Awakening
Ibohal Kshetrimayum *
In the ancient looms of my homeland,
fairies once shuttled across threads of rainbows
weaving folklores of gods and goddesses.
Our tapestry needed no haberdashery of
Brabubahanas and Chitrangadas or a vijay panchali,
for no tantric-needle knitted our folktales.
I want to go back and melt in folk songs
of shamans, who rejoiced in carnival of ripening rice,
drunk with jingling moans of a pena.
I want to witness, one more time, the ballad of
Luwaopa and Koubru Namoinee, and
feel the heartbeats of Henjunaha and Lairuklembi.
I want to burn my poetry in the immortal angst
of Khamba-Thoibi, and blow the ashes
on winds above Loktak's gentle ripples.
I want to defy traditions, once again,
by falling in love like Chingsompa and Panthoibi, and
tell the world I inherited their sweet arrogance.
I want to retrace petals of
Thainagi Leirang, leaving no stones unturned,
until I find the lost quill in ruins of alphabets.
I want to ask children of my homeland
to perform Imagee Pujah by planting a Madhabi
on the stage of another Shingel Indu.
I want to revisit a forbidden village in my past, and
reopen the second chapter of Jahera.
sitting by the old mosque with a green door.
I want to hear a young Khongjomba sing
Lamphel Patki Kombirei, while I sip chilled atingba
from a bamboo-mug, in a karaoke bar.
I want to see Pidonnu dance in a discotheque
to the exotic tunes of Khulang Eshei, while
her Moirangphi floats with iridescent embroidery.
I wish to put my ear on grandpa's clay courtyard, and
listen to Leipaklei's sprouting sighs in a crack,
for the last time in this lifetime.
Finally, I like to be frightened again by Tapta, and
wake up in a faraway dream where
my homeland shines as silvery as the milky way.
* Poem written by Ibohal Kshetrimayum for The Sangai Express
This poem was webcasted on 06 August 2018.
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