The fragrant cloud

  Car Dash Memchoubi phanjoubam In Imphal, the fault always lies on the four-wheeler in any case of accident. In other parts of the world the responsibility is properly fixed. I have been driving four-wheelers for the last fifteen years or so and thus have been involved in many such occasions. The first instance occurred when I had just started driving my brand new car. It was a lovely blue car. Its makers called the colour ‘Deep Pearl Blue’. I loved it and enjoyed driving it. One day, in the hospital campus where I worked, an auto rickshaw passed by me and made a deep scratch across both doors on the right side. The driver looked at me and I also looked hard at him. We were assessing each other in a battle of stares and planning on the next move. The scratch was going to cost me a lot and it was obvious to everyone that I was not at fault. In my heart of hearts, I knew that he would be earning hardly a thousand rupees in a day. So, I shifted my gaze to the road in front and ...

  The Persistent Shadow When a student reaches class 10 in Imphal, there is a mad rush for private tuitions. There seems to be no exam bigger than the Matric exam. Everyone in the whole state knows who tops the Matric exams every year but no one is that bothered about who has cleared the NEET or JEE or the various competitive exams conducted by the UPSC. So, my point is Matric exam is like the queen of all exams. So, the daughter of a friend of mine is in class 10 now. So, private tuitions start at 4 A.M. in the morning and ends by 6 P.M. These extra coaching classes are before and after the regular school classes. For the 4 A.M. tuition, one must get up at 3 A.M. and start the mad rush. The father and daughter drove as fast as they could and reached the tuition centre, but, no one was there as if it was a holiday. They were surprised and checked their phones for messages and found the teacher’s message regarding his inability to take the class that day. So, they proceeded ...

The fish trail A hobby is something which we do in our leisure time. Passion is something which we make time for. The following story will elucidate the difference between the two. I have a doctor friend who is so crazy after fish. Not for eating but for rearing them in his little pond where he will watch them swim in lovely patterns every morning in the warm morning sunlight. So, one day, he set out to procure a lot of tiny fish from a village pond, the owner of which was a friend of his office staff. Actually, he had a busy day lined up in office but he made the time for the very important trip. He and his staff took advantage of the lunch hour and started driving towards the village, thinking that the whole mission would take only one hour. His office staff had asked a man from the village to keep the fish ready for his boss. But nothing was ready perhaps because of the laid back lifestyle of the village folk and also who would have thought that a doctor working in a busy hospital i...

  The flying bed: Episode 5 Annihilating the Guns   A bedtime story for every night is indeed a tall order. But, it must be done somehow. So, here goes the spinning yarn at work once again…   A small state lying in the border of two countries is literally burning. There is not a single day which passes by without the news of a village being burnt down by arsonists in the name of a communal clash between two communities. What appeared in the beginning as a communal riot between two ethnic groups has literally turned from a mole hill to a mountain in no time. Bullets are sprayed from sophisticated automatic rifles by one community sitting atop the hills surrounding the small border state on the unsuspecting villagers. When the villagers flee, their houses are burned down. The next day when the villagers come out to salvage whatever is left of their burnt property, the armed group again fires upon them. The menfolk of the other community have started forming local ...

In the stillness of the night When darkness itself becomes bright And silence raises a cadence A yearning begs to be heard Demanding for peace among fraternity. In the din and cacophony of the day An echo reverberates from all around Asserting itself repeatedly Demanding for peace among fraternity. The world is adamant Human whims are mean Egos are unaccomodative But still, the yearning persists. Some man's toil is turned to dust By another's hunger for power Forgetting foolishly that one day We all will be dust Still, the yearning persists Demanding for peace among fraternity. Deep down in my heart A beat starts a new rhythm Asserting itself once again That Hope still burns bright. Because, I still have My fragrant cloud To fly away loftily To bond with a like-minded few To be on our own fragrant cloud And shed Rain of Peace. Memchoubi Phanjoubam

    The Flying Bed-Episode 4: The Tigroid Cloud   We are about to retire for the night. Much as I try to ignore it, I can’t help but notice the boys’ ears perking up for the ritual bedtime story which is nowadays nothing other than the nightly adventure of the flying bed. The flying bed is a little crowded these days with the addition of Snowman and Panther, Optimus and Maximus’ dogs on board. Everyone is excited and can’t wait for the flight to take off. There is rumour of a strange turbulence in the hills of Ngariyan, a range of hills on the eastern boundary of the state. Every evening, a storm starts in the jungles of these hills and wreaks havoc to the inhabitants. The strange thing about this natural menace is that it cannot be detected on any weather forecasting stations. Everything is calm without a hint of any disturbance and suddenly at night, the strange dust cloud gathers momentum and destroys everything in its way.   Eyewitness account reveals that the cl...

  It is especially cold tonight and sleep is fast approaching. But habits die hard and we must embark on our nightly mission again. The flying bed is ready.   Captains Columbus, Optimus and Maximus are also ready. Genie wants to stay curled up inside his lamp but will still tag along. Today, there are new members in the team because Optimus and Maximus’ faithful dogs ‘Snowman’ and ‘Panther’ do not want to leave their masters’ sides. The flying bed wants to protest against the extra weight but warm company overrides everything and we are all set for our very important mission. Among all the urgent issues floating around on the grapevine, the resurgence of the sleeping monster at Kangla poses a huge threat to the existence of mankind especially children in Imphal. So, we decided that we must tackle this issue first and foremost. For general information, Kangla is a heritage site in the heart of Imphal, the capital city of a north eastern state in India. It embodies the cor...