By RK Rishikesh Sinha, New Delhi
We the great Bishnupriya Manipuri people must start writing our own history, literature and any entity that we can call is our own. It may be related to our people, their thoughts, their village, their way of living and if possible everything under the sun.
If we do not undertake now, sooner or later we will definitely find ourselves in a bizarre world – devoid of any characters that defines of being a Bishnupriya Manipuri. And who are these people who are going to enrich our understanding about our community? They are our bujon, the elderly people.
The world they have seen; and have witnessed how it had unfolded in front of their eyes, are something that are treasure troves of knowledge and information. It is my father, my elders, your father, your grandparents. They must start writing about their life. That is enough.
The narration of their life will be self-explanatory. The writings on their life are real diamond mines of information. Just simply writing their life will encapsulates everything, I suppose. Whether it is political, social or it is related to economy, or international politics. You ponder for a minute. You will find, yes, even your father has many stories to say to this world.
If your father simply jots down his upbringing, mentioning about his parents, their economic status, and add the socio-politico conditions of his village, this is enough information that could be pass on to the next generation. Henceforth, to the whole community, and to the whole world.
We all love to hear stories from our parents whenever they mention about their life, the village they belongs to, and of course the people they mention about. How interesting it would be, if we can read the stories, and pass it to our next generation. This would be fantastic. Isn’t!
I remember (here I am not adding my father’s story, excuse me) a Bishnupriya Manipuri person, an Indian soldier, who used to visit daily in our home in Jammu and Kashmir, and come up with his heroic stories related to insurgency in northeast and in Bangladesh-liberation war. He participated in the 1971 war. Believe me, he has narrated dot-by-dot each incident exactly during our 7-year stay in the state. There have not been any deviations from his earlier told stories.
His stories were so interesting, we – three brothers with jaw drop attention used to hear his version. How he and his troops used to enter Bangladesh, take reccee of the spot of attack, his halt in a college in Bangladesh, were something I remember still.
Now, if I have had made his stories in writing, this could have become not only interesting for me, but would have come out as a source of information to the community, and for the world. But sorry, I missed it, and so the whole community.
So, here is a request to all bujon, start writing your biography. It doesn’t matter the world will accept it or not. But we the Bishnupriya Manipuri are going to read it, lest you write it and save it as a treasure. Unleash your life, let loose the world you have lived in.
Sooner or later, your grandsons and granddaughters will come and will show the world, the world you have seen. Start writing.
The world they have seen; and have witnessed how it had unfolded in front of their eyes, are something that are treasure troves of knowledge and information. It is my father, my elders, your father, your grandparents. They must start writing about their life. That is enough.
The narration of their life will be self-explanatory. The writings on their life are real diamond mines of information. Just simply writing their life will encapsulates everything, I suppose. Whether it is political, social or it is related to economy, or international politics. You ponder for a minute. You will find, yes, even your father has many stories to say to this world.
If your father simply jots down his upbringing, mentioning about his parents, their economic status, and add the socio-politico conditions of his village, this is enough information that could be pass on to the next generation. Henceforth, to the whole community, and to the whole world.
We all love to hear stories from our parents whenever they mention about their life, the village they belongs to, and of course the people they mention about. How interesting it would be, if we can read the stories, and pass it to our next generation. This would be fantastic. Isn’t!
I remember (here I am not adding my father’s story, excuse me) a Bishnupriya Manipuri person, an Indian soldier, who used to visit daily in our home in Jammu and Kashmir, and come up with his heroic stories related to insurgency in northeast and in Bangladesh-liberation war. He participated in the 1971 war. Believe me, he has narrated dot-by-dot each incident exactly during our 7-year stay in the state. There have not been any deviations from his earlier told stories.
His stories were so interesting, we – three brothers with jaw drop attention used to hear his version. How he and his troops used to enter Bangladesh, take reccee of the spot of attack, his halt in a college in Bangladesh, were something I remember still.
Now, if I have had made his stories in writing, this could have become not only interesting for me, but would have come out as a source of information to the community, and for the world. But sorry, I missed it, and so the whole community.
So, here is a request to all bujon, start writing your biography. It doesn’t matter the world will accept it or not. But we the Bishnupriya Manipuri are going to read it, lest you write it and save it as a treasure. Unleash your life, let loose the world you have lived in.
Sooner or later, your grandsons and granddaughters will come and will show the world, the world you have seen. Start writing.
Good thought Rishi.
ReplyDeleteSir,
ReplyDeleteTo begin with, i've been following this blog for sometime now. I must say you deserve to be applauded for all your write-ups. Are you a professional by any chance; if not, please do consider it.
And yes, thanks for all the information that you keep feeding us.
Thanks
Way to go!!