Proverbs: ‘Praman Panthei’ Expanded in Minimal Pictures

It all began with essays about cows and postmen. The focus wasn’t really on the Hindutva discussions surrounding cows or the postmen from the ever-present India Posts, but rather on the subjects themselves. We started learning English as a second language in primary school, and the teaching methods were quite adaptable, covering everything from parts of speech to essay and précis writing.

I attended St Joseph’s School in Imphal from Nursery through 10th grade. As we progressed to higher grades, what stood out were our detailed discussions on proverbs and idioms—referred to as praman panthei in our native Meitelon/Manipuri. It was particularly amusing because we often tried to be politically correct, and our teachers would chuckle at our fabrications. For instance, we would write that we needed to be as prompt as we were reasonable, claiming that going to bed early and rising early could make a person healthy, wealthy, and wise. In real, early to bed and early to rise make a man an early man!

Now, we can appreciate the irony in that, as we realise that going to bed early and waking up early only makes someone an early riser. This is why it resonates with us when we say that the gun is mightier than the pen in our hometown. Today, we have a collection of proverbs, or praman panthei, that have been adapted to remain as relevant as they were during our primary and junior high school days.

Check all the posts related to Proverbs, Paorou and Praman Panthei on this blog.