A Lonesome night and a date with the moon

It was a lonesome night with my angels far away,

no one to play with, please, pester or pamper me.

Absent-mindedly I opened the fridge but the beer too has run dry.

So I made do with a nimbu pani and took myself to the roof

to drench myself in the solitude.

A cool breeze nipped at me, surprisingly,

‘coz it was blazing hot until yesterday.

Lo n behold! What did I find, a beautiful moon to keep me company.

 It was a blessed night and I will lay my head to rest,

thinking of the moon and my three beautiful angels so far away.

The beautiful moon smiles and beckons me….

…..to play with her a while,
seek her out among the clouds,

Long she played with me, a game of hide and seek,

When she got bored,  she draped herself with the cloud,
sometimes dressed as a pirate,

sometimes a lady in a fur skin coat

sometimes she was glad to just shine through,
peeping through the clouds,

sometimes hiding behind the playful clouds,
and quitely breaking through the dark shrouds

Until the clouds got jealous of her attention on me

and decided to snatch her away from me

Ghost warriors of Manipur

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Manipur is a small state in the North-eastern frontier of India bordering Myanmar, consisting of a fertile valley surrounded by nine ranges of hills. Once famed for its beauty, it was aptly nick named ” Switzerland of the East” by Lord Irwin, Viceroy of India, during the British reign in India. Before it was overrun by the British and subsequently annexed to India after the British left, Manipur was a sovereign kingdom ruled by the Meitei Kings. The Meiteis were a small martial race skilled in the art of warfare and combat, their bravery and courage far more formidable than their meagre number. It was only a handful of warriors with swords and spears that stood up to the British might and fought valiantly to their death. Inevitably the entire Meitei army fell to the guns and canons of the powerful British army, getting completely annihilated, so goes the folklore and ballads that is sung even today. Today, Manipur is overrun by changes inevitably brought by passage of time and very little is left of the what once it epitomized, even its famed martial art called “ThangTa”. But every Manipuri still carries with him the pride, bravery and courage that their forefathers had, so I believe. In a traditional festival of the Meiteis called “Laiharaoba”, one can get a glimpse of the time gone by. Youths dressed in traditional costumes ride out mounted on their agile ponies followed by a huge crowd, young and old, attired in traditional costumes. It is a lovely sight to see. The images below is a small attempt on my part to take you back in time. Hope you all like it.