Shanti Thokchom's Life Experiences
- Part 27 -
India Fest Utsav at Tulsa, Oklahoma

By Shanti Thokchom *

The India fest Utsav was held on 13th Sept '08, at Expo Square, Central Park Hall, Tulsa, Oklahoma. We are very proud to announce that we made a very successful debut and a pretty good impression on people at this event.

Our booth was at the entrance and many were fascinated by the colorful shawls, costumes on display. We kept information booklets on tourism handy for anyone who wanted it and a globe to show the location of Manipur.

I also downloaded information print-outs for the visitors. We had a big "Ras Leela" poster at the entrance which kept people enthralled by the sheer uniqueness of everything!!

We had some emporium stuffs on the display table e.g. Khamba Thoibi dolls, Thang-Ta, Handicrafts, etc.. the picture postcard of Thang-ta with the participants jumping up in the air were quite popular with kids and adults alike...

We had beads for kids to make bracelets and it was a good story telling time for us about our land....We told them about Siroi lily. Loktak lake, Sangai, Horse polo, Sagol Kanjei Manipuri and Naga dances and different tribes....!!

The main program had a fashion show of different states and we had to show some Manipuri dance steps as we walked on the stage. It was scary for me as I have never done that before but I gathered all my strength and did it as I got emboldened by the thought of the very good chance to showcase our motherland to the public who never knew its existence until then!!

We had just a handful of willing volunteers for our booth but we all made it work good !! I thank all of them ......viz.., Victoria Oinam, Khaigin Haokip, Momon Haokip and her husband Alex Ramirez, David P and the 3 sweet kids Deborah and Grace Touthang and also their mom Chingboi Touthang for all those traditional kuki costumes she provided for the display and also little Raj...for their great help in making it a big success despite all our hectic and busy schedules !!

My greatest appreciation goes to Victoria for bringing all the emporium stuffs from Imphal for the display without which it would have been impossible to showcase anything!! She had to sacrifice a lot to bring the stuffs!!

That was a real big help for us !! She helped me set up the booth. My sincerest thanks goes to Mano Haobam for getting all those beautiful downloaded posters printed out!!

It added all the color and the needed excitement to all the visitors as we were able to point to the picture while we answered their questions !!

Manipur proudly on display at the Expo

Thanks also to my very good young friend Jerina from Ohio for sending the Meitei Phee Phanek for me to wear !! The fabric of the "Phee " caused quite a stir among some female American visitors all wanting to know about the "Phee".

They wanted to know how it was woven, what material it was and why and how it was worn... etc.. I was really proud and excited to tell them about the different and diverse tribes of Manipur!!

They showed a very keen interest and curiousity in the "Meetei Mayek" which I had it on a poster board for their viewing.There were kids who were accompanied by grand parents they all had fun trying to read them and pronounce correctly!!!

I cant help beaming even right now thinking of all those moments when the name "Manipur " was called to come out on stage with the "Vande Mataram" music in the back ground.

This event added another feather on the hat of the Indian Association of Greater Tulsa as they got so many rave reviews for getting Manipur booth represented for the 1st time in Tulsa!! The president of this association Manju Kaul was a real big help with her guidance and peptalk about how to go about it!! I am really thankful to her for her valuable help!!

The other booths had hi-tech stuffs to go along with their display but ours was the most colorful !! We can do much better next time with more interactivity for visitors and may be have a quiz contest on our state with prizes to win or simply pose for photos in Manipuri costumes !!

We had people who knew about the Manipuri dance, asking us if we are to perform any such. They were disappointed to know that we were not.

But I am seriously thinking why not request to have the Manipuri Dance Troupe of Guru Naba Singha of Frederick, Maryland perform here for next year's event!! I am sure he will not refuse to do so if we request and can cover the expenses!!

Would it be too much to ask all of you to help out for this to really take place? I am all for it and I welcome any ideas/suggestions to raise funds for this dance troupe to perform here!!

I may be criticised but I am genuinely interested to request them for their performance here because I want more people to know about Manipur!! It would be good exposure for his dance troupe and also a very good way to popularise it too here.

I know many of our mainland Indians here love dance and music.. It would be a very good entertainment too for all the visitors and the Indian residents here. They were very surprised but nevertheless very happy and excited to see Manipur booth at this year's event!!

Many of them came to visit and ask many questions about the different colors of the fabrics or just simply take pictures or pose at the booth!! We have never felt so proud so much as at that time to be able to do something like this to make people aware of our state's existence!!

It was well worth all the efforts, money and all the drawbacks I faced in trying to get things set-up!! I just wanted to share with all of you the joys of having had our booth making an impression on people from here and there!!!



More stories later ...... to be continued ...!!

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* Shanti Thokchom, a resident of Tulsa, Oklohoma, contributes regularly to e-pao.net . She can be reached at sthok65(at)hotmail(dot)com . This article was webcasted on September 26, 2008.

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