Nothing per se. But the people who celebrate it are going more greedy, illogical and ostentatious as each year passes by. From being a beautiful concept festival which celebrates the unbreakable bonds of intra-familial relationship, Ningol Chackouba is being relegated to a materialistic show of pomp and ego, with everyone involved trying to out do the other Tombas and Tombis in the size of the gifts exchanged and hollow pretences. It has become more of a competition between the daughters-in-law and now some megalomaniac parents in a show of social one-upmanship than being a love-filled family reunion.

No wonder, some hapless parents dread the prospect of Ningol Chackouba because of the obvious cost which might run into astronomical figures depending on the whims of their married daughters who somehow think it as a matter of their right to demand exorbitant gifts. Fridge, colour TV, washing machines, jewellery-you name it- are becoming a common item in the list of the demands that have to be met by the parents on the fateful day. How the parents will cough up the necessary money to fulfill all the wishes of their daughters seems oblivious to them. Which is very unfortunate, to say the least.

I would not have spewed out this venom against this wasteful and brazen phenomenon if all the hard earned money that we lavish on Ningol Chackouba could be ploughed back to our piggy bank or our state economy. The fact speaks otherwise.

Our state’s money flows like some very low density liquid to the so called mainstream India with the non-Manipuri traders in Paona Bazar and Thangal Bazar acting as the conduits. Seen from this perspective, we are celebrating Ningol Chackouba to enrich other states in one single day of materialistic madness. I as a concerned Manipuri am not sure on this day whether I should bask in the glory of tradition or mourn the unseen poison that is being fed to the dying state economy.

This is not new. I believe you already knew the perverse consequences that Ningol Chackouba brings to our economy. But the impact on our social behaviour is equally appalling. If the present trend of gift-competition on Ningol Chackouba is anything to go by, the festival will breed social snobbery ultimately widening the gap between the haves and haves-not. The haves-not will try to catch up with the rich and ape their lifestyles, as such is our inborn trait unique to the Manipuris. But when all the means to be seen as an equal, if not richer are exhausted, the facade will be blown. Those who are forced to shed their pseudo rich image will then suffer deep depression and disorientation in spite of (or because of) ours being a mostly egalitarian society.

So why don’t we scale down on our Ningol Chackouba extravagance and do some soul searching? Isn’t it time to ask ourselves is the profligacy we show really justified? Is all the brouhaha about the whole festival worth the results? To me, it sounds utter stupidity and economically insensible behaviour to squander all your hard earned money down the drain just to impress others.

What is worse, by all the unhealthy and unwarranted practices on the Ningol Chackouba, the true spirit of the festival is being sacrificed at the altar of the craven consumerism. It is unfortunate that no body is complaining. And the few who has the sense to blow the whistle gets drowned in the voices of popular social trend. But what is popular is not always the right thing to do. As much as the way we are celebrating the Ningol Chackouba isn’t.

Ningol Chackouba is not only about the gifts that are given to the married daughters of the family by their brothers and the parents. The gifts are only a small part of the festival. Its true spirit is about cementing and renewing that bond of love amongst family members long separated by marriage and profession. It’s a time to get together, relive the happy past and catch up on each other. And if there is a real gift that should be exchanged it should be LOVE and not that Videocon washing machine, ..whatever.

May better sense prevail.