Dr Nunglekpam Premi Devi
Independent Scholar
Evening’s so mild; pleasant and welcoming;
Inviting and likeable; we choose we play phou-su;
Mother’s presence so agreeable ‘come, help me’;
‘It’s time we do, husking, let’s husk for a week!;
‘Get ready! Clean up sumbal; clean up suk;
‘Yes mother’ I play around so innocently, dull and tiresome;
I knew I’ll be, behaved like an idiot, quiet and still;
Happier I was mornings so censored; I choose to fancy;
Gathering phous, one a thunok two a thumok
Three a thumok four a thumok and gathering whole a phoura;
Slowly and steadily she’s engaging and I;
Hurriedly and steadfastly before nightfall,
Packing and transferring; pouring and spilling;
Rhythm by rhythm swinging and swaging,
Up and down; down and up ‘hunh hunh hunh hunh’;
Dhuk dhuk; dhuk dhuk; dhuk dhuk dhuk.
Faster I breath I opened wider, mouth so drying;
Keeping my eyes onto sumbal, I stand tilted;
Learning and angling, we bent and we warped;
Digging and ploughing; cutting and harrowing;
Beating and thumping; pounding and defeating;
‘hunh ha hunh; hunh ha hunh; hunh hunh’;
Dhik dhik; dhik dhuk dhik; Dhik dhik; dhik dhuk dhik;
Dhikdhuk, Dhikdhuk, Dhikdhuk ,Dhikdhuk dhik;
I dance to the belting; I moved to those stepping;
Moving in and shifting out; carrying and fetching;
Lugging and lifting; oh my hands! So badly,
Poorly hurting, peeling off pieces incorrectly;
I dragged and I pushed in, spiting again and after;
Unhappily it worn out, holding suk so tightly;
Up and down I dig; higher and lower.
Melting those wounds; I prey upon yangkok;
Spreading and husking; leveling and picking;
‘cherp cherp cherp; cherp cherp cherp cherp’;
‘cherp cherp cherp; cherp cherp cherp cherp’;
‘chagei chagei chagei; chagei chagei chagei’
‘chagei chagei chagei; chagei chagei chagei’;
One a pouring two a pouring; throwing up and low;
Bending in and up; sweating and glowing;
Lifting and engaging; she moved along thumping;
Dhik dhik; dhik dhuk dhik; Dhik dhik; dhik dhuk dhik;
Dhikdhuk, Dhikdhuk, Dhikdhuk ,Dhikdhuk dhik;
Sweeping and embracing; we play rhythm by rhythm;
One a leg, two a leg; one a leg, two a leg;
Switching and collecting; all in all one hole;
‘hunh ha hunh; hunh ha hunh; hunh hunh’;
Still breathing alive by those echoing;
Those phou-su phou-su khols haunting twin light;
Bewitching all I could regain mesmerizing ‘Dear mother’.
