A Kanglei life
- Part 1 -

By Nameirakpam Bobo Meitei *

Below The Slightly Shaded Moon, Showering Enough Light To Illuminate The Place, The Sprawling Grass-Covered Playing Field Was Dotted With Groups Of People Huddling Around The Smoldering Fires.

The Massive Shadows Of The Trees Around The Field Appeared To Have Claimed The Edge Of The Field, Soon The Moon Which Had Been Struggling To Tear Through The Clouds Now Had Succeeded And The Whole Place Was Bathed In Its Light.

After The Fires Had Finally Died Out Below The Advancing Ashes The Dots Which Had Dotted The Field Rose As Moving Figures And The Audible Talks Were Released. It Was Time For Punshi And His Friends To Go Home.

And It Was Only Eight O'clock, But The Length Of Nights In This Part Of The World Always Advanced With The Frequent Absence Of Electricity, Earning An Expression Such As ' That Power That Goes Off Before It Has Arrived.' But The Inhabitants Of The Land Resisted The Eternal Seeming Darkness With Kerosene Lamps And Cheap Candle Sticks.

While His Steps Advanced Upon The Potholed Village Road, Which Was Last Repaired Few Decades Ago, He Wasn't Alone, Nor Did He Feel Alone As He Had His Large Shadow Beside Him Created By The Rich Moonlight Which Had Showered Through The Mist.

When He Had Arrived At The Beginning Of The Lane Leading Toward His House He Stopped His Reliance Upon His Eyesight As The Lane Ran Between Clumps Of Tall Bamboos And Enormous Banana Trees, Completely Blocking Out Any Influence Of The Showering Moon.

While He Continued His Steps Upon The Lane He Relied On His Imagination, He Could Clearly Tell Which Slippery Parts He Should Dodge. At The Bamboo Gate He Was Greeted By Jackie, Who Had Been Running Up And Down. He Jumped Up And Placed His Paws Against His Young Master's Chest And Abruptly Took Them Down And Ran About Indicating The Mood To Play.

The Hurricane Lantern In The Porch Gave Out Yellowish Light While Casting Large Shadows Of The Wooden Stools And The Wicker Chair, Where His Father Always Sat. Jackie Ran Up And Stood Near The Lantern ,His Shadow Against The Whitewashed Wall, It Moved And Halted When He Lay Down On The Ground, His Jaw On The Stretched Out Paws.

In The Living Room His Father Sat In A Wicker Chair Filled With Thinned Cushions. One Side Of His Old Unshaven Face Was Exposed By The Flickering Candlelight, His Shadow Cast Against The Wall, And What Was Below The Shadow Was A Four-Poster Bed.

On The Old Portable Philips TV Facing The Old And Unshaven Face Was The Flickering Candle. He Had Been Laid Up After The Second Stroke Ten Years Ago.

Only His Half-Paralyzed Mouth Could Produce Some Incoherent Noises Which Were Understood By Punshi And His Mother. His Father's Incoherent Verbal Emission Broke And Flew Across The Room. He Was Mad That Punshi Had Come Home Late Again.

But Punshi Stooped His Head And Ignored It And He Went Straight In To The Kitchen Where His Mother Was Busy Cooking. Shadows Of Different Objects Were Cast Against The Kitchen Walls, Generated By The Kerosene Lamp Producing Enough Yellowish Light To Illuminate The Room And Enough Soot To Taint The Corrugated Iron Roof.

Sensing The Entering Figure She Broke The Silence In Her Soft Voice ' Donny's Son Was Here In The Afternoon. He Said The Neighbouring Village Was Swarmed By Commandos And Indian Army. They Picked Up Few Men And Many Were Left After Having Beaten Up Badly. Your Father Has Been Quite Hysterical.'

He Replied 'Mother, If You Stayed Home Each Time They Came Down To Your Village, Then We All Would Have To Be Home Every Day. I Heard About Those Picked-Up People. Few Of Them Were Taken To The Field And Shot Dead. If They Got You, You Are Dead.' Let's Not Talk About It! Talk About Something. Tomorrow You Have To Clear Up The Area Around The Gate To Plant Some Eggplants. I Got The Seedlings.' She Said.

He Responded ' Mother, It's Extremely Cold In The Morning. Can We Not Wait Till Afternoon To Do It? I Promise I'll Do It.' His Eyes Were Transferred To The Pot On The Stove Boiling Vegetables Soup And He Resumed ' I'm Starving Mother. Can I Start Wiping The Plates?' To This His Mother Nodded And She Spoke ' Get The Boiled Water From The Filter. We Need To Boil More Water After The Dinner. I'll Do That But You Have To Wait Till It's Boiled And Make Sure You Put The Fire Out.'

She Stopped And Cast Her Eyes At Her Son And Asked ' Agreed?' 'Ok. I'm Hungry Now.' He Cried Out. After Dinner His Father Rose Up From The Chair With Support From His Son And He Made It To The Bed Which Had Been Concealed By His Own Shadow.

The Mosquito Net, To Ward Off Some Cold, Was Pulled Down And His Half-Paralyzed Body Was Wrapped In Patch-Covered Blanket And He Made No More Sound. The Flickering Candle Was Blown Out And It Was Replaced By The Kerosene Lamp From The Kitchen And In The Porch The Hurricane Lantern Remained Where It Had Been For Jackie Hadn\'t Finished His Food.

After The Food Jackie Had Gone To His Square-Shaped Straw Mattress To Seek Comfort And Court Slumber. The Silence Hung In The Air Thick, Those Who Were Chirping Flamboyantly In The Afternoon Had Gone To Their Shelters, No Sound Of Crickets, All That Punshi Heard When He When He Slipped In Between The Thick Blanket And Straw Mattress Below Reddish Home-Woven Sheet Was The Noise Generated By The Sprinkling Of Drops By The Overarching Bamboos In The Areas Around The House.

He Knew The Final Exams This Time Would Determine His Future. He Felt Obliged To Give His Best So That He Could Get Into Either The Army Academy Or A Medical College Or An Engineering School.

Each Time He Began His Serious Studies It Dawned Upon Him That He Couldn't Do So Since All The Educational Establishments In The Entire State Had Been Shut Down For Months Owing To State-Wide Protests By The Student Organizations After Few Of Their Leaders Had Gone Missing.

To be continued.....

Nameirakpam Bobo Meitei

* Nameirakpam Bobo Meitei, a resident of Bangkok, contributes to e-pao.net regularly.
The writer can be contacted at bobomeitei(at)hotmail(dot)com
This article was webcasted on November 29 2010.