Family Time: The Arambam Triumvirate

A simple tribute to three of the deceased Arambam torchbearers: my grandfather, Ibungotomcha, his half-brother Dorendrajit and the latter’s son, Somorendro

I never like the old folks, especially if they are a family member. Talking to them is like inviting ourselves to a grand lecture, whatever it means. That was how I grew up and things have changed though. And they have influenced me so much. I cannot deny this. A few uncles and aunts have always been my role models. I was particularly in awe, in my growing-up days, listening to the tales and tribulations of one of my uncles, who was so spoiled, yet he achieved what he had aspired for.

Sometimes friends and family members set benchmarks in life a bit too high.

Now what I would do in my life is left; and I’ve no idea where I’ll be ten years down the line, leave alone what the old folks have been successful in life. I’m glad, though, there are people in the family who keep motivating us.

This post is a simple tribute to three of the deceased Arambam torchbearers: my grandfather, Ibungotomcha, his half-brother Dorendrajit and the latter’s son, Somorendro—all of them are public figures. May their soul rest in extreme contentment and may the living uncles and aunts guide us through every leikai and leirak of awareness, as always and their guidance keeps accentuating the meaning of our lives.

Arambam Ibungotomcha was elected as the minister of finance and foreign affairs in the 1948 interim government of Manipur. He won in the historic democratic election that was a first of its kind in Asia, but the Assembly was dissolved after intimidation from the then newly formed Indian State and without any political discretion. Refer to the discourses on Merger Agreement of 1949 for details.

ARAMBAM IBUNGOTOMCHA (1902–2000) aka IBOTOMCHA A former Durbar member and the first Finance Minister of pre-merger Manipur. A brilliant student in his school and college days, Ibungotomcha held many positions under King Churachand and King Bodhchandra. During World War II, he was a member of the Air Force Precaution Organisation and the State Law Codification Committee. Edhou was also a signatory of the 3rd Session of the First Manipur State Legislative Assembly Assembled under the Provisions of the Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947 that opposed the forced agreement.

Not many people know this in Maniput but subsequent to the Merger Agreement, the popularly elected Manipur Assembly had adopted a few resolutions on 28 September 1949 that rejected the so-called agreement signed under duress.

Ibungotomcha left politics after the merger of Manipur into the union of India and not even his eldest son knows the reason why he took that step. Amongst the many caps he wore, Edhou was as well a founder member of DM College, Imphal College and many other prestigious educational institutes in Manipur.

For his contribution to Manipuri literature, the state literary society honoured Arambam Dorendrajit with the title of Kabiratna posthumously in 1948.

ARAMBAM DORENDRAJIT (1907–1944) A poet, playwright and stage actor who was amongst the pioneers that shaped modern Manipuri literature, Dorendrajit was a graduate with honours in Sanskrit from Calcutta University. He was a school teacher by profession. He was a profound lover of his native language and a literary master of the 20th century—even if he was unable to distinguish between the Hindu hegemony and the desperation of making our identity as authentic as it can be.

In his epic poem, Kangsabada, he made new experiments in language by blending Manipuri and Sanskrit. He was greatly influenced by Shakespeare and Kalidasa. He was an editor of the first Manipuri monthly journal Lalit Manjuri Patrika and a publisher of Tarun Manipur, a weekly journal that was published during the Thirties and Forties. For his contribution to Manipuri literature, the state literary society honoured him with the title of Kabiratna posthumously in 1948. Some of his remarkable works include Moirang Thoibi, Bhagyachandra and another epic, Subhadra Haran.

Dorendrajit was the son of Arambam Ramlal Singh, a police inspector who was more popularly known as Meino Babu. The leikai, which is now known as Meino Leirak was named in his memory, plus the thong (bridge) connecting Sagolband and Uripok which is just opposite to this lane is also called Meinothong for the same reason. However, Meino Singh passed away when Doredrajit was yet to be born. Through lineage, Dorendrajit was the grandson of King Surchandra and great-grandson of King Chandrakriti.

Note: Arambam Dorendrajit is the father of two of Manipuris’ most distinguished personalities, Arambam Somorendro, whose brief is inserted below and Arambam Lokendro, a public intellectual, a theatre director and a former university professor, who divide his time between on one hand playing the the role of an advisor as a senior citizen, advising civil society organisations on pressing socio-political issues—and on the other making films, and taking performing arts to newer levels though practice and pedagogy consistently.

Arambam Somorendro was among the new breed of playwrights who incorporated social issues and political problems critically in literary works.

ARAMBAM SOMORENDRO (1935–2000) A dramatist, writer and real-life revolutionary, Somorendro postgraduated in political science from Pune University. Some of his acclaimed works have been made into films. The first Manipuri film, Matamgi Manipur (1972), is also based on his play Tirtha Yatra. Some of his notable plays include Judge Sahebki Imung, Karbar, Leipaaklei, Meerang, Dasa, Yenningthagi Isei and Nong Tarakle.

He was among the new breed of playwrights who incorporated social issues and political problems critically in literary works and received the Manipuri Sahitya Akademi Award in 1995 for his drama, Leipaaklei. Somorendro was the founder general secretary of Manipur’s oldest rebel organisation, the United National Liberation Front that was formed in 1964. He considered political consciousness of the mass should be prioritised rather than launching an armed struggle.

An ideological difference has been alleged to be the motive behind his assassination by unidentified gunmen during a public lecture in 2010. (PS: Nobody would even know if it was a handiwork of the state terror force. He came over-ground in 1975 and one of the radical factions, the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup, had already been formed around a decade earlier to his death).

Read a short introduction to Arambam Somorendro.

Postscript

It is heartening just to imagine how much these three remarkable men are a source of inspiration for many of us who are here, and it will continue to be so, for those who will be there in the forthcoming years and decades. Their contributions to politics, literature, and social activism have left an indelible mark on Manipuri society. Our Edhou’s political acumen, Edhou Dorendrajit’s literary genius, and Pabung Somorendro’s revolutionary spirit will be providing guidance for their descendants. May their souls rest in peace, and may their enduring influence continue to illuminate the paths of the living!