Waning practise of Naka Theng Erosion of social capital
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 29 2016 -

Nakatheng Chatpa - Kids attired in traditional Yaoshang Dress on March 23 2016 :: Pix - Deepak Oinam

Erosion of social capital. This is how one Economics teacher put it and while it is tough to pin point when such a trend started, it is there for all to see and understand.

Again it is difficult to say what factors are responsible for this, but this is an unfortunate reality that has come to define the present day.

Yaoshang is over and while The Sangai Express has questioned the wisdom of celebrating a festival for 5 full days at a stretch, what is disturbing is the decreasing participation of youngsters in the practise known as Naka Theng.

How many youngsters actually participated in Naka Theng this year ? That this question has actually been raised in a forum such as this column should give an idea of how an important social practise has eroded over the years.

Other than Naka Theng it is also obvious that the earlier practise of young boys going around collecting rice and whatever vegetables that may be offered to round off the Yaoshang festival with a feast among friends is no longer in vogue.

Those who are in their 30s, 40s and older will definitely remember those days when young boys and girls used to go to every household in the locality collecting money shouting Naka Theng.

It is to meet this social practise that the sale of coins in Imphal was such a thriving business.

It was a soothing sight to see children going from one house to the other for Naka Theng and blessing the family after receiving the money.

It is again the same thing when young boys would receive rice and some vegetables for the feast or for the chakchanaba at the end of Yaoshang festival.

In the last few years, the manner in which Yaoshang is being celebrated has seen a number of changes.

While the concentration on sports is welcome, with young boys and girls and the not so young men and women taking part in the sports meet held in every leikai, it is sad to see some practices such as Naka Theng and the last day drive of collecting rice and vegetables, waning.

This is not an attempt at cultural revivalism but recounting how an effective mechanism to build social capital has eroded in the last couple of years.

There is definitely something very appealing and innocent when children give their blessings during Naka Theng and the erosion of such a social practise may be attributed to children losing their innocence from a very early age.

To envisage Yaoshang sans Naka Theng was unthinkable, but unfortunately this has become the order of the day now.

Society as a whole need to seriously study whether the erosion of such a vibrant culture as Naka Theng is good as a whole.

The need to preserve the innocence of the youngsters need not be over emphasised here and certainly Naka Theng is all about the joy of growing up.

Ask any adult of society today and they will wistfully recollect their days when they went around for Naka Theng and showered their blessings in the process.