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Saroj Nalini Arambam Parratt
Manipuri scholar From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Saroj Nalini Arambam Parratt (2 June 1933 – 2009) was a pioneering Manipuri scholar, theologian, and translator. She became the first Manipuri woman to earn a Bachelor of Divinity from the University of London in 1961.[1][2] She is best known for her definitive three-volume English translation of the royal chronicle of Manipur, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: the Cheitharon Kumpapa, published by Routledge between 2005 and 2013.[3][4]
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Early life and education
Saroj Nalini Arambam was born in Imphal, Manipur, on 2 June 1933. She attended the University of Calcutta, where she became the first Meitei woman to earn both the BA and MA degrees in philosophy.[2][5]
Conversion to Christianity
While studying in Kolkata, she formed close friendships with Christian Naga students and embraced Christianity.[1] She was baptised at the Lower Circular Road Baptist Church in Calcutta, and her Christian faith became a defining influence on her later decisions, including pursuing theological studies in London.[2]
Despite never working as a missionary, she maintained spiritual ties with Meitei Christian communities. A witness to Imphal churches in 1989, she reportedly wept upon seeing new converts—signalling her emotional connection to the community.[2]
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Academic career
Saroj Nalini Arambam earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree from the University of London in 1961 and married theologian John Parratt shortly after.[6] The couple subsequently moved to Nigeria, where she taught philosophy at the University of Ile-Ife.[6] Nalini later pursued a PhD under renowned Indologist Arthur Llewellyn Basham at the Australian National University, completing a thesis entitled, The Religion of Manipur (published in 1980).[7][8][9] She completed her doctorate work around 1980 and later returned to India, joining Manipur University as a Visiting Professor.[10]
Literary and scholarly contributions
Her most significant contribution is her three-volume English translation of the Cheitharol Kumbaba, published by Routledge as The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur between 2005 and 2012.[11]
She also co-authored along with John Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods: Meitei Lai Haraoba, an authoritative study of Meitei ritual traditions, published in 1997.[12]
See also
References
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