Kora couldn’t sleep that night and for two more nights. He was lost. Was he in love for the first time in his life? Was this warmth inside his heart what people call love? But how could it be he didn’t even know her name? However, something told him he was for a change in his life. The Cheirao Chingkhong man was yearning to see the heikha girl. On the third day, he came on his bike towards the Kongba bazaar. It must have been about 5 in the evening. It was a pleasant basanta(spring) evening. He stopped at the place, on the middle of the bridge from where he last saw the girl. He stood there and looked at the faraway house into which she entered on the cheiraoba day. He stood there to get a glimpse of the girl but he couldn’t see anybody there. Not knowing what else to do he just went inside the Kongba bazaar; not that he wanted to buy some vegetables. Right at the middle of the Kongba keithel, he saw a small Manipuri hotel manned by a single Ima. In Manipur, this small keithel Ima’s eating joint for kanghao-bora(fried preparations), shingju and keli chana was interestingly called a hotel too. So Kora just went to a small table and ordered a plate of khamen bora and black tea with champra(lemon). He however ate the bora quietly, detached from the world around.

He repeated this activity every evening for a week. While coming he would stop at the bridge and look at the house to see for the heikha girl. One such fine day while he was having the khamen bora as usual a man in his twenties sat next to him to have a plate of keli chana. After finishing the fry fast, the man got up and handed over a hundred rupee note and told, “Ima acoiba yaodre shidai loubiro”(I don’t have change please take from this). The old woman refused saying that she did not have the 95 rupees change. The keli chana mayom was for just Rs.5. while the discussion was going on Kora just surprised himself by saying, “I have the change. You can take it from me.” However, when he counted the change it was just 90 bucks, so he just told, “Ima punna shidai Lou biro” (Please take the whole for his and me from this). He ordered the Ima to accept the other fellow’s bill also from him. The man just looked at him and in disbelief he said, “How could you do that. You don’t even know me.” “Its alright, we are friends anyway from today…take it that way. I am Kora from Chingmeirong.” The two men shook hands the other man said, “I am Raju. I stay very near; Thanjam liekai, Kongba; the other side of the bridge. I see you coming this side quite regularly; you have some relatives or some friends here?” Kora just smiled shyly and said was about to call it a day and head back home. He was already putting his foot on the kick of the bike; Raju stopped him again, and asked, “You have some shy (slang for a girlfriend in Manipur) here. I know it.” Saying this he just patted on his back and both of them laughed like old friends. Their cords turned out to be the same.

From that day onwards, he became Kora’s good friend and even though Raju asked him about the shy, Kora didn’t have the heart to tell him. After about two weeks of this ritual, Kora one day suddenly asked, “Whose house is that?” pointing to the house with the heikha and chumbrei garden. Raju looked at Kora and said, “That house with the samballei?” Suddenly a knock at the windscreen of the Echel van broke the stream of the story.

Biren opened the door of the car and saw a man standing in the dark. He looked at the clock inside his car: it was 1:00 in the morning. Both Biren and Kora had been talking for about three hours then and they didn’t even realize that. They suddenly found the man drunk and he told in his blurred speech, “Ibungo, swaaidha bbbhaido taa llleihaore…sekmai khara paybani!” Biren didn’t say anything but pulled the man inside the van and started the engine. He then told the man to tell him the exact place. They the drove the van to Khongnang ani karak and there they found a man lying with his face down. Both Biren and Kora came out of the van and carried the man inside the van and they rushed to the RIMS Hospital. They could smell the breath full Sekmai wine. The other fellow also slept off inside the van. In about five minutes, they could reach the Hospital. Biren stopped the van, Kora ran out into the Casualty and got a squeaky trolley, and both of them placed the man on the trolley and pushed it into the casualty. The doctor on duty who was weary and sleepy by now came to attend the patient. They measured the vitals and ordered some investigations. The other fellow who by now even though little sober wasn’t in a position to tell anything more than that they had a drink together at a vendor near the Khongnang ani karak. The patient suddenly retched and then vomited out. He was shivering and drowsy. The doctors asked in detail what he had taken, which type of wine and whether he had taken any medicine in the past one-week or so. The man didn’t say anything but put his hand inside his pocket and brought out a strip of medicine and gave to the man. The doctor took it and exclaimed, “Metrogyll…..he is having antabooze reaction.” Soon they started some more medicines and they turned to Biren and Kora who was standing near the bed, “You brought him. Do you know him?” “Sir, we are from Echel service, we dont really know them. Sir can we go.” It wasn’t possible in any way to trace the relatives of this man till one of them gets sober. Somehow the other man became little aware and took out a 50 rupees note and handed it over to Biren. Biren then pocketed it and came out with Kora. It was already 4:30 am in the morning. While they drive back to the spot, they could see some early morning walkers on the way. They also met the Govinda kabee imas in their clean white attire of Manipur. The elderly women of this hilly state wake up at 3 to 4 am in the morning and after taking bath, they walk all the way to the Govindaji temple from all corners of the Imphal city. After they reached the Nagamapal Biren said, “Ta Kora, meet my other friends.” Then he headed for the Lilasingh Khongnangkhong. After waiting over another cup of hot coffee with some kabok muri, one after the other the other Echel men drove up to the spot, as per their protocol, to encourage the Echel man who did the night duty. Kora was taken aback by the punctuality and the sincerity these men exhibited. In a land marred by agitations, bandhs, corruption and extortion, these men exhibited the best of human love, dedication and devotion to a social cause: to ferry any man in need of Hospital care to a hospital of their choice at the minimum time and nominal charge, at night. Kora, who had just lost his wife two weeks ago, was so moved by them and their courage. He was also charged to do something; to help somebody in need of help. He wanted to care, love and serve somebody…any body. These thoughts gave him warmth inside and a gush of zeal for living once again came in his blood. Help someone, love someone; care for someone….you will enjoy the warmth within. Kora looked at all of them and said, “I want to be an Echel man.”

To be continued....