Tourist Attractions of Manipur

The tiny state of Manipur has many surprises to offer. It is a land of ancient culture and matchless natural beauty. The trip covers major tourist attractions like Kangla Fort, 2nd WW Cemetries, Laktok lake, Sendra island and countless others.

Kaina
This holy Hindu Place stands at 920 m above sea level. The placid and tranquil atmosphere around this place is very divine. It lies at a distance of 29 km from Imphal.

Tamenglong
Tamenglong is a not-to-be-missed place of Manipur. The splendid beauty of Mother Nature is seen in her pristine form. The puzzling caves, the exotic orchids, the shimmering water and the deep gorges add to the magic of this place. Situated at 156 kms from Imphal this place has the Tharon Cave, Burning Meadow, Zailad Lake and Barak Waterfalls as the popular tourist spots.

Waithou Lake
Situated on the Indo-Myanmar Road, this idyllic spot is famous for its pineapple slopes. There is also a tourist lodge, at the fringe of the lake.

Ukhrul
Is the highest hill station of Manipur, situated at 83 kms east of Imphal. Siroi Hills and KhangKhui Lime Caves are excellent excursion -destinations. The colourful Tangkhul Nagas habituate this land of the Siroi land lilies, which are simply too pretty.

Kangchup
920 m above sea level and 16 kms to the west of Imphal, Kangchup is a health resort on the hills, overlooking the Manipur valley. With the construction of the Singda Dam, this place has become a major tourist attraction.

Keibul Lam Jao National Park
Once, a hunting reserve, this 40 km tiny park is the house of the near extinct Sangai or Manipur brow-antlered deer (dancing deer). It has the honour of being the only floating National park in the whole world. It was declared a sanctuary in 1954 when a great number of the Sangai were getting seriously decimated. The deer live on the vegetation surrounding the Loktak Lake.

Economy of Manipur

Agriculture and allied activities is the single largest source of livelihood, for a majority of the rural masses, and is also the mainstay of the state economy. Industry in Manipur is not very well developed. However, the state is now making rapid strides towards industrialisation, with the setting up of many large and small-scale industrial units. The main industries of Manipur are pharmaceuticals, steel re-rolling, plywood, bamboo chipping, cement, vanaspati and electronics.

The state is well connected by airways and roads. Railway tracks are being laid for better transportation facilities. The state of Manipur, once a princely state became a part of India on the 15th of October 1949. Agriculture and allied activities provide the backbone to the economy in both the hills and the valley of Manipur.

While weaving and pisciculture are other important and traditional means of livelihood in the valley, logging, cultivation of a few cash crops, handloom and handicrafts are the traditional sources of additional income in the hills. In terms of infrastructure Manipur is quite backward with an index of infrastructure of 81 (as per CMIE index in 1992-93). The reference point is 100, the national average. Moreh has become an important business centre because of border trade with Myanmar.

In 1996-97, the contribution of the tertiary sector to SDP was the highest. It comprised almost half of the SDP of Manipur. Over the years, there has been a shift in the sectoral contribution from the primary to the tertiary sector and the secondary sector indicates a fluctuating trend.

Arts and Culture of Manipur

Walled on all sides by ranges of hills with poor infrastructures for development so far as overall development is concerned, this little part of the globe-Manipur has been identifying itself to the people living in India as well as abroad through its rich arts and culture.Love of art and beauty is inherent in the people and it is difficult to find a Manipuri girl who cannot sing or dance. Much has been written on the Manipuri dance, on its lyrical beauty and rhythm.

Manipur presents a mosaic of traditions and cultural patterns. Particularly, it is world famous for the Manipuri style of classical dance, very much distinct from other Indian dance forms. The Manipuri school of dancing whether folk, classical or modern, is devotional in nature.

The folk dances of tribal people captivate the beholders with their exotic costumes and simple but graceful rhythm. Their folklore is quite rich in quality. The dances of the tribal people are both ritualistic and recreational, religious and temporal. The ritual dances are performed at a particular rite or ceremony or sacrifice and these dances naturally have a spiritual and religious basis.

The dances of the tribal people have a high artistic and aesthetic value.The folk dances of tribal people captivate the beholders with their exotic costumes and simple but graceful rhythm.Their folklore is quite rich in quality. The dances of the tribal people are both ritualistic and recreational, religious and temporal. The ritual dances are performed at a particular rite or ceremony or sacrifice and these dances naturally have a spiritual and religious basis. The dances of the tribal people have a high artistic and aesthetic value.

The rich culture and tradition of the Manipuris are also depicted in their handloom clothes and handicrafts. The Manipuri handloom and handicraft are world famous for its craftsmanship as well as ingenuity, colourful, colourfulness and usefulness.

The people are artistic and creative in their thinking and outlook. The creativeness in their habit and tradition has found expression in the designing of handloom and handicrafts products. The handloom products are as varied and colourful as the individual needs and tastes. Bed sheets and covers, colourful tribal shawls curtains and screens, sarees and gowns of Manipur find markets throughout India and abroad. Their handloom and handicraft products sold by ladies in Khwairamband bazar, the largest women’s market in the country, are favourite pieces of souvenirs for the visiting tourists.

Flora and Fauna of Manipur

Blessed with an amazing variety of flora and fauna, 67% of the geographical area of Manipur is hill tract covered forests. Depending on the altitude of hill ranges, the climatic condition varies from tropical to sub-alpine. The wet forests and the pine forests occur between 900-2700 m above MSL and they together sustain a host of rare and endemic plant and animal life.Coveted the world over as some of the most beautiful and precious blooms, orchids have an aura of exotic, mysteries about them.

In Manipur, they are abound in their natural habitat growing in soil or on trees and shrubs speaking their beauty and colour, stunning the eye that is not used to seeing them. in such profusion. There are 500 varieties of orchids which grow in Manipur of which 472 have been identified

In addition to ‘Siroi Lily’ which is the only terrestrial lily grown on the hill tops of Siroi hill, Ukhrul, the Hoolock Gibbon, the Sloe Loris, the Clauded Leopard, the Spotted Linshang, Mrs. Hume’s Barbacked Pheasant, Blyths Tragopan, Burmese Pea-Fowl, four different species of Hornbills etc. form only a part of the rich natural fauna of Manipur.

However, the most unique is the Sangai the dancing deer. The floating mass of vegetation on the Loktak Lake sustains small herds of this endemic deer which unfortunately has the dubious distinction of being the most threatened Cervid (known as Phumdi) in the World. Other mentionable fauna is Salamander known as ‘Lengwa’ found at the foothill of Siroi in Ukhrul.

Manipur University

The Manipur University came into existence on June 5,1980. It is constituted under the Manipur University Act,1980(Manipur Act NoVIII of 1980).

The objects of the University shall be to disseminate and advance knowledge, wisdom and understanding by teaching and research and by the example and influence of its corporate life. In the light of the above objectives ,t he approach of the Manipur University is to evolve policies and programmes which will make the University a distinct addition to the national resources in higher education rather than a mere quantitative expansion of facilities which already exist .

The university has identified and will concentrate upon some major distinct academic programmes ,which are relevant to the progress and development of the country in general and the north-eastern region in particular.

Located in the historic Canchipur with the ruins of the old palace of Manipur in the background , the University has a big campus with beautiful surroundings .A successor to the Jawaharlal Nehru University Post-Graduate Centre since 1st April,1981( the day the Centre was merged in the University) , the University has its administrative headquarters and Post-Graduate classes and research in the premises of the erstwhile Post-Graduate Centre. The University which has jurisdiction all over the state of Manipur has affiliated colleges and 3 permitted colleges situated at different parts of the state.

People and Culture of Manipur

The people are simple and happy. They speak sweet words. The place is the land of diverse origins, but of a unique culture. Here different ethnic groups of people are living together for centuries with peace and harmony. Majority people of the State are the Meiteis. Other people of present Manipur include Bishnupriya Manipuris, Naga, Meitei Pangal and other colourful communities which have lived together in complete harmony for centuries.

These are the people whose folklore, myths and legends, dances, indigenous games and martial arts, exotic handlooms and handicrafts are infested with the mystique of nature. The Hill tribes of Manipur although divided into a number of clans and sections, maybe grouped under the two divisions -Naga’s and Kuki’s.Manipur is a mosaic of traditions and cultural patterns, best represented by its dance forms. The Lai-Haraoba, a traditional stylized dance is ritual dance for appeasing gods and goddesses.

The Lai-Haraoba festival is generally celebrated between April and May, after the harvest season, The Ras songs and dances express the Leelas (sports) of Lord Krishna as a child with the Gopis milkmaids) of Brindavan, and depict their yearning for communion with the Lord. The tribal dances of Manipur are the expression of love, creativity and aestheticism of the tribal people of the State.

Manipuris were earlier recognized as skilful warriors and still practice the arts of wrestling, sword fighting and martial arts. Sogol Kangiei (Mainipuri Polo) is the principal sport of the State, for polo is believed to have originated here. Mukna Kangiei (Wrestling Hockey) is also a very popular game in Manipur. The game is part of a ceremonial function and enjoyed due patronage in the olden days. Another popular game known as Yubi-Lakpi (Manipur Rugby) is played, using a greased coconut.

Manipur Languages

Meithei (also Meitei, Manipuri, Meiteilon) is the predominant language and lingua-franca in the state of Manipur, in northeastern India. It is the official language in government offices. Meithei has proven to be a large integrating factor among all ethnic groups in Manipur who use it to communicate among themselves.

Meithei has been recognized as the Manipuri language by the Indian Union and has been included in the list of scheduled languages (included in the 8th schedule by the 71st amendment of the constitution in 1992). Meithei is taught as a subject up to the Post-graduate level (Ph.D.) in Universities of India, apart from being a medium of instruction upto the undergraduate level in Manipur.

There is another language named Bishnupriya (or Bishnupriya Manipuri), which was also spoken in the polyglot land of Manipur before 15th century, which is mentioned in Sir G.A.Griersons ‘Linguistic Survey of India’. The language contains many pre-meithei vocabulary.

The Meithei had its own script named Meetei-Mayek, which was in use until the 18th century. Subsequently, the Bengali script was adopted to write the language and is being used till date. However, efforts are being made to revive the Meetei-Mayek script.

Imphal: Manipur

Imphal is the capital of Manipur, India. The Imphal Valley is drained by several small rivers originating from the hills surrounding it. These include the Imphal, Iril, Sekmai, Thoubal, and Khuga rivers. ‘Ima Keithel’ at Khwairamband Bazar is the only market in the world where, as the name suggests, all the stalls are run by women.

In the heart of the town and surrounded by a moat, are ruins of the old Palace of Kangla. Until 2003, the grounds used to be occupied by the Assam Rifles, a paramilitary force. Another place of historical interest is the Polo Ground which is the oldest existing polo ground in the world. Near the Polo Ground is the Manipur State Museum, which has a good collection of old artifacts and nice pictures depicting the history of Manipur.

In 1944 during World War II the Battle of Imphal, along with the simultaneous Battle of Kohima, was the turning point in the Burma Campaign. For the first time in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II the Japanese lost the initiative to the Allies which they then retained until the end of the war.

The state is also famous for inhabiting the Brow-antlered Deer called the Sangai. This species of the deer is only found in Manipur and is on the verge of extinction. Last count of Sangai deer revealed only 162 left in the Keibul Lamjao National Park.

Manipuri dance

Manipuri dance is one of the major Indian classical dance forms. It originates from Manipur, a state in the North-East state of India on the border with Myanmar (also known as Burma). The traditional Manipuri dance style embodies delicate, lyrical and graceful movements. The aim is to make rounded movements and avoid any jerks, sharp edges or straight lines. It is this which gives Manipuri dance its undulating and soft appearance. Of course, behind this outwardly soft impression lies a tough regime of body control.

In contrast with other Indian dance forms, the dancer’s feet should never strike the ground hard as this would interfere with the delicate flow of the body movements. Every time the dancer puts down his or her feet, even during vigorous steps, it is the front part of the feet which touch the ground first and ‘break the fall’. The ankle and knee joints are effectively used as shock absorbers.

The dancer’s feet are neither put down nor lifted up at the precise rhythmic points of the music but rather slightly earlier or later to express the same rhythmic points most effectively. This is possible because the way the feet move is viewed as a part of a composite movement of the whole body. Indeed, Manipuri dancers do not wear ankle bells, whose purpose in other Indian dances is to accentuate the beats tapped out by the feet.

Like the movements of the body and feet, the facial expressions in Manipuri dance should be subtle. The main bases of this dance style are devotion and grace.

History of Manipur

Manipur and Assam became involved in the disputes between Thailand and Burma, and Manipur took advantage of a Burmese invasion of Thailand to raid deep into its western frontier. This triggered the Burmese invasion of Manipur and Assam, which sucked in the British, ruling neighbouring Bengal. The British, to safeguard their position against the Burmese, intervened, defeated Burma and took over Assam, and brought Manipur under British paramountcy in 1891.

During the Second World War, Manipur was the scene of many fierce battles between the Japanese and Allied forces. The Japanese swept over East Asia and came up to Manipur. They were beaten back before they could enter Imphal and this proved to be one of the turning points of the War.

There are two cemeteries maintained by the British War Graves Commission in Manipur, which are the final resting places of several Indian and allied soldiers who died here.

In 1947, with British Parliament’s repeal of British Paramountcy, in preparation for Indian independence, Manipur became an independent kingdom once again.