Ningol chakkouba greeting from Ningols in Manipur 2011
Celebrating the bond of love

Huieyen Lanpao *

Ningol Chakouba celebration at Delhi held on 7th Nov 2010 - The feast was organized by "The NE sports & Arts" with "Khonthaang Delhi".

Today is Ningol Chakkouba. The day Ningols - daughters of the family married or unmarried, eagerly look forward to. The day they will be feted, feasted, the day when every wish of theirs is command of the brothers and the parents.

It is a festival which celebrates the unbreakable bond of love between brothers and sisters; a festival which symbolizes and reinforces the the care and affection of the parents for their daughters.

It is the day of nostalgia, of a walk down memory lane - of the fights one had as young siblings, of laughter shared, of time spent playing, of pranks played on one another.

Every brother also look forward to this day, they strain every muscle, every paise to make the day worth a while for their sisters.

As with everything else, the changing time has also left its imprint on Ningol Chakkouba festival.

It too has fallen victim to the commercialization of values, of relationships, where your feelings, your love needs to be translated into something tangible, something material - the more its physical value, the deeper your love. There is an increasing trend of this beautiful, solemn festival turning into a mad race for Dakshinas or gifts.

On this Ningol Chakkouba day, what does our ningols feel, what are their thoughts?

We are carrying below excerpts of messages from ningols of the state in different walks of life.

Soma, film actress

"Ningol Chakkouba is a very significant festival whose relevance would never diminish. It is not the gifts presented by the brothers to the sisters but the bond between brothers and sisters which is more important. So, as a Ningol, I would like to welcome this festival whole-heartedly".

"It has been almost 15 years since I have been to my grand-mother's place for the Ningol Chakkhouba. But this time, I would be going. So, I would like to appeal to all the Ningols to be a part of the festival and strengthen the bond of unity and love''.

"Since childhood, I have always tagged along my mother to her maternal place for the Ningol Chakkouba, and this year would be no different. Over the years, I felt that the joy associated with the festival is waning away slowly with competition over Dakshina taking over the true essence of celebrating Ningol Chakkouba. This makes me sad",

Be happy for everyone in the Ningol Chakkouba celebration and Your Ningol's (woman) power is the power to be more aware, more loving, courageous, patient, forgiving, helpful and generously contribute to social issue and be a greater, competent and perfect woman in the Universe.

"For me, this year's Ningol Chakkouba is very important. Because I will be participating in the celebration of the festival at home for the last time as a Chanu Ningol. On the current trend of celebrating Ningol Chakkouba, I like to tell all the Ningols that Dakshina is just gift and there should be no demand over gift.

"Being myself a Ningol, I feel good that Ningol Chakkouba has come and I feel every Ningol would be feeling the same. It is also an important festival that carries the message of unity and love. I will be celebrating the festival along with my family members''.

Wishing a happy and prosperous "Ningol Chakkouba". Let us celebrate this festival from within our eternal soul. Let us not make this beatiful festival a boundary between poor and rich. Let us not join to the`race of the "Dakshina" which can lead to deterioration in the value of the festival. Let us honour the eternal under lying beautiful meaning of the festival but not the external luster.

"Ningol Chakkouba" come and go, but this year let us pray together for a peaceful Society with communal harmony and integrity and no Economic Blockade. Again on the occasion of the festival, I wish the spirit of brotherhood to shine in the heart of all Manipuries as sporting spirit shine in the heart of the players.

To me Ningol Chakkouba is a beautiful tradition which cements the social fabric of Meitei society, this is an instance when strained filial relations could be repaired.But what worries me the most is the superficiality that is creeping in, it can dilute and will make a mockery of this cherished tradition. We as ningols need to imbibe the value of this tradition to our next generation.

Wishing a very happy ''Ningol Chakkouba'' to all the womenfolks of Manipur.

Sad feelings on the ningol chakkouba of 2011
Does the present Ningol chakkouba keep up the past tradition to be proud of for the Meetei community of Manipur? This question is to be taken very seriously at this moment when we have been entangled by insoluble and various self-interests.

The blind march of the present Ningol Chakkouba towards a materialistic extravaganza of the rich has spread its infectious tentacles and spit its venoms into all the strata of the society in Manipur. The wild fitful spree of the construction works around Imphal city and in the small towns of other districts has been inseparably mixed with this march. The mixture is a nightmarish salad of the dead that rot and emit an unbearably stinking smell.

Our people are too complacent; they are still blind to the realities. Time is not far off when we will be extinct on this beautiful planet.

It is lamentable because the pure passion of the Ningol Chakkouba and the innocent beauty of Manipur's Nature of the past are no more.