HUM HI NAVODAYA HO !!!!!

Jawahar Navoday Vidyalaya Mahadevpur, Lohit district, Arunachal Pradesh is part of my life and is part of me. Life would be incomplete  if I  miss to mention Mahadevpur. At that time  the place was not  so beautiful. At that time not more people were educated there. Small shops, few video halls and  few  schools were there. And those places were Centre of Universe  for everyone of us. One   school among those is  Jawahar Navoday Vidyalaya (JNV). I was schooled in the same school. Now I am a man! But, life  as a school boy, they were altogether really great, interesting and  funny too. My school years, like  most of us have, were the best years of my life. Now they are gone and will never come back again. We  cannot   redo the things. Worth of earth altogether cannot bring the same for me.

!! My Batchmates!!

They are my vivid memories. Sometime, I miss my teachers, my  friends, our cooks, office staff and  above all the school. In fact till date my closest friends are the ones I made in hostel. Academically I was sound and  did well till class X. The lowest marks which  I scored was in Class XI.  I  had scored only 04 in Mathematic in half yearly examination.  And in class 12th, it was the worst result of my life.

!!Our Share of Fun!!

I was  less popular among my seniors and  friendly  with my classmates. But to my juniors and I used to crack jokes and made them laugh. Sometimes I used to  help them in their studies. But  I shared all my emotional feelings with classmates. One among them was was Monindra Masia. Many friends are there but I  had  good bondings with Tushar Kumar Jha, Rupam Talukdar, Sudershan G. Bose,  Dimbeswar Das, Ai Thown Gohain, (Our Leonardo Di Caprio) and many more to mention.  Plabita Konwar (now Gogoi) was also very close to me. She was the  tallest girl in the entire school( I guess). She was beautiful, gorgeous and always happy.  She  used to have really good handwriting. The most striking feature about her was_-her braod smile.The most unforgettable persons are my classfriends.  Don’t know if they  miss our friendship or not. The good thing is that We are still in Touch and and still good friends. Don't know if they remember those days or not but I will always and forever!

!!Choti Choti Yaadein !!

I don’t expect them to remember me but I will always. Those friends and their  friendshipare unforgettable for me.Those parties, celebrations, those laughters, funs, jokes, tears and sadness,  worries, joy and pain, jealousy and conspiracy, cheating friends, fooling teachers, all those anger against teachers,  cooking illegally (meat, egg, puri, halwa,  chana, fish in a  glass using wax), going out of  school campus  to watch movies in  video halls,(and sometime  getting   caught red handed -Film  Dilwale is an example) plucking berries in the jungle, going to Namsai, swimming in Noa Dihing River (all activities without  teachers' permission). Watching movies in dinning hall late at night, watching  programmes likeChandraKanta, Shaktimaan, Rangoli, Chitrahaar, Geet Bahar, Miss World Contest besides football and cricket. Stealing eggs from the mess and getting caught by the cookmen(Rupam knows it well; Amarkant Bhaiyya  caught him), celebrating Holi with tooth paste(Colgate), Ujala, Blue Powder(neel), with meat ka Jhol, and even with quadriderm , enjoying flood, fishing, getting  shifted from JNV to Government Higher Secondary School during   flood, taking   double breakfast, taking lunch and dinner without  being in a line saying CBSE ka Maamlaa Hai and our All time  favourite soaps- OK  and Lifebuay... All memorable !!! :( :(

!!Joy of Togetherness !!

Tour (Migration) to Uttar Pradesh (Gorakhpur) with 21 other guys by Train are all vivid and Memorable. And that was my  first Journey by Train !! They cannot be compared with anything on the earth. And  all of a sudden  I realised that I had already spent more than six years in JNV Mahadevpur and  had to leave the  Hostel Life !!. Now, We have our own ways to move. And I know I have to move on. No one will be  guiding me anymore, no teachers, not even those closest friends of mine. No one will come to guide me, to show the way. I loved the way I was and still I love the way I am now! Life seems to get more Complex and Intricate after school days. Sometimes feel like  giving up but NO I will not, as I always  say Such is Life !!!  

!!Finally Out to face the Real World !!

Movie Review: ‘Crossing Bridges’

In the beginning Tashi, protagonist of the film even could not gear up his courage to cross a log bridge to reach his home. 

The film ‘Crossing  Bridges’ revolves round a young man who returns to his village after spending many years in Mumbai at the pretext of taking break from his busy schedule, though reality is something else.

Uncomfortable, less-confident among with his own folks, Tashi in the beginning tries his best to go back to Mumbai as soon as possible and keeps asking his friend, Amit who lives in Mumbai, to help him in this regard.

With the series of event and happenings, Tashi, ultimately, finds his roots in the village where once he belonged.

Thought Tashi gets an opportunity to leave his village and his folks but he decides to remain as one among those villagers helping school children in teaching them what he learnt from his experiences. Few shots with school children have been captured very naturally and beautifully. Finally, Tashi can cross the same log bridge confidently which once he was not curtained of.

In every aspect, ‘Crossing Bridges’ is an excellent movie. Excellent cinematography, excellent music and best among them is an outstanding depiction of beautiful landscape of state’s natural beauty.  Besides nature’s beauty, beautiful Gompa, colourful holy   flags and dances of Buddhism have been excellently captured by the director.

Each and every shot and frame will make you fall in love with the beauty of Arunachal Pradesh and can also used for promotingArunachal Tourism.

Besides the  main  theme and content, ‘Crossing Bridges’ also depicts many sub themes like lost love, fulfilling someone’s wishes, influence of  coming modernity in village as shown  though television and direct to home services,  PCO being  replaces by cell phones, development regarding  Trans-Arunachal Highway.

At the same time the film also depicts how village people are still  could not shed their age old customs and beliefs through a minor character Dorjee.

The only problem with the movie is that sometimes the frames change abruptly from one scene another breaking the rhythm and continuity of the film. But that can easily be ignored.

After watching ‘Crossing  Bridges’ one feels that Arunachal Pradesh can also produce and make films par excellence to other parts of the country.

This 1 hour and 44 minutes film has been produced by Tenzing Norbu Thondok under the direction of Sange Dorejee Thonduk and will be completely paisa wasool if screened in theatres.

Know AIDS and accept the Positives

More than spreading knowledge about AIDS, what is necessary is perhaps to create a society that accepts HIV-positive people as normal fellow humans.

Back in the 1980s, while watching television, you would come out of your house and move the antenna pole to get the best signal. You would turn the pole around and ask: Aaya? or Hua? (Is the picture clear?), and somebody from inside the house would shout yes or no.

Today, we can watch different channels with a remote control in our hands without worrying about the antenna giving up on us. This is development.

It was also back in the ‘80s that the entire world was surprised by a new finding - the emergence of the HIV among human beings. And since then, the human race is trying find out the panacea for it. Occasionally, it is rumoured that medicine against AIDS has been invented, but the increasing number of the HIV positive people flies in the face of such bogus claims. HIV/AIDS is spreading its tentacles globally.

Arunachal Pradesh is no exception, either. The number of HIV/AIDS infected people in the state is increasing alarmingly. The official record says Papum Pare leads followed by Lohit.

 The first AIDS case in Arunachal was detected in Anini in 1998. The person was infected through blood transfusion. Various steps have been taken so far to check it from spreading in the state.

In this regard, Arunachal Pradesh State Aids Control Society (APSACS) is rendering its yeoman service in the sate in creating awareness among the mass against the HIV/AIDS. APSACS funded seminars and workshops are held every now and then at different schools, colleges and other institutions in the state. Every district medical officer is asked to carry out the task according to their convenience.

APSACS aims to cover the entire state in creating awareness against HIV/AIDS. The campaign on Integrated Counseling and Testing Centre (ICTC), aimed at drawing people towards ICTC for information on HIV/AIDS, has started showing positive results.

The taboo regarding HIV/AIDS, however, is still the same as it was before. When people talk about HIV/AIDS, the first impression that comes to the mind is Sex.

No doubt sex plays the major role in spreading the AIDS virus. But there are many other reasons which the people are not aware of. The impression of sex being the only reason must be removed from the minds of the people.” 

Whether the names of HIV-positives should be made public or not, many are in favour while many others are clearly not in favour of the idea.

Many argue, if it happens, the sky will fall upon them and their lives would become like hell. They would be deserted by their own parents and relatives. Nobody would accept them. The patients would get nothing but hatred from every corner of the society. So the names of the patients have been kept confidential.

 But who can be sure whether or not they might be spreading it to others out of frustration and anguish?  The greatest hurdle anyway is that nobody wants to be tested for AIDS. Also, in most cases, doctors cannot find out whether the patients are locals or non-locals, since they know about it through the blood samples received through donation.

No doubt there is ignorance about AIDS but, so far the state has succeeded to make people aware about it to some extent. APSACS, on its part, is trying its best to check it. Besides this, other organizations and NGOs must lend their hands to fight against the menace of AIDS.

 The student community has the most important role to play in preventing it as they can teach and talk to their parents and illiterate friends openly and frankly about AIDS. The people must be convinced that AIDS doesn’t spread if we sit with patients, touch them or share meals with them.

Programmes like Haath Se Haath Mila and movies like Phir Milenge and My Brother Nikhil could be screened by the state government and other organizations to make the common people aware and informed about the syndrome. 

Yumrin Nokma of Arunachal, who has been an HIV positive for the last few years and is open now, when he knew that he was infected with the virus his world had broken into pieces. However today, he is living happily because of the cooperation he gets from the society and now he works for creating awareness among the mass and advises them not the repeat the mistake which he   did years back.

That, perhaps, is the key: an understanding society.  For it may take time to make the earth free from AIDS - if not today, tomorrow; and if not tomorrow, the day after - but certainly a cure will be invented because, as Napoleon said: “The word impossible is found only in the dictionary of the fools.”

And human beings are no fools.

Freedom is meaningless when no one is Aazad !!!

When I was passing out from Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU), I asked a Deori friend of mine coming from Assam to study in RGU how did he feel staying two years in Arunachal Pradesh?  Happily he replied, “I really enjoyed being here. I like Arunachalee contrary to what was told to me by my relatives when I told them I took admission in Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh. People here are simple and straight forward sans cunningness and deceitfulness. I enjoyed every freedom here and loved being here.”

Time changed! Today, somewhere inside our hearts, many of us find we cannot enjoy the real freedom. Many feel, the state is not as safe as it used to be, though many may claim. Inside our hearts we, somehow, believe and accept that the place is becoming insecure for us irrespective of caste, community or region.

Recently, while buying chana-matar-badam from a chanawala at Nahralagun roadside, I  asked him, “Bhaiyya kitna kama liya,” he looked upset and replied, “Kahan sir, abhi abhi ek ladka aaya thaa, haath  mein beer bottle thaa aur pura nasha mein thaa, usne mera jeb check kiya aur sab  kamaya hua paisa le gaya aur saath mein ek bada sa chana ka  packet bhi le gaya”. Surprised by his answer I asked why he didn’t protest. He was afraid of protesting. The man was scared of being beaten up by that drunken guy. How free he feels, only he knows!

Journalism in Arunachal Pradesh is clear example of how freedom is curved, pressed and twisted by few people for their self interest. Journalists work hard risking their lives in mirroring the reality. But everywhere freedom of press is chained. Hard working media persons are threatened and humiliated at every drop of a hat. Not only this, they are warned and intimidated and threatened of being killed or tortured. Do they really enjoy the freedom of press and freedom of expression? Answer is crystal clear.

Concerned parents are always worried about their children’s well being. If they are late by any means particularly at night, many horrible imaginations start coming to their  minds. Their children being in trouble, beaten or killed are few scariest imaginations that haunt these parents. Their minds are not free.

If in an emergency one has to go to any place during night time, one has to think time and again before stepping out from home. No one feels secured or safe to move out during such an emergency. Where is one’s freedom?

Law abiding citizen don’t feel free to drive along the main highway. They are afraid of being hit or smashed by law breakers of traffic rules. Sometimes their minds are preoccupied of being killed or being fined if something goes wrong. Are they really free? You know the answer better.

Only few days back I read a joke about a school going child saying to his mother, “School sey darr nahi lagta hai Maa, Mid Day Meal sey lagta hai”. Joke apart, somewhere between the lines one realises how scared school going children and their parents are regarding their lives. Parents are not free from fear of losing their children. Freedom is confused here.

Rapes and murders were unheard of in the land of rising sun till few years back. Time has changed. Rape, murder and other criminal activities make headlines in most of the state’s local dailies.

Womenfolk cannot move freely at night hour which makes mockery of Gandhiji’s vision, “The day a woman can walk freely at midnight on the roads, that day we can say that India achieved independence”.  They are not free from the clutches of greedy and lecherous eyes. Does freedom hold any meaning for these women?

In many parts shopkeepers cannot keep their shops open till late night. They start shutting their shutters as soon as the sun hides beyond the western horizon. How free and secured they feel is still a mystery.

And finally, where is the actual freedom when a rickshaw puller has to pull another fellow being for earning livelihood even after India achieved freedom many years back? Freedom is meaningless for him. 

However, having said all these, all is not dark and depressing. There are freedoms that we enjoy everyday. We must be optimistic. Let everyone enjoys the things they love doing it without obstructing another person’s freedom. Let each of us feel secured, safe and free. Let there be an environment where each of us can enjoy the happiness of being free and pleasure of freedom or else what is this freedom if no one is aazad in reality.

Somebody’s Mother !!

I was upset seeing her troubled state, though I did not know her at all. She looked so frail, so weak, so rickety and poor in health. She was trembling. She was standing outside my door, in front of me with a help of a long stick when I opened the door after hearing the knocking.

Her innocent smile with all folded skin and wrinkled face drew my attention. Seeing her, the first impression that came to my mind was that she might have lost her way! Bu I was wrong!

She started speaking in a particular local dialect that I didn’t understand. She started smiling. I smiled! She kept smiling! Aesthetically she looked beautiful and attractive! For a moment, for me, she was the finest example of a beautiful aged woman.

I was without any idea and didn’t know what to say to her. Her smile which looked so beautiful just few moments before looked annoying and bit painful. Ultimately, she fished out something from her dirty tattered rag. She showed to me a ten-rupee note. I got the hint! I did not hesitate to give her money. When I went near to her she hugged me. She almost gripped me. Honestly and truthfully, her body odour was so repelling. At once I tried to untie her hand from the grip. But I failed! There was something arresting in her hug. Was that my hypocrite act to make her feel good or was it the power of her pure love? Whatever, I could not resist myself reciprocating her filthy physical but true and natural hug! I almost became emotional.

Once again she said that I did not understand. She put her right hand above my head touching my hair softly. It felt so comforting and relaxing!

It also made me speculate if her relatives or children are aware about her ruined condition. When she needed them the most, she was moving from door to door pleading for help! All alone and begging!

I helped her coming down stairs from my quarter. I saw a local basket full of local green leafy vegetable. She hinted me to buy few bundles. I didn’t buy any as I had enough at my room. I helped lifting the basket. She touched me again and said something and walked away!

For a few moments I stood there silently. Didn’t she deserve her children’s or relatives’ care? Ironically and unfortunately, she is ignored and left at the mercy of her own fate.

She will visit someone’s house next time and beg! The saga might go on and on! Even the god will surely not come to lend his helping hand to her.

The situation also reminded me of a poem called “Somebody’s Mother’ I had read when I was a school child:

The woman was old and ragged and gray

And bent with the chill of the winter’s day.

I Lied To Him !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Sir what would you do after your retirement? I asked an elderly person from Manipur whom I met in Guwahati, Assam, during a work shop on Photo-Documentation organized by Photo Division Ministry of India in 2008.

“I will buy a small piece of land in Assam and will spend my rest of my life peacefully”, was his straight and effortless answer.

I was surprised. I said, “Every person desires to spend his life in one’s native place but yours is opposite. You wish to remain away from your native place. Politely he replied, “Son, I have survived enough in Manipur, in my own land, in my native place hoping that a day would come when everything will be fine but nothing changed.”

From childhood to this day, I have seen lots of changes. It is saddening to see Manipur going these way killings, rapes, murders and suffering. I feel choked in my own land. I have go through unexplainable suffering in my own land. I want to live here yet I cannot. So I no longer want to survive here.

Once, Manipur was really a beautiful state. Now I find it the ugliest. However I love her with all her ugliness. Yet, how long will I love her ugliness? I have seen innocent person turning into the most devilish individual.

I have spent my childhood, boyhood in Manipur. I became a husband and then a father in Manipur. I never wanted my children to experiences I went through but they too know the reality. I don’t know what they feel but I don’t want to remain in my own native land, he told in a single breath. I might get some piece of peace in others’ land. I want to feel the taste of peaceful ambiance so what if it has to be in others’ place? People might consider me weak, coward, or even escapist.

However don’t I have right to spend my life the way I want?” he asked. I said nothing.

Finally he asked, “Heard that Arunachal Pradesh is a Peaceful State? I said with a pride a Big YES. But today I realized I lied to him.

N:B:- I wrote this on October 11, 2011

And Miles to Go Beofre I Sleep.....

Here is a great poem of Gulzar, immortalized in the movie “Aandhi”. People may start their life’s journey from seemingly equal levels, but some achieve great heights in their careers where other settle into very ordinary lives. The metaphor of high speed highways and tiny side by lanes is so apt. Who were equal once are now at such different planes that they cannot come closer even if they so wish.....

Is mod se jaate hain

Kuchh sust qadam raste kuchh tez qadam raahe

Patthar ki haveli ko shishe ke gharaundo mein

Tinko ke nasheman tak is mod se jaate hain

Aa Is mod se jaate hain

Aandhi ki tarha ud kar ik raah guzarti hai

Sharmaati huwi koyi qadmo se utarti hai

In reshmi raaho mein ik raah to woh hogi

Tum tak jo pahonchti hai is mod se jaati hai

Is mod se jaate hain....

Ik door se aati hai paas aake palat-ti hai

Ik raah akeli si ruktii hai na chalti hai

Ye soch ke baithhi hu ik raah to woh hogi

Tum tak jo pahonchti hai is mod se jaati hai

Is mod se jaate hain....

Kuchh sust qadam raste kuchh tez qadam raahe

Patthar ki haveli ko shishe ke gharaundo mein

Tinko ke nasheman tak is mod se jaate hain

AaIs mod se jaate hain....

N:B:- These words are not mine except the Image!