Can Bishnupriya Manipuri Online become a "product"?

RK Rishikesh Sinha

Ramlal Sinha in his article proposed a model for the vitalization of Bishnupriya Manipuri language, art and culture. He wrote about media vacuum which is inflicting the community; in order to create one he proposed a profitable tie-up between litterateurs/artists and the industrialists.

He said that “the Bishnupriya Manipuris' is a virgin market that, if tapped in the right way, can pay a huge dividend”. Adding to it, one thing that he mentioned is very much futuristic, especially at this time — equalizing Bishnupriya Manipuri newspapers or magazines as “products”. So, whoever ventures into filling up the vacuum has to tread the road with care, with the “product” concept in mind and soul.

Equating “Market” with “Bishnupriya Manipuri”, today one can take it as a joke. But, who knows, these two stuff could become one; consequently creating a self-sustaining platform for the betterment of the Bishnupriya Manipuri people.

However, media history teaches us that establishment of such products has not been easy ever, especially when the market is limited. But it has not been impossible either. The sore truth about the present state of Bishnupriya Manipuri media ventures is not secret to anybody. Everybody knows it. There is time and money constraint whoever is devoted to it. And those who are running it are running for the sake of creative and intellectual juice which they get. 

At the present era, when communication is real time and there is no technological and geographical limitation, something that astounds us is the fact that a community of 5 lakh cannot, yes cannot create, one media house; it is irony that a population of 1 lakh is enough to grow and sustain a media venture.  

Besides it, I believe there is an urgent need for introspecting “being Bishnupriya Manipuri” since as of now the word itself channelize many do’s and don’ts, and it is very much stereotype; the magazine or newspapers has to create content not only for 1 per cent of literati but for the rest that is 99 per cent. It should be a product, a perfect product.

Taking cue from Ramlal Sinha’s article, can Bishnupriya Manipuri Online become a product? It cannot be said in one breathe. There is hell lot of problems. It is very remorseful that other community-based web entities of Northeast that forayed in the same period like this one have made a strong footing. Be late than never, at least, Bishnupriya Manipuri Online could give it a try to become a “web” behemoth of its own right. To say a little, since 2007, the Bishnupriya Manipuri Online has been taking the brunt of Google’s tyranny, not a matter of joke.

So, what should be the next step? Increase pageviews from 11,000 per month (the present figure, one can see in the left sidebar) to per day by January 2013. This figure has to be achieved, after that, hopefully, we could talk about the next milestone.