Manipuri Literature in History 8

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Manipuri Literature in History
- Part 8 -
- New Theme Song: Hegemony And Resistance -

By: Thingnam Kishan Singh *

NEW THEME SONG: HEGEMONY AND RESISTANCE

Contest at the political level with the emergence of armed resistance movements fighting against the 'merger' with India has created the articulation of a conflict at various levels of existence.

Elangbam Nilakanta's first published poem 'Manipur' (1949) raises fundamental questions that foretell the shape of things to come:

O Mother Manipur, one day your children
will trace you
Like Dushyanta with eyes bathed in tears,
But by that time where shall they find you?
Where shall they find you?[¹²]

Intensification of armed struggle in Manipur has made profound impact on contemporary literature.[¹³] Poetry has plunged deep into this conflict and notable poets like Laishram Samarendra, Yumlembam Ibomcha, Thangjam Ibopishak, and Shri Biren explore the sordid reality, informed, shaped and distorted by the conflict.

Ibopishak's collection of poems Apaiba Thawai (The Wandering Soul) (1969) has been hailed by critics as a trendsetter for a new wave of poetry that grapples with the rising tide of conflicts emerging from the crucial encounter in 1949. A growing sense of dissent and anger at the degeneration in society can be discerned clearly.

Shri Biren's Asibagi Lamdamda (In the Land of Death) aptly captures the decadence that has eroded the social fabric. Yumlembam Ibomcha's Shingnaba (The Challenge) (1974) documents the extreme note of anger in contemporary Manipuri society.

R.K Bhubhansana's 'Marup Ani' (Two friends) in his collection titled Mei Mamgera Budhi Mamgera (Whether the Light is out or the Mind is) expresses the stark and sordid reality of life under the draconian laws like the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958.

Women poets have attempted to scrutinize contemporary life and society in a radical tone. Questions of identity, freedom and status figure prominently in many of these poets whose female sensibilities offer another dimension of social analysis and critique.

Memchoubi's Androgi Mei (The Fire of Andro), Borkanya's Mongphamgi Meenok (Laughter of the Grave) and Pukhrambam Urmila's Ashibagi Marakta (In the Midst of the Dead) are notable works that capture the stark social realities.

Different genres like drama, novel and short story share similar concerns. In theatre, mention can be made of writers like Arambam Somorendra, Brajachand Khundrakpam, and Kanhailal, whose literary engagements are shot through with stark social realities.

In novels, mention can be made of writers like M.K. Binodini, Aribam Chitreshwar, Elangbam Sonamani, Aramban Biren, Loitongbam Pacha Meitei, B.M. Maishnamba, Hijam Guna and M. Borkanya. The short story has emerged as a powerful mode of literary expression with writers like M.K. Binodini, N. Kunjamohon, Khumanthem Prakash, Shri Biren, Hijam Guno and others.

A more detailed study and analysis of Manipuri literature can provide crucial insights of the several shifts in the socio-political history of Manipur. Assuaging as analytical framework through the contours of Manipuri literature through the ages, one indeed feels the need to address crucial debates on the society's attempt to come to terms with the new changes that we witness today.

Concluded

* Thingnam Kishan Singh wrote this article for Eastern Quarterly. This article was webcasted on May 29th, 2007.

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