Yaoshang hangover
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: March 22, 2014 -
The celebration of five-day long Yaoshang festival may have been over officially, but the festive hangover still lingers on with the drum beats of Thabalchongba programmes shattering the tranquillity of the night.
This reminds us of the joke (of which many of our esteemed readers may be well acquainted) over the manner of celebrating most festivals and other annual events by the Manipuri people.
It says that Manipuris celebrate Durga Pujah just to play Housie (Tambola) and they wait for the annual Yaoshang festival for nothing else but the Thabalchongba programme.
Even if this is just a joke, it shows the true nature of Manipuris who are addicted to the add-ons of any festival without understanding the true essence of celebrating any festival.
In the process, it is not just the hard-earned money of the people but also their precious energy that are simply wasted.
We are not opposed to Thabalchongba programme as such, but organizing it beyond the stipulated five-day festivity is becoming something of a public nuisance.
In fact, even before the official commencement of Yaoshang festival, one could hear the drum beats of Thabalchongba programme and it is not going to cease for the next couple of weeks.
This is becoming almost like a tradition rather than an exception.
It is on this count that voices have been raised from some quarters against prolonged celebration of Yaoshang festival and putting normal day to day activities in the State to a grinding halt for five days.
Last year, a public meeting convened at Manipur Press Club deliberated at length on the manner of celebrating Yaoshang festival for five days and its impact on Manipuri society.
Though the said meeting resolved to cut down the number of days for celebrating the annual Yaoshang festival from five days to 3 days and prohibit blocking of roads to collect money from passers-by in the name of festival, it appears that the resolutions adopted have only gathered cob webs with none giving two hoots about them.
On the other hand, even if the Government Departments/offices are said to be on holiday for Yaoshang festival for three days only, attendance remains dismally low, thus, bringing the entire government machinery to a standstill.
Perhaps, it is high time for all of us to think over when Holi, which is considered to be equivalent of Yaoshang festival, is being celebrated for only one day (that too, only in the forenoon) in other parts of the country, how can a financially poor State like Manipur afford to waste five days in the name of celebrating a festival?
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