoices post in Twitter, LinkedIn and facebook. We are working on improvement based on your feedback/ideas/comments, they are very valuable, so please continue to write back. I am so touched with the response I received from everyone. Thanks !!

Sharing picture from Martin Hoabam ‘s collection, my favorite orchid  found in Manipur, India in honour of listeners from Manipur all over the world. I want to post relevant pictures of places where listeners of FindingTheVoices are located. Please e-mail me pictures of anything beautiful/nice of your location.