“Folktales of Mao, Maram and Poumai”, “Manipur-Myanmar Connections: An Indic Perspective” launched

Imphal: Chief minister N. Biren Singh launched a comic book “Folktales of Mao, Maram and Poumai” and a book “Manipur-Myanmar Connections: An Indic Perspective” on Saturday.

The comic book was launched at Hotel Classic Grande, Imphal. It is a collection of 15 short stories consisting of three folktales of Mao, five of Maram and seven of Paomai tribes.

The book on Manipur-Myanmar connections was released at the auditorium of Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy.

Biren appreciated the writers and contributors of the comic book for bringing up such a comic book of folktales which would have high significance in bringing back the aged old bonding among different communities of the state.

Lot of historical facts could be gathered from folksong and folktales. Many valuable facts are still yet to be explored and so there is a need for frequent interaction among different communities, he said.

Recalling a folksong sung by elders which he heard on a visit to a Paomai Village earlier, the chief minister said folksongs and folktales have valuable facts on how different communities lived together and maintained good relations during the olden days. He stressed on the need to collect more historical facts by visiting and interacting with elders residing in the interior parts of the state and come up with more story books.

Reading such story books would make the youths aware of the aged old relations that had existed among different communities, he added.

Biren said the relation between Manipur and Myanmar had considerably improved since the organisation of Sangai Festival in the state with many delegates from Myanmar visiting the state. The book will help in fostering the relation between Manipur and Myanmar to a new height, he added.

Stating the importance of documentation and record keeping, Biren urged the public to write and bring out more books about the state. He assured that the government would make a provision for grant as financial assistance to scholars and writers of the state to write more about the state and come up with more books.

The book which consisted of 26 articles was jointly edited by Shukhdeba Sharma Hanjabam, Aheibam Koireng Singh and Kakchingtabam Ruhinikumar Sharma.