IMPHAL, November 6: The state, on Tuesday, came alive to reverberations of the brother-sister love during the celebration of the ‘Ningol Chakkouba’.
People of the state cutting across religion and communities celebrated the day with traditional feasts and exchange of gifts and blessings.
The streets were adorned with married women and their children going making haste for their parental homes where their brothers wait for their arrival.
Several organizations and institutions were also seen organizing community celebration of the day.
The MBC Centre church and Tangkhul Christen Church Trust New Delhi together organized a Ningol Chak Kouba feast and exchange of gifts at Manipur Baptist Church Manipur on Tuesday.
During the festival, women from the hills were invited to a traditional feast celebrating the brother-sister love between the hills and the valley.
The occasion was also attended by state Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam.
Addressing the joyous occasion, Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam said that women have a very vital role to play in bringing the hills and valley people together for a peaceful environment.
The festival is mainly celebrated by the Meitei community since the very beginning, and continues to do so, however, tribal have also started celebrating the festival, he said.
The state Dy CM also continued that it is difficult for sisters who are married to other far-off places to come to their parental homes for a day and celebrate the day every year.
Women are the ambassadors of peace and will help the hills and valley to maintain love and unity on a higher level, he said.
The Ningol Chak Kouba festival is the purest festival in Manipur; it shows only the love between sisters and brothers, he observed.
This festival has no religion, ritual, and has no barrier among communities as to who can and cannot celebrate the festival, he said.
This festival Ningol Chak Kouba is the foundation of peace, unity and love in the state, he continued.
The MBC is taking a very important role in inviting the sisters who are married to other communities and celebrate the day in order to maintain the thread of love between the brothers and sisters, the Dy CM said.
The host guest of the function senior political leader and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Rishang Keishing said that the love between brother and sisters is being tightened with the Ningol Chak Kouba celebration.
He added that the Ningol Chak Kouba can encourage good habit, nonviolence, and a safer society because the women plays and important role to bring together the various communities of the state.
Today’s Ningol Chakkouba celebration was attended by several women who are married to other communities and enjoyed a grand feast with their brothers and fathers who had come from various places of the state.
The day was also celebrated at Bangalore.
The Manipuri Meitei Association, Bangalore (MMAB) has in a press release said that the association celebrated Ningol Chakouba on Saturday, November 2 at the All Saints Church, Richmond Road, Bangalore with around 400 people attending the grand feast. It said Manipuri film personalities Sadananda Hamom and Bony Gurumayum also attended the function.
The celebration continued the next day as well, with MMAB organizing friendly football matches with around 60 players including Sadananda and Bony and over 100 spectators enjoying the game of football at Play Arena, Sarjapur Road.
Meanwhile, the National Identity Protection Committee (NIPCO) and United People’s Front (UPF) organized the Chingmi-Tammi Ningol Chakouba was on November 5, 2013 at Keishampat Yumjao Lairembi Community Hall, Imphal.
Wahengbam ongbi Suchila Leima, deputy director of Manipur State Archives; BM Yaima Shah, president of UPF and Sunil Karam, president of NIPCO, RV Mingthing ex minister; RK Ranendrajit editor, Freedom; Rose Mangshi Haokip, president Kuki Women Union; Kakomlunglu Kamei, president Kabui Mothers’ Association attended the ceremony as chief guest, president and guests of honour respectively.
Women from twenty one different communities from all corners of the state were invited with people from seventeen communities attending the ceremony.
During the function, RV Mingthing mentioned that Ningol Chakouba will bring peace and harmony among the hills and valley people.
He further continued that the brothers and sisters of the state should not be separated; and added that Ningol Chakouba and Mera Houchongba are very important festivals of Manipur.
Mingthing continued, these two festivals should be celebrated every year with the hope that unity and congenial relationship among the hill and valley people would be brought through these festivals.
He also observed that the people of Manipur should join hands, fight together and face together all the odds which are against the state.
RV Mingthing further mentioned the importance of having good relationship among the people of Manipur and expressed his desire to expand such community participation of Ningol Chakouba celebration in the years to come.
W Sushila Leima, deputy director of Manipur State Archives expressed that the people of Manipur should join together to celebrate this traditional old festival.
Narrating the history of the festival, Sushila said that the festival had been started from the reign of Maharaj Chandrakriti adding that it will also be celebrated in the time to come.
Meanwhile, the All Manipur Ethnical Social Cultural Organization (AMESCO) also organized the celebration of Ningol Chakouba with the theme of Remembering Our Sisters at Nungsai Chiru in Senapati district in association with Nungsai Chiru Youth Welfare Organization, said press release from AMESCO.
AMESCO had been organizing the festival since 1993, it said
In the mean time, the All Community Development Organization, Moreh (ACODOM) celebrated the 9th Ningol Chakouba festival at the border town of Moreh which is bordering with Myanmar territory in Chandel district.
The sisters of Khudengthabi and Kwatha villages and various communities residing in and around Moreh such as Kuki, Meitei, Pangal, Tamil, Bihari, Punjabi, Thadou, Mizo, Vaiphei, Kom and the women from the Myanmar territory were participated in the festival.
ADC member of Chandel Lamboi Gangte and Pacho Kom, ACODOM president I Ibobi Singh, MCM vice president Th Ibungo, HTC president Jangmang Haokip Tamil Sangam president Md Salim were presidium members of the Ningol Chakouba festival.