Revised English version of Cheitharol Kumbaba released
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, August 08 2025: Revised edition of English version of 'Cheitharol Kumbaba', also known as the royal chronicle of Manipur translated from Meetei script by Nepram Bihari, was released on Friday.

The book release function held at the Sagolband Nepra Menjor Leikai residence of author Bihari was attended by senior journalist Pradip Phanjoubam, Mutua Museum director Mutua Bahadur, Sahitya Akademi awardee Arambam Memchoubi, advocate Khaidem Mani, ex-minister I Hemochandra and assistant professor Arambam Noni of DM College of Arts, DMU.

Regarding the revised English edition of Cheitharol Kumbaba, Bihari's daughter Binalaxmi Nepram said her father studied ancient Meetei script after retirement from service and translated it into English culminating with release of the revised edition on Friday.

According to Binalaxmi, while the ongoing conflict since May 3, 2023 has seen the use of sophisticated weapons by both sides, there has also been an online war between the two.

The online war not only tarnished the image of Manipur but also had conflicting versions on the history of the land with many instances of distorting Manipur's history.

The beauty of Manipur in the fields like sports, culture and women movement was misinterpreted by the conflict, she said.

Noting that the ongoing crisis is projecting Manipur to the global people in wrong and poor light, Binalaxmi maintained that to rectify misrepresentation of Manipur, which has written history of more than 2,000 years, she and her father strongly felt the need for producing the book to keep intact true history of the land.

While expressing hope that the revised edition of Cheitharol Kumbaba will be able to present true history of Manipur to readers, Binalaxmi Nepram mentioned that the world's largest library, the Library of Congress, has acquired the book and is working on keeping the book in libraries across India and other libraries worldwide.

Comment