Down the hills of Manipur

MELTING POT

Bengaluru has always been a welcoming City. Premjit Singh, co-founder and COO of Zool, who hails from Imphal, Manipur says that it was this aspect of the City that made him stay here. He lives here with wife Archana Singha, who grew up in Assam and they have two daughters; Aditi and Shaivi.

Premjit, who did his engineering in PESIT, says ,“In Manipur, we don’t have engineering colleges and there was an exam conducted by the Manipur Government, based on which I got admission in the college.” He says that he quickly adjusted to the City. “I started liking the place. The weather is a plus point. It’s not like Delhi, where I did my schooling,” he says.

The cosmopolitan nature of the City is one of the many things that Premjit likes. “One isn’t restricted by the local language. Bengaluru is very accepting and a lot of people from different parts of the country stay here.” He says hasn’t faced any issues with the language as he is able to speak broken Kannada and understand it well.
Archana adds, “I have friends from all over the country here. It has been a learning experience understanding the different customs, be it in terms of marriage or food habits.”
What was the initial reaction of the people to his native place? “Most people didn’t know where Imphal was. In fact, many even asked me if I was referring to Manipur or Manipal. Others asked whether it was in India,” he answers. However, people have become more aware now, feels Premjit.

Archana, who works with an IT company, says adjusting to the City was never a problem. She has also worked in Delhi in the past.  “People there seem to be more brand-conscious and love talking about it. The lifestyle is simple here and people are more receptive.” She feels that the City is unsafe like any other city. “I don’t use the public transport here. I learnt to drive here as then, I can avoid bickering with the autowallas.”

They love hanging out at the different theatres, malls and shopping places whenever they have some time to spare. Aditi says that she loves her school. “I also love shopping,” she gushes.

Premjit, however, misses the food from home. “Manipuri cuisine consists of a lot of boiled items with sticky rice and ‘eromba’. There are different varieties of ‘eromba’ and every Manipuri household would have one everyday. I don’t think that there are any eateries or restaurants which have authentic Manipuri food here,” says Manipuri.

He adds that typical Manipuri food is prepared whenever their parents visit. “We have adjusted to the food here. I love the ‘dosa’ and the varieties of ‘biryani’ — from the Hyderabadi version to the local ones. I like ‘chow chow bath’ too. I think I’m more of a Bengalurean now,” he sums up.