The Manipur Diary - 1

      First Impression

The approach to Imphal is over a series of rolling hills and finally a lake of floating foliage. The plane comes to a halt exactly in front of the pretty terminal building. Unlike many other cities of the country, the airport is not named after any personality. Imphal airport has international status for an amusing reason. Every year for the annual Sangai festival, the airport is used to fly in and fly out VIPs from the neighbouring Myanmar. 

As I hit the road, two things strike me. The first is the Manipuri script on billboards and signboards. It resembles no Indian language and reminds me of rounded East Asian scripts. Manipuri was being written in Bengali script and the old traditional script has been revived recently. Secondly the women; they are fair and not one of them is in a saree. The standard dress is a wrap around, which I learn is called Fanek and a shawl thrown across the torso. 

It is lunch time and we stop at Luxmi Kitchen, in the crowded city centre. It is a poorly lit dingy restaurant serving arguably the best Manipuri Thali of Imphal. As soon as I am seated, waiters lay down a dozen katoris in a large semicircle and a plate heaped with rice in the centre. Tradition demands that the meal should be commenced with Ooti in the leftmost Katori. Though it resembles dal, white peas is the chief ingredient of Ooti. Next Katori contains Iromba, the signature Manipuri dish. My South Indian tongue discerns a touch of Vettakozhambu in the complex medley. Some days later I learn that Tree Beans, Manipur’s favourite vegetable is a main constituent of the Iromba. The non-vegetarian version of the Iromba additionally uses fermented fish. Even more exciting than Iromba is the Black Rice, another iconic item in Manipuri cuisine. Known locally as Chakhao (tastier rice), it has a pleasing earthy taste and goes well with the Kheer. Another interesting item in the Thali is a bland boiled vegetable, Chamfut, probably to cleanse the palate in between various courses. The desserts, a dumpling soaked in milk and a fruity syrup (Hei Thongba) are nothing much to write about. In fact, Manipur doesn’t have a signature sweet.

So that was the first encounter with Manipur. Next I will take you along the road to Kohima