Eidi Chatlaroi : Book Review
A Book by Ngangbam Kumudini

Dr. Amarjit Moirangthem *

I received this book title EIDI CHALAROI from the author herself, Mrs Ngangbam Kumudini a staff nurse at Manipur Central Jail, Sajiwa. She is a passionate Manipuri literature lover. The book is supposed to be her first book. She lives with her husband and 3 daughters at Sawombung imphal east.

The book is a novella, a story about a meitei village ningol (girl), her childhood, her family and the sacred festival of the meiteis. Indeed I think Ningol chakhouba carries the central theme of the storyline. Meanwhile she tries to highlight the narrative socio-cultural folklore and geography of her village "KANTO" .

In the storyline, the author highlightes the responsibilities and role of a woman in a family which will consequently impact the society. A woman carries a big responsibility in a family , merely not doing the household chores and looking after the children, but keeping the members of family together and maintaining the decorum of the house. Again we must not forgot to that a good husband makes a good wife too.

We all know that the Ningol chakhouba has began as a symbol bond of love between the siblings of a family starting centuries back during the reigns of King Nongda Lairen Pakhangba, the first monarch of Manipur. The bond of love between Lashana ,wife of king Pakhangba and her brother Poreiton has been immortalised as NINGOL CHAKOUBA till today.

A Meitei married woman eagerly awaits the day, the second of Hiyangangei , every year to visit their mapam family, for a get-together, a jubilant grand feast along with their parents and siblings once in a year. A day to meet , rendezvous with the childhood friends and localities and refreshes the old memories.

For some families the day gave a bad experiences many tears to many women. With time, the charm and beauty of the auspicious day seem to be corrupted and corroded slowly year by year. Today the festival seem to remain a mere namashake festival only, people tend to be oblivious of the underlying theme of the Day.

The story starts with the protagonist Kushum narrating about her past childhood to her curious 3 daughters. She told them how she was borned to a poor family at a beautiful village of Kanto between the two villages of Khurkhul and Sekmai, near Leimakhong . She gave a brief description of the history and landscapes of the village along with the folklore and legends surrounding the village.

The Leimakhong river arises from the hills. During their childhood , after the Cheiraoba festival, they went to travel and explore the surrounding landscapes, exploring the beauty of nature along with the elders. Prayer at Ingourok diety at Kounu hills in the following 7 Sundays after Cheiraoba. During their childhood, they used to play alots of indigenous games in thr nearby fields after the school during the holidays.

Oo laobi, cheitek kotpi, afaobee, chak thongbee, mangjong chongbee, kwak tanbi, he-she seboti, porong kakpi were some of them mentioned, which the newer generation has less knowledge about them. During rainy season they used to catch fishes, swim around in the rivulets playfully. They used to eats plenty of fruits available in the locality like- heijampet, heikru, heiyai, etc. Being born to a poor family with 7 siblings, she experiences the hardship of life at the early stage.

Their parents had to toil day in and day out to feed the family, to educate them too. Her siblings too help the parent doing chores . During the school she had a circle of closed friends and they used to do pranks and many naughty deeds. One day their family left the village during quarrel regarding their education and for studying in the school of the adjoining village.

With time she had growned up and got married away from her precois village.. And she told the incident that One year she went to her viilage for the ningol chakouba, but the day turned out to be the most distressing day in her life, her own brothers did not bother to greet them on the auspicious day itselves. She laments how things turn out.

She had experience another such incident in her early life too, where they went for chakouba at her maternal uncles home. Her uncle disdained her mom for being poor and married in far off, they were more concern and affectionate to another woman whom they adored as their sister more than her mother. From that day , her mom had decided never to go her parent's home- mapam again .

Awakened by her sad dream , her husband beside her remind her that it was the Ningol Chakouba Celebration day, though she realized, she had already decided not to go again and fallen asleep.

Indeed a touching story , the misery of being a poor women, The story make me to rethink about my mom and my sisters.

My favourite part in the book is the description of the vllage Kanto, the landscape along the tales like she was painting a colourful landscapes in a canvas. The hills, rivers , the empty filds enriches with the floras and flowers. , the legends and the myths. field The culture, customs and simple of the village. The hardship faced by the poor villagers.

Another beautiful aspect in the book is the description of the childhood days how the children of the past days used to play those traditional games, where the children roam around freely in the village fields and locality. It reminds me of the popular book titled " Houkhra Matam Ningshinglubada" by reknown writer Khaidem Pramodini.

Eidi Chatlaroi– a beautiful book indeed.