023 It’s all in the mind : The first taste of wheat, the gift from the old priest

The first taste of wheat, the gift from the old priest

It must have been during the Eighties,
The rains won’t stop pouring in Imphal,
Day after day flooding everywhere,
People gathered in dry houses for sleeping,
Days went by and there was no food to eat.

The water just won’t go down with continuous non stop rains,
Rafts were made with banana stem to commute,
It was a hard time for everyone,
The old priest who spoke less and observed more sent bags and bags of whole wheat seeing people going hungry,
Emptying his whole go down of food supplies.

There were lines, long lines in Kwakeithel,
People coming from many other nearby leikai (community),
Everyone in the line was given whole wheat until the last grain was over,
Without questioning their religion,
Giving us the extra gift to see humanity and spirit of giving,

Being a rice eater, whole wheat was new to us,
Mother made whole wheat pudding, piping hot and watery with a pinch of sugar and milk added with the remains after scrubbing the canister,
And that was the first and best taste of whole wheat on a very cold day,
Tasted with a dash of kindness, the gift from the old priest,
His deeds never forgotten even when he is no longer with us.

~The End~

An Experimental attempt to put thoughts in writing by Monica Ingudam. This post is dedicated to Late Father Mathew Planthottam, founder of St. Joseph School, Imphal.

Author’s Note: I wrote in 2013 dedicating to Late Father Mathew Planthottam, founder of St. Joseph School, Imphal, Manipur to remind myself and others of the humanity and love beyond ethnicity or religion. On that day, I was very saddened to read a generalizing thrashing comments against religious Institute from the very people who stood in the long lines to get the wheat distributed during such hard times of hunger and flood. At that time, it didn’t stop them from receiving the help, despite the difference in religion or ethnicity but conveniently forgotten the kindness and ganging up with such vicious generalization. I wrote a stanza reflecting the hypocrisy but deleted as I was not brave enough to voice that part.

Episode 057 FindingTheVoices Swar Thounaojam sharing about sexual harassment and her own story as a victim (Part 3)

 Episode 057 FindingTheVoices Swar Thounaojam Playwright and Theatre Director sharing aboutsharing about sexual harassment and her own story as a victim (Part 3)

Presenting the 3rd part of Swar Thounaojam’s podcast where she shares details about sexual harassment and her own story as a victim. In this podcast, she  talks in details about the incident that happened on December 5, 2012 in Bangalore, India following an accident in which her car was hit. She said in an article covered at The Hindu  “I was assaulted by a traffic police constable. He barred me from entering my car and allowed a mob of around 40 men to sexually harass me. I filed two FIRs that evening — one for the accident and another for the sexual harassment and criminal intimidation I faced at the hands of the constable and the mob.” Listen to this podcast to hear her story in her own words of the trauma and difficulties she has to go through as a victim going through the legal process.

Catch up the first part of her podcast and second part of her podcast where she talks about her journey of being a Playwright and Theatre Director and her plays. Swar Thounaojam worked in Delhi, Mumbai, and Munich, and currently runs a Bengaluru-based theater company named FewerEmergencies.

Episode 056 FindingTheVoices Swar Thounaojam, Playwright and Theatre Director sharing about her plays (Part 2)

Episode 056 FindingTheVoices : Swar Thounaojam, Playwright and Theatre Director sharing about her plays.

Presenting the 2nd part of Swar Thounaojam’s podcast where she shares details about her plays. In this podcast, she  talks in details of each of her plays. She shared details about ” Bogey Systems” “Fake Palindromes” “Lucky Lobster“. I loved listening to her sharing about her inspiration for each of this play and how she imbibes and connect Manipur in some way to each of her plays. Is theatre a sustainable career option ? Listen to her sharing about the finance part in the theatre world. It was great learning and seeing a glimpse of the theater world from our very own Swar Thounaojam.

Full play is available online and you can read Fake Palindromes.

Catch up the first part of her podcast where she talks about her journey of being a Playwright and Theatre Director. Swar Thounaojam worked in Delhi, Mumbai, and Munich, and currently runs a Bengaluru-based theater company named FewerEmergencies.

021 It’s all in the mind : Beautiful Snow

Beautiful Snow

It’s the first snow of the season,
Looking beautiful as it falls,
Mesmerizing your mind,
Making you pause to admire the beauty,
Feeling the soft pure white snow,
Melting instantly as it touches you,
And yet you surrender for the beautiful moment,
When you know it will melt again,
Making you forget about the sun.

~The End~

An Experimental attempt to put thoughts in writing by Monica Ingudam.

020 It’s all in the mind : Death

Death

No one wants to talk about death,
But there is nothing to be scared talking about it,
When you lie down facing the ceiling,
Seeing people wearing bluish green scrubs working on you,
And all you can do is wait,
You have all the time to think about life and death.

No one wants to talk about death,
But there is nothing to be scared talking about it,
You think of instant electric cremation in the place where you die,
Placing the ashes in a beautiful urn to be taken back home where you were born,
You don’t want to give any trouble carrying a lifeless body,
You don’t want anyone to remember the face of a lifeless body.

No one wants to talk about death,
But there is nothing to be scared talking about it,
Resting the ashes at home in the birth place,
Singing beautiful country songs,
Family and friends wearing their best colorful clothes with smiles of good times,
Planting beautiful flowers on the grave.

No one wants to talk about death,
But there is nothing to be scared talking about it,
The resting place becomes a place of beauty with flowers blooming,
Passer by stops to smell the fragrance of the flowers,
Visiting your resting place someday by your kins will be the only connection to your birthplace,
Knowing that you would rest in peace.

~The End~

An Experimental attempt to put thoughts in writing by Monica Ingudam.

019 It’s all in the mind : Unspoken Words

Unspoken Words

Drown it in your wine,
It’s best to leave it unspoken,
When you are angry,
For words spoken with anger may cause grief breaking a tender heart.

Drown it in your silence,
It’s best to leave it unspoken,
When you are upset,
For words spoken in a disordered state may lose a soul.

Drown it in your tears,
It’s best to leave it unspoken,
When you are hurt,
For words spoken in pain reflects raw reality causing rejections from the humans.

Spoken or unspoken Words,
Both may cause to break any relationships,
But spoken words are never forgotten,
And unspoken words have room for forgiveness.

~The End~

An Experimental attempt to put thoughts in writing by Monica Ingudam.

Episode 055 FindingTheVoices Swar Thounaojam sharing about being a Playwright and Theatre Director (Part 1)

Episode 055 FindingTheVoices : Swar Thounaojam sharing about being a Playwright and Theatre Director

Presenting a podcast with Swar Thounaojam originally from Manipur, sharing about being a Playwright and Theatre Director. Swar Thounaojam worked in Delhi, Mumbai, and Munich, and currently runs a Bengaluru-based theater company named FewerEmergencies. Listen to her sharing about her first play “Turel”. It was great learning and seeing a glimpse of the theater world from our very own Swar Thounaojam.

018 It’s all in the mind : My Beautiful Mama

My Beautiful Mama

My Mama is the most Beautiful mom in the whole wide world;
I love to watch her dress up every morning getting ready for work;
Helping her choose the earring for the day;
Helping her choose the shoes for the day;
Matching with the outfit she is wearing.

I miss my Mama when she is not with me;
And I had made a picture of her on all the days she was not with me;
Remembering her big smile making her look beautiful;
Wishing that she will come back earlier than she told me;
To give me a big giant hug and a kiss on my cheek.

~The End~

An Experimental attempt to put thoughts in writing by Monica Ingudam.

017 It’s all in the mind : Abstinence

Abstinence

They say giving up some thing you love for a time period will help you achieve what you ask for;
But isn’t it your conviction that helps you achieve what you want ?
Or is it testing on time on what you love ?
Or is it turning to blind faith in your helplessness ?

People gave up watching movies;
People gave up eating their best dish;
People choose to take bath in cold water from a pond on cold winter mornings;
People even shaved their head.

Pondering on giving up the most beautiful thing in your life;
Choosing to see the beauty from far;
Running away cowardly from the bitter cold you anticipate;
You know deep in your heart, your abstinence will enslave you for life.

~The End~

An Experimental attempt to put thoughts in writing by Monica Ingudam.