Troubled Homeland: "Angst for homeland" in Tattooed With Taboos
- Part 2 -

Dr. Ph. Jayalaxmi *

Book cover of Tattooed with Taboos

The poems in the collection "Angst for Homeland" have their genesis on the disconcerted moment and the discomfiture of the common people. Their poems accentuate the lamentation of the fractured memory that they have found in the present streets which are cracked with the ruined past. Chaoba Phuritshabam in the poem 'Freedom' laments the loss of freedom of life or the right to existence.

She questions the intimidating life which the Manipuris are living under the aegis of the powerful people with guns. With the use of imagery of Thangal General who was a historical figure in the history of Manipur, she laments the fact that she does not have the competence and dexterity of the great general who fought against the British in the freedom struggle of Manipur. She avers that:
In an empty room
In the midst of darkness
I seek the meaning of freedom
I cannot rule with guns in my hands
Nor can I defend with an army
Nor did I learn
The way Thangal General diffused the bomb
With a sway of his sword.
[Chaoba and inter alia, 59]

She also evokes another historical figure like that of the valiant Bir Tikendrajit who also became an admirable figure fighting against the British. She gets frightened to live in a place where there is no freedom and even more threatening is that she does not have the courage to fight and stand against the people with guns. She fears the inevitable death which this gun culture would bring.

Remembering the glorious past she remembers Paona, another historical figure, who she believes will infuse her the courage to fight against the excruciating circumstance where she has been landed. She laments that as none of them is alive the future generation is engulfed in darkness where everything has lost its meaning.

The poet could hear the sound of incessant guns in the distant hills and valleys. Pondering over the disordered condition, she inquires, 'Whose freedom are we seeking?' [Ibid., 59]. She further questions whether we are fighting to seek freedom for Shiroy Lilies in the hills which are the national flower or for the Nong-een (the national bird) or for the Taamna that sings in the hills.

The metaphors of the flora and fauna have been employed to show the degrading nature due to the violence. The violence/gun culture has marred the forest and the hills which are the dwelling places for these precious flora and fauna have been leaving their habitats due to the encroachment by the men.

Therefore, she states: Tamna that sings in the hills
Left the nest in fear of invasion
Tracing its path through its gentle voice
Shiroy in the hills no longer blooms
In fear of being plucked before time
Indeed it must have asked in spite of being mute
'Where is our freedom?'
[Ibid., 60]

She talks about the futile revolution which brings only harms and destructions to the bountiful nature. Thereby referring to the Loktak, the only fresh water lake in the nation, which has been the habitation of many birds, animals, and people, the poet says that due to the violence which has been brought by insurgency and counter-insurgency many inhabitants have fled.

She says, "In the rhythm of ripples above Loktak/ Flight of swans no longer sways in dance/Exiled from this Meitrabak of Poirel" [Ibid.]. Consequently, not only the innocent lives have been lost but also the beauty of natural world is irreclaimable. The exile of the inhabitants allegorizes the fleeing of the common inhabitants who left their heavenly abode due to the torturous life brought forth by the violence.

Man-nature relationship is a holistic process and the disequilibrium will crumble the man-nature relationship. David Pepper conceives that alienation from nature means a failure to conceive of nature as a social creation. He furthers emphasizes that for the deep ecologists overcoming alienation means asserting the naturalness of humans by living in harmony with environment… for nature is the source of worth and it will be endangered unless we follow its rules [David Pepper, 1993: 114-115]. The poet has questioned the very motive of the freedom struggle that endangered many lives.

In her other poem 'Operation Summer Storm', the poet has revisited or remembered the unfortunate day that happened on the day of Cheiraoba. The State forces launched the Operation Summer Storm on April 10, 2009 to combat the insurgent groups. The poet explores the disillusioned life of common people by alluding to that unfaithful day when many innocent lives and home were lost due to the heinous nature of the armed forces. The State forces in order to control the armed resistant group launched the apathetic flush out operation and the attack on the 'phumdies' or floating grass which are also the home to many people.

Without considering that many people would become homeless the State forces had in an undignified way turned to the worst form of violence and at the same time they also backed out to own the deeds by saying that no collateral damage had been done to the people. The Loktak that is the world's only floating National Park - the Keibul Lamjao, and also the habitat of the Sangai becomes a battlefield.

The poet unfolds the pitiable condition of a wretched mother who questions the meaning of living on this earth. The imageries of a hungry child and a dead husband on the floor have deepened the living condition of the common people who have to live from hand to mouth. The poet vividly pictures the prying eyes of the dead husband which breaks the illusion of a utopian life:
The tired corpse of my husband
Lay on the cold muddy floor
As he hides his pain and anguish
Over nothingness,
His eyes red and wild,
Stared and laughed at me
Mocking at my illusions of a yet to visit miracle
………..
Silence was broken again with the cry of my child.
[Chaoba and inter alia, Opcit., 63]

It shows how such gruesome practice has affected the life of the common civilians who have been depending on the fishing as a source of their livelihood. This counter insurgency operation has displaced many people. The aftermath of this operation has left many without home and food. It only leaves a bleak future with endless questions without any answer from the people responsible for such mass destruction. She not only questions the sense of belongingness but also expresses her disappointment on the exploitation of bountiful nature due to the conflict.

In her poem, she has brought forth the wretched condition of Manipur that is incapacitated by terror. Furthermore, she talks about how people are searching for the safe haven thereby migrating from their homeland. The serene home is replaced by terror, fear, and gun.

In the poem 'Between Two Flags', the poet addresses the fractured loyalty due to her allegiance to two flags one with chakra i.e. the Indian flag and other with shakok (the head of an animal) which is the symbol of valour of the Meetei people. Her sense of belongingness is aligned to both the flags. She is baffled by this entrapment which demand her loyalties which she says, 'Beloved, both/ One, borne/ One, nurtured' [Ibid., 57].

She says,
Mislaid at the warfield
Between two flags
I asked all
Who do I belong to?
Frequent, my thought
Can I belong to both?
…………….
The shakok embellished flag
Chasing me
With a sword
Stating a stranger, I am
Between two flags
Scrambling me
She is mine
She is mine
They said.
……….
I, adrift
Between two flags
Between these two flags.
[Ibid., 57-58]

Shreema Ningombam - Read Poem written by Shreema Ningombam here
Soibam Haripriya - Read Poem written by Soibam Haripriya here
Chaoba Phuritshabam - Read Poem written by Chaoba Phuritshabam here


(To be continued) ...