Bishnupriya Manipuri Online

On Saturday, 24-11-2007, the Bishnupriya Manipuri people in Bangladesh celebrated the principal festival and the foremost annual cultural event Maha-Ras in a grand way and with great enthusiasm. Read more PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG.

Bishnupriya Manipuri people living in Pune and Mumbai, like in other parts of the country, celebrated Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Sadhuthakur's Janmo Mahotsav with devotion and with religiosity. By Rebati Mohan Sinha The 1st celebration of Akhil Bharitiya Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Sadhuthakur's Janmo Mahotsav (137th Birth Aniversary) was solemnized in Pune at Range Hill, Anand Bhavan on 10th, 11th of November 2007. Bishnupriya Manipuri people from all over India specially from Delhi, Mumbai, Assam, Tripura, Ahmedabad and Kolkata participated in the celebration with great enthusiasm. The celebration marked devoted men and women in traditional attires In Mumbai , the same was held at New Airport Colony, Santacruz Mumbai. Related stories: Delhi Bishupriya Manipuri celebrated Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur's Abhirbhab Tithi Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur Mileau of the Sadhu Thakur Abhirbab Tithee Kolkata Bishnupriya Manipuri celebrated Bhubaneshwar Sadhu ThakurAbhirbhab Tithi PLEASE SUBSCR...

The Bishnupriya Manipuri people celebrates Durga Puja, and other festivals like Janmastami, Holi, and Sankranti with much fanfare and excitement. On the line of it, the community has its own festivals like Raasleela, Rathyatra, Merameri and door-to-door-begging as a part of Dolyatra. By BN Sinha, New Delhi Sri Krishna Raasleela is observed with great fanfare and enthusiasm in almost every Bishnupriya Manipuri village in Assam and Tripura. BM community is known to be the worshiper of Lord Krishna. Rathyatra is one of the major festivals that BM community observes. Every BM individual is well acquainted with the terms like Raasdhari, Sutradhari, Duar, Mathang etc. which are the integral characters of Raasyatra apart from Krishna, Radha and Gopis . Raasyatra generally falls on the fullmoon of the Kartik month of Saka calender which is better known as Raaspurnima . This year it falls on the Saturday 24th Nov. In order to perform Raasleela , the rehearsals generally take place much b...

Using their stratagic location as a bargaining chip, Bodo people got everything that any community in India could demand for. Do we have any such bargaining chip or ...? By BN Sinha, New Delhi We all know that the population of Bishnupriya Manipuri community is sprinkled all across in the northeastern part of India, its concentration is higher in Barak Valley of Assam and in the state of Tripura; the community can also be found in the few districts of Bangladesh like Shyllet etc. Though there is no statistical census mentioning the total population of the community, it is approximated the figure would be 30 Lakh who are based in Cachar , Karimgunj , Hailakandi , Kailasahar, Dharmanagar, Kamalpur etc. Despite having a strong cultural and ethnical background, literacy rate not lesser in comparison to other tribes, and being academically OK ; nevertheless we stand nowhere in the political scenario of India. The reason may be that we are geographically scattered and not strategically lo...

We looked here and there to find if anybody had left it by mistake. But there was no one. Seeing all this my whole body started shivering, I was not able to utter a single word, of fear or of excitement, I don’t know. By Ranita Sinha, Kolkata Way back in the year 1996 me, my sister and my parents went to visit our relatives  at our parental village, Tinokhal in Patherkandi , Assam . It was in the month of January. Those days there was a saying that Lord Shiva , Durga and Ganesha emerged at a farmer's house at a village called Nuagang . I am not a person, who believes in superstitions or ghosts or such things. I was not able to believe what I heard. But people from far and wide were coming to have a glimpse of the miracle. Curious to know the whole thing, I asked one of my cousin to take me there. He instantly refused saying that it was quite far and we had to walk more than 5 Kms, up and down. But I somehow convinced him. That evening at around 6 o'clock, me, my s...

How correct is Barak valley being connoted as the cultural and political hub of the Bishnupriya Manipuri when Bishnupriya Manipuri people living in Tripura are way ahead in every respect to their counterparts in the Silchar region. It's a big question, an intriquing question. By BN Sinha, New Delhi Being a Silcharite and also a Bishnupriya Manipuri of Barak Valley, it is quite obvious to share the same thread with the fellow BMs of Tripura. From the very childhood days we were quite familiar with the names of the places like Kailasahar, Dharmanagar etc. With the same note every non-Tripurian Bishnupriya Manipuri certainly shares the same thread linked to Tripura. We have also been seeing a sea of talents from Tripura as we see meritorious BM Tripurian topping in various institutions of North East like Cotton College , National Institute of Technology [NIT] – Silchar, Gurucharan Charan [GC] College, Gauhati Medical Colloge [GMC], Sichar Medical College [SMC], and also in other u...

By Ranita Sinha, Kolkata Our Bishnupriya Manipuri community is gaining momentum steadily. Now, the parents do not think twice or hesitate to spend money to provide their children a better life and better education. Now, both the boy and the girl child is given the same priority. The parents are ever ready to send their children to far off places to gain better education and a better job opportunity. For this reason, now Bishnupriya Manipuri people are seen in every city of India as well as abroad. Most of the students like migratory birds go out for higher studies and in search of better jobs opportunities, because of this they tend to stay away from their cosy home. Everybody do not want to stay away from home, while some voluntarily take the decision to settle outside, but the bottom line is that they have to stay away from home, for a better livelihood. Most of the Bishnupriya Manipuri villages have developed. Most of the houses are well build with all modern amenities. The pare...

By Suroshree Sinha, New Delhi To a lot of Bishnupriya Manipuri, the fight of being called a "Manipuri" or being denied the same is not uncommon. Everyone remembers the court cases, the fights, the disliking...but very few people know that there was a time when people were ordered to burn down whatever available information and proof that a community named " Bishnupriya Manipuri" ever existed. They demolished our Mandirs and killed our people. It was a fight for existance, a fight to make the world sit up and take notice. In this time of darkness came a person with a ray of hope, Sri Dasharath Deb ( Barman) the first and probably the last Tribal Chief Minister of Tripura, who once said that he has two friends, one a Metei, and another a Bishnupriya Manipuri. The Metei's never called themselves Manipuri at that time. They called themselves " Metei", It was the Bishnupriya Manipuri that proudly called themselves " Manipuri". I cannot deny the e...

The establishment of a High School for boys in Kailasheher, Tripura has its history related to a family. Suroshree Sinha reveals. Sri Kirti Chandra Singha, a resident of Ichappur, Kailasheher was a lawyer during the regime of Radha Kishore Manikkaya Bahadur. He had an intense urge in him to provide proper education to the Bishnupriya Manipuri boys . So, he approached the Maharaja and requested him to open a High School for Boys in Kailasheher. The Maharaja after hearing his plea, asked Kirti Babu in a ridiculed tone if he wanted the school to provide schooling to his sons. But in return Kirti Babu bowed and replied that he had no sons till date. But since Maharaja uttered the word "son"; Kirti Babu said that he was sure that he would be blessed with a son. Hearing this, the Maharaja got so impressed with the thought that a man who did not have any sons was fighting for a boys school. Thus the boys school was established in Kailasheher. The Maharaja also wished that Kirti Bab...

By Ranita Sinha, Kolkata The All Kolkata Bishnupriya Manipuri Society celebrated the 137th Abhirbhab Tithi of Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur in a simple yet traditional way. The Tithi was observed on 10th of Nov 2007(a day in advance due to some unavoidable circumstances). The venue being the premise of Sri Brojo Kishore Sinha, Tegoria, Dum Dum. It was the third consecutive year, the Bishnupriya Manipuri of Kolkata were celebrating the utsab. Though this year the turn out of people were less (most of the families being out of station for some reason or the other), yet it was celebrated with full devotion and enthusiasm. A member from Durgapur also attended the occasion despite the pain he had to take for driving six hours (up and down) all alone. Most of the members, both male and female were in their traditional attire ( Chakchabi and Inafi and Kurta Pyjama ) and not to forget the most sacred ' Nungsha ' on their forehead. And the most important thing is that, all the peo...

By BN Sinha, New Delhi The area, Palam, is one of the most congested places in Delhi, specially the colonies like Manglapuri and Rajnagar are densely populated. It took me at least one and half hour to locate and reach the place and the venue, the Arya Samaj Temple, Rajnagar – II, Palam, Delhi where in we, all the Bishnupriya Manipuri of Delhi have celebrated the 118th Abhirbab Tithee of Sri Sri Bhubaneswar Sadhuthakur . It was a sense of excitement and ecstasy which started rolling over much before the D-day and because of which no body felt the heat of the traffic and the narrow roads, which leads to the venue. It was a typical Bishnupriya Manipuri function. As usual people started gathering an hour late from the time of assembly. At 10-30 AM it seemed like, because of the Indo–Pak ODI at Kanpur the function will witness a low turnout, but as time proceeded, the whole venue was packed up with our Beyapa- Beibunies . As usual there were no formal invitation, as in Delhi very less BM p...

Rishikesh Sinha, New Delhi The Bishnupriya Manipuri people residing in Delhi observed the Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur Abhirbhab Tithi held at Arya Samaj Mandir, Dwarka (Mangla Puri) with full religious faith and gusto. The day witnessed active participation from the members of the community as they attended in full strength to make the Tithi successful and memorable. Photo: Jyotirmoy Sinha For Bishnupriya Manipuri Delhites, the day came as a great relief from the house-office and again home cyclical life, as a Diwali gift; and for many a meeting place with their distant near and dear relatives and acquaintances. Especially for women, since the day coincided with the Bhai Dhuj and the Government of Delhi had made free travel in the state run buses, it came as a double bonus: meeting with their own people that is without bearing any cost plus attending the Tithi. The day started with the oral presentation of life and work of Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Thakur and his in...

By RK Rishikesh Sinha, New Delhi It is through the language tool that we communicate with each other, and we communicate with the other people. Language gives us the power of articulation, power of expression, also it helps us to understand other people's culture, custom, and ethics. And the same applies to us. There must be an window where other people can peep into and learn our mother tongue, understand much better way our culture, customs and our history. Well, where we all can give a cursory glance of the meaning of the words, sentences that we have long forgotten; moreover, where we can check which words are not being used, it has become obsolete with the passage of time. By doing so, we will not only be able to know the difference of language being spoken in different parts of the Bishnupriya Manipuri community; nevertheless we will be able to appreciate how much enriched and vivid is our mother tongue. Here in this blog, an initiative has been taken to digitalised ...

By Ranita Sinha, Kolkata Fifteen years back the Bishnupriya Manipuri villages wore a very plain and simple look. The houses were mainly kutcha , most of the villages had no electricity, no telephone, no cooking gas connection etc. Every house hold had a kitchen garden where all necessary herbs and vegetables were grown. And above all the tradition of joint family was prevalent. The female members of the Bishnupriya Manipuri families had a very tough time. They would wake up early in the morning. Once awoke, what on earth they did not do?. Kol darani, gor mankol hurani baro lepani, uthan baro khatang hurani, phuti doni, darou pherani, dhan banani, choul tekani, pani bujani, rua ruani, phuti bunani, darour jit bat radani etc. They hardly got time to take rest. At that period of time, when we used to go to the village to visit our relatives, we always felt the warmth. They seemed very cheerful and full of life. They always bore a wide smile on their face. But now after a span of fifteen ...

Gokulananda Gitiswami was a versatile genius, he was a dramatist, a poet, a wandering minstrel and above all a social reformer. His life bears testimony to all these high qualities of head and heart which can be found only in few gifted persons. Now, the million dollar question is - how many of us in the Bishnupriya Manipuri knows him, and his contribution to the community. Gokulananda was born on 26th November, 1886, at the Village of Madhabpur of Bhanugach ( in that time Bhanubil pargana) of Bangladesh. Click here to Read more. [dont click at the below Read more!]

By BN Sinha, New Delhi Everything changes, continuously; nothing remains as it is, even from one moment to the next. There is a constant transition taking place in ecology, orbital positions, geo-political system and in every domain; and the same can be witnessed in our living style, food habits, attire etc. Literally speaking, everything is in a state of transition with respect to time. With the passage of time, transition is being witnessd in every demography, in every society of a country. But the pace is definitely more in the countries that registers a consistent rapid economic growth, especially in a country like India. May it be urban or rural, today’s India as a whole is quite different from the India of the pre liberalization era. A radical change has been noticed in every aspect of an Indian after we welcomed the economic liberalization and globalization in the 90's. Bishnupriya Manipuri community as a whole is also not exempted from the effect. It was quite a common beli...

By BN Sinha, New Delhi Almost half a decade back in my early work life. I used to admire a lot to one of my reporting boss who was an affluent Punjabi of Delhi who was having uncountable properties in posh Delhi colonies like Vasant Vihar and NFC etc. He was a BITS Pillanian, wife a Vice President in a Citibank. He had a love marriage that took place in UK. Their love story bloomed when he used to visit his brother’s place, who happened to be a renowned doctor in UK. His father was then the director of Defence Research and Development Organisation [DRDO]. He had his kids studying in Modern School and G D Goenka, both the most expensive educational institute in India. In a word he was a complete successful person in life in every aspect. All these information about my ex boss are just to portray how established he was in his life. Despite all he was very down to earth and didn’t have any snobbishness, ostentations or arrogance nature like a typical Delhite has. The most interesting par...

By Ranita Sinha, Kolkata Indian citizens are categorized into four different groups – General, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and there is More Other Backward Classes. Well, there are more categorisations in the name of xyz name. Our Bishnupriya Manipuri community falls under the Other Backward Class Category. There is a debate going on in the whole country with the issue of providing 27% reservation to OBC candidates in Central services and now proposed-to-introduce in the Centrally-funded educational institutions. But does this reservation help we Bishnupriya Manipuris in any way. It is a big issue. I am not sure about what others feel but at least for me its a big issue. I feel humiliated to use the category name OBC, along with my name. But people would say if it helps anybody procure a better life, why not grab the opportunity. Now, the million dollar question is, did any Bishnupriya Manipuri ever got a better opportunity after using the catego...

By BN Sinha,New Delhi We all are grown up with a belief that we Bishnupriya Manipuri community are quite enriched with art, culture and dogmas. Though its still a debate on who actually possess the great Manipuri Dance, we or the Meiteis of Manipur. Every community has their own literature , so also its music and compositions. Even the Bishnupriya Manipuri diaspora, who are out of touch with the core society activities for more than decades like me are still having a great sense of euphoric feel for the implausible mellow compositions by the legendary personalities like SJ Motilal Sinha, DR. K.P Sinha, Suronath Sinha and many more. It can be termed as the golden era for the Bishnupriya Manipuri music and literature when the evolution of great compositions took place. We can never forget few songs like “ Punnyo tirtho manipur maati , monimoyee mor ema ” by Sj Golap Babu Sinha and “ Janam janame more diya petheis hunar monipure, janam laloileo dhuligo koredis more loktakor pare ” by ...