Day: September 6, 2014

By Pradip Phanjoubam

The United Naga Council, UNC’s ban on vehicular traffic along Manipur’s major lifelines has begun. The mood in the State, importantly in the capital, much to the consternation of many observers outside the State, is one of stoic acceptance of a periodic irritant, as if this is something written in the place’s destiny. In a way it is, given its peculiar geography. This must not however be mistaken for an attitude of resignation, for there is very much a volcano beneath the calm, quite capable of erupting with devastating violence, as the state has witnessed so many times before.

At least for the moment, a resignation does not seem to be the approach of the government either. It is seen gearing up to ensure the siege is not total, and from all appearances, it has won the support of the Central government as well. A team of senior Central government officials, including the MHA and Information Bureau, came visiting the state on the day the blockade began to take stock of the situation, and promised all necessary assistance to the State government.

This is encouraging, if not for anything else, than for the fact that this will be towards not allowing this ugly tussle and bitter venom to spread to the civil population. For if this does happen, it can be an extended nightmare for all for years and decades. The State had been on the verge of such a nightmare so many times before, but it does seem there are elements determined to push things precisely to such a limit.

Blockades and bandhs do happen frequently in the State, and this is bad enough, but this trend of indefinite blockades is a dangerous portend for all. In international law, and as so many commentators have said so many times before in very many situations all over the world, it is an act of war. We can only hope, regardless of what the provocation, public nerves do not snap on either side of the fence of the conflicting situation, and no destructive emotions explode.

But this is Manipur. The land where the abnormal can pass off with consummate ease as normal, and in the same breath and with equal unconcern, the incredible is accepted as routine. This is the picture which is unfolding before all of us again this time.

Here is an approximation of a slice of a single day in the life of Manipur as the broad pattern of morning newspaper headlines in the State would bear witness:

Irom Sharmila, is produced before the court in an exercise designed to perennially extend her detention without trial; She makes a remark laden with frustrated anxiety and sense of let down at the lack of public support; All the loud pledges of support and solidarity whenever the national media glare is on her are deafeningly silent this time; Elsewhere, a group of students at Wangoo demanding appointment of regular teachers in their school are fired upon with rubber bullets and mock bombs to disperse their rally, injuring several; An indefinite blockade of the state entered its second day, and there is no discernable outrage anywhere; Somewhere in a remote village on the Myanmar border, Army troops banish two families from their village for allegedly giving support to insurgents; In another corner of the state, women in dreary formal routine, take turns to squat daylong at designated spots with some ceremonial fruits in front of them to protest the non-implementation of the  Inner Line Permit System in the State; Many still insist this system was once in place in Manipur, though the Inner Line System was conceived and implemented in the Assam province of Bengal in 1873, by the Bengal Inner Line Regulation 1873; These same protestors would also with equal conviction continue to contend Manipur was an independent kingdom at the time and never a part of Bengal or India. Shouldn’t the self proclaimed intellectuals behind the movement for once make up their minds on the issue of whether this regulation meant for Bengal was promulgated in Manipur; Still elsewhere, grenade gifts are doled out on routine basis by extortionists as convincing messages to people from whom they seek their ‘donations’…

Picturing all these events on a single mental canvas surely would evoke surreal images such as those of the master of the genre, Salvador Dali, where madness is the defining norm, and the mind is allowed to violently yoke together radically dissimilar and unrelated ideas into a single thought, distorting reality and making the unreal real. Or perhaps the more accurate description of Manipur’s absurd theatre would be that of Lewis Carol’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’, with the Queen of Heart every now and then, without rhyme or reason, and at absolute random intervals, pronouncing her ridiculous and meaningless verdicts – ‘off with his head’ – at anybody in her vicinity.

In this absurd theatre that Manipur has become, people’s reactions to events are also more often than not counter intuitive. An indefinite blockade is announced, and rather than be outraged and scream blue murder, the first reaction is to wake up at unearthly hours and without a complaint and in total composure, as if this has been the routine all along, join miles long queue outside petrol pumps for their rationed quotas of 5 litres each.

Similarly, the chances on any given day are, somebody is gunned down by militants or State police, and the first demand by a quickly formed Joint Action Committee, JAC, is for suitable monitory compensation or government job for next of kin. A demand for fitting legal retribution would be only next in importance.

At least in the case of the just launched indefinite blockade, we do hope the confounding counter intuitive public response remains, and no violence breaks out on the streets. We have seen how terrifying this can be in the past. Nobody except the pathologically ill minds will crave for their repeat. The trouble is, in this absurd theatre, such psychopaths are also not in any shortfall, which is why the State is in a never ending boil.

On a more serious note, the indefinite blockade has once again awoken the State government to a reality it had, for whatever its reason, chosen to relegate into its now crowded deep freezer of public promises. In a knee jerk response after the current blockade was announced, it suddenly remembered there is another highway it can secure much more completely, the one which connects Imphal with Silchar in Assam. Why is that every time an economic blockade is announced, it finds itself caught with its pants down? The pattern has been for it to jolt itself awake once again to this reality, makes all kinds of promises that this highway would be upgraded and made heavy traffic worthy through all the seasons. Once the blockade is lifted, so would all the loud vaunts of upgrading this highway vanish into thin air. How we wish the government was able to see beyond the immediate. Had this been so, the State would be connected by many alternate highways to the world outside, thereby make even the most unscrupulous blockades much more manageable.

It is never too late. Let the government begin with the current emergency and give the project the energy and focus it deserve to develop and secure this highway once and for all. Even if there were never to be another indefinite blockade, which is unlikely knowing the ways of our firebrand street politicians, this is the highway of the future. The four-lane Silchar Expressway is nearing completion and once completed, road transportation is going to be simpler on this route. Again, if the Bangladesh-India border softens and is more formally regulated, as it would someday or the other, the Barak valley would climb in importance and so too the Imphal-Silchar highway.

It is no coincidence that even in the 19th Century, after Assam was annexed by the British in 1826 at the end of the First Anglo Burma War and the signing of the Treaty of Yandaboo,  and made a province of Bengal, there was a plan to connect Assam with Myanmar by railways, so as to give the extractive industries the British opened in the region more teeth. There were several routes marked out, all of them passed through Manipur, and one of them falls along the Imphal-Silchar mountain pass (L.W. Shakespear: ‘A History of Assam Rifles’).

Whatever may be said of oppression and exploitation of British colonialism, it must be also added the British colonialists’ sense of geography, and methods of exploiting this, was nothing but sublime. Long before the idea of ‘Look East Policy’ dawned and gained currency in India in the 1990s, colonial British India was already thinking of it for its own commercial benefits. The project was abandoned because of the growing militancy of Bengal towards the latter half of the century and also the peculiar linguistic politics in Assam.

Not only the currently used Imphal-Silchar road, the government must also develop the parallel road to Jiribam and thereafter Cachar – the historic Tongjei Marin. Throughout Manipur’s history as a Paddy State (in James Scott’s language), Tongjei Marin was vital as a commercial route as well as strategically. The Dimapur highway that we are more familiar with today is a post British phenomenon, and in particular the Second World War.

It is for this reason that to the older generation literates of Manipur, including incidentally Hijam Irabot, names of places such as Chittagong, Dhaka, Sylhet etc are so familiar, many of them having done their higher studies in Chittagong and Dacca Universities. Tongjei Marin falls in senior politician and State Home Minister, Gaikhangam’s constituency, so there can be no better moment than now for this road to be given its historical due of a major renovation.

Meanwhile, let the government also in all earnest try and bring those behind the blockade to the negotiating table for an amicable resolution to the issues involved. Let there be no doubt, nobody will end up winner in this unseemly and hostile contest.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/09/manipurs-theatre-of-the-absurd-once-again/

By Tinky Ningombam

Sometimes, not all things in life comes with a manual and that is why we have life-hacks. We call life hacks, those nifty tricks, tips and solutions that help make us do things easier in our everyday normal life. There are things that you need help for and there are things that you think you can handle and then land up calling for help. Starting from small innovative tricks for house-keeping to heavy duty chores such as repairing electric circuits or handling tools. Being a fix-it person around the house means having the improv skill and creativity to solve problems on the go.

It is funny when you come to think of it that every house has a designated Fix-it person, the one with in-borne skills for home solutions. Like how mothers always find your lost things. And as wise men say “it is not really lost, if your mom has not search for it.” Honestly, it is definitely a plus to be a fixer-upper especially if it is running chores around the house. Fixing an electric circuit, on the other hand, definitely requires a specialist. Let us be modest here, not every-one is a “born survivor” like Bear Grylls from Man Vs Wild. Talk about ultimate hacks!

These past few years, living on my own, I have come to realise the importance of how small hacks help save a lot of trouble. I am all in for DIY projects and have been scouring the internet for new things to try all the time. I am sure everyone have pulled a few at least once in their life-time and especially for people living alone, these things can actually truly be a great knack. Today, I will list few of the interesting tricks that can help save the day as well as help you make your claim as the quintessential life-hacker.

Here are my picks:

1.     If you have dropped your phone in water, put it in a zip-locked plastic bag filled with rice and keep for a couple of hours. The rice will absorb the moisture.

2.    New shoe pinches? Wear large socks and put on your new shoes and gently blow dry them where it is tight from outside for about 5 minutes.

3.    To check if your gas pipes are tight around the joints, put a little soapy water on the sides. If it bubbles, then there is a leak.

4.    If you run out of shoe polish. Peel off a banana and rub your leather shoes with the inside of the peel and wipe off with a soft cloth afterwards.

5.    Banana peels also works wonders to whiten your teeth, polish the scratches off a CD and to polish silverware. It also helps to cure bruises: just put the banana peel on the bruise for about 15 minutes.

6.    Use the airplane mode on your smart phone while charging to make it charge faster. Also, put it on while playing mobile games to turn off irritating in-between ads.

7.    Use a pencil eraser to rub off a scratch on your LCD screen. Rub alongside the long end of the scratch until it disappears.

8.    If you need to chill something really quick. Put ice in a zip lock plastic bag along with the can/bottle/packet that you need to chill and put a handful of salt. Take caution and handle with gloves or wrap a towel around it and shake.

9.    Use your mobile phone to take pictures before you dismantle something. For instance, if you are disconnecting wires from your electronic device, like a desktop computer, just refer to the picture to know which wire to go in where.

10.  Use the mobile camera to click a picture of the number of the bus/taxi/auto/vehicle you are getting on to and mail it to your spouse/friend/guardian if you are travelling long distance.

11.   If you are calling people over to your house for a party, click a picture of your house with your phone and send along with your address.

12.   Also, click a picture of the person and the item that they have borrowed from you. It will be easier to remember to collect them.

13.  If you are working out in the gym, prepare a playlist on your i-pod/ phone/ shuffle to last exactly the same time as your work-out regime. This will save you from constantly checking out the time on the machine (which can slow down your workout)

14.  To cool down a laptop while using, place it on top of an empty cardboard egg carton.

15.  To remove rust from iron tools/objects, soak overnight in a mixture of vinegar and salt

16.  To stop hiccups, eat a spoonful of sugar

17.  Dab an ice-cube on your eyebrows before you pluck them with tweezers, it numbs the pain

18.  If you like fresh flowers in your room. Put a tea spoon of baking soda or dash of soda water to keep your flowers fresher in the vase.

19.  If you are back-packing with dirty clothes in your luggage, open a small packet of scented soap and keep them in the bag, it will make your clothes smell fresher

20.   And the best for the last, keep your emergency numbers handy by writing it on a piece of paper and keeping it inside the back of your phone next to your phone battery. If your phone shuts down, these will help you contact your friends.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/09/life-hacks-creative-solutions-to-life-problems/

R.K. Shitaljit Singh

Translated by Chitra Ahanthem

“Who are you looking at? At your own self?”

Kombirei, who was seated in front of a mirror and combing her hair, was saying these words. There was no one nearby. There was just a striped cat with her on the wide verandah that spanned the length of three rooms. Perhaps sensing the sorry state of Kombirei who had no one to answer her query, the cat cried out “Meow, meow” and looked at her piteously. Hearing the cat, Kombirei looked at it and smiled softly. She felt content that there was at least this ‘petite being’ that felt a sense of relief for her.

Her combing over, she held the cat on her lap. Looking at it intently, she hugged it tight, “Arangbi, what makes you different from human being?”

The cat did not answer back but kept saying, “Meow, meow.”

Kombirei further continued, “You don’t know the difference? You know it but don’t know how to say it. Right? But the tone of your meow conveys your answer, Arangbi.”

Lost in her conversation with the cat, Kombirei was not aware of what was happening on the verandah. Looking on at the manner in which Kombirei was lost in her talks with the cat, the visitor did not dare to intrude. It seemed best that he remained silent, so he kept quiet.

Kombirei was asking the cat, “Why do you love me so, Arangbi? I don’t care enough for you.”

“It knows the reason, even if you don’t, Kombirei.” Hearing this, Kombirei turned to see who it was. Her face turned red when she saw the youth she had met on a few rare occasions and she turned towards the cat.

The youth asked, “Kombi, can you see your heart’s reflection in the cat’s eyes?”

With a soft smile, Kombirei said, “Yes, yes.”

“Do you know why?”

“No.”

“No?”

“Hmm.”

“Because of your closeness.”

Kombirei then sighed deeply and said to the cat, “Arangbi, go and play now. We will talk later after I finish my work.”

Hearing this, the youth said, “Kombirei, you really know how to let go easily.”

“How can I hold on just because I want to, Tada Subol?”

Subol did not reply. With a long drawn out “Hmm”, he turned his face slightly and looked at Kombirei.

Kombirei stood up and gave the mora she was sitting on to Subol. He sat on the mora and Kombirei sat down on the floor. Subol then said, “Kombirei, do you know why I have come?”

“No, I don’t.” All this while, tears fell from her eyes. She felt listless and did not bother to wipe her tears with her hands. The tears rolled down akin to a thin river flowing down a cliff.

Subol saw them but continued, “When will you ever understand me Kombirei? In which birth?”

“Not in this one, Tada.”

“Let me be off then.” And so Subol got up and went off. Kombirei stayed behind looking at him.

The next day, Subol’s mother Tharo was talking to her husband Choubhan as she sorted through and cleaned the vegetables for the meal. Choubhan was puffing away at a hookah as he lay on a mat. Tharo said, “Do you know? Our son does not see anything in this world except for Kombirei? I have cautioned him … said a lot but he does not listen … does not care. One day, we will surely pay for it if something happens.”

Choubhan did not reply. He merely listened and continued to smoke in contemplation. The hookah was big and made quite a noise. Tharo’s anger rose with Choubhan’s silence but the din raised by the hookah made it worse. Just as a dying person hates the noise of an engine, so also was her dislike for the noise emanating from the hookah. Her anger rising, she shouted abruptly, “Are you listening at all?”

Choubhan was startled by this outburst but calmed down and said, “Yes, I am.”

“Then why have you not said anything?”

“What if he brings the girl?”

“He is my son. You should not judge him wrongly.”

“I know he is your beloved son. But…?”

“It doesn’t matter, Tharo. Call Subol if he is around.”

Subol came at his mother’s bidding and stood with a subdued demeanor near his father.

Looking at Subol, Choubhan started, “Subol, has Kombirei agreed?”

Subol’s face flushed at the question. He remained quiet. Choubhan continued, “If it is OK, bring her once. Shall I go and meet her parents for their approval?”

Subol stayed quiet but Tharo, beating her chest with a clenched fist cried out, “Alas! All is lost! You both stay at this house … decide whom to bring as daughter-in-law!”

Choubhan looked at his wife calmly and said, “And you?”

“Rather than accept that uncultured girl as my daughter-in-law, I would …”

“Go back to your parental house?”

“Why not?”

“So you won’t agree with your husband? How can you expect your son to obey you when you don’t listen to your husband?”

Tharo bristled at the suggestion; she was at a loss to reply and remained quiet. Subol went off while Choubhan continued to smoke the hookah.

After a while, Choubhan said, “Tharo, listen. Have you not been able to know your son from the time he was a wee baby? He will marry the woman he desires and you cannot interfere. I did not marry you by choice. I saw your face the day I married you. The ones I desired, I had to leave behind because my elders did not agree. I married because I did not want to hear their taunts anymore. But I still feel the loss of giving up whom I wanted, to this day. So, you cannot speak more on this. I will go and meet Kombirei’s parents.”

A month has passed by since Kombirei became Tharo’s daughter-in-law. Tharo continued to think that Kombirei with her lowly family background would not be able to fit into the ways of the family and to serve the elders with the decorum that was needed.

Kombirei knew that her looks alone would not be able to please her mother-in-law. But she still had to live in close proximity with the one person she had thought she should stay far away from.

One day Tharo called in her daughter-in-law and said, “Kombi. Isn’t it true that I was the cause for your tears even while you stayed at your parents’ place?”

Kombirei did not reply but remained as mute as a pillar. Looking at her predicament, Tharo continued, “Be frank and don’t lie. Tell me, isn’t it true?”

“Yes.”

“Did you not say to Subol that you would have to go your separate ways for this lifetime?”

“Yes, I did.”

“And now?”

“That has not happened.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know.”

“It was your father-in-law. I constantly opposed it while Subol was caught in the middle. But Kombi, my feelings have changed. You have changed them. Your nature has impressed me, made me realize…”

Kombirei now knew she had been able to please her mother-in-law. Feeling a sense of contentment, she thought she would tell Subol of the development later in the day. After sometime, she asked if she could go.

Tharo stopped her with a “wait” and continued, “Listen, we women are immature. We stay confined to the house and stay ignorant. But we think that we are the cleverest in this world and do not pay heed to what our husbands say. We judge their words as mockery and make fun of what they say. You have corrected my wrong belief. Do not ignore your husband’s words only because you do not agree with it, but only if you know that they are wrong.”

She bade Kombirei to go and she went off to finish the household chores.

Choubhan came back and turned to Tharo, “Tharo, has your low born daughter-in-law still not managed to satisfy you with her conduct?”

“She has only exceeded my expectations.”

“I know. You only acted like you do not know. You believe that only you love your son while the father doesn’t. Isn’t it so?”

“Let it be. Now I realize.”

Subol who had come in while his parents were talking asked, “Why are you both shouting?”

“Oh! Your mother wants my daughter-in-law as her own. I heard that stealthily. I was only asking her over that.”

Tharo, “Eh! You listened stealthily? Isn’t that surprising?”

“Hmm, you will be surprised. You women will only live a life full of surprises. You will meet surprises at every step you take.”

Tharo then called her daughter in law to ask, “Ibemma, will you be your father-in-law’s daughter-in-law only? What about me?”

Kombirei listened with surprise but remained silent. Choubhan said then, “Ibemma, she was not part of it. I came to take you as my daughter-in-law. Do not be her daughter-in-law.”

Tharo spoke again, “Kombirei, don’t you have any affection for me? Will the anger you brought from your home still remain?”

Hearing her mother-in-law’s words, Kombirei bowed at Tharo’s feet and replied, “I am my father-in-law’s daughter-in-law and my mother-in-law is my most loved mother.”

At Kombirei’s words Subol asked her, “Kombi, do you know what made my mother say this?”

“From being close.”

(This translation of the short story written by the late RK Shitaljit has been recently published in Tamna, a half yearly journal brought out by the Manipur Chapter of the North East Writers’ Forum)

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/09/from-being-close-naknarubadagi/