Only the policemen and the journalists walked the streets of Imphal during the night. And it is getting lonely out there even for night owls like us. It has been at least 30 years or so. Ever since the conflict escalated in the 80s, Imphal has been without nightlife. Once evening sets in shutters are down, the women vendors return home, cinema houses and other forms of entertainments are closed. Except for a few junctions with a string of pan shops and roadside eateries bellowing loud jarring music where the night owls flock, the streets are deserted. The near total absence of social life during the night and the lack of social spaces even during day-time have practically made us cynical and our youths explosive. Look at the wild congregations at occasional rock shows and musical nites in Imphal. The policemen on duty are of no help to the youth traffic during such nights, as they are suspicious of everyone. Why are you on the streets instead of going home? This is their first question to the youths and it drives them crazy. We have earlier talked about the absence of socially sanctioned spaces for adolescents and the teenage youth in our society, and the damage it is doing to youth behavior. In the adolescent phase, one goes through a difficult period of shaping behavior against peer pressure and when one is faced with multiple career options, both negative and positive. One could be easily frustrated in such a scenario, as we have seen in the last few decades.
Look at drug abuse among our youth and its related issues engulfing the state and its policies. We simply refuse to look at the condition in which our boys and girls are growing up. They need space for release of pent up feelings and emotions or adolescent urges. You cannot shut off these feelings and emotions. If we do that, it would certainly find outlets which could also be negative. It is not only about the youth. Life has been a suffocating experience also for the people in the post-teenage, middle age and beyond. All work and no play, as they say. It has been like living in a cocoon without outlets and a pressure cooker ready to explode any moment. It will someday burst. For life to be fruitful and productive, people need entertainment and adequate spaces for leisure and relaxation. In the absence of these spaces, life is all about tension and anxiety. And it is affecting the overall mental health of the society. In recent times, the number of people attending the psychiatric OPDs in the different hospitals and at private clinics has seen a significant increase. Tremors of collective trauma have been played out in the day-to-day events, theatres and the films. In such a charged scenario, the recent introduction of 24×7 petrol pumps in Imphal by the new Consumer Affairs Food & Public Distribution (CAFPD) minister gave us a jolt back to reality or what should have been the reality. Everybody including ourselves was skeptical on whether the day-night service will last or not. The first question which comes to mind is on how secure we are in Imphal. Yes, Imphal is limping back to normalcy except for few occasional incidents of grenades being thrown at the houses of individuals related with demand letters. Top ranking officers including engineers are moving around with security escorts. But the situation is not that bad like the old days. The CAFPD minister M Okendro is certainly taking a risk in introducing the day and night service at petrol pumps. But it is worth taking in the interests of a rejuvenated social life in Imphal. We surely need the breathing space and life with its pleasures.