Road from Hong Kong to Tammu
- Part 1 -

R.K. Shivachandra *

To begin with the title of this travelogue itself may sound to be sarcastic and of a little exaggerating sort. But it is not. A long journey indeed as one browses over the map and exactly the same thought came to me before I had traveled from Hong Kong down to Mandalay in Myanmar by land.

As it were, the journey from Hong Kong to Tammu is not that far if the road from Kolkata to Manipur can be consummated in a happy two nights drive- is what the common Manipuri psyche presumed. In the same spirit, a horrific Manipur driver equipped with an owl's eye can cover from China's border to Manipur in a day and half. Unbelievable yet it is true.

The journey from Hong Kong to Tammu by land route is quiet remarkable and this has imprinted down to my memory deeply and so far the best in my visits to different parts of the South East Asia. On the way one would feel the century old history of China by seeing its monuments; silent as sculpture always does yet it spoke volumes of Chinese legends.

China is considered to be a huge landscape where the people thin out only to experience the real wilderness. The journey also brought the flash back of its warlord Genghis Khan and Marco Polo who visited China in 13th Century. In Kunming and parts of Yunnan province, if you follow the mountain track, you would certainly feel the Marco Polo in yourself as if you are following their footsteps on the lofty height of the mountain that linked a short-cut to Silk Road, a road Yunanese still reckoned till date.

In olden days Kunming was considered merely a dust bin where political trouble makers were put to exile during the Cultural Revolution of China. The importance of the City was realized later only when the people in the exile refused offer for returning home to the eastern China, preferring to stay in the city because of its climate and more relaxed lifestyle.



Kunming has also recently been the centre of attention for many neighboring Asian Countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia for they have traced their ancestors back to Yunnan. They found enough proof that led to their ancestral root thereby willing to channel funds to this city of Eternal Spring. Thanks also should be anticipated to these countries for they didn't claim Yunnan as a part of their territory.

In the same vein, the Chinese elite section young and old alike came back to the old practice of worshipping of their ancestors and this wave spread like wild fire across the length and breadth of the country. As a result of it the foreign religion of Marxism has thoroughly discredited. It appeared that the concept of Philosopher Kong Zi otherwise Confucius of the 551 BC of China that professed "Society was something that can be improved if the individuals behaved properly" has gradually reoccupying its position in the Country.

We, Manipuris are also at the doldrums on the insistent query to our roots. Many sections opined that our roots belonged to somewhere in Yunnan range but nothing concrete came so far. I wish the people of Yunnan also follow the success story of their Israel counterpart in their quest of one of its lost tribes "Manasi' that they found in Manipur and Mizoram.



Later Israel made many Manipuris settled in Israel, allotting them huge plots of land. May be I was also one of the lost tribes of China who fled the country during the mass labor imposition while constructing the China wall. If this was the case and China proved me 'true blood' with their advanced pathological test, I would be more than happy to lead a group of people belonging to the same blood group to return to my Fatherland. I don't mind accompanying some Angamis, Tangkhul, Aos, Kabuis, and Kukis subject to their qualification in the test. This way I might be escaping the dreaded rule of Commandoes, free from the torturous Highway journey, free from everything. In the process, on one fine morning I, perhaps, may drive down to Tammu to greet HI... to my cousins in Manipur from the border fence.

But the song "Meitei Poirei Lamdamse Waatpa kouba leite Lao Chatlusi Lao, lao Yenglousi lao. Anakpagi Heirang leirang Meerairunu Laairabi Palemni Meeraige Khannu.... comes out to be a sweet song still.

The fourth largest Country in the world with an area of 9.6 million square kilometers, and 1.3 billion citizens, China today has grown all alone to its zenith in a rapid pace. Today the city and villages seemed sprawling endlessly into one another with its two hundred distinct ethnic minorities ranging from animist hill tribes to Buddhist than to the extent of Muslims.

In the modern context, China is proud of being the owner of more than 100 fly over bridges in a single city and not to be mistaken to the kind of our Bir Tikendrajit Fly over here. Shri Ibobi, not long ago has organized a big sign board hung atop the bridge that reads "Wel- Come to Tikendrajit Fly over" as if this was the bridge worth a name on it.



The Prince of Manipur, Tikendrajit who had a far sighted vision, so fast in his wisdom, however had mercilessly corroborated with the world's most belated dwarf 'fly over' down here in Manipur thus brought a shame to the national icon of Manipur. A 'wander-lust boy' Ibobi with an intelligent smile painted it blue concealing the pride note when he returned from Bangkok.

He must also have seen the criss-cross over bridges that ejected from Survanabhumi Airport, during his maiden visit to Bangkok last year. Chief Minister would not lose sight the skyline in Bangkok and people who were working on 80 storied building day in and day out. The foreign trip brought a lot of changes to Manipur.

The never completed sewerage project, dusty road and material heaps dragged up from the drainages and most important being that Chief Minister became maturer to understand that Manipur had to go a long long way in the developmental sectors. Anyway Bangkok is great for being an eye opener to our Chief Minister.

I wish the Chief Minister insists on more tours abroad in future too. What Ibobi missed badly had been to observe the value of "Human's Right", to study closely how the secured citizen in other countries lived a real life under the benevolent protection of the Government. If this importance could have been digested then at least many souls were suppose to continue to breathe the fresh air of Manipur till today.

Unfortunately the lease of life could not have been extended. Many bite the dust with tears in their eyes.Thier last wish was to plead "Emma you fed me up, taught me love, made me strong and showed me how the flower blooms in the spring. But I am sorry I am going ahead of you; forgive me I cannot repay your care and love".

But this was not allowed to plead for their mouth had been muffled by the hands of Death. They slept on the cold stretcher in solitary block of the morgue without anybody to be attended. Many wept but they could not see it. The killing rate in the present trend is simply miserable.

Back to our journey. The route we traveled was started from Kolkata-Dhaka-Hong Kong- Guangdong-Guangzhou-Kunming- Ruili-Hsipaw- Lashio- Mandalay-Yangon Thailand and Macau etc. From Mandalay we had been to Saigang Division in Myanmar that linked the road to Imphal. Except for few long flights, mostly from Hong Kong we insisted on land road journey.

Anecdote

The morning newspapers captioned a man lying in a pool of blood. Not far from the lifeless body a hand grenade was also seen. He got killed in an encounter as per the commando's version but the angry JAC formed against the killing has different side of the story. They stood firm, saying that the boy who got killed was an industrious carpenter. The day before, he left home with some 50 thousands Rupees for shopping of his sister's marriage.

The next day in one of my day dreams, some blood stained Indian currencies were deposited somewhere in a city's bank. The replica of Gandhiji printed on the currency appeared more colourful as he was bathed with the red blood. The lady clerk in the counter refused to accept for it was blood stained but the depositor in uniform was so aggressive and demanded in sing song "Who on earth ever told you blood stained notes are not accepted in banks". A submissive clerk nodded in acceptance.

to be continued....

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* R.K. Shivachandra, social worker based in Imphal, contributes regularly to e-pao.net. The writer can be reached at india_myanmar(at)yahoo(dot)com. This article was webcasted on March 14th, 2009.

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