Moreh and Yongchak
- Part 2 -

S Balakrishnan *

Yongchak - A local Delicacy for the Manipuris in the winter season :: Pix - Gyanand Naorem

What a hapless situation I was in! And all the e-mails sent to the five IDs culled out from the Tourism Dept. website yielded 'silent' response, with one even bouncing. Fed up, I sent another anxious mail, a slightly harsh one.

A kind soul by the name Rachel N. Guite responded, whom I caught hold in my vicious grip for further clarifications and he (or is it she?) also replied patiently; else I would have become a BP & heart patient! Thanks to Rachel N. Guite, my LTC bill was settled without much fuss.

And I promptly sent a 'thank u' e-mail, attaching, as is my bad habit, a few of my articles published about our Manipur trip that had appeared in The Sangai Express. (S) He must be cursing him/herself for this self-inflicted pain! I think governments survive because of such rare specimens.

Well, am I one of them? I am jolly well retired and need not put myself to such agni pariksha (fire test)! Past is past and the future is bright as a retired govt. staff!

On the other hand, the tourism operator, Seven Sisters, promptly replied pointing out that they are an approved and regd. agency and these details are pretty well available in their website and all their e-mails sent to me. How stupid of me not to have noticed them? I sent a fumbling thank you mail.

Back in Moreh, Manipur, from Tamu in Myanmar, we visited the famous Moreh market which is described as a shopping paradise. Somehow we were not impressed about this market as it contained only (cheap, China) electronic goods and other daily domestic goods, but nothing culturally enticing / enriching like traditional handicrafts, art, etc., of neither Manipur nor Myanmar.

It was totally disappointing for us but for a black square piece of washing soap with Myanmar inscription on it! Just for 10 rupees! I saw many Nepali shopkeepers but I did not dare test my Nepali skill picked up during my Sikkim days of 1983-88. Poor souls, why should I harass them! The only happy result was we could exchange INR for Kyat currency notes, a beautiful addition to my numismatic collection.

Can one avoid bumping on Tamil people in Moreh? No chance at all. Right at the place where we parked our Innova, we met a Tamil family. The lady of the house said they have been living there for more than 40 years after being driven out of Burma. Their daughter, who was married and settled in Maduravoyal in Chennai, had also come down there for summer vacation. They wished we had come two days ahead to participate in the 49th annual fire walking festival of the local Sakthi Temple, Shree Angala Parameswari, and Shree Muneeswaran Temple.

It was a ten day festival that ended just on 23rd March, announced a flex banner. Due to shortage of time we could not visit the temple. Another factor was the intense heat. I was also worried about their fate if ILPS was to be implemented - would they be considered as local people, like the Nepalis? I would have loved to probe this and other issues with the Tamils there but shortage of time and the blazing sun prevented me from exploring further. It turned out to be a cursory visit, just a photo shoot opportunity, and I regret it.

Despite the Tamil population there, we could not find any South Indian restaurant; so we settled for Myanmar menu with rice, curry, and unknown & queer vegetable dishes. The intense heat forced us to go in search of coconut water or lassi, though a while ago only we had sugarcane juice which was so refreshing. At last we found a lassi shop but our daughter wondered aloud about the hygienic condition there; to our shock, the Bihari shopkeeper commented back in Tamil that everything was maintained neat & clean and not to worry. We were taken aback by his chaste Tamil! He continued in Tamil that many people in Moreh knew good Tamil. That was a lesson for us - never make disparaging comments openly in any language!

At Moreh point also we just walked over to Myanmar side where there was a street side market selling unique vegetables, fruits and fish varieties. One cannot go wandering beyond a point. The funny restriction there is that you cannot use camera but can use mobile camera! I just do not understand the logic behind this restriction! We had a peep into the lifestyle of Myanmar people - men and women wearing sarong (lungi) which was also on sale in multicolored floral and checked designs, respectively for women & men, food, market, the fair sex applying sandal paste on the face to escape sunburn, etc.

It was bad luck for me as my camera memory card was almost full because of the mesmerizing Dol Jathra celebration yesterday. I had to be very, very selective and was nudging my daughter to keep clicking all and sundry with her mobile camera. Our search operation for a spare memory card did not yield any result even in the shoppers' paradise. Com- pared to Tamu, a neat town, Moreh presented a shabby look; both the places had plenty of old wooden buildings, but in Moreh, again, they looked unkempt and tottery. I suppose it could be due to the long period of military rule that had instilled a sense of discipline and order across the border.

Part III - Return from Moreh

On our return journey to Imphal - we were told we had to reach before dusk for safety reasons - we forced Krishna to stop awhile to enjoy the beauty of the charming Naga villages in the green slopes and valleys of Chandel. With churches dotting the villages that had sparse and neat dwell- ings, it was a picture of a Western countryside. A perfect and lovely picture-postcard scenario! Sigh! Wish we had had the time to go down and explore the Naga way of life there. But we had to get back to Imphal before darkness fell; we had been advised so for security reasons, though we found it to be of unwanted fears.

Tenugopal is described as the highest point in Manipur and the tourism folder warns you that it is as cold as Ooty of Tamil Nadu (which has Doddabetta, the highest point in the whole of South India). I think times have changed and we found it to be as warm or hot as Moreh or Imphal. For security reasons, the highest point is occupied by an army camp; so what is the fun for tourists if we can't have a bird's eye view of the surrounding hills and valleys from Tengnoupal point? On the wayside we worshipped at a little temple of Sanamahism.

In a far off hill slope we noticed forest fire eating the green cover. We could not guess if it was for preparation of jhum cultivation or a controlled burning? Anyhow, we could clearly see the flames dancing to the tune of blowing wind. We also noticed lot of pink & purple cherry trees in blossom on the hill slopes. We wondered what a beautiful sight it would be during the peak cherry season! Probably the Tour- ism sector could organize a cherry festival during that season, as they do in Japan and Korea.

It was sheer luck that we could stop by a Sanamahism Temple in Thoubal District and watch the Yaoshang commu- nity worship, celebration and dance. But for our travel-weary condition, we would have loved to stay and watch it for longer. It indeed gave us a rare opportunity to watch a slice of Sanamahism culture.

A little ahead was Khongjom War Memorial. As renova- tion work was going on at the Memorial for the forthcoming annual celebration day, we could only click the entrance arch.

It was here that Major General Paona Brajabashi, one of the great warriors of Manipur, proved his valor against the superior might of the invading British Army in 1891. The hillock at the foot of which he laid down his life in defence of his motherland is reminiscent of the past heroic deeds of Manipuri warriors. A war memorial has been constructed on the top of Kheba hill; Khongjom day is celebrated every year on 23rd April. The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukehrjee, was the chief guest at this year's event which was boycotted in view of Inner Line Permit row.

concluded