Being a Moirang and Democratic

Most of us believe in myth and legend. There is a myth that envelopes the Moirang Sagei. Moirangs are forbidden to catch or eat a particular bird,"Sendrang". Legend says if a member of Moirang Sagei does what is forbidden,he will develop ulcers on his mouth. As I belong to it,I was made aware of it when I was a child many years ago.

There was a drizzle today (Mets had already forcasted monsoon is likely to arrive today). After about an hour it stopped. I could see a Sendrang (Sparrow) playing at the yard. She (I presumed) was so beautiful that I wanted her to be my pet bird. But being a Moirang,I didn't try to capture her , instead watched playfully how she danced on her tiny legs with her feathers so glossy

My uncle gave me a ripe Champra (lime;a kind of citrus fruit) few days ago and reminded me to have a sip of "Champra Mahi" made by mixing lime juice with water,a tincture of "Meitei Thum"(Plate like baked salt" and ground "Meitei Morok"(pepper/chilli). It was so tasty a juice that i asked him for more lime. He gave me five of them and also "Hawaijar"(fermented soya bean) and "Soibum"(fermented bamboo shoot) as he knew i liked them a lot. I requested mama to make "Chagempomba" and "Soijin eromba" - my most favourite dishes. I ate them and as a rule i fell ill with fever and chills.

Owing to this,I now consider Champra,Hawaijar and Soibum merciless. I have listed them as "Ungrateful" food items. However it is very imminent to develop fever if any one of them is consumed. I am actually baffled thinking why they are still available as food items when they cause illness. It may be because they are endemic to us or should i say indigenous. to the Meiteis and related communities. It won't be wrong to say they are "Innocent Evils"

There was a girl one of my friends frequently talked of. He said she was from Soibam Leikai. She was beautiful,loving and caring. He reckoned she was actually over beautiful,hyper loving but least caring . She had a queue of boys who wanted to be with her , at least for a night. She also allowed them to sleep with her at hotels. The boys were always satisfied but never knew they were committing the biggest mistake of their life. They are now just dead bodies with living souls

I think if they could percieve themselves as Moirangs and her as a Sparrow,they would never sleep with her although they have the strongest of the strong urge. Contrary to what i think,they thought of her as Champra,Hawaijar or Soibum. They tasted her flesh in the form of "Champra Mahi","Chagempomba" or "Soibum Eromba" and now they are compensating with a life consuming disease. But who cares,they slept because they wanted to. Aren't we living in a democracy; "a no - one - cares - anything" kind of place.