Bishnupriya Manipuri Online

By Ranita Sinha, Kolkata One day on an usual visit to a Bishnupriya Manipuri house, my eyes fell on a book. A small thin white coloured book with the title- “ From Bilbari to Paris - Professional Biography of an IITian”. The book is written by Upasana Sinha. Amidst curiosity I picked up the book and started reading it. It was about Sri Amar Sinha, a Bishnupriya Manipuri IITian in the 50's. I got so thrilled after reading the book that i thought of sharing what ever little I can with all of you. As I believe, like me most of us are not aware of this jewel of our community. We all know what Indian Institute Technology is all about, and what the status it carries in India and abroad. But before writing about Sri Amar Sinha, I would like to write a few lines about Smt. Upasana Sinha, the author. Upasana Sinha, wife of Sri Deepak Sinha and eldest daughter-in-law of Sri Dilip Sinha and Smt. Promila Sinha of Kailashar, Tripura is a faculty in the Department of Chemistry, Nagaland Universi...

By Ranita Sinha, Kolkata One fine winter afternoon in Ballygunge , Kolkata , two years back, at around 2 o’ clock, me and my daughter were returning after seeing a doctor. We were walking along the footpath to go to the bus stop. My daughter was insisting for a packet of potato chips. Since she was not well, I, promised her to provide her one the next day. But she was adamant to had one. At that time I saw a rag picker passing us. I all of a sudden told my daughter in Bishnupriya Manipuri language: “ archa bosta alla go, chips khaeile doriya niya jitoiga ”( look a rag picker, if you have chips he will take you along with him). Though my daughter cannot speak our language but she understands it very well. So, those words were enough to stop her. The rag picker was of medium height of age around 35-40 years. His complexion was whitish yet he looked dark because of dart all over him. He wore a torn out black and white stripped trouser and a brown sweater and torn out canvas shoe put by de...

I failed to stop myself jotting down my instant feelings when my eyes saw the first uploaded videos of Bishnupriya Manipuri in the Google’s You Tube . I was happy literally like a child. Like the Bishnupriya Manipuri Language page in the Wikipedia.org , presence of our community in this Broadcast Yourself site is of great importance. Now we are not only available in the internet in the form of text but in the form of vedios. Those who are interested in our community, can now have the options to understand the Bishnupriya Manipuri community much better and in much better medium. It will definitely give a new insight in the understanding of the community. The credit of uploading the first Bishnupriya Manipuri vedios in the You Tube goes to Mr. Uttam Singha. I don’t know about others how they are taking the news, but in personal front I am feeling proud of him. Speaking the truth, it was in my mind to upload something related to Bishnupriya Manipuri in the You Tube. But anyway I am feeli...

By Ranita Sinha, Kolkata, India Khuttei (towel) can rightly be denoted as the trademark of a Bishnupriya Manipuri. It is an inseparable part of a Bishnupriya Manipuri house. It has a distinctive feature of its own. The texture of a Bishnupriya Manipuri house is not complete without a khuttei put in the courtyard to dry in the sun. Khutteis are mainly used by the male members of the Bishnupriya Manipuri family to wrap around as a dhoti or lungi at home. It is also used by the male and female lot to dry their body and hair. It is very convenient to use as it is very light and does not take time to dry. Khutteis in earlier days were weaved at every Bishnupriya Manipuri house by the female members for their own use. At present, as khutteis are available in the market; many houses have stopped weaving at home and soon this custom of weaving khutteis is loosing its popularity. But for many it has become the source of income. As our khutteis are convenient to use, it is in demand not...

WORD OF THE DAY: boisterous - wild and noisy The dressing room atmosphere became boisterous with the arrival of the team manager. WRONG TO CORRECT : WRONG : I don't understand how she could treat him so bad. CORRECT : I don't understand how she could treat him so badly. GRAMMAR : When we want to say “how”, we normally use an adverb. Most adverbs end in “ly”.

By Ranita Sinha, Kolkata Sri Kunjo Singha Sri Kunjo Singha, one of the renowned names in the field of Bishnupriya Manipuri dance, is one of the most dazzling and talented disciple of Guru Bipin Singh. He is a very renowned teacher of Manipuri dance and drum dancing, and has reached the peaks and heights of it. Born on 31st Dec 1951, Kunjo Singha was the youngest amongst five siblings - one sister and four brothers. As he lost his father Late Shri Sangam Singha and mother Late Smt. Tambi Devi at an early age, he could not continue his studies and thought of mastering in the art of Lathi Khela. But Pandit Vijay Mukherjee ( Rashdari) asked Sri Kunjo Singha to get training of Manipuri Dance and thus he started his initial training from Pandit Vijay Mukherjee. Once Guru Bipin Singh, on one of his usual visit to his village (Singari) asked Shri Bangshi Singha ( Dakula ) to arrange a Bishnupriya Manipuri boy to accompany him to Manipur, who would help him in his daily chores...

By Ranita Sinha, Kolkata Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Thakur, the great saint of the Bishnupriya Manipuri Community was born on 26th October, 1871, in a remote village of Cachar district called Baropua in the state of Assam. He was born to a Xatriya Manipuri family. His father Sri Sanatan Pandit was a Sanskrit teacher and mother Srimati Malati Devi, a house wife. Sadhu Baba from his childhood was indifferent to all worldly happenings. He was engrossed in chanting the name of Lord Krishna. Along with other students of his age, Sadhu Baba started taking lessons of grammar and other spiritual literature from his father. At a very young age he lost his mother but he was brought up with utmost love and care by his step mother. At the age of eighteen, Sadhu baba lost his father, so, to continue his spiritual education under the guidance of Rajpandit Mineshwas Swarbabhwam Bhattacherjee, he went to Tripura. But within one year he made up his mind to visit all the holy places and as such he took permis...

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Zee TV's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, the musical extravaganza show, is in the final leg of its Hero Honda Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007 edition. Three contestants - Aneek Dhar, Amanat Ali, and Raja Hasan are in the fray to capture the title. Music lovers as well as the participants knows the cult status the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa carry. Unlike the Indian Idol , Sa Re Ga Ma the oldest musical show in the Indian satellte television, has produced singers of highest talent and capability. Avdhoot Guptey , Shreya Ghoshal , Sanjeevani Bhelande , and Kunal Ganjawala are some of the names that have their roots deep into the show. You would be thinking what Sa Re Ga Ma Pa has to do with this blog devoted to Bishnupriya Manipuri. Those who have closely watched the programme knows what relation the show has with the Bishnupriya Manipuri people. It is to be mentioned the show is considered as the ticket to enter the studios of Bollywood, the maya nagri. Tushar Sinha, a Bishnupriya Manipuri boy was one of ...

By RK Rishikesh Sinha It came as a tragic news for all Bishnupriya Manipuri people in Tripura, as well as in the neighbouring state of Assam, when the then Health and Urban Development Minister Bimal Sinha and his younger brother Bidyut Sinha were gunned down by the militants of the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT). His killing immediately created a voidness, a voidness that cannot be filled up in the whatever Bishnupriya Manipuria community political aspiration it has. The Frontline on Apr. 11 - 24, 1998 wrote: "He had apparently been targeted because he was popular among the tribal people of Kamalpur and had organised them to resist the NLFT's campaign of violence." Of his messiah like stature that Bimal Sinha came to the citadel of Tripura politics not once but five times as a elected member from the Kamalpur tribal belt. He started his political career as a general secretary of a college union that was controlled by the Students Federatio...

While going to my village Mohanpur , taking the Masimpur-Rani feri route, you will see a bridge, a long concrete bridge. It was not what today it looks. It had a history of its own. And those who have been to the Bishnupriya Manipuri villages like Baropua, Pithir Gang, Bihara, Tehngara Gang, Burunga etc..they know how their travel changed with the dynamics of the river. Since childhood, I don’t know how many times I have taken this route. At first with my father as my companion, and as time passed by I started going alone. And from here my memories start taking wings. Well, it is not that I don’t carry any impression of those days I as a child used to go along with mother and father. It had an altogether surge of feelings associated with it. I remember, after getting down from the bus my father used to give one rupee coin or lesser denomination per person to a manned bamboo check post. And the same was repeated by each traveller – giving a fee to the manned bamboo check post. The word...

By RKHL Sinha, New Delhi My all early days memories dates back to early fifties, and here is one which I still cherish and it is somewhere deep inside my consciousness, and it will remain ever. The Bishnupriya Manipuri’s society, and not to mention my birthplace Mohanpur , was brimming with activities. There was a sense of unity, dedication, devotion, and it was visible, amongst all villagers. These virtues were driving everyone from an individual, to individual house, to neighbourhood houses, to the whole village and later extending it to the neighbouring villages. And the same enthusiasm can be said about the Bishnupriya Manipuri community as a whole. This driving force, I believe, was preparing the framework of the coming generation. The bonding amongst the villagers could be seen in the agricultural field. In those days agriculture was the primary source of livelihood of the Bishnupriya Manipuri community. During the agricultural season neighbours extending helping hands to their ...

Rishikesh Sinha, New Delhi Not to mention Bishnupriya Manipuri Status in Google is big ZERO. So, one cannot expect Bishnupriya Manipuri video to appear in You Tube or in Google video . But thanks to somanymustaches who has uploaded the Manipuri dance in the You Tube. Meanwhile let us enjoy his uploaded video. Let us hope next time we have our own Bishnupriya Manipuri video content!!

RKHL Sinha, New Delhi We, Bishnupriya Manipuri community people are Vaisnavities , our heart is soft, and it is so soft that the religious lyrics of Lord Sri Krishna and Sri Chaitanya Mohaprabhu bring tears in our eyes. That is what we witness in the plays of Raslila, Bhagavad Gita , in the recitation of the Ramayana and in the Mahabharata as well as in other religious functions of the community. Every community has their own rule and conducts, so we have. The unique sitting arrangement and the components that are involved in any social gathering as well as in the other cultural gathering are as follows: Kirtanmapu: He is person wearing a pagri is authorised to allot respective sit for Brahmins , Rajkumar, Kshatriyas, women folks, Sainyasis and Sadhus. One of the sit is permanently reserved for the Goddiswar , the respected Brahmin empowered by the community. The special sit is followed by a Gaddi covered with white bed sheet and pillow. Nobody is allowed to occupy the Gad...

RKHL Sinha, New Delhi I remember, in the early 1950’s the social structure of Bishnupriya Manipuri community was full of agony and frustration. People were fighting tooth and nail for livelihood; and the so called education which works as the fulcrum to uplift the stairs of social reforms, was no where peeping into the doors of the community. As a result the means of survival was fully depended on the physical power given by every member of the family irrespective of gender in the paddy field. Agriculture was the only source of livelihood and earning. It is worth to mention, in those times the impact of religion was quite visible in the way people used to conduct themselves “ untouchability ” (to say) to food, drink and shelter. It is due to the so called “untouchability” that people of the community were not able to encash the fruit of education. The level of communication with other communities was limited and closely guarded. There was a lack of cross pollination of ideas that usu...