2010 THE YEAR THAT WAS IN MEGHALAYA

“The only constant in this world is change,” Mukul Sangma quoted philosophically after taking over as the youngest Chief Minister of Meghalaya on April 20 this year - incidentally his 45th birthday.

Now as we leaf through 2010 and try reading unwritten chapters of 2011, the quote does sound ambiguous (in several instances) in Meghalaya’s context.

Consider these: Sangma took over toppling political veteran DD Lapang on April 18 - after infighting within the Congress party. This is the classic cloak-and-dagger politics that Meghalaya’s polity has witnessed for years.

Before Sangma took over as Chief Minster the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) was a constant irritant, opening indiscriminate firing in the disputed Indo-Bangla border along Meghalaya from February.

There has been little change in the skirmishes. The last being BDR’s disruption of the joint Indo-Bangla border survey from December 13.

In March, Meghalayans received a shocker upon realisation that some state legislators literally took them for a ride on a European junket on the tax-payers’ money, as unearthed by the CAG report. The legislators thereafter produced fake bills to claim travel expenses. Some things never change, do they?

The budget was presented by Sangma as the then finance minister with a (usual) deficit of Rs. 376 crore.


In March again, Meghalaya police’s learnt that one of its Deputy Superintendent of Police, Champion R Mark, actually deserted the force and floated a militant organisation - Garo National Liberation Army.

The GNLA has been a constant headache for the security forces ever since with its extortions, intimidations and kidnappings.


The banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) calling bandhs during Independence and Republic Day celebrations has remained unchanged.

Post April 20, if Sangma thought it would be fair winds, his political barometer failed to warn him about the impending storm. On May 14, four villagers were killed in an Assam police firing in Langpih – a disputed territory between Meghalaya and Assam. The territorial dispute is grafted as a nagging thorn in the relationship between Meghalaya and Assam for decades now.

And to speak of agitations, deficit school teachers in September went on strike demanding release of pending arrears. A month later, students from the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) demanded a tribal VC for the University instead of Prof. AN Rai.

For a change, John R Marak, a sub-inspector was sent to ten years imprisonment for rape in February. The special CBI court also sent a former central excise commissioner, LR Mitran, to jail for four years for accepting bribe in October. Traditional bodies were ordered by the High Court to furnish information under the Right to Information Act, in August.

Three village women - Fatima Mynsong, Aquiline Songchan and Malinda Suting - busted a scam of the village headman and his henchmen in Jongsha village on the shoddy implementation of NREGA scheme by filing Right to Information. The Shillong Chamber Choir won the finals of reality TV show,India’s Got Talent Khoj 2 in October.

Whatever joy or tribulation 2010 has provided, everybody would hope that things would change for the better in 2011.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

BONEY M STILL SELLS LIKE HOT CAKE IN MEGHALAYA

The 70s maybe passé, but definitely not Boney M. The Disco group still make the people here groove to its foot-tapping and index-finger-pointing numbers during this holiday season.

Every year several new Christmas albums are released in the state. This year three were released here - Christmas Everyday by Shillong Chamber Choir (SSC), Christmas Special Collection released by Peitngor Cable News and a Khasi movie titled Ka Kristmas.

But still the number one Christmas album in demand is Boney M Gold, according to several music stores here. The album is a collection of some of the greatest hits of the Disco band. Boney M Gold was released as a compilation in 1992.

“People from the rural areas forms our largest customer base during the Christmas season. Most don’t like the slow numbers and go for fast and catchy ones like the classics of Boney M,” Eva, from Eva Audio and Video a popular music store in Iewduh (Barabazar) said.

So they would rather prefer Boney M’s Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday, Daddy Cool, Brown Girl in the Ring to Rivers of Babylon than any slow numbers that doesn’t set the mood for a little foot-tapping and hip-swaying.

Other music albums from bands like Vengaboys and Aqua are also favourites amongst Eva’s rural customers. “The sale of music albums does go up during the holiday season,” she added.


Another music store in the area, says PCN’s Christmas album is doing fairly well, but SSC’s Christmas Everyday is not. “The price tag (Rs 249) is a big let down, moreover Christmas Everyday is an audio not like the others so people are least interested,” a shop owner in the area said.

Other old Christmas albums like Kristmas Basuk by Relina Wahlang, Kristmas La wan Biang by UN Sunn, a popular local artist, are on top of the buyers’ list, the store-owner added.

People today, perhaps the last day of Christmas shopping, were seen rushing to buy Pine trees for Christmas tree decoration and Mistletoes, besides clothes and other accessories. A Pine tree branch is being sold between Rs 200 to Rs 50 and a bunch of Mistletoes for Rs. 50 at Iewduh.

BAD HANDWRITING KILLS THOUSANDS

Believe it or not, annually over 5000 patients admitted in US hospitals die due to “non-medical reasons” and the figure could be higher in India.

Commissioner and Secretary Health and Family Welfare, DP Wahlang brought the audience at the 17th Scientific Conference of the Meghalaya Medical Service Association to a rapt attention today after he read out the disturbing figure from a US health care report.


Wahlang said the cause of non-medical deaths occurred because nurses were unable to correctly decipher the doctors’ prescription owing to “bad handwriting” and wrong drugs were administered. This led the audience to burst into laughter.

“This is a serious issue,” he insisted, adding, “doctors everywhere have bad handwriting and it’s a fervent request that this should be corrected,” he told the gathering of physicians and medical experts.


He said there hasn’t been much study on the cause of annual non-medical deaths in India and expressed fear that the figure could be higher than that of the US.

“In the US they sought to find a solution to this problem and they found one. The easiest way being doctors are asked these days to prescribe drugs by writing in capital letters,” he added.

Wahlang brought up an issue that has been debated for years whether doctors should take more responsibility to write more legibly while prescribing medicines.

In Florida US there has been a legislation passed for legible prescriptions while demand for computer printed prescription is growing all over the world.

HOME-MAKERS' ROLE HIGHLY LAUDABLE

Behind every successful Meghalaya Home Guard is a woman and the chief of Home Guard today promised that woman helping men from the hearth would be felicitated from next year for their “tremendous contribution” to the force.

Altogether 41 Home Guards and officials were today felicitated for their contribution towards the force on occasion of its Raising Day at its headquarters at Mawdiangdiang.

Director General of Home Guards, WR Marbaniang dwelt extensively on the role played by women in the households, although their contribution is rarely acknowledged in public.

“The contribution of these women who help their sons, husbands, and brothers from home is immense. From next year we would also felicitate these brave women who work silently and tirelessly,” Marbanaing said after handing away the medals and certificates.

He said it would be impossible for anyone to perform to a desired level if work was not appropriately balanced at the personal and professional front. “We haven’t planned how to felicitate such homemakers, but we would definitely find some ways to honour them,” the Home Guard chief said.


He said everyone’s role would be given equal importance to make the force a professional body. “We want the Home Guards to be one of the finest professional bodies in the state and we would give equal importance to everyone for their contribution,” he added.


The former Director General of Police said that official quarters were being constructed for the past three years near the headquarters and within the next few months these would be completed for the Home Guards and their families to move in.


Moreover, Marbaniang lauded the role of volunteers in shaping the department, terming such volunteers as the “bedrock” of the organisation. “We are planning to have more volunteers and are conducting civil defence programmes for teachers, school children to make the organisation a better professional unit,” he told the gathering.

NORTH EASTERN COUNCIL

Without taking social responsibility, North Eastern Council (NEC) has failed to live up to the aspiration of the people of the northeast, social organisations from the region said here today.

In a special two-day consultative meeting with the Planning Commission, to formulate the the Approach Paper for the 12th Five-Year Plan, the social organisations said that the NEC has relegated itself merely to an infrastructure development agency. “The social side of the organisations is sadly missing,” Manisha Behl, advisor North East Network said.

Citing an example, she said, NEC was ready to fund construction of a school building, but takes the least interest thereafter to see that the school actual functions by lending a helping hand in recruitment of staffs, teachers and other related matters.

“The NEC must be people-oriented and try seeking answers to people’s problem. Its role is not just limited to funding,” Behl argued.

Amiya Sharma, from the Rajiv Gandhi Vikas Nidhi, another social organisation, said, that red-tapism in NEC has made it into Babudom. “Nobody knows where the funds are going from the organisation and who the beneficiaries are,” he added.


He said there was no transparency in running of the NEC and that the Ministry of DoNER must take corrective steps so that this vital organisation of the region lives up to its objective.

He further said that the Northeast Industrial policy must also be re-visited. “Many of the industries, like the ones in Byrnihat are flouting norms relating to environment and recruitment of local people.”

Behl, on the other hand said, the Vision 20:20 document has not been finalised. “Some of the vision statements are extremely crucial for the development of the region and these must be incorporated in the next five year plan,” Behl suggested to the Planning Commission.

Meanwhile, Saumitra Chaudhuri member of the Planning Commission said that the suggestions of the social organisations would be considered while formulating the 12th Five-Year plan.

“There are no silver bullets to solve these issues, but solutions are being worked out and one way is to read the minds of the people through social organisations,” he stated.

Bark Her Out

Calvin (& Hobbes): “I think life should be more like TV. I think all of life's problems ought to be solved in 30 minutes with simple homilies, don't you?

I think weight and oral hygiene ought to be our biggest concerns. I think we should all have powerful, high-paying jobs, and everyone should drive fancy sports cars.

All our desires should be instantly gratified. Women should always wear tight clothes, and men should carry powerful handguns. Life overall should be more glamorous, thrill-packed, and filled with applause, don't you think?”

Well, would it be journalistically correct to write a letter to the editor beginning with a: Ha! Ha! Ha!? On the other hand, would I be branded as a misogynist if I carried a straight face at a woman’s bad jokes? Is breaking news the same thing as breaking trust? Do I have a right to question too?

Can I also please shout and scream, because I feel like - right now? Are these uneasy times for a cub journalist, when unknown hungry predators are prowling to “Save our Tigers” from extinction? Would it be incorrect to point fingers at someone, just to identify?

Can Facebook and other social networking sites be incorporated as legitimate forums to air ones opinions under the Right To Freedom of Speech and Expression of the Indian Constitution? Where are you Chyetanya Kunte?

Has truth finally lost its way into the “dreary desert sand of dead habits?” If so, will it ever find its way out, “without fear and head held high?”

Is it wrong to join the ever-growing “I Hate Barkha Dutt” club on Facebook? Would it be further wrong to open an “I Hate Vir Sanghvi too” discussion forum on Facebook? Should I also start getting ready-made recipes for cooking stories on a TV Channel?

Can I be eligible for a Padmashree for writing this piece? Do 80 percent Indians care that we the people have big fights, right left and centre and also have the last word in sleek conditioned-environment? Or does the other 20 percent care that 80 percent do not care?

Are you the same guys I met last summer? Can I now say: “I know what you did last summer”? Is TS Eliot right to say cruel Aprils always help burials of cold winters to rise? Can we initiate legal action against Spring? Can we have a JPC please? Oh! A Joint People’s Committee. Better still, can we have a Revolution?

Why are there so many crows here in this un-ending winter? Will my voice be lost in these scarce but cacophonic airwaves? Is my voice being taped? Are mirrors an obsolete item these days?

Can I also advise the Prime Minster? Can I also stab someone in the back due to an error of judgement? Will I also be able to summon judges at my disposal to hear my case?

Where are you my friend Tintin? Is Calvin right when he says: “happiness is not good enough for me. I demand euphoria.”

“Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.” What good is our soliloquy, if we can’t help each other start writing our own history from today? Will India’s poor and hungry ever get an audience at the insatiable Rajas’ Durbars?

Can I also string along with Calvin on just this last one:

Calvin: Hi Mom! I’m making my own newspaper to report the events of our household.
Mum: That’s nice.
Calvin: Now I’m looking for a page one lead story. Can I interview you?
Mum: Sure
Calvin: OK, what are you cutting up there for dinner?
Mum: Fish
Calvin: KNIFE WELDING MOTHER HACKS ICHTHYOID! GRIM MELEE IS EVENING
RITUAL! SUBURBAN FAMILY DEVOURS VICTIM!
Mum: Out of the kitchen! Out! Out!

DEDICATED MEGHALAYA CIVIL SERVANTS GETS GOVT LAND FOR RUPEE 1

Meghalaya government has leased out land to a civil servants’ society at a price of about Re. 1 per square feet.

The government said the decision to lease the land measuring about 45 acres at Rs. 19.06 lakh was to show its appreciation of the “dedication and hard work” the officials put in towards development of the state.

The land was leased out for 99 years at Mawdiangdiang, a city suburb - to Civil Service Officers Housing Society Limited (CSOHSL). The society plans to develop houses that would be leased out to the officials.

The Chief Minister during a recent press meet justified the allotment saying: “the government officers’ work towards development of the state. So the state government in turn wants to look after their well-being.”

The land tenure system in Meghalaya is unique. Only local indigenous tribals are allowed to purchase and sell land under the Land Transfer Act, except in few pockets. All other individuals and institutions are therefore classified as “non-tribal” and cannot buy or sell land.

Interestingly therefore, institutions such as banks, government offices, hotels, industries – you name it- are non-tribal entities.

However, the Act also has a provision wherein land can be leased if the institutions help towards development of the state. It’s under this clause, industries, religious, educational institutions, and others can get land transferred in their favour.

Many tourism projects from the year 2002 to 2007 have remained incomplete largely because of non-availability of government land. “There is severe shortage of government land in the state. The State Government is desperately looking to have a land bank, so that projects don’t face unnecessary delay,” the state tourism minister, Ampareen Lyngdoh said recently.

In this context the land leased out to the society has raised eyebrows, especially the price tag. In the just concluded Assembly Winter session legislators questioned whether civil servants were the only ones who were "dedicatedly" working towards development of the state and were therefore entitled for such government largesses.

“What about like doctors, engineers, teachers, and host of other professionals and non-professionals are they not also working dedicatedly for the development of the state,” they asked.

cricket versus football

Sheffield FC, the oldest football club in the world, started 153 winters back as a “recreational get-together” when the “gentlemen’s game” Cricket was out of season.

Richard Tims, head of Sheffield FC said, some like minded friends thought of taking to the game during the winters of 1857 and quite liked the idea of forming the club, now the oldest in the world.

“It was formed as a club to play recreational games during winters when the gentlemen’s game cricket is out of season,” Tims, who is here in Meghalaya with his team to play a friendly with one of the world’s youngest football club Lajong FC, said.

Asked about cricket that has got into Indian’s psyche after the British introduced it, Tims said, proper development of football from the grassroots is what it would take to have a mass appeal in India.

He pointed out that building the institution of football in India from the top would be futile. “This policy to build football from the top league system has failed in China and it’s unlikely to succeeded in India either,” he added.

Tims was referring to the Indian league, model on the fancied English premier where foreign players add zing to the game. The Sheffield chairman said such investment does not help development of any game unless there are models to support youngsters from the grassroots.

Sheffield FC, he added, is now more into research and training. Tims said that India has huge potential and added Sheffield FC might tie up with the football institution here if the situation so arrives. “There aren’t any concrete plans yet, but lets see…” he said.

SYNTHETIC FOOD FOR NUTRITION

Children are being provided noodles that contains Monosodium Glutamate (Ajinomoto) and other food preservatives, mostly suitable for adults, to “improve their health status” under the Integrated Child Development Programme (ICDS) here in Meghalaya.

One of the objectives of the centrally-sponsored ICDS programme is to provide supplementary food to children between the age group of 0-6 years and improve their nutritional and health status under its Supplementary Nutritional Programme (SNP) component.

The ICDS says “ready to eat food,” locally available food and community managed SNP is to be provided. This food is distributed to the children and also pregnant and lactating mothers in all the Anganwadi centres through local Self Help Groups.

Under the community managed SNP, the Meghalaya social welfare department instead started to distribute Choco Malt, Milkose Milk Substitute as well as a noodle packet, dubbed Yummy noodles, supplied through contractors and not the local community.

Food containing MSG or Ajinamoto in no ways qualifies as a food-nutrient, social organisations here argued. MSG is a salt that primarily adds flavor to the food. It’s mostly used in Chinese restaurants and many argue the salt has medical side-effects. One of the ingredients on the “Yummy Noodles” packet list 1 percent of MSG together with other food preservatives.

Moreover, they pointed out that a Supreme Court directive says “'contractors shall not be used for supply of nutrition in Anganwadis and preferably ICDS funds shall be spent by making use of village communities, self-help groups and Mahila Mandals for buying of grains and preparation of meals.” Therefore, the social welfare department has violated the apex court order by not engaging the local community.

These organisations together with the Khasi Students’ Union today met the Chief Secretary, WMS Pariat and submitted a memorandum drawing his attention to these gross violations in implementing the ICDS programme in the state which they said, is posing health risk for children.

INDIA MINISTRY OF LAND RESOURCE

Declare soil as a “National Resource” and have a separate Ministry of Land Resource with administrative, financial and statutory powers, recommended the Soil Conservation Society of India.

Rampant abuse of land through unscientific mining, farming and other industrial purposes is posing grave threat to this precious resource that sustains living creatures on earth.

The society consisting of eminent scientists from across the country, after its three-day conference here, recommended policy-makers that it is important for India to have the Ministry of Land Resource and departments of Land Resource at the state levels with adequate powers.

“Land is one of the basic resources which supports almost all living creatures on earth and even usable water resource. There is no organisation at the national level to care and sustain this precious resource for present and posterity,” the draft of the society, said.

The scholars and scientists also said, soil must be declared a “National Resource.” While the land may belong to anyone, the soil belongs to the Nation, the draft said. Soil and water forms the basic “infrastructure of any agriculture practice.”

In India the soil quality has declined due to overuse of Urea and other subsidised fertilizers. The Cabinet therefore wants to de-control prices of fertilizers and wants subsidy based on nutrient content and not product-based.

Urea, which is heavily subsidised, is randomly used by farmers without taking soil needs into consideration. Overuse of primary nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and less use of secondary nutrients and micronutrients, such as zinc sulphur, gypsum, copper sulphate, etc has degraded soil quality.

The secondary and micronutrients, although required in small amount, is vital for maintaining soil fertility, scientists say, adding, a nutrient-based subsidy regime would encourage fertliser companies to innovate new products which would provide farmers a wider option to grow crops based on soil needs.

The National conference also recommended after its deliberation that the centre must subsidise farming or else millions of poor would suffer.

“Subsidise farming. The whole world does it. Europe and USA subsidise farming to the tune of 30 – 40 percent. Some countries like France subsidise farming to the extent of 80 percent,” the draft, read out by the society’s senior vice president JK Singh, said.

MYANMARESE STUDENTS HOPING FOR RESTORATION OF DEMOCRACY

Having experienced a free society first time in their lifetime, teenage Mynmarese students are crossing their fingers that democracy would be restored in Myanmar after today’s national election in that country.

National elections were held after 20 years in Myanmar today and some of the Mynmarese students studying here are optimistic that democracy would be restored finally in the “authoritarian” state after years of military regime.


“We are positive that this time democracy would be restored in Myanmar,” said Tsawm (name changed), a student from Myanmar. She along with a number of other students from that country are studying in India and they are thoroughly enjoying the free society here and wishing that the same would be the case in Myanmar soon.

Tsaw, all of 20 idolizes, Aung San Suu Kyi, and wished and prayed that the Nobel Laureate would eventually guide here country towards a free society giving equal rights to ethnic minorities.


Tsawm and many others like her belong to an ethnic minority group. They say that the military regime has been victimizing their community for years and therefore requested anonymity.

“We love to be here. It’s so free here in India…,” Tsawm said in an obvious reference to the stifling authoritarian nature of the state of affairs in Myanmar.


Another student, Zau (name changed) informed that employment opportunities are available in his country, however, due to the authoritarian nature of the military jaunta the country has not progressed to its desired level.

“We have companies which can employ us. But our foremost obligation is to serve and develop our own community in whatever way we can,” he said.


He informed that medical care in Myanmar is “very expensive.” Moreover, most parents are unable to send their children to schools and colleges as the cost of education is also expensive. “Only a handful of rich can afford health care and education,” he stated.

The only problem, Zau and Tsaw are now facing is the food here, which they say is very hot and spicy. “We hope to adjust to it… Not as difficult as the state of affairs in Myanmar,” they laughed.

MEGHALAYA'S LIVING ROOT BRIDGES UNDER PMGSY

Efforts are on to bring Meghalaya’s bio-engineering wonders, the living root bridges, under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY).


The living root bridges are built by connecting local rubber tree (Ficus elastica) roots over betel-nut tree trunks, till they fasten to become bridges over gushing stream. These bridges scattered near Sohra (Cherrapunjee) have been live-savers for remote villagers.

However, the villagers’ hard toil has so far not received government attention; although, the PMGSY gives special importance to eco-friendly engineering works. “These bridges are bio-engineering wonders and extremely durable,” MM Sun, Chief Engineer and PMGSY nodal officer said.

A key to rural development is to have all weather connectivity in the rural sector. The objective of PMGSY is therefore to provide all weather road, culvert and bridges to uplift the socio-economic condition of the rural sector through better connectivity.

Under the PMGSY scheme, an unconnected habitation with 500 people is to be connected. For hilly and desert terrain the population limit is 250. The centre funds the scheme and the state distributes 80 percent of the fund for building roads and bridges and the rest is earmarked for maintaining existing ones.

In this context, the state government is brainstorming how the villages with living root bridges can be brought under the PMGSY, so that villagers can be rewarded for their hard labour, as there is virtually no maintenance cost of the root bridges.

A major hurdle in this direction, Sun said, is villages where the root bridges are found are sparsely populated without the requisite PMGSY population limit of even 250. Therefore, project reports are being worked out to get adjoining villages so that they can be clubbed together and accommodated under the scheme.

“We would see how these living root bridges can be brought under the scheme by clubbing adjacent village with sparse population,” he added.




One of the most well known living root bridge is the Umshiang double-decker bridge in the village of bee-keepers in Nongthymmai near Nongriat. It is 30 meter long and can take the load of 50 people at a time, villagers claim.

Another such bridge, near Laitkynsew village, the Umnnoi living Root Bridge is a 53 ft long and is locally known as “Jingkieng Deingjri” meaning “bridge of the rubber tree.” It is said that the bridge is more than 100 years old.

The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1844 by a Lieutenant H Yule first mentioned about these bio-engineering wonders. Not much interest was taken in them until recently with wide media coverage these have become major tourist attractions.




Meghalaya, meanwhile, is one of the seven states in the country along with Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab to receive funded from the World Bank this year for implementing the VI phase of PMGSY.

An amount of $ 1500 has been earmarked to be divided amongst these seven states, out of which Meghalaya’s share would be Rs. 315 crore.

So far, the state has built 348 roads out of a targeted 399, constructing a total road length of 867.4 km. In the next phase, the state has targeted construction of 483 roads to connect 570 habitations with a total road length of 2440 kms.

SAVE THE HOUSE SPARROW

“Eat fast or else the sparrows would nibble from your plate,” Mohammad E Dilawar recalled his grandma cajoling him as a toddler, with cute House Sparrows – plenty of them – listening, chirping and hopping gleefully in the courtyard.

This is not just Dilawar’s boyhood story. It’s also similar to many of ours filled with myth, folklore and love. Such occasional memories, of chiding grandmas cleaning Rice in courtyards watched by our emotionally-attached family of birds and animals, come fluttering back.

But now courtyards are a luxury. In their place “designer gardens” and exotic plants, with little ecological role, have taken space. Foliages and flowers washed squeaky clean with chemicals.

The urban space has turned grotesque with “match-box buildings.” Almost everyone trying to cocoon into one’s individual space.

“The web of life is so intricately connected that nobody can say I can survive alone,” Dilawar says philosophically. “From the biggest whale to the smallest worm, everyone needs everybody.”For Dilawar, time has changed since he was spoon-fed by his grandma, watched by hundreds of mocking House Sparrows. He has grown up. No longer needs to be cajoled by his grandma to eat and there are less of the brown plumaged friends staring with their dark meaningful eyes.

“My mission is to bring the House Sparrows’ (Passer Domesticus) song back into our homes,” the environmentalist and a member of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) vowed. Dilawar is heading a three-year project sponsored by the Ministry for Environment and Forest to save sparrows in India.

Why House Sparrows? “House Sparrows follow human beings and nest near human settlement. Any decline in their number is an indicator of things going wrong in the space we live,” Dilawar recognized as a “hero” by the august Time magazine in 2008 said.

At present, he explains, all the wrong things are working against the sparrow at the same time contributing to their declining numbers.

The young ones of sparrows feed on an exclusive diet of worms and insects. But many of these are perishing due to pollution. Chemicals like Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether formed due to combustion of unleaded petrol kills small insects and worms, the diet of sparrow chicks, the young ornithologists in his 20’s said.Vanishing courtyards, cramped match-box buildings in smoky unfriendly cities with no tenancy are moreover driving out House Sparrows. Besides, in India with 1.5 million cellular phone subscribers being added every month, mobile companies are hoisting n-number of towers. These are killers with their microwaves emission.

“The microwaves from mobile towers not only kill small worms and insects it also inhibits hatching of sparrow eggs,” he points out.

Dilawar who was in Assam some years back on a study tour says tea gardens also have replaced traditional hedges with exotic ones. “Traditionally in tea gardens of Assam Adulsa and Heena was planted. Now these are being replaced by exotic ones such as Duranta which does not support many insects and worms and the sparrows are left with no cleaning-up job to do.”

If the sparrows and other common birds that feed on small worms and insects are lost, a time may come when pesticide -insecticide-resistant variant worms and insects would colonise our farms and gardens, Dilawar cautions.

Sadly, in India like in many parts of the world there has been no documentation on the declining numbers of House Sparrows. “When I first told my professors five years back about sparrows and their declining number after going through research papers from UK, everyone was in a state of denial. But after giving it a second thought almost everyone came back and said ‘yes I do see a lot less sparrows these days,’” he said.

With his emotional attachment to save these small, humble birds, Dilawar with friends and colleagues has also started a social organization – Nature Forever Society (NFS,) http://www.natureforever.org/– in Nashik Maharastra, his hometown.

On March 20 this year, NFS together with BNHS, Avon wildlife (UK), Cornel Lab of Ornithology (USA), Eco-Sys Action Foundation ( France) and other organisations worldwide celebrated the first World House Sparrow Day.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit inaugurate the event in India. Similar events was also organised in Rajasthan, Gujarat, South India and other parts of the country.

“School children would participate in drawing, elocution and other events. The idea is to reach out to the younger generation to be part of the conservation effort,” Dilawar added.

Undeterred by fund constraints, Dilawar adds his objective is to start a Common Bird Monitoring System (CBMS) in India. Such a system would inform in advance on threats posed to the feathered-friend.

“CBMS would be an Internet-based system. The common men can report about the common birds’ sightings, numbers and locations by logging in the data on the Internet for further compilation by experts,” he added.

Years back, vultures were being wiped out in India almost to extinction after eating cattle cadavers administered with Diclofenac Sodium. The inflammatory drug was given as painkillers to cattle. Nobody knew about it. CBMS would ensure that such a situation never recurs.

For now Dilawar wants everyone to extend a helping grain-full of hands to the cute sparrow, which in turn would help save other birds, animals and even human beings.

“It’s a myth that only animals and birds in the forest need protection and not common birds and animals that live close to us,” he says.

Presently, NFS has been producing “Nest-boxes” and distributing these to people who care about the environment. “Many sparrows take residence in these nest-boxes readily and people call me up and say ‘there are newborns in the nest-boxes’…these developments are the biggest reward for me,” he says.

“The time is to act now for every one of us before it is too late,” he suggests.

Although he does not give much thought about the future, but believes people would certainly get emotionally attached to save their helpless and dependent “co-tenant.”

Perhaps the best way to sum up Dilawar’s and our story is to take a cue from Alexander Pope’s “An Essay on Man” which philosophises…

Oh blindness to the future! Kindly giv’n/That each may fill the circle mark’d by heav’n/Who sees with equal eye, as God of all/A hero perish, or a sparrow fall.

Durga Maer aagomon Nowka tey - 2017

DURGA PUJO 2017

Durga Maa Nowka tey aagomon. Ghatak-e gomon...” Life is a journey. A reminder of our scheduled arrival and departure. In between is Durga Puja – the festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil.

The essence of Durga Puja is the celebration of this fight and victory of good over evil – not just in physical terms, but also spiritual. The festival is observed to celebrate Goddess Durga’s victory over Mahisasura the evil Asura (demon) king.

Interestingly, the arrival of Goddess to earth each year is on a specific mode of transportation, having significance amongst the Hindus.

“Nowka tey aagomon means Durga Maa would arrive on Earth this year on a Wednesday at on a boat. This mode of transportation is associated with flood,” the almanac said.

Maa Durga is returning to her heavenly abode after her four-day sojourn to Earth on the Ghatak or Horse – an animal associated with War.

The mode of transportation changes every year according to the almanac. These include Dola, Goj, Ghatak (horse) and Nawka (boat.) Arrival or departure on Ghatak signifies war and drought, whereas on Nawka flood and misery. It’s not known how these beliefs took root amongst, but are taken seriously by many devote Hindus.

Durga or Shakti is also the primordial cosmic feminine energy responsible for creation and destruction.

2012

“Durga Maa Dola tey aagomon. Goj-e gomon...” Life is a journey. A reminder of our scheduled arrival and departure. In between is Durga Puja – the fight of good against evil.
The essence of Durga Puja is the celebration of this fight and victory of good over evil – not just in physical terms, but also spiritual. The festival is observed to celebrate Goddess Durga’s victory over Mahisasura the evil Asura (demon) king.
Interestingly, the arrival of Goddess to earth each year is on a specific mode of transportation, having significance amongst the Hindus.
“Dola tey aagomon means Durga Maa would arrive on Earth this year on a Palanquin and her face would be hidden. This mode of transportation is associated with epidemics and natural calamities,” said a local temple priest here.
But, the good news is, she is returning to her heavenly abode after her four-day sojourn to Earth on the Goj or Elephant, which signifies bountiful harvest and prosperity, he added.
The mode of transportation changes every year according to the almanac. These include Dola, Goj, Ghatak (horse) and Nawka (boat.) Arrival or departure on Ghatak signifies war and drought, whereas on Nawka flood and misery. It’s not known how these beliefs took root amongst, but are taken seriously by many devote Hindus.
20-year-old engineering student, Tupai studying in Chandigarh is here on a Puja vacation. A youth who lost his mother before the Puja celebrations last year. “My mother comes to my memory a lot. She wanted me to be a good electronic engineer, she was my strongest support,” the youngster said.
Durga or Shakti is also the primordial cosmic feminine energy responsible for creation and destruction.
During the occasion, the festival is celebrated in different parts of the state with great love and gaiety. There are 175 Sarbojanin (for everyone) Durga Puja pandals in the state this year, each with its unique design, colour and lights.
“Hope the festival would be celebrated with a spirit of love, gaiety, fraternity and goodwill amongst all sections of the society to spread the message of harmony and peace,” Meghalaya Governor, RS Mooshahary greeted.
Tupai, meanwhile, has not booked his return ticket and unsure whether he would fly or go by train, but is confident of fulfilling his mother’s wish in the true spirit of the Durga Puja celebrations.

Majuli Island drifting away

Isolated by nature and neglected by administration, Majuli Island is slowly tearing apart with several young Islanders taking to distant jungles to sustain their poor families.
The Island on the River Brahmaputra is the seat of Assamese neo-Vaishnavit culture and the world’s largest fresh water Island. However, years of nature’s fury coupled with an indifferent government effort to help the Islanders has led several to take drastic steps and one being: taking up arms.
“My parents are poor farmers. We owned some cultivable land, but it was washed away by the River. There are few alternatives for a living,” Mahesh Bora, a former ULFA cadre and a Majuli Islander said.
Bora along with several others from the Island joined the ULFA about six years back. Bora may have seen the futility in hiding in the jungles of Myanmar and Bangladesh and preferred to surrender before the BSF today, but there are others who aren’t sure yet.
Not long ago, the total area of Majuli was 1250 square kilometer. Its area now stands half at 650 square kilometer. With agriculture being the mainstay of the Island and each hour the island being nibbled away by the River, the 150, 000 inhabitants of the Island remain hopelessly vulnerable to drift the wrong way.
Apart from agriculture, Majuli has a huge tourism potential with its ancient culture and geographical uniqueness. But, proper infrastructure and planning is yet to anchor on the Island.
“Its hard to even find manual labour jobs in Majuli what would one do,” questions Bora, who in his over-sized blue jeans and tight checkered T-shirt is a reflection of a confused villager. But, his eyebrows knits together when he speaks of his parents and younger siblings he abandoned years back.
“My mother cried all the time and asked me to return home through couriers, so I had to,” Bora says scratching his bullet pendent on his neck.
He also speaks of death, pain and strange diseases in the jungles of Papong Basti in Myanmar as a ULFA cadre trained in AK series assault rifles, pistols and grenades to kill.
“Bora was involved in extortion, killing and kidnapping cases in Jorhat district,” BSF (Assam-Meghalaya) frontier Chief, RC Saxena said during the surrender of Bora and another NDFB militant, Jadhav Boro.
Both the ULFA and NDFB cadre maybe rehabilitated with the government package and as Bora says, “start business,” but is this the way out for Majuli and its youth?

"God is a great designer:" Kalam

Father of India’s nuclear programme and one of the country’s topmost scientists, APJ Abdul Kalam, on Friday, took school students through a unique journey of metaphysics, the Milky Way and a world of pure science, briefly interrupting to eulogize “God” for him being a “great designer”.

Interacting with school students here at the Raj Bhavan, Kalam while dwelling on the vastness of space, the mystery of the black hole and the Milky Way said: “God is a great designer… but some scientist may not agree”.

He added that while Venus was a hot boiling mass and Mars was cold uninhabitable planet, “ earth was put in a suitable orbit … and blessed” so that life could sustain here, while implicitly highlighting the divine intervention for such a unique creation.

Kalam also took direct questions from the school children and answered in his own candid manner, breaking conventions and security barricades to reach the children on several occasions.

“Indian minds are great” Kalam said, adding that an “ignited mind” is superior to all resources found on the earth and urged the school children to use it prudently for nation-building.(2005)

"The entire world is my family..."

In an increasingly materialistic world, her smile, grace and style might have been overlooked and abandoned, but otherwise these qualities should have been treasured.
Sabina Bareh, bejeweled with her million-dollar smile giggles, saying she is turning 100 years of age in the next two months and can’t hide her excitement as a child whose birthday is approaching. She and her friends are going to celebrate the occasion in a big way and Bareh can’t wait for that day.
Wearing a crochet wool scarp, Bareh’s wrinkled face speaks of the numerous journeys of life she has traveled. “I am very happy and satisfied now,” she says after spending close to 22 years at the Mercy Home, a centre for the elderly people here.
She gets pensive speaking about her family and why she turned up in the home for the elderly in the first place. “I have forgotten everything, now I am happy,” she repeats sitting on her bed and ironing her handkerchief softly with her hand, as though straightening the rough edges of life.
Bareh, there are scores of other elderly people abandoned by their loved ones lodged in the Home. None though wants to return and very few have complains about their past. They seem to have reconciled with their life and wants to move ahead.
In India, there are 81 million people over the age of 60 years. The figure is expected to rise to 113 million by 2016 and 179 million by 2026.
Back at the Mercy Home, as the petite Bareh speaks, resident inmates join in to interpret her somewhat stuttering speech. She however holds them back with her hand and her charismatic smile and grace. “Namdong…I come from Namdong village,” is what could be gathered.
“She still can cut betel nuts with a knife and she is one of the neatest inmates here. She is sweet,” another inmate and a government pensioner says in chaste English. This spinster inmate, who requested anonymity, worked for a renowned girls’ public school and taught them culinary and etiquette. But, she was left at the home by her relations a few months back.
Lala Singh Sonar, another resident inmate and a bachelor walks with a limp after an accident that left him jobless as a cowherd. “I don’t want to go to my brothers I would only be a burden. I am only sad that my employer did not help me with my job after serving for years,” he rues and walked away to witness a function organized for the elderly on occasion of International Day for the Elderly in the Home.
Everyday, the inmates at the 62-bedded Home chips in to help the staffs. “They do gardening, cut vegetables for the kitchen and do other minor works if their health permits,” Sister Ann, in-charge of the Home said.
While returning from the Home, Bareh once again invited to come for her birthday, she wanted the guest list to increase - probably wanting the entire world to be her family.

STUNT MANIA

The battle line has been drawn between Police officers and reckless stunt-riders here in the city and it would be nothing short of “Stunt Mania.”
Therefore, bikers engaging in stunt-wars on the city streets here better think twice before they: “wheelie, stoppie and burnout” as police officers would try match their skills on their own turf and the winner would take it all.
A specially trained group of police officers would soon get on their biking gears and engage with biker gangs, who some say are causing danger to public life and property.
“The police department has ordered motorbikes and soon officers would test the mettle of these stunt-riders,” Deputy Superintendent of Police (traffic) Hurbert G Lyngdoh said in a press meet today.
Till June this year, there were 24 motorbike-related accidents in the city. Six persons have died. During the Independence Day celebrations with streets empty due to a bandh called by HNLC, 30 bikers were arrested for performing extreme stunts on the streets.
There are several associations of bikers in the city. Some of these include the Pulsar, Honda, Yamaha and Enfield bikers association. Some of these association members perform death-defying stunts on the streets like wheelie (lifting front wheel), Stoppie (lifting rear wheel) and burnout (spinning rear wheel till smoke emanates.)
What the police here are worried though is the manner these bikers zip at high speed through the traffic causing danger to the public.
Lyngdoh said that there are 17000 motorbikes and scooters in the city. These are seen maneuvering dangerously during the rush hours. Many of these bikers are teenagers.
“Anyone who is found over-speeding and performing stunts should think twice. The traffic department would be very strict against violators,” Lyngdoh added.
The craze about stunt has also been accentuated by reality show such as MTV’s Stunt Mania. In May this year, Shillong was one of the cities in India that hosted Stunt Mania in which bikers performed stunts.
Meanwhile, the traffic police department said they have not thought about a name for the police officers’ squad to bust these biker gangs, but they might come up with something cool and hip to be in sync with time.
Earlier, during Independence Day, the traffic department conducted area domination drills on motorbikes.
However, there aren’t adequate numbers of bikes and therefore the department is looking for more bikes with adequate horse power – an exciting prospect for stunt-rider fans!

MEGHALAYA TRANSIT ROUTE OF COUGH SYRUP SMUGGLING

Meghalaya has become the main transit route for smuggling of Phensedyl and other Codeine-based cough syrups to Bangladesh, recent seizures suggests.
In this year alone, Codeine-based cough syrups worth over Rs. 59 lakh was seized in Meghalaya. A total of 1.12 lakh bottles were confiscated in three seizures. Officials say, many of these cough syrups were meant to be smuggled into Bangladesh via Meghalaya and Agartala.
Phensedyl, Corex and other Codeine-based cough syrups are legally available in India. These are prescription drug. A bottle of Phensedyl cost Rs. 42.25 and Corex Rs. 68.
But in “dry” Bangladesh these Codeine-based cough syrups are in high demand and are sold anything between Taka 200-300. The price shoots up substantially during festivals.
In the region too there are a substantial number of cough syrups abusers. In “dry” states such as Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura the number of cough syrup abusers is growing.
In India, Phensedyl is manufactured by Indian Pharmaceutical giant Nicholos Piramal. However, there is growing debate whether the control mechanism has failed and the cough syrups are being smuggled rampantly.
Yesterday, the Customs here seized a truckload of cough syrups from Lumshonong, Jaintia Hills. The truck was loaded in Bihar and was on its way to Agartala enroute to Bangladesh.
Hidden behind 30 rice sacks were 47,400 bottles of Corex and 3,600 Phensedyl bottles – a total of 50,000 bottles of cough syrups. The total price of cough syrups was 33.75 lakh. The driver and handyman of the truck were detained.
On July 31, another truck with 27,100 bottles was seized in Umling, Ri-Bhoi. The price of that illegal consignment was over 11.45 lakh. The bottles were hidden together with Marijuana.
Back in February this year, 35,000 bottles of Phensedyl were recovered and the cost of the illegal consignment was pegged at Rs. 14.78 lakh.
Director General of Narcotic Control Bureau, OPS Malik during his visit to the region said that Meghalaya has become the favoured transit route for smugglers, both for smuggling in drugs such as cocaine, heroine from Myanmar into India via Manipur and like in these cases, smuggling out cough syrups to Bangladesh.

COMIC BOOK ON MALARIA

The release and distribution of a health comic book to create awareness on Malaria to school kids could not have been more timely as the death toll from Malaria has increased 524 percent in 2007 over 2003 in Meghalaya. 

The first of its kind health comic book titled – A tale of two magic potions - is an “absorbing” story of two school kids, Abhishek and Anu, fighting to make their town Malaria-free. 

Both the schools kids together with others make their town Amritnagar “Malaria-free” by taking some basic Malaria-control steps. The 30-paged Comic book was distributed to fifth grade students in three different schools here by Chillibreeze Solutions - a content and design service provider. Before distribution of the comic book a quiz contest was conducted and later after a few days another quiz was held. 

 “The students showed visible improvement in their knowledge about Malaria after reading the comic as indicated by their answers,” Dr. Nishi Viswanathan, one of the directors at Chillibreeze and author of the book said. During the Second World War such initiative was also taken by Walt Disney to educate soldiers and people on the prevalent diseases including Malaria through films and comics. 

Walt Disney’s “The Winged Scourge” produced in 1943 showcased the seven dwarves pointing out several precautions to fight Malaria. By 1945 more than 8000 shows were held each month attracting over 4 million people to such health oriented films. Dr. Viswanathan adds though Malaria is preventable hundreds of people die of the disease in India. 

The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) envisages achieving a target of 50 percent reduction of Malaria death rate by 2010. However, in Meghalaya Malaria morbidity and Malaria mortality has increased 524 per cent this year from 2003, despite the state spending Rs. 23.70 crore to combat the disease as per the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report.

 “The possibility of achieving the objective (under NRHM) of reducing Malaria morbidity and mortality rate by 30 and 50 per cent respectively by 2010 is remote,” the report underscored. However, Dr. Viswanathan is optimistic. She says creating awareness on this preventable disease through “entertaining and engaging” medium to school kids is one of the solutions to combat Malaria. Chillibreeze is trying to translate the comic book in different languages for distribution to school children across India as part of its non-profit ventures.

HANUMAN TEMPLE IN BALPAKRAM

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today demanded in the Assembly that a Hanuman temple be constructed at Balpakram National Park to attract tourists.
John Manner Marak of the NCP said during a motion that according to Ramayana Hanuman flew to Balpakram Park to collect the life-saving Sanjeevani.
According to legends, when Lakshman was injured by a poisonous arrow shot by Ravana's son Meghdut, it was diagnosed, that only the Sanjaveeni could save his life.
As Lakshman laid battling with his life, Hanuman went in search of the herb. Hanuman flew from the battlefields of Sri Lanka and came to the Himalayas looking for the herb. From top of the Himalayas he sighted a hillock and proceeded straight towards it.
Legends say the place incidentally was Balpakram National Park in South Garo Hills.
Hanuman not being able to identify the herb pulled up the entire hillock and flew back to the battlefield. Till date a huge opening in one of the hillocks in Balpakram Park exists which Hindus claim was the piece of land that Hanuman carried away.
Supporting the motion opposition leader Conrad Sangma said the government would stand to gain by constructing a Hanuman temple inside the park to attract tourists.
Other opposition members joining the discussion said that Balapkram Park is revered by the Garo people as the “abode of the departed souls” and the Park needs to be prompted to attract tourists.
Balpakram National Park stands nearly 3,000 feet above sea level and covers an area of 200 square kilometer. It is a tableland and the plains of Bangladesh can be seen from atop.
The park is rich in rare flora and fauna and is also strewn with ancient religious shrines and Hindus from India and Bangladesh visit it on annual pilgrimages.

ARTIST DONATES BODY

Even after his death, Moinul Haque Barbhuiya would touch the living soul after he magnanimously donated his body for medical research today.
This is the first time that an individual has donated his or her body for a scientific cause in Meghalaya’s history. However, one of the deceased’s relatives has claimed the body and is arguing that the body be buried according to religious rites against the deceased’s last wish.
Barbhuiya was a renowned artist and a faculty in Department of Creative Arts in the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU).
Barbhuiya before his death pledged that his body be donated to North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) today.
The Nobel gesture has elated the artist community in Meghalaya. “This noble act would only help in developing the pursuit of science and art,” R Warjiri a local artist said.
Not just the artists, relatives of Barbhuiya are equally elated. “This would help the entire scientific community of Meghalaya,” a relative of Barbhuiya said who did not want to be named.
P Bhattacharyya dean of NEIGRIHMS said the body of Barbhuiya would be used to help in discovering new scientific knowledge.
“ Its rarely done that someone donates his or her body for a scientific cause and Barbhuiya body would be of immense help for the scientific community ,” Bhattacharyya said.
Bhattacharyya said Barbhuiya’s body would be a case study of muscles, bones, veins and human anatomy.
Barbhuiya was a Muslim by faith. He was a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Vishwa Bharati University, Shanti Niketan, West Bengal.
He was born in Lala, Assam in 1952 and joined NEHU in 1976 as an artist. In 1989, he joined the Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, NEHU.
Barbhuiya was the founder secretary of Meghalaya Artists’ Guild from 1983 to 1989. Barbhuiya leaves behind his wife and daughter a medical student.

SNAIL MAIL

Not to be left behind in this age of communication technology, the Snail mail would now piggy ride on brand new motorbikes to be delivered at the doorstep a wee bit faster then before.
The Postal department here has purchased ten motorbikes which the postmen would zoom to deliver letters and other postal items right at the doorstep in the state capital.
For years, Bollywood has immortalized the postmen with his depiction of a khaki-clad-man riding on a bicycle to deliver love, sorrow, aspiration, dreams scribbled on a postcard or packed in a letter or other items, the postmen these days have all but lost somewhere in these era of communication blitzkrieg.
The idea behind purchasing the TVS motorbikes is to avoid the notorious traffic snarls in the state capital. The other advantage is the postmen don’t have to trudge the steep inclines in snaking lanes and alleys in this hill state to deliver information.
“We want to delivery the mail and other postal items as fast as possible with efficiency,” M Iawphniaw Postmaster General NE circle said after flagging off the motorbikes here today.
The department here further purchased eight vehicles for delivery of mail to West Khasi Hills and Garo Hills districts. Earlier, the department used to send mails from the state capital to Nongstoin and Garo Hills through private transport.
Iawphniaw said, the private transports are not always reliable and on many occasions delivery of mail is delayed and the postal department gets the blame for the poor service. She added with the introduction of the vehicles mail postal delivery service would improve.
In Garo Hills, the Snail mail would move from Tura to Willimnagar and then to Goalpara, Assam. From Goalpara the mail would be routed for delivery to Tikrikilla, Ampati and other remote corners of Garo Hills.
Although the concept of Snail mail is slowing becoming alien in this Internet age, but it still holds a special place in lives of people.

SPACE EXPLORATION

Investment in space exploration would give seven times return to any economy of the world which embarks on such missions, NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke said today.
He said, developed economies of the world are investing in space exploration to help development of people’s lives on Earth and the returns are as much as seven times high of the total investment.
When asked should developing countries like India invest in space exploration when the fund could be used for other pressing problems in the country, Fincke said: “definitely India or any other country for that matter should invest in space exploration.”
He said space exploration was an investment for the future and many new technologies and science would develop by such explorations and help find answers for some of the present problems of the world. India’s Chandrayaan mission, he said, was a success as many of its objectives were fulfilled and these findings would help India and its economy.
On the International Space Station (ISS), he said, the space station has already started giving returns on its investment by way of its reaserch on biotechnology. Moreover, Space tourism that is being conducted by Russia would be lucrative business in the near future.
The ISS, experts say, would be conducting studies on a several scientific projects. There are 15 countries that are partnering the projects, including Russia and the United States working first time together in such a project.
Amongst other experiments and studies a cure for cancer is one of the most anticipated studies that is to be conducted by ISS and its crews onboard. The ISS woud be fully operational by 2011.

DHUNURI

One of winter’s enduring ballads, as narrated by the twangs of a “Dhunuri” moving from one chilly lane to another crying out for people to make quilts and mattresses, might soon get lost forever.
“It’s difficult...there is no work these days. The working season has also reduced,” Asif, a 70-year-old Dhunuri or cotton carder from Bihar’s improvised Chapra district said, as he cleaned the cotton covering himself up with dust and cotton alike.
Like Asif, Md. Iqbal too a Dhunuri from Bihar has been working during the winter season to make quilts and mattress for the past 20 years. “Work is difficult to come by these days,” he too rued.
Almost all Dhunuris single-mindedly say that they would not teach their children this profession. “I would not teach my children this profession. There is nothing in it only dirt and hardship,” both Asif and Iqbal said poignantly.
Asif, whose foot digits are crooked from the pressure it endured over the years cleaning cotton said, balancing the “Dhanush” for hours and then meticulously stitching the mattress and quilts is no easy work.
A good Dhunuri can stitch the mattress or quilt in intrinsic designs, an art handed over from one generation to the other. “Every Dhunuri has his own designs of stitching. In quilt the design can range from flowers to birds or other motifs. In mattresses the button stitch is usually preferred,” Asif said.
He said after all the hard work he can think of earning Rs. 300 these days. “Earlier it wasn’t like this and now on many days we don’t even get work,” he added.
The “Dhanush” or the tools used by these cotton carders are unique in their own right. The broad surface is made from Sal wood, while the neck is made from wood from kharia tree.
“The Dhanush is manufactured only in Bihar, the string is made of Camel or Buffalo vein and is manufactured in Meerut. The total cost of the Dhanush is about Rs 3000,” he added.
Most of the Dhunuri attribute this downfall in their trade to the advent of cheap blankets and mattresses in the market. “People do not want to make quilts and mattress anymore. They instead go for the ready-made blankets and mattresses,” Iqbal said.
Another aspect has been the dwindling and mild winter seasons. “The season has shortened and the chill is not the same as it was 10 years back,” Asif said. These Dhunuris would return to their native villages in Bihar after the end of the season some perhaps never to return again

MEETING INSIDE CAVE

Maldives held its cabinet meeting underneath the pristine Indian Ocean, Nepal atop the sun-kissed Mt. Everest and now Meghalaya’s tourism department officials held theirs inside a dimly-lit cave!
Tourism officials, village council heads, NGOs, tour operators and taxi drivers huddled deep inside the Syndai or Jogindra Cave in Jaintia Hills along the Indo-Bangla border on Tuesday with only solar lanterns and Dongmusas (lighted bamboo torches) as accompaniments during the meeting.
The conference room was of impressive proportions, 25 meter height and 30 meter width, architected with stalactites and stalagmites. This place was the favoured hideout for erstwhile Jaintia royals in times of war for strategising and regrouping.
Tuesday’s meeting, however, was no secret. Journalists from print and visual media covered the meeting and the cave reverberated with ideas and discussions of all the stakeholders on how best to promote tourism in Jaintia Hills district, having the longest cave in Asia and perhaps in the world.
“We met to promote tourism, but it was also an effort to draw attention on the issue of cave preservation and how the caves can augment income for the locals through adventure tourism,” Barnari Mawlong, Amlarem’s Additional Deputy Commissioner, who chaired the meeting and brain behind the unique convergence, told the Assam Tribune.
Many of the caves in Jaintia Hills are under threat due to rampant unscientific mining by cement plants in the district. Krem Lait Phrah-Um Im-Labit in the district has been mapped as one of the longest caves in Asia by speleologists, but the cave is under threat due to limestone mining in the area.
The Meghalaya Adventurers’ Association filed a writ petition recently in the Supreme Court, which in turn directed that a team of experts be appointed to assess whether increasing industrial activity was threatening the caves in Jaintia Hills.
The organisation so far has registered and recorded over 1000 caves in Meghalaya of which 520 caves has been mapped yielding a cave passage of 280 km.
The unique meeting had an immediate bearing with forest and environment minister, RC Laloo saying: “these caves need to be protected; we are looking in terms of strengthening the forest and environment department.