A Study of selected poems from Sahitya Akademi AwardWinning Poetry Collection Idu Ningthou by Memchoubi

Ch. Manihar Sigh‟s in his book, A History of Manipuri Literature, said that the Pre-World War II waspredominantly occupied by Chaoba, Kamal and Anghal for the poetry genre. Women writing in Manipuri literature were laid by M.K. Binodini, Thoibi and Kh. Pramodini. In an article by E.NilakantaSinghentitled “Promise of Creativity” it is said the “Poetry is something which the Manipuri‟s adore, in many forms such as epics, ballads and lyrics” (155).In a book Woman Activism: In Contemporary Manipuri Literature by Dr S. Shantibala and Dr. W. KumariChanu in the third chapter of the book “Profiles of Woman Activists In Poetry”, the chapter elaborately trace the journey of women contribution in poetry. KhwairakpamAnandini (1952) became the first Manipuri womanpoet with her publication of her collected poems called SajibugiLeirangin 1967. Women poetsmarked the entry after the publication of SajibugiLeirang, carving a permanent place in the course ofmodern Manipuri poetry. Most of the women poets focus their writings more on religious and nature,but in the later stage women poet focuses more in expressing their feminine consciousness and identity. These thought was seen in the works of M. Borkeina, Arambam Ongbi Memchoubitonamea few. In the early stages of the poetry written by women the main thrust was on nature and not much on the problems of women, but in the later stages women gradually focuses more on issues identitiesandrole of women in society, women started getting more conscious about empowerment and responsibilities. ArambamOngbiMemchoubi (1955)is one of the outspoken poet, writer and activist of Manipur. She is one of the leading poets who are vocal and actively involved in bringingabout changes in the status of women in Manipur. She has been associating with the MachaLeimaanorganization who specially promotes free education for poor girl children, and many more socialactivities to help the down trodden people of Manipur. She has written series of poetry collectionsNonggoubi,1984isher first collection of poetry, AndrogiMei1990 is the second collection, SandrembiChaisra, 1993 is her third collection, EigiPalemNungsibi1998 is the fourth collection, IduNingthou , 2005 is the fifth collection, Leisang , 2008 and July 15 to name a few of her works. The present study is taken from the translated version of the poems IduNingthou, 2005, there are 54 poems Abstract: The paper is a study of Sahitya Akademi award-winning poetry collection for 2008 called IduNingthou by Memchoubi which is translated by Kh. Kunjo Singh. The present study is taken from the translated version of the poems, there are total 54 poems and 12 poems are taken up for study. The researchers have randomly chosen few poems to study the representation of gender, class and society of Manipur from the poets’ perspective. The paper will highlight the societal norms of Manipuri tradition and the limitation of the women roles in Manipuri society. The pitch of the study is the sketches of ideal Manipurthrough the lens of the poet’s vision. The poet drew her inspiration of the nature and tries conveying her deepest most thought through her lines. The study is more of analytical attempting to study between the lines. The poet’s view about women in general, her agitation towards the societal tradition and her vision of better Manipur and a strong sense of identity is attempted to study in this paper.