It's chauvinism to the hilt," my cousin sister who's studying at Sanatombi Memorial cried over the phone. Her anger wasn't directed to me but to those who have banned girls wearing skirts in school.

Little did I knew that my question--which pair of jeans or capri would she like me to send for the summer-- would evoke such a reaction from her.

To tell the truth, my lil sis has never been aware of such socio political issues, nor was she interested in such things. But, whether she liked it or not, she had been made to realise "in what direction our society is going towards".

Using the pieces of news she heard on television channels, she uttered "Taliban and its ilk, Osama and his brethren are making our lives miserable in Manipur."

To someone like her who hates even the Do's and Don'ts of my aunt, such a ban on wearing skirts and trousers has come as a really irritating factor to her.

"Then why don't those guys ask the boys to wear pheijom or khudei to school?" she exhorted. "Are girls and women only the keepers of tradition?" she continued.

I listened to her quietly. But her very question had been asked for years. Even during my college days in DMC, during those meetings with AMSU cadres when my irritated female classmates would ask.

Those days the ban covered wearing salwar kameezes and saris. While we boys could only lend a sympathetic ear to the complaints of our female friends, we happily continued to wear Lee, Levi's, Wranglers etc etc. But the thought of coming to college in a pheijom or a khudei was SCARY to say the least!

The only restrictions that men in Manipur are subjected to had been on their drinking habits. "Yoo thakpagi Feiganda Kaplamley" used to be a routine headline that one got to read those days when the underground outfits started anti-drinking drive.

God knows how long it lasted, but one thing is for sure one of my neighbours used to wreck havoc after sunset, every night with his ENGLISH. I used to wonder where those UGs have gone?

Of course, the curfews were something which didn't discriminate men and women in Manipur. So also was listening hindi songs and seeing hindi movies.

But thankfully, having seen quite a few hindi serials and listened to hindi songs during the college days before the ban came, it wasn't much of a problem when I first left home for Delhi. At least I didn't struggle while buying rice at a grocery. Those days, I wondered if ever those people, who thought banning hindi was a crusade, would be able to survive in north India or for that matter once they came out of Manipur.

Of course, now I just have to depend on English (no not my neighbour's one)! But for those who have to interact with those Jats, Biharis and Punjabis....well all the best to them.

As for my lil sis, she cribs, curses and swears a lot of unprintable stuffs. "One day they will come and even dictate when to breathe, to eat and when to sleep," she cynically remarked.

Sometimes one could not help but wonder if anything could be achieved when so many people are cursing against a drive, even if it was meant for the "betterment" of a society.

I am sure my lil sis is not the only one, there are many like her there at home. For the time being no jeans for her, no skirts for her. So what do I send her....phanek. Hmm....time to search online to find if anyone can deliver phanek online!