Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, February 07 2009:
Invoking the blessing of the almighty for bountiful harvest in the coming year, Lam Kut Lam, the biggest festival of the Kom community was celebrated today along with traditional fervour and gaiety.
The main celebration was held under the joint aegis of Kom Chiefs' Welfare Organisation and Kom Cultural and Research Centre, Manipur at Bonglusi village in Churachandpur district.
The inaugural function of the festival was attended by Public Health Engineering (PHE) Minister TN Haokip as chief guest, advisor of Kom Cultural and Research Centre, Manipur L Asuk Kom as functional president and president of National Identity Protection Committee (NIPCO) Y Nabachandra as guest of honour.
After the chief guest declared inauguration of the festival, cultural troupes from various Kom settlements including Upper Kom Keirap, Lower Kom Keirap, KK Houtak, Khoirentak Khunou, Khoirentak Khuman, Hermontlang, Phungchongjang, Kangathei, Senbangjar and Moirang Mantak brought alive the celebration with presentation of various cultural dances and songs.
There was also competition with prize money at stack on the performance of the cultural troupes.
Speaking as chief guest of the function, Minister TN Haokip emphasised on protecting smaller communities like Kom.
He said in a multi-cultural and lingual society like Manipur, one community should not look down on the culture and tradition of another community.
Instead every communities should try to promote the culture and tradition of each other through cultural exchange programmes.
Only then, there can be real peace and development in Manipur, he added.
In his address, NIPCO president Y Nabachandra observed that inspite of its small size Manipur is a society where many communities having with different culture and tradition are living in mutual co-existence since time immemorial.
It is because of the richness of these different cultures and traditions that Manipur is being recognised the world over.
So every efforts should be made to promote these cultural elements collectively, he exhorted.