Madam Saroj Nalini Ingudam presented a paper on the use of banana leaves in 1987-88 during her M. Phil course as she felt that the traditional custom of using banana leaves were slowly fading in Manipur. Her paper was made possible with the help of a few learned scholars and practitioners of the art form and was very well received at Manipur University. In this second episode, Madam Saroj describes how banana leaves are used along with betel leaf, coconut, ginger and flowers as a form of invitation for traditional ceremonies in Manipur. The different arrangements of the invitations for different persons are show with the help of pictures in this episode. Just by looking at the form of arrangement, one would be able to tell whether the invitation was for the King, Queen or other members of the royal family. Different structural arrangements are also available for Arangbham, Brahmins and the common people.

Madam Saroj also talks about the form of society during the reign of monarchs. She says that the justice system in those days was very different from the one that we have today, which is very slow in delivering judgments. She feels that there has been a rise in crime in the present society because of the slow pace of the justice system.

Banana leaves are used in a number of occasions in various regions of India. In Manipur, these leaves are used during religious rituals as well as a form of invitation for certain traditional customs. This episode is dedicated to the significance of banana leaves in Manipur, a documentation of the art form that has been practiced since the time of Kings and Queens. Madam Saroj Nalini Ingudam presents very thorough information on this practice with the help of her M. Phil paper from 1987-88. Banana leaves are used in every major ritual in a person’s life; starting from birth ceremonies (Swasti Puja, Yupan Thaba), “Na Hutpa”, marriage ceremonies, and also during funeral rituals. There have been a few changes in the way the leaves are used during rituals, for example, the “Tang Yatpa” came into practice only after the arrival of Hindu religion in Manipur. However, the same old practices are still followed without any change in traditional Meitei festivals like “Lai Haraoba”.

Madam Saroj also talks about the different variety of banana leaves and their purposes; Leihou La, Leiyai La, Changbi La, Noney La to mention a few. The most commonly used is the Noney La, which is suitable for use in feasts because of its odorless quality. Madam Saroj also describes a little about how these leaves were so commonly used as invitations before the printed version of invitations came out. A description of how banana leaves are used as invitation for Shri Govindaji is shown towards the end of this episode.