Category: Manipur Relief

This photograph shows a mixed-gender gathering of people inside a room at the newly opened Community Art Space in Moirang Lamkhai. Around half a dozen people are seated on colourful rugs and carpets, along the walls of the room. One person, seated with folded legs on a carpet in the centre of the room, seems to be acting out a scene and rendering a dialogue while the others look on. The light grey walls of the room are lit with sunshine streaming in through a window in the far end of the room. A few posters on the Community Art Space adorn the walls. On the far end of the room, an empty three-seater wooden sofa and a foldable chair are placed along the wall. A whiteboard with some writing is placed on the ground along a wall to the left of the photograph. Photo courtesy Matai Society

At the juncture of cultures, solidarities and differences

By Saki

Saki reports on the birth of a new creative space for queer-trans people in Moirang Lamkhai junction, which already has a rich history of bringing diverse people together

This illustration is a combination of a vertically oriented photograph and text extracted from the accompanying article. The photograph shows an evening time long-shot of the city of Aizawl spread across a hillside. The hillside is bedecked with the lights from the houses appearing like jewels. The cloudy sky above the city is filled with shades of violet and blue as the distant horizon is lit up with the last of the sunlight. The entire scene is breathtaking even as it is poignant. The accompanying text says: “I finally saved up a good sum and planned to return to Manipur directly from Aizawl. There was so much heartbreak as I looked back at my stay in Mizoram – there had been much beauty amid the chaos. Before I left, I offered a small sum of money to my Kuki neighbours. They too were from Imphal and their mother was battling cancer. The old woman thanked me and said, ‘God be with you till we meet again.’ This moment made everything that I’d been through worth it for I was filled with purpose and love.” Photo credit: Saki

Insight, Manipur Relief Feb '24

Homecoming again, for healing

By Saki

Saki concludes his account of the communal conflict in Manipur – he returns home after four life-changing months to engage in work that heals others and him

This illustration is a combination of an artwork created with pen ink and water colour, and text extracted from the accompanying article. The artwork shows the close-up of a young man sitting on one edge of a small brown wooden boat and talking on his mobile phone, holding it against his right ear. The boat is floating in the middle of a deep blue lake, surrounded by mountains and trees. The sky above the mountains is blue-grey. While visually striking, the scene also strikes a somber note. The accompanying text says: “My Aunt Rosemary insisted that I call her so that she could understand what I needed, but I had to carefully plan for the simple act of making a phone call. I couldn’t afford to be heard speaking in Mizo by the neighbours in Thanga, and I had to row out into the lake and make the call from open water where I’d be safe. I shared my plight with my aunt and she reminded me that she’d asked me to live in Mizoram earlier as well.” Artwork credit: Souvik Rakshit

Insight, Manipur Relief Dec '23

Fractured geographies and minds

By Saki

Saki, a young student of history, continues his account of the communal conflict in Manipur and the conflict in his mind when he was compelled to leave the state

This illustration is a combination of a photograph and text extracted from the accompanying article. The photograph is a display of a set of four tote bags made with cloth in combinations of bright colours like pink, blue, maroon, green and yellow. The fabric of the bags is sourced locally from Manipur. The bags have a vertical rectangular shape and have long handles made with thick cloth for ease of hanging the bag from one’s shoulder. The bags have a label made with thick paper clipped on one corner just below the handle – the label carries the name Matai Makes and provides details of Matai Society’s livelihood initiative to support the internally displaced people in Manipur. The accompanying text says: “The more prolonged the communal tension in the state, the longer will it take for normalcy to return in Manipur. This is where livelihood initiatives can play a crucial role because they help prioritize issues of survival and economic sustenance. Livelihood initiatives like those of Matai Society hold out the hope for a much larger process of self-reliance, recovery and healing in the state. This means that agencies like Matai Society and their partner organizations also need to sustain themselves.” Photo credit: Matai Society

Happenings, Manipur Relief Nov '23

Livelihood route to healing and recovery in Manipur

By Matai Society

Trans and queer youth are working out innovations to revive livelihood options for the internally displaced in Manipur. Matai Society urges you to join in

This illustration is a combination of two sketches and a small piece of text extracted from the accompanying article. The sketches depict some of the scenes of arson and rioting described by the author in the article. One of them shows a church in the countryside engulfed in smoke, while the other shows a car aflame on a city road and large clouds of smoke rising from the car. Stones and shards are scattered on the road beside the car. No human beings are visible in the sketches. The backdrop in both the sketches includes outlines of the verdant hills rising into the sky that Manipur is well known for. Both the sketches are in grey scale and have been made with pen ink and water colour on art paper. The accompanying text says “An hour into the journey, my eyes blinked to let go the misery they were withholding. It finally dawned upon me that Manipur had meandered away from the one I’d known in my lifetime of around two decades.” Artwork credit: Souvik Rakshit, Pawan Dhall

Insight, Manipur Relief Oct '23

Darkest homecoming

By Saki

A personal account of a survivor of the communal conflict that has engulfed Manipur – the first in a series of stories by Saki, a young student of history

This illustration is a combination of a photograph and text extracted from the accompanying article. The photograph shows a set of six colourful drawings made by children living in one of the trauma response centres for conflict-affected children and youth run by Matai Society in the Bishnupur district of Manipur. The centres are run in association with various relief camps. The drawings display a diversity of imaginations of their creators – a house and a tree beside it, a lust tree with heart signs and a child on a swing hanging from the tree, abstract representation of flowers, hearts, fish, and gift boxes, and even a ship sailing on a blue sea under a blue sky with the sun shining bright. The drawings have been created with pencil colours, crayons, and sketch pens on chart papers. The accompanying text says: “The conflict has lasted beyond four months now. During these excruciating days, many local clubs, youth groups, and NGOs have been running relief camps to host the masses that have become homeless. Most of the displaced hail from the hill-valley buffer area. Despite the goodwill and support from various government and non-government agencies and donors, these camps are struggling to make ends meet because of the sheer numbers of people affected. So many have lost their homes, many others their close ones.” Photo courtesy Matai Society

Insight, Manipur Relief Sep '23

Hope amid loss, pain and anxiety in Manipur

By Matai Society

Matai Society reports on the situation in and around the Bishnupur district of Manipur months into the communal conflict in the state and lists the urgent relief requirements

Tagged Under: Manipur Relief

At the juncture of cultures, solidarities and differences

Homecoming again, for healing

Fractured geographies and minds

Livelihood route to healing and recovery in Manipur

Darkest homecoming

Hope amid loss, pain and anxiety in Manipur

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