Masak fajabana mayam-gi, maramokpana leikaigi, nungsibana eigi... Denoting the sense and sensibility of an ideal dream Pakhang, this maxim is one of the best of its kinds I have ever come across. Any Leishabi would but love to have one such Pakhang as her beau or perhaps her dream Knight in shining Thaang-saang. Whatsoever exaggeration over this very maxim is clearly exempted from any kind of criticism and what’s more endearing to acknowledge is that this dream Pakhang in question could be any Hongba, Chaoba, Tomba or Ta Nando from next leikai for whom the Leishabi needs to provide is just an innuendo.
Leaving aside the Leishabi/Pakhang centric maxim, there are a few more maxims that are perhaps a weathered means to pamper the temper of any Lalita, Ibempishak or Tababi. To cite a few of them ‘Chaada saasina chakhom chaobi, U-da Saasina Meetlaobi’, ‘Pemma yelhou fabi tungi poloi yengnasi’, ‘Mapaam chaaksu chaada Mawa Chaaksu chaada’—all these maxims for sure cannot tickle any girl/woman’s funny bones. In fact, any Manipuri girl would not love to hear any of the above maxims staunchly directed to her even if she badly deserves the same. If I would be excused for a while, I would love to bluntly admit that these maxims at least to me reflect a typical patriarchal norm that is very much relevant with our own Manipuri society. Despite the fact that I am totally ignorant about the very origin of these maxims, I have formed my own prejudices about them however at my own risk.
There are again some hilariously-humorous maxims that are not gender specifics. ‘Mashagi Shumaang Sitana Meegi Shumaang Sitpa’ is one from the category. Reasonably apt and up to the point to describe any talkative, good for nothing black sheep in any leikai who dares to get drunk at the cost of 10 Rupees forcibly taken from his poor wife/mother, this is one hell of a maxim. I am quite sure that we have habitually used it during many conversations especially to outwit someone who tries to pin-point his/her dirty finger at us. The sardonic note of this very axiom is more of a direct thump below the belt.
‘Dolai Tongbigidamak Waikuup Pubina Waabiba’ is again a very funny one that clearly reflects a damn care attitude that reads something like—‘Mind your own business baby’. And Yes! ‘Sa-bina Mama Noknaba’ is possibly the best of all aphorisms that are directed to pull someone’s leg. The English version ‘The Pot Calling the Kettle Black’ is as amusing as the local-centric one. I have never seen a ‘Sabi’ in my life. From its features I have heard from my mom, I can only visualise it as an ugly creature whose ugliness is beyond any good comparison except with its mother what an irony? I can undoubtedly acclaim again that most of us have used this maxim umpteen times from time to time. Isn’t it funny how we can indicate our conscience or react to someone’s abusive or witty comment with just a single maxim? In the absence of these clichés, we would have been dumbfounded to counter someone’s ill-will or cunning-mannerism. So, as long as one isn’t diagnosed of verbal diarrhoea, it is fair to use any maxim that one prefers and acts or talks very shrewd or smart.
All in all, on a serious note, if we believe in aesthetic-literature, maxims are also a meaningful part of it. Sometimes it could be in the form of a riddle, sometimes it could be a witty deluge of cunning words and sometimes it could be a humorous uproar of carefully chosen vocabularies, if you know when and how to relevantly use any of the maxims, the microphone is all yours. Good orators no wonder take help of many maxims and metaphors while delivering any speech. Can anyone prove me wrong here?
Well, as far as Manipuri Maxims are concerned, I guess no formal information or literary sources are ever associated with any of them. Some of the books on Manipuri Maxims are randomly published by some publishers in Manipur. Kudos to them for their initiatives. For most of us, we learned all these maxims from our elders and teachers and later relate them with our own lives, to be passed on to the next generation. Every community, society or State has its own maxims as far as I know. Would it therefore be too overstated to enlist them as a part of our own literary-seed?
If a maxim a day keeps literary-deficiency at bay, I would not mind learning at least 100 of them every single day, provided I have an affordable time. For those, who are eager to maximise few more maxims from Manipur, please don’t mind to bother me anytime. We should never underestimate any aphorism because you never know a mundane dictum randomly directed to our dearest political-leaders could someday give rise to a drastic or dramatic revolution in Sanaleibaak.
Happy Maxim-ising!
Leaving aside the Leishabi/Pakhang centric maxim, there are a few more maxims that are perhaps a weathered means to pamper the temper of any Lalita, Ibempishak or Tababi. To cite a few of them ‘Chaada saasina chakhom chaobi, U-da Saasina Meetlaobi’, ‘Pemma yelhou fabi tungi poloi yengnasi’, ‘Mapaam chaaksu chaada Mawa Chaaksu chaada’—all these maxims for sure cannot tickle any girl/woman’s funny bones. In fact, any Manipuri girl would not love to hear any of the above maxims staunchly directed to her even if she badly deserves the same. If I would be excused for a while, I would love to bluntly admit that these maxims at least to me reflect a typical patriarchal norm that is very much relevant with our own Manipuri society. Despite the fact that I am totally ignorant about the very origin of these maxims, I have formed my own prejudices about them however at my own risk.
There are again some hilariously-humorous maxims that are not gender specifics. ‘Mashagi Shumaang Sitana Meegi Shumaang Sitpa’ is one from the category. Reasonably apt and up to the point to describe any talkative, good for nothing black sheep in any leikai who dares to get drunk at the cost of 10 Rupees forcibly taken from his poor wife/mother, this is one hell of a maxim. I am quite sure that we have habitually used it during many conversations especially to outwit someone who tries to pin-point his/her dirty finger at us. The sardonic note of this very axiom is more of a direct thump below the belt.
‘Dolai Tongbigidamak Waikuup Pubina Waabiba’ is again a very funny one that clearly reflects a damn care attitude that reads something like—‘Mind your own business baby’. And Yes! ‘Sa-bina Mama Noknaba’ is possibly the best of all aphorisms that are directed to pull someone’s leg. The English version ‘The Pot Calling the Kettle Black’ is as amusing as the local-centric one. I have never seen a ‘Sabi’ in my life. From its features I have heard from my mom, I can only visualise it as an ugly creature whose ugliness is beyond any good comparison except with its mother what an irony? I can undoubtedly acclaim again that most of us have used this maxim umpteen times from time to time. Isn’t it funny how we can indicate our conscience or react to someone’s abusive or witty comment with just a single maxim? In the absence of these clichés, we would have been dumbfounded to counter someone’s ill-will or cunning-mannerism. So, as long as one isn’t diagnosed of verbal diarrhoea, it is fair to use any maxim that one prefers and acts or talks very shrewd or smart.
All in all, on a serious note, if we believe in aesthetic-literature, maxims are also a meaningful part of it. Sometimes it could be in the form of a riddle, sometimes it could be a witty deluge of cunning words and sometimes it could be a humorous uproar of carefully chosen vocabularies, if you know when and how to relevantly use any of the maxims, the microphone is all yours. Good orators no wonder take help of many maxims and metaphors while delivering any speech. Can anyone prove me wrong here?
Well, as far as Manipuri Maxims are concerned, I guess no formal information or literary sources are ever associated with any of them. Some of the books on Manipuri Maxims are randomly published by some publishers in Manipur. Kudos to them for their initiatives. For most of us, we learned all these maxims from our elders and teachers and later relate them with our own lives, to be passed on to the next generation. Every community, society or State has its own maxims as far as I know. Would it therefore be too overstated to enlist them as a part of our own literary-seed?
If a maxim a day keeps literary-deficiency at bay, I would not mind learning at least 100 of them every single day, provided I have an affordable time. For those, who are eager to maximise few more maxims from Manipur, please don’t mind to bother me anytime. We should never underestimate any aphorism because you never know a mundane dictum randomly directed to our dearest political-leaders could someday give rise to a drastic or dramatic revolution in Sanaleibaak.
Happy Maxim-ising!
This article was published on 10 Sep 2011
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