Perhaps the brighter diamond would be the one which has been a longer time under the grind of the polishing stone. Tales of hardships, struggle, patience and determination mark the success story of most (maybe all) women in Manipur today. In continuation of our spotlight on the pioneering women traffic control personnel of Manipur, today we present yet another success story.

Diligence, determination and hard work mark the career of Khumbongmayum ningol Yumkhaibam ongbi Tampha Devi. She was born at Singjamei Chingamakha as the eldest among nine siblings – six sisters and three brothers. Her father Khumbongmayum Budhi was a carpenter by trade and mother late Khumbongmayum ongbi Nupimacha a weaver.

She did her schooling at Chingamakha High School, passing out her matric from here. Then she went on to do her pre-university and graduation from Manipur College. As the eldest child in a lower income family, Tampha learnt to help out her parents from an early age.

She not only assisted her mother in the household chores, but also started weaving from an early age. She also gave tuitions to smaller children. The small amount of money she got from this paid for her education and also sometimes went towards buying foodstuffs and vegetables for the family kitchen.

Tampha was also a National Cadet Corps (NCC) during this time. However the distance from her house to the NCC campus at Thangmeiband hampered her participation. “We couldn’t afford to buy a cycle also. So I left the NCC after about a year,” she says.

In 1980 Tampha was selected as a woman constable and underwent a one-year police training at the Manipur Police Training Centre (MPTC) at Pangei in Imphal East district. After passing out she served in the Imphal Police Station for about ten years.

“Initially I wore the khaki uniform and served at the Imphal Thana. In 1990 I underwent another six months separate training and was re-assigned on traffic control duty,” she recalls.

In February, 1982, Tampha entered into holy matrimony with Yumkhaibam Gopal a Manipur Rifles havildar, now retired. They have three children – two sons and a daughter. They live in Singjamei Chanam Pukhri Mapal.

Tampha is the proud recipient of the Rajkumari Sanatombi award and Rotary Club award for her diligent work. “I have tried never to take any extra leave even in the most trying times,” she says.

But how has she managed to successfully fulfill the role of a working mother? “My children, especially the elder two, were born after very short intervals. I used to drive a cycle. I would make the elder one sit on the cycle carrier, and tie the other one on my front with a nahong and then drive down to my paternal house and leave them there. Then I would pedal furiously to reach my office in time,” she narrates.

“It was a hard and trying time, but since I had joined the service with such love and passion for the job, it was never too difficult for me,” she adds.

However womanhood brings its own share of problems, especially during times of pregnancy. “During one of my pregnancy I used to be unnaturally very tired. Once during duty, I fainted. However the good side is that it was the only time such things happened to me,” she says.

“It is very crucial that we remain calm at all times. This is part of our training. How else can we guide people to safety,” says Tampha, narrating how even during gunfights traffic personnel have to stay rooted to their duty spot.

“We are also humans; we also want to run for safety. But if we also run then there will be more casualties. So we control our fear and then tell the people which way to run for cover,” she adds.

To the drivers on the road, she advises, “Please go according to our signs. When one breaks the rule, others follow, and then there is chaos.”

The basic traffic rules are defined by an international treaty under the authority of the United Nations, the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. The Vienna Convention is designed to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety by standardising the uniform traffic rules among the contracting parties.

The most basic rule regarding this concept is which side of the road should be used for travel. About 34% of the world by country population drives on the left while 66 % keeps to the right, according to the Wikipedia encyclopedia.