A Few Reasons Why I Adore Our Cheap Minister

Sometimes hillocks of problems cannot be solved by bullocks of strategies. Sometimes it is hard to digest a fat lie with hajmola pills, sometimes things are out of our good control and we cannot simply blame an individual for all the uncontrolled state of affairs. I hereby in full consciousness admit some reasons why I adore our Cheap Minister despite his flaws in proper governance of the State of Manipur. He is the man, a true son of Kangleipak, who can do anything to rule and safeguard his State from enemies and trespassers. My heart goes out to him for his endless endeavour to become a struggling super-ruler in the State. Instead of ridiculing or rebuking his flaws, it’s time we support him and encourage him to take Manipur to a next level; competent enough to compete with other States in the world (forget just India).

Is it wrong supporting a struggling King? All he aspires to become is the King—The Ultimate Ningthou of democratic Manipur. Is it therefore erroneous to support his interest? So what, he doesn’t have a surname that reads RK or MK, so what he doesn’t act royal in his manners and diplomatic skill, we can still crown him the king of Kangleipak for many reasons more than one. All in all, a democratic king needs not bear a Royal Surname. So, he is more than eligible to become our ‘King’.

Another reason why I adore our Cheap Minister is his patience in dealing everything that happens in the State. He keeps his cool and tries to control every chaotic situation in a calm state of mind. Isn’t that an encouraging attribute? It is perhaps a high time he earns a sobriquet as the ‘coolest CM in the history of Manipur’. His endurance level and patience are beyond anyone’s good comparison. He surely has vicarious guts to resolve issues that other CMs could not afford to resolve during their time. Keeping a cool frame of mind is something that a genius can only do. So, from each and every angle he is a Genius. Maybe he is an aficionado of Parle G—g for genius. Maybe he has got a super-brain that can outwit anyone and come up with drastic, dramatic solutions from time to time.

We cannot blame him for the famine in the State. Unnatural, ghastly and deadly though the famine is we still cannot hold him responsible for the sorry state of affairs. This famine that is likely to take the shape of any issue will continue for a long time (has to continue). Blame-games are not ideal solutions to fight this famine. We should give him suggestions or instructions on how he can fight this ongoing famine instead of rebuking or ridiculing his every single step in State governance.

He is not the super-hero who can fly in the sky and reach out to the vulnerable individuals. He is not a magician who can wave his magic wand and let miracles happen. He is just a human being with all his akanba and asonba qualities. He leads a pretty normal life like us. He doesn’t have any extra power to transform the State and bring everything to normalcy. He is doing his best in handling every situation and issue. Though he seems a little laid-back in his approach and also in taking up measures, we all know that he is equally worried and disturbed like us. He doesn’t have a remote control to put everything in control at its place. He cannot even chant a mantra that can pacify burning issues. Had he known any, things would have been otherwise. He is just a mundane mortal being like you, like him/her, like everyone so why the heck should we blame him?

Let rumours and mills spread everywhere, let people call him names, I am always going to adore him because he is the only Cheap Minister who has the calibre to run the State machinery for all these years and thus deserves our attention and support. Whatever he is doing is for the welfare of the State to bring it up on a global platform. So, we cannot mar his spirit to conquer the whole of Manipur and step ahead towards a new world. Let us stop whining, let us also stop playing all these sickening blame-games. If we don’t support our ruler, who on earth is going to support him? If we don’t stand by him through thick and thin, who is going to motivate him? Let us start creating positive vibes and start supporting him in his humble cause. United we stand, divided we fall. Let us stand united for the sake of boosting our Cheap Minister’s morale.

PS: I herby admit that I wrote this write-up in a hallucinated state of mind.

This article was published on 28 Oct 2011.

Quintessence of Kangleipak in the Capital City

Home is sometimes so close; it seems, even when you are living in the National Capital City. It is quite an exciting experience to feel the essence of Kangleipak whenever and wherever I travel across New Delhi. A sense of being at home is instilled in me, which has been gradually tinctured from several factors. To cite just one of the reasons, for starters, it’s the delicacies in the Manipurised eating joints that can match the same delightful level that we usually enjoy at home. Indeed, it’s more than just food for thought.

There are so many things why life is so typically Manipuri in Delhi, even after a distance of 2,443 km from the valley. Maroi nakupi is available at the INA market for just 20 rupees per 250 gram. From lafu, lafu tharo, thambou, sougri to kolamni, all of these vegetables—that share a blood relationship with the Manipuri taste buds—are available at most of the local vegetable markets, usually referred to as ‘sabji mandis’ across the city and which are never issues for us to just drop by. After all, there is never a trouble of economic blockade too.

If the maroi nakuppi is insufficient, there are ample choices and several other stuffs to try out. Just a visit to Munirka, our own ‘Churachandpur’ in Delhi, offers an easy way to make a monthly kitchen inventory. Out there, vegetable vendors sell imported original Manipuri vegetables and those matchless products from Moreh. There are some particular shops at this area, where one can visit and grab some fresh vegetables or food items from home.

The prices are no doubt a little high, but that’s no issue when the stuffs have travelled more than two thousand kilometres to tickle our taste buds. For example, a packet of dry u-morok, containing five to six pieces, costs around 30 bucks and a tin fish (what we call a ‘nga kouta’) is sold at double the MRP. Also when it comes to ‘yongchak pantha’, we never mind buying a ‘yongchak’ piece at the cost of 50 bucks.

The North Indian cuisine is a major hit in Delhi. But for the Manipuris, for us, nothing can compare the aura of a plate of steam rice served with a tengkot (bowl) of kaangsoi, with some fried vegetables (what we call kaang hou).

Typical though it sounds, this is quite an observed style amongst the Manipuris in the Capital City. And the trend ever prevails. What is further interesting is that some Delhites are pretty influenced, as we observed, by the North Eastern delicacies, especially those of the Manipuris.

There is a meat shop in Kotla, one of the crowded ghettoised corners for the North Easterners in South Delhi. The meat-seller has played around with the name of his shop, calling it the North East Oaksha/Vawksha Shop, quite a witty way to attract his potential customers. People from North East (especially, the Manipuris) throng the particular shop almost every day, enabling the seller to sell away his stocks like scrummy singju.

Never has the tongue twisted, to recollect, when it comes to relishing any homely cuisine—be it a bowl of ooti or eromba. I am more than sure that the same trend prevails in each and every city or town outside Manipur where our folks reside. Hear the drumbeats, the trumpets: we carry the essence of Kangleipak, no matter where we reside or go. And we are so proud of this fact!

It’s not all food without digestion. Apart from the cuisine talks, it is also encouraging to observe that some of our folks have been celebrating various religious and traditional festivals here in the Capital City. I have personally attended a few celebrations organised by one of the groups called Khonthang in Delhi. The last ‘Khongjom Day Celebration’ was no doubt a cool way of get together. It was also a nice way to remember the ‘Athoubas’ who sacrificed their lives during the Khongjom War and infuse in us a sense of responsibility. I’m also glad to know that the thoughts—of belongingness and the love for Kangleipaak—deeply reside amongst most of the Manipuris who are living outside Manipur.

Apart from food to thoughts, in my personal view, I have also ‘Kangleipaak-tised’ my daily commuting route from Maharani Bagh to Safdurjung Enclave, taking it in the same way I would travel from Wangkhei to Khwairambandh Keithel. Likewise, South Ext reminds me of Konung Mamaang most often, while AIIMS reminds me of Veterinary Hospital (kindly read vetinary hopspitaan for Kangleipak’s sake), the flyover at AIIMS retells me of Sanjenthong and the right cut from Ring Road to Sarojini Market reminds me of Nityaipat Chuthek junction that turns to the Kangla direction.

It may sound stupid to a lot of people to exaggerate things like this but who cares? This is my style of what I usually call ‘Kangleipak-tising’ things. Maybe it has become a seasoned means of consoling or compensating for everything I have missed about home. Maybe it is the rightest way to let the outsourced era pass away swiftly. No matter it’s Sajibu or Lamta-tha, I feel good to bear in my heart such a ‘Quintessence of Kangleipak’ even in the Capital City.

This article was published on 13 Aug 2011