Remembering a Man of Passion : Tamo Kishan

By Ingudam Manoranjan *

Fourteen years is not long enough to define a relationship yet long enough to know a person and learn from him things about the world; but above all, about friendship itself. My first encounter with a man of passion, Tamo Kishan, was at Delhi University.

In 1995, I had left Imphal for New Delhi after my matriculation to pursue higher studies, travelled the breadth of the country—by bus and the North East Express. In the intervening period before I got admitted, I was hopping from one hostel of Delhi University to another as a guest as it was cheaper and convenient.

In one such hostel, Mansarovar Hostel located at Mall Road, I met Tamo Kishan. Long hair and torn jeans—my first impression of him was that of hippy popstar. Or in other words, I thought that he must be one of those useless rich brats wasting their parents' ill gotten money. Very soon I realised how wrong I was. He was the embodiment of a person which every mother would love their children to be.

During our stay together, every night, we spent hours in discussions for world change or rather I listened to their discussions. As much preoccupied as I was with my school admission I was also too young to comprehend many of the concepts they threw at each other. Topics ranged from Marxism and capitalism to ngari and Manipur.

I also fondly remember a soft spoken scholar from Bihar, a regular visitor to our room, who together with Tamo Kishan defended Marxism as if they were the lone survivors of the 'ism' on earth. This was the defining period of my growing up years and today I admit I am thankful to the company for instilling in my young mind the value of "objectivity" both in terms of my evaluation of things worldly as well as in my take on issues related to the world in general.

I am able to shed my subjective feelings and ego when I attempt to give my opinion. In the brief span of our togetherness, I also learnt from Tamo Kishan passion for knowledge. I remember him substantiating his opinions with references and fiercely defending his ideas like a possessed man. My stay with him fairly enriched my knowledge. It was a wonderful experience.

Apart from the scholarly ventures, we did have our worldly meanderings, too. For example, my first movie in Delhi was with Tamo Kishan. We went to Priya Cinema to watch, "Schindler's List". We triple-rode his black RX 100, all the way from North Delhi to the posh South West Delhi passing through the Ridge forests.

As usual his get up was all in torn jeans and high heeled "dingo" shoes. He explained to me, "Student in its own entity must be regarded as belonging to the working class. We're wage earners from our parents for the amount of labour spent on studies. So, rightfully, the front rows belong to us. Rear rows and balcony are for the bourgeoisie"

Thus, we spending Rs 7 per ticket in the front rows were justified. The best part of the movie-experience was its aftermath. For the first time, I learnt about reviewing a movie. Till about the wee hours in the morning, we analysed the movie and significance of each shot, light, frame, colour, music, script and so on.

I learnt that a movie is not all about casts and plot. A good director is one who can give the right mixture of the above and extract desired performances from the actors. I was but just a kid at that time but the best trait about Tamo Kishan was his ability to engage me and seek my own perspectives and opinions. That movie still happens to be one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences for me.

After sometime, I got admission to a school and shifted to the hostel. I met him intermittently but slowly I lost touch with him. However, he used to remember me through mails and occasional calls asking about my well being and progress in life. I kept hearing about the good works done by him.

I read his articles and papers (to mention a few "Economics of Underdevelopment : Reading the North East", "Manipuri Literature in History", "A Critique of Hindu proselytization in Manipur"). Also heard that he was the Editor of Alternative perspectives before he became a state civil servant.

I heard he had cut his hair short. One of the students of DM College shared with me about a passionate and wonderful teacher called Kishan in their college. Most students remember him for the passion with which he took the classes; with the real intent of instilling knowledge and vision. Most recently, I had heard that he had shifted from teaching to become a civil servant after passing MPSC.

I remember Tamo Kishan as a wonderful person, passionate and fiery orator, outspoken and straight forward human being and a convincing debate master. He was a great teacher not only for his students but also for me. Indeed he was a great guide for me. He was one of the few whom you respect, even when you do not necessarily agree with him.

He had the conviction to bring about change for a better Manipur. Knowing him personally I do truly believe he would have contributed his share within his able capacity.

Perhaps, that could be the reason why he lost his life. Manipur has lost a potential great leader.