S02E24 FindingTheVoices: Funeral process of Meitei Hindus in Manipur

August 28, 2015February 14, 2017 / Monica Ingudam / Leave a comment

Guest Speaker : Rajkumar Imoba Singh , Legal Practitioner in Manipur

Interview Location: Imphal, Manipur, India

Language: Podcast in Meitei-lon (Manipuri)

I had always wanted to learn more about the practical process of funeral. This episode focuses on the Meitei Hindus funeral process followed in Manipur.

I had approached my community brother Rajkumar Imoba Singh of Kwakeithel Thiyam Leikai, who had volunteered in almost all the funeral in our community. He is not a professional in this field but he is sharing his knowledge and experience based on what he had seen so far and have clarified some of the questions I had.

I had had written Death , A Place for the Dead earlier.

Please do share your knowledge, experience and comment if any. This is just an attempt to learn the practical ongoing practice which many are reluctant to talk about.

Born and raised in the violence-torn landscape of Manipur, I have a vision to promote and spread inspiring, empowering, educative & entertaining stories. I believe that we can create contents bringing the positive side of Manipur. I believe we can do this together by finding the voices, voices which needs to be heard and shared, voices of our own people, people of Manipur and well-wishers of Manipur. I believe that these voices will bring a change and connect all of us.

I welcome you to join me in my journey to finding the voices at Http://FindingTheVoices.com/

Ratan Thiyam, playwright and theatre director from Manipur at THiNK 2012

August 23, 2015October 3, 2015 / Monica Ingudam / Leave a comment

This week, I had read the article “Around the world with Ratan Thiyam” and being a big fan of his work I looked him up to read and catch up on his latest work. I am happy to have found this old interview of him at THiNK 2012 and am sharing his voice which needs to be heard, a voice from Manipur.

“When the system is going wrong, the protest is through theatre” says it all.

Source: The Healing Voice: Ratan Thiyam at THiNK 2012, Ratan Thiyam in conversation with Tarun Tejpal at Tehelka’s THiNK 2012 session on “A Master’s Voice: What Art Can Do in a Time of War”

S02E18 FINDINGTHEVOICES: A day at my School, Little Flower School, Imphal, Manipur

April 10, 2015April 15, 2016 / Monica Ingudam / 1 Comment

Sharing a video taken on a very special day, sometime in April of 2013. I was invited to address the students of Little Flower School, the school I studied and grew up. I was honored to get an opportunity to share about myself and share about FindingTheVoices. Thanks to Little Flower School for such a warm welcome and I remain indebted for the education I have received making me who I am today.

We have had a tremendous positive response from our viewers and listeners. And from the messages received from various age groups, our programs achieved our vision of getting our listeners and viewers inspired, educated, empowered and entertained.

I believe that these stories will bring a change and create a positive image of Manipur and positive thinking to many individuals. I believe that this will definitely contribute to change the scenery of the conflict and violence-torn to peace and progress in our society.

I am seeking out for collaboration to include you. Inviting you to join me in my journey of FindingTheVoices by making this your own.

001 Matters of the Heart : Happiest girls are the prettiest girls

February 14, 2015February 14, 2015 / Monica Ingudam / Leave a comment

“Matters of the heart”, a #Valentine ‘s Day special, Contributed by : Mangaleibi Sarungbam

Life is beautiful because we all have hopes, dreams and aspirations. If we didn’t have any of these, life would be like an empty barren land. Life is beautiful just like the bright blue hopeful sky that I see every day when I step out for school early morning, when I am riding in the bus to the school and when I am sitting in the classroom and staring outside, I see the bright blue hopeful and beautiful sky and I get reminded how beautiful our life is just as the bright blue sky.
I live in dreams and I am always dreaming in my present and thinking for a better future, a future that I have always imagined since my childhood days and which I have always cherished. It’s been a really long journey from an infant to a 25 year’s old beautiful and confident young woman aspiring to become a better person each and every single day of my life. This Valentine’s day, I want to convey my deepest gratitude to myself for growing up to a bold, courageous and ambitious young woman from a confused, timid and lost little girl. I want to take the opportunity to love myself even more and celebrate for being a strong young woman, fighting her way to make her dreams come true despite the hurdles and hurricanes that life threw at her.
And so I have a message to all my beautiful young ladies of “Sanaleipak” out there struggling with emotions, wasting time, over indulging in romance and indulging in eloping early at such a tender age, I just want to say that falling in love is a very wonderful feeling. But, before you fall madly in love with someone you need to love, protect, nurture and value yourself until you become perfect just like a fully blossomed “Thambal”.

Love yourself, respect yourself, celebrate yourself this Valentine’s Day and your true love will find its own way to you when you are ready for it. So, this Valentine’s Day take out a moment from your super busy virtual world of texting, chatting in Facebook and talking in phone for long hours, instead stand in front of a mirror and say “I love you very much and I will celebrate you for who you are, pretty or not, for aspiring, for making me happy and smile and for making me feel beautiful every single day of my life” to the person who is standing in front of you.
Lastly, I would like to quote Audrey Hepburn “I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happiest girls are the prettiest girls”.
Happy Valentine’s Day to all my girls.

~The End ~

Share with us your story/poems of your happy heart, broken heart. Enter your short nonfiction essay/poem in English. Must be a true short story. “Matters of the heart” #Valentine ‘s Day special

You can choose to remain anonymous if you want. Please call it out in the email. Submit as text via e-mail with Subject as “Matters of the heart” :” Your Name/Anonymous ” at FindingTheVoices@gmail.com

All accepted entries will be published at http://www.FindingTheVoices.com/

Interview of Monica Ingudam by ISTV, local TV station in Manipur

September 29, 2014February 20, 2018 / Monica Ingudam / 3 Comments

Taking the special occasion of us celebrating 2 years of podcasting, I want to share the interview covered by ISTV Network Imphal, Manipur featuring FindingTheVoices during my visit in Manipur. It was a great honor to be interviewed by Tamo Kh. Bishwamittra, in the TV channel I watched growing up and follow regularly now getting the News update about Manipur.

As always I thank everyone for your support and participation in making our talk show possible.

Episode 1 : We spoke about me, my career path, experiences and story. We covered the challenges and choices I faced as a woman changing jobs, taking breaks to keep up the balancing role of career and being a mother. Also we spoke about keeping up with education, technology trend to keep up with the job market trend.

Episode 2 : We spoke about students, role model and talked about FindingTheVoices and I got an opportunity to thanks all the family of FindingTheVoices through ISTV, the TV channel in Manipur. Also I got to ask a question to the host, Tamo Kh. Bishwamittra which is a treat to watch for this show.

Thanks to everyone, to each and every team member of ISTV. This means a lot to me, to FindingTheVoices.

FindingTheVoices brings voices and story that Inspire, Empower, Educate & Entertain us from people all over the world. It is a talk show presented by Monica Ingudam with the vision to promote and spread positive, hopeful, inspiring & entertaining stories in the violence-torn landscape of Manipur.

This is your show to promote your talents & work, share your experiences and voice what you stand for, what you believe in, what you want people to know & talk about.

S02E09 FindingTheVoices : Rabi Moirangthem sharing about Hotel Management as a career choice

August 1, 2014February 14, 2017 / Monica Ingudam / 2 Comments

S02E09 FindingTheVoices Hotel Management as a career choice

Guest Speaker : Rabi Moirangthem (Student, undergoing Industrial training at London)

Interview Location: London, UK & Washington DC, USA (Phone Interview)

Presenting Rabi Moirangthem (Student, undergoing Industrial training at London) sharing in details, prospect of jobs opting Hotel Management as a career choice. Many of our listeners have requested to feature a student and cover about the process and experience going to study out of India. Rabi shares details about getting visa, internship, financial aspect. Most importantly he shares very informative details of his experience studying in Manipur, within India and in London. Also we spoke about the tuition culture in Manipur. It was really a great learning interview and this episode is dedicated to all my student listeners of FindingTheVoices.

This is your show to promote your talents & work, share your experiences and voice what you stand for, what you believe in, what you want people to know & talk about.

https://findingthevoices.com/

S02E08 FindingTheVoices : What made these women leave their home ?

July 18, 2014February 14, 2017 / Monica Ingudam / 1 Comment

S02E08 FindingTheVoices : What made these women leave their home ?

Guest Speaker : Women of “The Raja Dumbra Singh Women’s Home”
Language: Manipuri/Meiteilon

Interview Location: Imphal, Manipur, India.

We visited “The Raja Dumbra Singh Women’s Home” in Imphal Manipur and spent special moments listening to their voices sharing their story on “What made these women leave their home ?” Each of their story is unique but is a story resonating the life of many women.

And as always, the camera is rolling and magically they shared their story from their heart, giving me speechless moments, not knowing how to react. And one is left with many question “In the modern world of Gender equality, is there a place for woman after her husband pass away ? How about woman who couldn’t become a mother ? How difficult is it to survive as a single woman ? How about the generation gap with the modernization and change in food habits ? How tolerant are we towards each other ?” Watch these woman share their stories in their own words.

This is your show to promote your talents & work, share your experiences and voice what you stand for, what you believe in, what you want people to know & talk about.

https://findingthevoices.com/

Beautiful collection of Sunflowers

June 24, 2014July 19, 2014 / Monica Ingudam / Leave a comment

Sunflower is my flower, someday I would love to have a garden filled with sunflowers and sunflowers only. Beautiful collection of Sunflowers shared by family of FindingTheVoices. Thanks for sharing.

#Sunflower blooming bright and colorful. I love sunflowers. Simple with no fragrance and yet so beautiful. A photograph by Bimal Thongam

Sunflower, love it anywhere anytime, A photograph by Bimal Thongam

Seeking for #Sunflower , despite the heat of the sun. A photograph by Bimal Thongam

Beautiful Sunflower, A photograph by Bimal Thongam

A Walk in a field filled with Sunflower , A photograph by Bobo Meitei

Sunflower always brightens my day. Do you like sunflowers ? , A photograph by Bobo Meitei

You would want to walk through this garden filled with beautiful sunflowers blooming. It’s yellow, wild and beautiful. A picture by Thiyam General at Busan, South Korea.

Missing the sunshine on a cold friday morning with snow every where. But we have a beautiful picture of a sunflower cheering us up. Happy Friday everyone. A photograph by Bimal Thongam

#Sunflower blooming at Lilong Higher Secondary School, #Manipur A photograph by Mahesh RK

Yet another beautiful sunflower, A photograph by Surajit Murasingh

#Sunflower Free me, let me walk in the field, filled with sunflowers. A photograph by Freeman Thiyam

You say why a sunflower ? And I say why not a #Sunflower ? A photograph by Rajkumar Napoleon

#Sunflower blooming at Lilong Higher Secondary School, #Manipur A photograph by Mahesh RK

#Sunflower Simple and beautiful. , A photograph by Manjiil Sharma

It’s a brand new day starting on a clean slate. Beautiful #Sunflower , A photograph by Loyangamba Khundongbam

And I wait for my garden filled with #Sunflower blooming, sunflowers I can glance in between reading words, beautiful words. A photograph by Ronald Meitei

#Sunflower blooming at Lilong Higher Secondary School, #Manipur A photograph by Mahesh RK

Beautiful Sunflower, A photograph by Kosygin Leishangthem

In times of Conflict, No one can take our spirit away, Spread the love on Valentine’s Day 2014

February 14, 2014February 13, 2014 / Monica Ingudam / Leave a comment

Valentine‘s Day was associated more with romantic love, it’s celebrated now by all even small kids in preschool and kindergarten making cards for everyone in the class, for the teachers, for parents, friends and now it’s all about LOVE and your SPIRIT. Celebrating Valentine’s Day in the midst of all the conflict, discrimination and crimes faced by our people, it’s our way of saying “Even in time of Conflict, No one can take our spirit away”

Spread the love on Valentine’s Day 2014.

Inspired by Paradise Road, a strong movie showing the amazing strength and courage in woman surviving hardships and emerging as survivors. The group of women from different countries and social levels are prisoners in a Japanese POW camp,, organizes a vocal band in spite of their guards resistance and a way to bring a smile during those conflicting time. The power of music kept them together during such hard times of war and go through the conflicting phase.

Thanks everyone for contributing to this Album and participating in spreading the love.

In the woods, far away from the din of crowded human settlements, where the air is claimed by smog, the rooms and fronts occupied by plastic plants, it stood swaying above the dark green healthy leaves. The tall trees around it had their branches over it, as though they had grown at the attempts to view the beauty, just like a giraffe’s neck at the attempts to get food. Who wouldn’t stop by to admire you, who wouldn’t be dazzled, you are called beauty, which can soothe an aching heart, clear a muddled mind and blurred eyes. You need not leave your place, you don’t ask for their attention, you are you, the beautiful you. A photograph by Bobo Meitei

I see this beautiful peas flower blooming in my Mother’s garden and I think of you, so simple, beautiful, local and delicate just like you. A photograph by Bimal Thongam

I may be small and tiny but jewelers in Manipur designed earrings on our look. You will see me blooming bringing smile to many and even worn by beautiful people of Manipur as earring design. Do you know my name? A photograph by Bimal Thongam.

People fight with their own feelings making them drown fighting the unstoppable current. Why not go with the flow and see the fate ? Do you always have to carve the path yourself ? A photograph by Bimal Thongam

Khagileihao angangba, this flower was a gift from Chinese King(China was called Khagi during those days) to King Khagemba of Manipur for defeating and killing of their notorious army general Maidana. It’s a symbol of friendship and also a highly valued medicinal plant. A photograph by Ronald Meitei

I am not a writer and I am not a poet, if you could just look at me and feel what I am feeling, you will put all the words to shame. A photograph by Bimal Thongam

We are so different, we don’t agree on anything making each other mad and angry. And yet we are incomplete without each other. Do you call this love? A photograph by Bimal Thongam

When you find beauty even in the midst of her tantrums and anger, you know love is still in the air. And you surrender with a beautiful red flower to make up for peace even when you are right making her right. A photograph by Bimal Thongam

Though #Valentine’s Day was associated more with romantic love, it’s celebrated by all even small kids in preschool and kindergarten making cards for everyone in the class, for the teachers, for parents and now it’s all about #love. A photograph by Bimal Thongam

Red Red roses ready at the florist. Maybe it’s to surprise your special someone or maybe to make up. Be sure she likes roses. A photograph by Bobo Meitei

A beautiful picture from Yaisana Huidrom dedicating to Findingthevoices and all listeners and viewers. Thanks everyone for your participation and making Findingthevoices your platform. it’s important to find small things in life to keep our spirits high in the midst of all the conflicts we see everyday. Thank you. A photograph by Yaisana Huidrom

Red flower catching your attention energizing you as you walk by and why not, Red is the color of energy, passion and action. A photograph by Bobo Meitei

Between living with love and burdening yourself with hate, I choose love (though hate could be very tempting!) A photograph by Wahengbam Sagar.

Don’t fall in Love with someone who says right things,fall in love with someone who does the right things. Contributed by Rebeck Loutongbam

“Learning to hate what I love” to which I replied ” I would rather be hated for who I am, instead of being loved for who I am not, for who you want me to become” A photograph by Ronald Meitei

In #love you do things termed as “Foolish and lacking judgment” and asked “What were you thinking ?” by people who have never been in love. But you don’t think when you are in love. A photograph by Ronald Meitei

A beautiful red flower blooming somewhere in Manipur. Do you know the name of this flower ? A photograph by Priyojit Akoijam

Life with me is not going to be smooth, accept me with all my thorns. A photograph by Priyojit Akoijam

Be bold and speak up for what you feel. When it’s not in your upbringing to be expressive of your feelings, and is awkward to speak openly with your immediate family in matters of the heart, how could you be bold ? A photograph by Thiyam General

Red kalanchoe flower somewhere at Kakching in Manipur. RED color sparkling the love making you stop to click such a beautiful flower. With Valentine’s day coming up, lets have red flower theme for picture of the day. Mobile Photography by Rebeck Loutongbam