Social dynamics of Eigam
- Part 2 -

Lunminthang Haokip *

The Eimi I.S Johar: Mikhel Lhunkhohao's jibes and digs dug deep impact in the hearer's sensibility. "The sun will never set on the S.L-empire as long as S.L. Paokhosei is in power", was his sarcasm-soaked person-specific remark on his circle Legislator of the time. What follows was yet another wisecrack of his on Kuki National Assembly, "He who KNA political party supports whole heartedly, cannot recover status-quo in material well-being till the lapse of five long years."

The Sell-Out Jester: Comedians may come, comedians may go. But what can fade out from one's mental screen the superb take-offs of mimic king, Mithun Jangpao, on the real Elvis-clone Mithun's pelvic gyrates.

Apart from the hilarious burlesques he was excellent at, the Eimi answer to Johny Lever, enthralled his audience with Basanti-inspired songs sung in female voice replete with coy mannerisms. Force-landing of Fried Potatoes: In more recent years, the art of making people laugh in Eimi settlements was articulated to jocular heights by a lean and thin comedy-aficionado called Ngamsei.

His audio and video cassettes were a sell-out. He was a craze among the NREs (Non-resident Eimis). One witty comment of the chronic fun-sick beatnik that deserves mention time and again, is reproduced below: "I'm not amazed by the launch of rockets in space; neither do I wonder how men landed on the moon. But one thing that baffles me in bewilderment is the mind-boggling enigma as to how fried pieces of potato landed inside a Shingra (Samosa) without leaving leaving holes".

Toughies Day Out: Jokes aside, yarns on hazaar bizarre anecdotes can be spun about the odd episodes through which love blossomed among teenage-Eimis.

Normally, masculine savagery in courtship puts off and evokes resentment in the feminine psyche. Frailty, thy name is woman, Shakespeare confirmed. But with a Kuki, the contrary can be true as well. Some dare-devil toughies of the early seventies had the gumption to make goondaism an asset in romance.

The Dreaded Lane: In those days when might wasn't entirely wrong, a love-sick local dada from a Lambulane adda took his date and her friends for a feed in a nearby cafe called Shankar hotel.

In a bid to impress the lasses in company, the street-smart impresario placed orders for every sweet-meat in sight. Fairly floored, his lady-love almost believed that she'd hooked a Knight-in-shining-armour. In actuality, he was a mere tenter-hooked street-fighter-in-fading-denim that had not pocketed a paisa for weeks.

Hard Choice: While the girls giggled and nibbled at the choice edibles, the guy, guilt-stricken, was all sweats tiring his brain to think out a way to clear the "whopping" bill. He got up, strutted towards and leaned on the money-counter, hung his jacket on his left arm and turned his back on the ladies.

Manager Managed: Then, displaying bulging biceps with a piercing stare to match, he asked the manager, as if to pay money (for the benefit of the girls), "Shanker (waving his giant fingers), Achoiba pambra (meaning do you want a slap)?", and tossing about a tightly-clenched fist right under the nose of the shivering manager while hiding his tricks of threat from the rest of the entourage, said, "Natraga mapum pambra (meaning do you want a solid punch)?". The manager got the message and nodded in fear. All said and done, poor Shankar was made a sucker of.

Remembering Human-been: So as to be declared fit to keep his fans in complete splits, a star-humorist needs to constantly re-invent himself. That very ensnaring hang-up of a pressure to ever perform better becomes his undoing. Every dog has its day. Dadagiri was tolerated once upon a time. The entertainers cited in the preceding paras had their own respective hey-days. Each brand of jest was preferred in a particular period of a decade.

But the tragedy of life is that barring one, all the top-bracket Eimi jesters mentioned in this write-up had already kicked the bucket. The jokes they cracked as human-beings had such a lasting impact on public memory that when they became human-beens, nobody credited the sad event with the distressed seriousness usually reserved for the death of a mortal.

The Warning: " Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that take His name in vain (Exodus 20:7)".

A Bible commentator elaborated further, "God's name is special for it carries His personal identity. Using it frivolously or in a curse is so common today that we may fail to realize how serious it is. The way we use God's name conveys how we really feel about him. We should respect His name and use it appropriately, speaking it in praise or worship rather than in curse or jest. We will not be found guiltless if we dishonour His name."

When we pray the Lord's prayer, we say, " Hallowed be thy Name ( Luke 11:2)". Everything we see, know, feel and touch above and below the atmosphere provide ample reason for us to always hallow God's name. All the billion dollars of the world cannot provide us pure air, pure water for all, a pure heart and fool-proof security. They can only be gifted from heaven.

The Lone Master: It's God alone who makes a child grow, a plant fructify, seasons change at the dot of time and the cosmic bodies stay put in then proper places. Every living soul in existence on this strife-torn and calamity-prone mess between two poles ought to hallow His name in thought, in speech and in deed for safety and security.

Now that the twin WTC sky-scrapers once touted to be perfectly safe and insured against forces of destruction, like the Titanic, had proved us wrong, where else can we turn to? "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe (Prov. 18:10)."

Think before you speak: More often than not, we take God's name in our swearing, curses, jests and corrupt communications. That's not hallowing but desecrating His holy name. Doing so, we uncover ourselves from His otherwise unfailing protection. We are hallowing when we use His name in fear and trembling and carefully weigh every word we speak.

True wisdom calls for usage of the right word at the right time. Proverbs 25:11 puts it on record, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver".

Concluded...

Lunminthang Haokip

* Lunminthang Haokip wrote this article for The Sangai Express
This article was webcasted on April 08, 2016.