Prose and Fiction
What the exam tests
Prose questions reward close reading: narrative voice, characterisation, setting, conflict and theme. They also expect knowledge of landmark Manipuri novels and short stories.
Elements to analyse
- Point of view: who narrates, and what that narrator cannot know.
- Setting: village, market, royal household or colonial encounter can function as a social border.
- Character: shown through action, speech, dress and kinship role, not only description.
- Conflict and theme: family duty versus desire, tradition versus modernity, gender and political power.
Landmarks
Hijam Anganghal’s Madhabi is a foundational novel in Manipuri prose. M.K. Binodini Devi’s Boro Sahib Ongbi Sanatombi is a major prose narrative exploring a Manipuri princess and a British political agent; its interest lies in intimacy, colonial power and historical memory. Short stories in periodicals made social critique available in compact form.
Worked example
Consider the statement: “When Sanatombi watches the officer leave, the veranda becomes a border between household and empire.” A strong answer identifies the setting (veranda), the point of view (Sanatombi’s restricted vision), and the theme (private life entangled with colonial authority). It does not retell the plot; it shows how narrative technique produces meaning.
Traps
Retelling the story instead of analysing technique; ignoring the narrator; treating every rural detail as local colour rather than evidence; and assuming all Manipuri fiction is folklore-based.