Pukning Pothasang : Can we have the Sangai festival daily?

Dr. Mona Nongmeikapam *

Inaugural Day of annual Manipur Sangai Festival at BOAT, Imphal on November 21 2018 :: Pix - Shankar Khangembam

Come the last week of November and the whole Imphal city comes alive with festivities, delicacies and all things fun. The city wears a bejewelled look at night, looking like a pretty bride in her fineries.

It is heartening to see the faces young and old alit with excitement and amazement over the various displays all over town or mull their heads in deep thought: “Where do I go next?”

Now my question is why only this one week or so in the month of November? Why don’t we Manipuris have more fun? Yes, fun. It is like the whole township is allergic to the word “Fun”.

A day at the zoo or the whole family playing a game of Badminton or maybe just having a meal at a favourite place!

Well, who has the time? A funny but accurate observation made by an uncle who recently visited home, everyone’s so busy doing nothing.....well, productive. On the water engine, off the water engine, no water- call for a tanker, electricity problems, uncollected garbage, the bandhs and curfews; add to this, the thousand and one occasions, the Poyeng and the different high maintenance costumes for every function and you have a ready mantra to be unproductively busy.

Nerves are high strung, stress level on the rise, parents don’t know what the kids are doing and the youngsters claim that nobody cares! Is that true? Hogwash! Every waking minute of every parent goes in planning how to make life better for their off-springs.

But how would the children know? They are so busy attending tuitions – tuitions for every subject, tuition for drawing, the extra-curricular, even possibly a different one to write every single letter! So do the parents miss them? Nope, they are so busy being busy you see.

This might get your attention. It has been scientifically proven that people who have more fun live psychologically and physically healthier lives. Fun and destressing helps the body rejuvenate and restore itself (the hormones, the enzymes, the cells and muscles, etc).

That’s probably how the term “taking a breather” came to be. So in between high octane work, you take a breather and give your mind and your body the much needed time to re-boot.

And then we have situations that are absolutely out of your control. Disturbing? Yes. Annoying? Yes. Distressing? Not necessarily. When things do not go your way, you do not unnecessarily trouble your BP, pulse or poor nerves. Instead, you just take a chill pill. So you don’t freeze the medicines but probably find something else to do, until the problem settles. Or think of an alternative. Albeit calmly.

And then you may raise the pertinent: “What life-changing solution is going to come out of going to the stinky zoo?” Well, try it. It just might. Spending time together with the family is vital. Zoo is just the excuse. You communicate, share stuffs, you can actually encounter several revelations at the trip rather than snoop around your teenager’s room.

Parents and family members say, “We had no clue” very often. Maybe there were clues but you were so busy just being busy that you missed something so vital. And then the regrets, we should have spent more time, we could have gone there, our grandmother always wanted to visit that place once more!

Let us not forget that we all are here on borrowed time and like all things borrowed, when we might have to return back depends on the mercy of the Lender (the maker). From a few hours’-old baby to an grandma in her 90s, we all have to go when our time comes. Why not have fun while we wait?

And fun without distractions! No help from our lovely Sekmai or her pretty cousins, no mobile gaming or social media (well, we can share our fun stories later).

So what do you buy this Sangai festival? A bagful of fun! And what do you eat? Fun, fun and more fun. 2 cups in the morning and 2 cups in the evening and some fun to munch in between!! This is just what the mind doc has prescribed this Sangai.