Selloi Langmai Ecological Park

Eco Park: The favorite of picnickers

Manipur ‘Jewel of India’ is an ancient kingdom situated in the North Eastern corner of India. It is surrounded by different amazing places, rich art and tradition, tripling rivers, varieties of flowers, exotic blooms and lakes. Such natural beauty has inspired the description ‘The Switzerland of the East’. 

               Scenic view of  Ecological  Park                                          Courtesy: Manipur page

 Among these various amazing things of Manipur, Selloi Langmai Ecological Park is one of the best tourist spot of Imphal city. It was inaugurated on 17^th December 2010 by Honourable Tourism Minister. It is situated at Nongmaijing Chingkhong Hill, Laphupokpi, Imphal East District with a distance of 8-10 km from Imphal city. It is surrounded by hills on three sides with a well maintained park, pond where local cat fish are rolling. There is also a small bridge over this pond that adds more beauty to the pond. There are also different native plants, fruits, flowers, small huts to rest and water flowing down from hills makes the park an amazing and likeable one.

A look on different site

 Nature lovers go there quite frequently to get away from the pollution and noise of the city. They enjoy fresh air with no pollution and feel the beauty of nature. Its beauty is incredible and boundless. One couldn’t want to go back if they visit this park. The endless beauty attracts the heart and mind of everyone.

An indegenous game of Manipur

Kang: The field of life

 

 

A View of  Kang game

 

Kang is an indigenous game of Manipuri played on the day between manipuri’s New Year and Ratha Jatra festival. These are talks both legendary and mythological that claim that Kang was played by Gods  . It is a game played on the mud floor of big out houses. It consists of hitting the targets fixed on the floor with hard and strong oblong shaped.

A snapshot of kang

 

The simple version of kang means a sound object object, hence it pushing or throwing it, is called kang shanaba. Manipuris believe that the Kang playing- field represents the‘ field of life’. The seven players on either side, represent the 7 days of thewek.

The game duration is 4 ½hours ,with and interval of 5 minutes. At the conclusion of the first half of  the play 2 hours.15 mins, the teams change sides. Kang indicates  the culture and tradition of early Manipuri culture. It is the game of all age group including women.  

Sagol Kangjei today's Polo

Mother of Modern Polo

 

Sagol kangjei of Manipur

 

          Sagol Kangjei is the name of the game of today’s modern polo introduced by the king Khagemba of Manipur in 1606 in this territory. Manipur was the forerunners of invention of hockey. There is no other country in the world, where hockey is played on foot and horseback. It is a team sport played on horseback. Sagol means pony/horse,  kang means a ball or round object and ‘jei’ means a stick used for hitting. It has been a game of common man and a seasonal game in Manipur. It is played in Manipuri month of Mera(September/October) and ends in the month of Ingen(June/ July).

 

Players on action

 

There are no goal posts, player scores simply by hitting the ball out of either end of the field. The traditional attire consists of a chin-strap It is traditionally played with seven players to a side mounted on ponies. There are no goal posts, a (khadangchet) turban for protecting the head,  legguards (khongyom) worn below the knee. Since no shoes are worn, the players use khumit-khang. Polo has for time immemorial, been a game of royalty and the upper crust of the society, not only in India but abroad.

 

 



courtesy: e-pao -net

         Manipur had a well  known polo gound within the  ramparts of their Kangla Fort called Mapan Kangjeibung. All the tournaments sagol Kangjei of Manipur are played in this ground. International polo tournament are also played in this ground for every year.

 

 

 

Loktak Lake : The floating paradise of Manipur

 

 

Amazing beauty of Nature

 

 

 

        Loktak Lake is the largest fresh water lake in Northeast India characterised by the floating vegetation called ‘Phumdi’. Also known to be the only ‘floating lake’ in the world.  It is located near Moirang in Manipur with a distance of 53 km from Imphal. It is among one of the amazing places of Manipur with the endless beauty of nature.

The Phum  dwelling habitats around Loktak Lake
 

 

        This lake plays a significant role in the economy of Manipur. It serves as a source of water for hydropower generation, irrigation and drinking water supply. The lake is also a source of livelihood for the rural fisherman who lives in the surrounding areas and on Phumdis, also known as ‘Phumshangs’.



A side view of the mighty Loktak  Lake


 



         Phumdis are the heterogeneous mass of vegetation, soil and organic matters at various stages of decomposition that has thickened into a solid form. They cover a large part of the Loktak area. The largest single mass of Phumdi is in the South eastern part of the lake covering an area of 40 sq.km. This mass  constitutes the world largest and the only floating Park, named Keibul Lamjao National Park, that is the home of the endangered Manipur Sangai, indigenous to this area.







      A fisherman catching fish on Loktak lake                                                coutresy: e-pao-net     

                                           







         The lake is a unique destination for tourism offering visitors excellent opportunity to enjoy the beauty of lake and its several islands of floating Phumdis. It attracts the mind of tourists and gives full of excitement. A view from the Sendra Island provides a breath-taking perspective of this amazing lake. So if you are in Manipur, make sure to watch and amaze yourself at the endless beauty and uniqueness of the Loktak Lake.

 





 

Chakhumgi Wainam

A Generator with Rice Husk as fuel

 

 



        Chakhumgi Wainam is also called Rice Husk Stove. Maibam Nandakumar 36, an Imphal based entrepreneur has invented this new power generating device in Manipur that can power even small industry using cheap rice husk instead of petroleum products. Wainam means Rice Husk (GASIFIER).

 

Chakhumgi Wainam

 

          Stove is smokeless and environmental friendly. It saves time, money, fuel, power and also more hygienic to use. Power starved Manipur will now be able to light up their homes without worrying erratic power supply of Government. The stove is unique in its length and methods. Flame regulation is done with an AC/DC battery operated tiny fan attached to the bottom of the stove.

 

 

         It is used by using a 3 Kilowatt Generator. The start up time of this device is about 20-30 minutes. A lump of rice husk “Wai’’ weighing 700 grams can last for 50 minutes and is sufficient enough to cook a complete meal comfortably at a blue flame heat produced  by the stove. Nowadays, this device become very popular and has a very high demand in Manipur. Many customers has lined up for this stove.

Ema Keithel of Manipur

The only women market in the World

 

 

 

 

Views of  Ema Keithel

      Ema Keithel also known as Nupi Keithel in the Khwairamband Bazar of Manipur is the only market in the whole world run all by women. It is one of the oldest market of Manipur with its rich tradition. Built in around 1533 AD, the amazing Ema Keithel was borne out of a desperate will to survive more than a well planned economical set up. Earlier there was a form of human exploitation where men floks were deployed to work in far paddy fields, which left the women to look after the children. The trend of a bazaar run by women had continued to this day. Manipuri women plays a big role in the family from those days. In 2010, the three storey building of new Ema Keithel was inaugurated in Manipur.




New building of Ema Keithel

 

       All of our kinds of daily needs are sell in these markets. Main items found here includes handloom and handicrafts products, earthern pots, knives, shawls, puppets, all kind of dried fishes, vegetables, fruits, traditional dresses etc. are abundantly available throughout the year. Different women sells varied items. Roundly about 3000 women are sitted here in these three storey building of Ema Keithel.



Ema Keithel of Manipur

      In Manipur, the Ema Keithel is one of the most interesting markets. It is almost mandatory for people from Manipur to usually make once visit to the Ema Keithel before leaving Imphal to replenish themselves with local products. To visit once in these Ema Keithel is the wish of every tourists from abroad countries when coming to Manipur. It is the amazing place of Manipur towards the other countries.

 

Sangai...the dancing deer of Manipur.

 

                                                 The state animal of Manipur

The Sangai is an endemic, rare and endangered Brow antlered deer found only in Manipur. It is the state animal of Manipur.Its common name is Manipur Brow antlered Deer and the scientific name  is Cervus eldii eldii. It lives in the marshy wetland in Keibul Lamjao about 45 km from Imphal. Its habitat is located in the Southern parts of the Loktak Lake, which is the largest fresh water Lake, in Eastern India. The habitat of Sangai is now protected as the Keibul Lamjao National Park.

The dancing deer is found in its natural habitat only at Keibul Lamjao National Park over the floating biomass locally called ‘Phumdi’ in the South Eastern part of Loktak Lake.





The endangered species of Manipur    courtesy: KanglaOnline                  
 





Sangai feeds on a variety of water living plants, grasses, herbaceous plants and shoots. It starts grazing usually early morning approximately 4.30 am and generally continue upto 8 am. Sangai bounds the human soul and the nature. The slaying of Sangai breaks  the cordial relationship between human and nature. It is the duty of everyone to conserve this endangered species. Due to its uniqueness, it makes Manipur shine in the entire world.



Rasa Leela: Charming and Ritualistic Classical Dance of India

 

A MANIPURI MARTIAL ART:THANG-TA



A stage performance on Thang-ta



Thang-ta is a weapon based Indian martial art created by the Meitei of Manipur. Today Thang-ta is the most popular Meitei martial art form practiced by both men and women. It is most often seen through demonstration in cultural programs. In the Manipuri language,‘Thang’ means sword and ‘ta’ means spear referring to the art’s primary weapons.

Thang-ta is closely related to certain war- dances, often blurring the line between dance and combat forms. The physical side of Thang-ta is eventually supplemented with breathing exercises, meditation and the sacred dances.



courtesy:- e-pao-net

Thang-ta can be practiced in three different ways: ritual, demonstration and combat. The first way is related to the tantric practices and is entirely ritualistic in nature. The second way consists of a spectacular performance involving sword and spear dances. These routines can be converted into actual fighting practices and the third way is the true combat application.

Every year Thang-ta competitions are held at school, district, state and national level. The promotion of Thang-ta as a sport helped in the cause of its promotion and spread from Manipuri to the whole of India, particularly Jammu and Kashmir. Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir are currently the strongest contenders at the national level.

With the aim to preserve and promote this martial art of Manipur, Board of Secondary Education Manipur (BOSEM) has decided to add it as an optional subject in the syllabus starting from 2014.



  

 Pung Cholom of Manipur

       Manipur presents a mosaic of traditions and cultural patterns. The classical dance of Manipur stands as one of the famous and distinct dance form. The Manipur School of dancing whether folk, classical or modern is devotional in nature. The dances of the people have a high artistic and aesthetics values and are both ritualistic and recreational in nature. Manipuri dance is purely religious and is claimed to be softest, modest, mildest and the most meaningful dances of the world. Among this different classical dance of Manipur,  Pung Cholom  is one of them.

A stage performance on Pung Cholom

The Pung Cholom is a traditional Manipuri hand beaten drum dance. It is a unique classical dance of Manipur and also the soul of Manipuri Sankirtana, music and Classical Manipur dance. This dance may be performed by men or women and is usually prelude to the Ras Lila. In this style, the dancers play the pung and dance at the same time. Dancers need to be acrobatic and graceful at the same time. The Pung cholom is a very characteristics dance of Manipur. It is based upon the drum known as Pung in Manipur. It assumes an important ritual character, an indispensable part of all social and devotional ceremonies in Manipur.  

 

Photo courtesy:- e-pao-net

Pung is a hand drum from the North east Indian state of Manipur. The Pung has made up of wood and both left and right sides are similar in size. It is cylindrical in nature. It was introduced into the area by King Khuyoi Tompok in the year 154 AD.

Pung Cholom borrows elements from the Manipur martial arts Thang- ta and sarit sarak and also from traditional Maibi dance. The dance is followed by simple rhythm, which builds up to a thunderous climax and its aim is a spiritual experience. Nowadays Pung Cholom of Manipur is famous all over the World. 

Kouna products of Manipur

 

 Kouna products of Manipur



courtesy: e-pao.net

          When we talk about various indigenous art forms of Manipur, we cannot ignore the products of Kouna. Kouna is a water reed plants grows wildly in the marshy land, ponds, along the rivers, lakes etc. In Manipur, not only the cane crafts but also the use of kouna and its crafts is one of the oldest tradition in Manipur society. From kouna, Manipuri people made different items of different designs such as mats, cushion, bag, decorative items etc. Kouna products have been taking part in different trade fairs and handicrafts mela both in national and international level. These products are exported to other states after it’s participations in different trade fairs.

         Nowadays, Kouna craft becomes one of the flourishing industries among other handicrafts in the state. Even womenfolk also indulged in this job as Manipur has lack of employment, they give self employment to themselves and earn their income for their livelihood. Their products have become very popular and likeable by everyone.

 Photo courtesy:- e-pao-net

A trip to Shirui Hill