Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 21 2009:
Ground works for construction of a worship place of the Meitei community settled in Mandalay of Myanmar has begun with the formation of a construction committee.
Speaking to newspersons today, president of Indo-Myanmar Fraternal Alliance RK Shivchandra said the worship place would be constructed at Amarapur of mandalay for which the construction committee under the chairmanship of one Maibam Bodhajit.
Amarapur is informed to have substantial meitei population and since 1964 there had been cultural revival of the meiteis especially in the preservation of traditional ceremonies which however declined in the recent past after the land site where rituals used to be performed was sold off by one of the functionaries of the religious body owing to financial constraints.
Presently the worship site has been demarcated through construction of a boundary fencing.
Nevertheless, the traditional Meitei religion revivalism is gaining ground these days as a widow and her daughter recently confided to Alliance functionaries to donate 15x200 area of the duo's property (land) for usage in religious purpose, said RK Shivchandra who urged for public assistance to begin construction work.
he also highlighted that the Alliance had been taking the initiative to preserve religious identity of the Meiteis scattered in Mandalay areas by organising annual pilgrimage tours in addition to promoting religious activities after Meiteis settled in Nandsaw expressed strong desire to perform rituals associated with the indigenous meitei people.
RK Shivchandra also recounted experiences of the Alliance functionaries with regard to hardships being endured by the Meiteis living in Mandalay areas and their strong desire to preserve tradition and culture of the Meiteis where such practices are on the wane with the passage of time.