people from Manipur

098 It’s all in the mind : Second Hand Clothes in Manipur

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Second Hand Clothes in Manipur

You mock with slandering words,
To those wearing second hand clothes,
You must be the elite one,
Dressed in the way you think the elite does,
Covering your pretense,
Of your origin,
Have you forgotten the makeshift toilet ?
The one you ran with a small bucket ?
Where you held your breath from your own stench ?
Have you forgotten the fasting you did ?
To demand for a new bike which all your friends had ?
Oh! but you didn’t see how your mother ran door to door,
Borrowing money yet again,
Selling the gold earrings her father gave,
To keep up with your elite look,
Covering your economic status,
As you walk on the street,
With the material things you adorn yourself.

I had a blue jacket as a child,
Turning the inside out, it turned to a beautiful bright red jacket with blue borders,
A second hand jacket my grandmother gifted,
Which she meticulously picked amongst the many she saw and compared,
From the open second hand market at Churachandpur in Manipur,
Which was named my foren (foreign) jacket,
That became my favorite,
Many complimented wanting one for themselves,
My grandmother obliged and got more every time she visited,
For friends and neighbors who wanted,
But it was a hush hush matter that it was second hand clothes.

You who maintained the elite look,
Either by the hush hush words,
Or by your demands,
Mocking with slandering words,
How different are you in economic status ?
The status we all strive to rise above.

~The End~

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

This poem was written after I read comments amongst the people of hill and valley of Manipur mocking each other, trying to belittle the other making fun of wearing second hand clothes generalizing a community.

 

097 It’s all in the mind : The Tree at Punshilok

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The Tree at Punshilok

I stood mesmerized by this tree,
With jet black trunk,
Looking rough and strong,
Growing on a hill,
A hill which once was barren,
Nurtured back,
Filling with greens and colors,
With different trees and flowers,
By kind-hearted people,
Believing in the balance of nature,
Rippling love and harmony to the humans,
Even giving a taste of calmness,
If you ever seek to connect back to nature,
Be sure to follow the trail,
Leading to Punshilok in Manipur,
Giving you a chance,
To play with the cold water trickling from the small stream,
To inhale the raw smell of the reddish soil of the hill,
To soak the fresh smell of bamboo leaves,
To lay your eyes on the tree with jet black trunk,
and stand where I stood feeling the creativity pouring out,
Your heart pleading to sit back and watch,
Watch the view of the valley with the green hills tucked behind,
And if you are early you might even catch the sunrise,
The sight which will make your heart seek,
To return yet again.

 

~The End~

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

Dedicating this poem to everyone who have nurtured this hill which was once barren. A great example of change initiated by the people bringing each tiny effort together from planting to cleaning up, and nurturing it back to a green luscious hill. Thanks to everyone at Punshilok, Manipur

S02E25 FindingTheVoices: Moirangthem Inao legendary radio playwright of Manipur Part 1

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S02E25 FindingTheVoices Moirangthem Inao legendary radio playwright of Manipur Part 1

Guest Speaker : Moirangthem Inao

Interview Location: Imphal, Manipur, India

Language: Podcast in Meitei-lon (Manipuri)

An interview with Moirangthem Inao, a legendary radio drama script-writer. He is 70 years old. He has scripted more than 90 Radio plays and around 50 video/movies.

I am a big fan of his work and grew up listening to his radio dramas broadcasted by All India Radio, Imphal. And to hear his journey and experience from him is an absolute honor.  His work are inspired by the social life in Manipur. His strength in his writing is bringing out human emotions with a mix of romance and tragedy.

“Anuradhapur Ashramgi Rajkumar”, “Lon Thoktabagi Lon” “Chatledo eidi”, “Nongallabasu Thaballei Manam ” “Kanana tallakee”, “Adungeigi masannabagum”, “Lallakki pal” are some of his popular recognized work.

This is Part 1 of his interview, please look out for the 2nd part of his interview where he shared about his personal life which influenced his choice of work.

 

MI_5Born 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/

 

S02E24 FindingTheVoices: Funeral process of Meitei Hindus in Manipur

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S02E24 FindingTheVoices: Funeral process of Meitei Hindus in Manipur

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.

MI_5Born 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

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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”

S02E23 FindingTheVoices: Chaoba Thiyam filmmaker and artist from Manipur

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S02E23 FindingTheVoices: Chaoba Thiyam, filmmaker and artist from Manipur

Guest Speaker : Chaoba Thiyam

Interview Location: Imphal, Manipur, India

Language: Podcast in Meitei-lon (Manipuri)

An interview with Chaoba Thiyam, filmmaker and artist from Manipur. He is a Pena player and has performed in many productions (Kwakta Lamjel) of Laihui. You would also find him playing Pena with Imphal Talkies. He shared many aspect about his work as a filmmaker, his journey of playing Pena giving us a glimpse of the life of an artist.  Most importantly he shared his personal experience of overcoming depression, sharing about finding and knowing oneself and being in the present.

And yet again, I was honoured to see our Guest Speaker sharing  their story from the heart.

Here are some of Chaoba Thiyam’s work: NUNGEE MIT / EYE OF AN “I” a film by Chaoba Thiyam , Black Pot and Movement , edited & directed by Chaoba Thiyam, Womb , Editor: Chaoba Thyiam

MI_5Born 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/

 

S02E22 FindingTheVoices: Pukhrambam Dhanajit sharing about Manipuri Dances.

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S02E22:Pukhrambam Dhanajit sharing about Manipuri Dances.

Guest Speaker : Shri Pukhrambam Dhanajit Singh

Interview Location: Imphal, Manipur, India

Language: Podcast in Meitei-lon (Manipuri)

An interview with Shri Pukhrambam Dhanajit Singh, Manipuri dance teacher specialized in the field of Lai Haraoba and Manipuri classical dance. He has received many awards including Kalakshetra Guru National Award 2014, Indo-Nepal Friendship Manipuri Dance Guru Award 2014, Manipuri State Kala Academy Award in Manipuri Dance 2011 and many more.

He shares details about Lai Haraoba. He also spoke about very interesting perspective about the documentation status reflecting the practical movement and inner meaning of each dance form. He shares his journey, experiences as a Manipuri dance teacher leaving us with the question “How much are we retaining and learning Manipuri dance ? Are we having enough audiences ?”

It is encouraging to hear that there are good number of initiative from Manipuri students studying out Manipur, coming to learn Manipuri dance during their holidays and vacation. I was really lucky to get an opportunity to watch the different Manipuri dance form as part of the silver jubilee celebration of M4 House. I was even more happy to see the excitement amongst the students who performed on that day in learning something new.

MI_5Born 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/

 

096 It’s all in the mind : A Funeral for my living Father

/ Monica Ingudam / 39 Comments

A Funeral for my living Father

You mock about my ailing father,
Who is old and frail,
Who is battling with his memory,
Taking time to recall my name,
And yet greeting me with such profound expressions giving me the peace that feelings cannot be snatched even by Dementia,
Living his second childhood with his days numbered.

You curse about my living father,
Mocking about his funeral when he is alive,
Judging that I won’t make it for the funeral,
A funeral which you pitied the Leikai (community) will perform without me,
Such vicious words,
Such hateful words from someone I don’t even know.

You, hiding behind a fake name,
You have won in wounding me,
It’s true, I sleep every night with the biggest fear that I will miss his last moments,
It’s true, that I have failed to be with him at his hours of need,
It’s true, I have played out in my mind of every tiny details of how soon I can reach,
To be on time to hold his hands.

And I wish you would never have to feel the pain and helplessness of the separation and distance,
And remain blessed to be serving your Father living under the same roof,
Blessed to know for sure that you will light your Father’s funeral,
Blessed to know that you will be there holding your father’s hand as he crosses to the other world,
Blessed to be sleeping peacefully throwing words of mockery to the failed ones,
The failed ones like me.

~The End~

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

Author’s Notes: I was deeply pained and saddened by the threats, personal attacks (specially the ones about my father) and abusive vicious raw words/message I received for writing the Poem “Students in Manipur”.

Written while I was traveling in the Air India flight from Delhi to Imphal, completed in my Father’s house sitting in the Mangong (Portico) listening to the familiar sound of birds chirping. A photograph of my meal with my Father just before I left Imphal, a meal with the hope and wish for more meals together.

S02E21 FindingTheVoices: Babloo Loitongbam, Manipur based Human Rights Activist.

/ Monica Ingudam / 5 Comments

S02E21: FindingTheVoices Babloo Loitongbam, Manipur based Human Rights Activist.

Guest Speaker : Babloo Loitongbam,

Interview Location: Imphal, Manipur, India

Language: Podcast in English

An interview with Babloo Loitongbam, Manipur based Human Rights Activist. Our studio for this recording is at the my Father’s beautiful mangong (porch) and you could hear our neighbor’s loud crow of a rooster, the barking of the dog. We had our special Guest Speaker sharing his story from his heart, we had audiences listening with rapt attention giving me more meaning to continue FindingTheVoices and sharing the voices which should be heard.

Presenting our very own, Babloo Loitongbam sharing about his journey as a Human Rights Activist in his own words.

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MI_5Born 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/