Manipur has been described as ‘Scotland of the East’ even as the tagline ‘Where the Gods took to dance’ is a popular tourism advertisement pitch. But if one were to call Manipur the land of festivals, it would not be far off the mark at all. Right from the start of the calendar year starting from January right through to December, a variety of festivals and celebrations gets ticked off. We have just had Ningol Chaakouba following on the heels of Diwali over the week end bringing with it an all increasing noise and the sight of busy streets and markets, not to mention garbage piling up. Ningol Chaakouba is only one festive occasion for the Meiteis, described as a major festival. But isn’t the same said for Yaoshang or Holi as well, that sees revelries for five continuous days? What of Cheiraoba then? Apart from these major occasions, we have the various Lai Haraoba festivities running from mid April to mid July capped by Rathyatra, followed by a few small scale religious occasions like Krishna Janmashthami, Durga Puja and or Panthoibi, Imoinu Iraatpa et el. This list is only for the ones observed by Meiteis but add occasions like New Year, the various harvest festivals, Id-ul-fitr, Kut, Christmas among others and the course of a year does look like a series of festivities.
Festivals may have started off with religious or spiritual contexts but over the ages and years, they have become a social, cultural and economic blend thereby taking a mammoth persona and perception. Social scientists and anthropologists will say that festivals are a much needed social dynamics that binds people, communities and societies together or that they are also a part of the identity of a particular community or society. But the nature of festivals as we see today is one that also gives a ground for divisions in society or a community. The flare up amongst two different communities happening in Trilokpuri in New Delhi is just one example of how festivals do not remain as binding forces but can also contribute to deepening divisions between different constituents of a society. Nearer home in Manipur, the near obsessive competition for topping the spending power is an indication that the main focus of festivities is not so much on the symbolism of the observations but on the external show of gloss and money. This race for spending more is seen not just with Ningol Chaakouba but even over who gets to burst the most expensive crackers and how much of it. And of course, Diwali means an extended session of gambling in the open, all under the ‘it happens only once a year’.
Across cultures, festivals are about good food and spending time with family members and loved ones. But when the negative aspects outnumber the positive ones and mar festivals and how they are observed, there needs some major introspection at individual and collective levels. At one point in time, community elders and leaders among the Meiteis came together to ensure that the five day festivities of Yaoshang would not be allowed to give more ground to young people to take up intoxicants and drug use. This line of thinking led to the emergence of the Yaoshang Sports in Leikais in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Something akin to this is definitely the need of the hour today in Manipur where festivals have come to mean shows of opulence, shopkeepers hiking the rate of their wares and growing crowds.
Leader Writer: Chitra Ahanthem