Monday, August 16, 2010
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.
LITTLE PINKI
Little Pinki might have lived her dream when she skipped and smiled her way on the red carpet to Kodak Studios earlier this year, but Asma Begum has a different dream - walk down the aisle in her village.
Pinki the six-year-old girl with a lip deformity from Dabai village, Uttar Pradesh was the one of the star attractions during the Oscar awards ceremony this year. The 39-minute documentary, filmed under the Smile Train project on Pinky by American director Megan Mylan won the best short documentary awards this Oscars.
Like Pinki, Asma too a village girl from Baitbari, Garo hills had cleft lip, and at 32 years of age she had no suitors and all her marriage proposals were rejected due to her deformity.
“She was always laughed at in the village and had few friends. She remained mostly depressed due to her lip deformity. All her marriage proposals were rejected,” Asma’s maternal uncle MR Mulla recalls.
But, now a simple 45 minute operation could turn Asma’s life 180 degree. She is admitted at the Woodland hospital for the surgery sponsored by the Smile Train project.
Woodland is the only hospital in Meghalaya sponsored by the Smile Train project to give free surgery to anyone between the age of 3 months and 40 years with cleft lip and palate.
“The cost of the operation (about Rs. 10,000) and travel fare from home and back of the beneficiaries is covered under the project. We have operated 300 people since January 2007,” Dr. Werlok Kharshiing plastic surgeon at the hospital told the Shillong Times.
He added many people from distant villages in Meghalaya, especially those from Garo hills have been coming for the surgery since January 2007 when the project began in the hospital.
Dr. Kharshiing said cleft lip and palate were mainly caused due to heredity and lack of vitamins and nutrients in expectant mothers. Therefore, many of the cases are from the village where pre-natal care is poor.
Mother of Armina Katun, a 15-year-old girl, Isha Bibi said she was surprised at the transformation on her daughter. All along she too worried of getting a groom for her daughter with her lip deformity.
“I want to thank the doctors here, they changed my daughter’s life with just a simple operation,” Bibi said clutching her daughter, who continued to blush despite the stitches on her lips.
Smile Train is an International charity organisation that provides free surgery for cleft lip and palate to people all around the world. The project gained worldwide popularity after the documentary on Pinki titled “Smile Pinki” winning the Oscars.
“I am absolutely sure Asma would be able to get married after the surgery and get back the smile into her life,” Mulla said.
FAIR IS NOT FAIR.
If you thought all’s not fair with fairness cream, think again. Many Indians do feel it’s fair to delve deep into their pockets to have a pale skin, recession or otherwise.
“We had over 20 per cent growth of our business in India even during the economic slowdown,” country head of a Swedish multinational cosmetic company, Oriflame, Fredrik Widell said.
The figures for the northeast were even more encouraging. “The growth rate of our company in the northeast was 80 per cent during this period,” he added.
The head of the cosmetic company said its fairness cream products are a big hit in South India. In the northeast, there is demand for skin products and perfumes.
In the multi-billion cosmetic industry in India, half of all the profit comes from sale of fairness creams.
India’s obsession with fair skin becomes clear by going through matrimonial advertisements where the words “fair and beautiful” are widespread.
Even TV advertisements equate fairness to confidence, style and the difference between success and failure in this age of fairness meters.
Except Aishwarya Rai who refused to do a commercial for a fairness cream other Bollywood stars cares the least.
Experts say Indian’s obsession for getting a lighter tone can actually have harmful effects. Betnovate a steroid cream recommended for skin aliment is one of the most misused drugs in India to get a lighter skin.
However, prolonged use of this steroid cream can cause skin cancer in the same way as basking for hours on the beaches to have a tanned skin.
“Indians wants fairness cream whereas Europeans want bronzing cream for that tanned look…the grass is always green on the other side,” Widell chuckled.
DREAMS
Come over to Iewduh (Bara Bazaar) on any easy afternoon and you may stumble upon porters dreaming leisurely at some quite uninvited corner of this bazaar, called life.
These porters have been forcing dreams on themselves for years now searching the unexplained realms, in their pursuit for happiness. They are the day-dreamers. They are the interpreters of dreams. Or maybe perfect cases for Sigmund Freud’s psycho-analysis.
You may call them anything, but please be forewarned not to disturb their slumber. At noon after a hard morning of carrying loads some of these porters retire and goes into a trance.
The whole idea is not to take a well earned rest, but to dream and then interpret them into integers and later place bet. Welcome to the world of Teer (archery) where many believe that arrows hit the target guided by some divine interpretations of dreams.
“ There is this porter Baban Adhikari who walks daily to Mahadev Khola early in the morning from Bara Bazaar – a distance of five odd kilometers – and sits there near the stream till 10 am to interpret his dream and bet on Teer,” Purna Bahadur Chetri a potter said.
Tikaram Chetri another potter who gave up his gambling habit says there are many addicted to this form of gambling and knows of some colleagues who passionately sleep during the afternoon to dream up the magic numbers.
These porters, like thousand others here in Meghalaya interpret dreams to translate luck 80 times over and gamble a substantial amount of their income on Teerdaily.
The manner in which dream are interpreted is unique here in the hills. They are done through understanding of sounds of the local dialect and shape of objects seen in the dreams!
For example, Kulai which means horse in the Khasi dialect can be translated into number three. The reason being Lai (which rhymes with Kulai) is the number three in Khasi numerology.
If a person is seen in dreams the magic number is six. In Khasi Briew means people and since it rhymes with Hynriew which is six in Khasi numerology hence the interpretation.
Coming to shapes, eggs are zero, for obvious reasons, Umbrella is seven due to the shape of its handle, pistol is six due to the shape of the trigger, a fat lady is 88 - now let’s leave this one for imagination. A dead man is nine. Three added to six, because its believed that man becomes three times heavier after death.
On any given day, money worth crores is gambled on Teer. “On an average some people bet anything between Rs. 100 to Rs 500 daily. Few even gamble in lakhs,” Deepak Joshi a Teer bookie at the Bazaar said.
Its, however, no dream that there are over 1500 licenses holders of Teer. In the 2006, the Meghalaya generated revenue over 26 lakh while issuing Teer licenses and books. The figure has hovered around that number over the years, except 2008-2009 when the amount was about 21 lakh, a cause of insomnia for the government.
The tax on betting and amusement collected by the taxation department has stayed around the 1 crore mark annually for the past three years.
Apart from the revenue and people’s obsession with this form of gambling, such dream interpretation makes interesting reading. Do people dream in colour or black and white?
“Red means saw in Khasi dialect. It also means four in Khasi numerology and once you dream the colour you know what number to bet on,” S Nonkynrih winks.
SILK WORM
Every autumn season, the main market places here are flooded everyday with colourful silk worms, not for silk production, but for consumption.
Eri silk worms locally known as “Niang Ryndia” are a delicacy in this part of the hills and are sold at Rs. 160 per kg in different market places. “The silk worms can be deep fried or can be simply boiled for consumption. It tastes somewhat like prawn,” Khara Synrem, an avid lover of Niang Ryndia said.
Four different types of Eri silk worms are reared in Khasi-Jaintia and Ri-Bhoi hills by farmers. “The yellow ones are reared in Ri-Bhoi and the green ones in West Khasi Hills district,” said one of the vendors, doing brisk business at Iewduh (Bara Bazaar).
One of the vendors informed that they get the worms from far off places from Umden in Ri-Bh0i and Nongstoin in West Khasi Hills district. “We do good business during this season,” the vendor added.
Silk worms are considered to be important source of protein to supplement the diet. “The silk worms have medicinal properties too,” another silk worm consumer claimed. Interestingly, the silk worms are sold in liquor joints to supplement as snack, especially in the rural parts of the state.
China and India are the two main producers of silk and together manufacture more than 60 per cent of the world production each year. In India, Assam leads in manufacturing one of the best quality silk.
East Khasi hills District Sericulture Officer, A Kharbani argues that Meghalaya produces better quality than even Japan. “Those sold in the markets are for consumption, but silk worms are also reared in government-run farms and exported to West Bengal and Delhi,” the district sericulture officer said.
Meghalaya Chief Minister DD Lapang recently inaugurated the Eri silk cluster project in Umden Ri-Bhoi district funded by the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and implemented by Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship.
LEAF INSECT
“In this island are also found certain trees, the leaves of which, when they fall, are animated, and walk. They are like the leaves of the mulberry tree, but not so long; they have the leaf stalk short and pointed, and near the leaf stalk they have on each side two feet.
“If they are touched they escape, but if crushed they do not give out blood. I kept one for nine days in a box. When I opened it the leaf went round the box. I believe they live upon air,” Antonio Pigafetta circumnavigating with Ferdinand Magellan wrote animatedly in far past 1519, documenting creatures on Cimbonbon Island off the coast of Philippines.
Like Pigafetta, Pascal Pcohen a few days back was also amazed noticing a “leaf walking” across his village street. Since then, Pascal a local lad from Nongtalang-Shnong Thymmai village in Jaintia hills, 80 kilometres from Shillong, has unsuspectingly befriended it.
And yes, he has bottled it up, for cleverly using its surrounding colour and texture as a passport to move around in the village. The trouble is: Pascal’s six-day-old enclosed friend doesn’t seem to live on air and so he’s at a loss, what to feed it.
The “walking leaves” or insects that both Pigafetta and Pascal entrapped belong to the specie Phyllium and family Phylliidae and commonly known as leaf insects. These nature’s fakers, although rare, are found across Southeast Asia to Australia like the commonly seen stick insect.
So deceptive are these nature’s wonder that it’s absolutely difficult to distinguish it from a leaf unless it moves, as Pascal demonstrated putting the insect on leaves.
In some species the insect fakes its body edges with bite marks like worn out leaves. Moreover, it walks rocking forward and backward mimicking a blowing leaf to fool its predators.
Researchers have discovered a 47 million year old fossil of Phylliidae (Eophyllium messelensis). The prehistoric ancestor of the leaf insect exhibits many of the same characteristics as Pascal’s leaf insect.
So how come that few have seen these creatures although found in India? Maybe during some autumn evenings the unending traffic of our thoughts collided with ruffed leaves, unprofitably.
And perhaps one of the nature’s fakers rolled forward and backward, mimicked the leaves and got on with its life, and all floated away torn by the nascent, yet merciless chill breeze.
Or how could one tell, nature has it own ways to deceive and dazzle each one of us every single moment.
Not just the leaf insects there are scores of other fakers and mimickers in the natural world, some discovered, others not.
Many might argue that the fishes called sea dragons masquerading as fronds of seaweed, spiders that deceives as bird droppings, or Kallima butterflies which looks like a leaf when perched are fakers extraordinaire.
Scottish science writer Peter Forbes in his book “Deceived and Dazzled” gave a colourful account of the world of camouflage and mimicry in science, arts, military tactics, and those in nature.
Forbes writes about Abbott Thayer an American artist, also sometimes referred as “father of camouflage” for his extensive research on the subject and is renowned for his theory “law of concealing and colouration.”
His theory of counter shading in nature, to make forms look less round and solid is widely accepted. He first noticed that field mice have dark-coloured backs and light-coloured bellies to make it look more uniform in daytime and confuse predators.
In daytime, bellies of animals, which are usually shaded by their bodies, would appear darker than their backs if not light-coloured. Therefore, many animals have a dark coloured back and a white skin underbelly.
Thayer’s theory was applied during the World Wars. In the important Battle of El Alamein (1942) in North Africa hundreds of tanks and heavy artillery guns with their trailers were disguised as trucks under detachable covers. Winston Churchill later acknowledged that such deceptions were one of the turning points of World War II.
Moreover, taking cue from nature, fake airfields, factories, inflatable tanks and many other camouflage and mimicry ideas were put into use effectively during the Second World War
On the other hand, Science is finding out how colour blind creatures such as Octopus and Cuttlefish mimic the texture and colour of its surrounding so brilliantly to camouflage and avoid predators.
On the medical front, researchers are now slowly tracing out how some mimicry cells in our body destroy healthy ones or inhibiting their growth and thereby cause disease like Cancers and many others.
According to a recent finding, Adenoviruses produce a harmful protein called E1A that mimics a benign cellular protein called E2F in the Retinoblastoma (pRb.) The pRb blocks cell division, when potentially cancer-causing mutant genes are present.
However, the mimicry protein binding with pRb interferes with its ability to control unwanted cell division and may be responsible for causing Cancer and other diseases.
Mimicry and camouflage has been employed in the natural world for thousands of years for avoiding predators, foraging and mating, and mankind has lot to learn from this amazing innovation of nature.
Back with Blaise Pascal’s namesake and the student is under no pressure to release the insect into the wild. “I want someone to carry out a research on this insect,” Pascal says holding the wriggling faker carefully in his hand.
Pascal understands that the leaf insect does not find any purchase as far as its nourishment is concerned inside a bottle, but its wonder has saturated his fertile mind. He nonetheless promised to let it go invisible once again into the wild.
Many of us try looking out for distant wonders when we sometimes walk across not so colourful mornings and evenings of our lives. All we got to do is pause and look closer for deeper meanings of life.
FOLKLORE
What does Zoology got to do with folklore? Why would a college teacher of that subject enroll in a refresher course on Folkloristic and Semiotics here in the North Eastern Hill University?
“For years, the western world looked down on folk wisdom as mere myth and superstition, viewing from a myopic perspective,” Professor Prabodh Jhingan from NEHU’s department of culture and creative studies, says.
But, now the world’s focus has shifted and there’s a growing respect about folk wisdom’s applicability in finding solution to problems of the modern world, he stated.
In this context, Zoology lecturer L Muani Darnei from Kiang Nongbah Government College in Jaintia Hills, enrollment in a 20-day refresher course on folkloristic and semiotics, makes an interesting case study.
“All subjects are inter-disciplinary. I want to learn about folk wisdom on the ancient art of apiculture (bee-keeping) and sericulture,” she said adding, she wants to add that knowledge into “modern science.”
Darnei is joined by college lecturers of philosophy, linguistics and various other disciplines from all over the country in this unique first-of-its- kind refresher course being held in India.
Girija Gupte, a senior lecturer of Sociology from Mumbai’s Sathaye College wants to study about traditional herbal medicines that find mention extensively in Indian folklore. “People are rootless in Mumbai. Folklores are sources of knowledge, identities and unity,” she adds.
Eminent folklorists and personalities from all over the country would give guest lectures to the college teachers-turned-students for 20 days.
Jhingam adds this unique refresher course would throw light on interesting cases as to how Panini grammar and Vedic mathematics and ancient wisdom are being used in modern technologies.
“There has been a western bias to folk wisdom thinking that native literature, customs and practices were just not up to the mark.
The United Nations’ various agencies, however, are now slowly giving such ancient wisdom its due respect,” Dean of NEHU’s sociology department Nikhilesh Kumar said during inauguration of the University Grants Commission-sponsored course, here today.
DROWSY SPERMS
Boule after 600 million years is increasingly producing “lazy drowsy sperms”, which just aren’t interested to swim to the nearest egg to fertilise.
It’s not Boule the sperm-producing gene that is losing vigour and entirely responsible for the “drowsy uninterested” sperms, it’s the men themselves who have to shoulder the blame.
Scientists have recently discovered that Boule a gene is responsible for sperm production, which the gene is diligently doing for the past 600 million years, since evolution of life on earth!
“Men with their high alcohol intake and smoking habit are making the sperms drowsy these days, and infertility is on the rise,” Dr. Sudip Basu, Chief Invitro Fertilisation (IVP) consultant, Amri Hospitals said.
Sperms need Zinc for the development of its head and tail. However, alcohol reduces Zinc intake into the human body. With reduced Zinc the sperms develop deformity and many others are weak to swim to fertilize and have reduced motility.
Normally, a sperm after being attracted swims towards an egg, waving its tail vigorously, hoping to fertilise it.
Dr. Basu says, even if sperm counts is normal, high alcohol and nicotine content in the blood makes the sperm bereft of energy and they don’t like to swim to the nearest egg to fertilise.
Here in the north east, Dr. Basu adds, the incidence of infertility amongst men is especially high. “About 15 to 20 percent of the total male population in the region has infertility problems and the number is increasing everyday with a changed lifestyle.”
He said each year India adds up to one million men who suffer from infertility problem mostly due to an altered lifestyle, although medical complications are also responsible.
“Infection, tuberculosis, hormonal disorder and other medical complications are also responsible for infertility, but more cases of infertility are reported because of alcohol and tobacco abuse,” Dr. Madhav Das senior infertility consultant of Amri added.
Amri today tied up with Woodland hospital here for setting up a satellite centre to treat infertility through Intra-Uterine Insemination (IUI) and IVF process.
But the physicians advised that by maintaining a healthy lifestyle the 600-year-old seminal dance to reach eggs should continue naturally.
TIMBER SMUGGLING FROM NORTHEAST INDIA
The 42 wagons loaded with timber seized in Guwahati this month is part of a 118 wagon-load of timber consignment from Dimapur railway station to New Delhi, sources said.
If the price of timber in the seized 42 wagons by Customs authorities on July 10th in Guwahati is estimated at Rs. 80 crore, it’s anybody’s guess what would be the price of the other 76 wagons loaded with teak and pine.
The Special Investigating Team (SIT) which oversees the transportation of timber from the northeast has given permission to the Nagaland forest department for transportation of 118 wagons of timber through an order.
A copy of the SIT order, 8-15/SIT/2006-ptXXV dated 11th June 2010 is available with the Assam Tribune stating “permission granted by the SIT for loading of 118 wagons for transportation of sawn timber and molding beats from Dimapur loading station for the quarter March-May 2010 is herby extended up to 10th July 2010 on the same term and condition.”
The order was signed by SIT member-secretary MK Jiwrajka in New Delhi.
Sources said the 42 wagons seized by the customs was one of the three components of this 118 wagon consignment.
“To fill a wagon with sawn timber needs quite a number of trees. To fill 118 wagons one can only guess how many trees were pulled down,” the sources said.
With such transportation of timber on from Nagaland for years now, it’s unclear from where these timbers come from, but fingers are being pointed to Myanmar.
It’s believed that logs are illegally shipped from Myanmar, Kamjong and Moreh to Dimapur, which are transported to feed India’s timber industry.
Incidentally, the Supreme Court banned timber felling in 1996. Two years later in the TN Godavaran case, the apex court passed another judgment allowing already felled timber to be transported only by the Railways under strict supervision and guidelines.
To do so, the apex court ordered setting up a High Powered Committee (HPC) and SIT for supervision of the transportation and overseeing forest protection in the region.
The court also ordered the setting up of satellite cell of the Ministry of Environment and Forest also known as the office of Regional Chief Conservator of Forest (RCCF) here in Shillong.
Timbers for transportation must be marked, have transit pass and other HPC guidelines and cleared by SIT and host of state forest departments and the sources of the area where the timber was obtained from must be clear. The Railways must send copy of such transportation to these state and central forest agencies for re-evaluation.
“It’s not clear what’s going on. For example SIT was supposed to have its office in Guwahati, why it’s in New Delhi can’t be said.
Moreover, SIT has been insisting that the seized consignment should be checked in New Delhi and not in Guwahati,” the sources said.
FIFA WORLD CUP 2010
FIFA’s norm for an International football pitch is about 100 by 75 meter, but this “International” football field is weirdly numbered 1267/1S.
Many grueling International encounters were held on this field between lowly FIFA-ranked India (133) and Bangladesh (157).
Barefooted men, dribbled, tackled and shoulder-challenged to tear through opponents’ defense and let in blinding shots at the back of the net. There were scenes of jubilation and also a few tears shed after 90 minutes.
That was when good old footballs were hand- stitched in old-fashioned way and Jabulanis didn’t swerve uncomfortably and Bangladesh was a concept.
Back then, people from erstwhile East Pakistan entered the haloed pitch on weekly market days and engaged in fiercely contested soccer matches in Lyngkhat football field after a good day of barter trade in Betel leaves and nuts, Oranges and other perishable items.
After 1971, Bangladesh wanted rules changed in its favour and laid claim over the field. India immediately flashed the red-card to the Bangladeshis.
In fact, the entire Lyngkhat village, dubbed as Lakhancherra by Bangladeshis is being claimed and is in “adverse possession” of India. The field falls between border pillar 1267 and sub-pillar 1S.
Holding of friendly matches is therefore unthinkable. Bangladesh Rifles and Border Security Force now walk on opposite ends of the field, both refereeing with its own set of rules.
“The demarcation is so vague. The field is a classic example of a flawed demarcation. It falls between International border pillar 1267 and sub pillar 1S,” a BSF official posted in the area said.
He said Indians do enjoy maximum possession of the field and Bangladeshi villagers are left as mere spectators. “They do watch Indian villagers playing from their side known as Islampur,” he added.
Lyngkhat village headman, Skhem Dkhar said the trend of holding soccer matches still prevails and on weekly market days such matches are held now amongst different villages, especially in winters.
Football is a raging passion in Meghalaya and the same holds true for villages along the entire stretch of the International border with Bangladesh, especially in Nayabazaar, Dawki, Lyngkhat and other places.
There is a slim possibility that such matches would be revived once the border Haat reopens along the border, especially the one at Dawki, sometimes this year.
Perhaps, one day someone like Messi or Robinho might emerge from these disadvantaged places and India would finally sound its own Vuvuzela and inform about its arrival at the greatest foot-balling stage.
MARIJUANA AND MALANA CREAM
Think Cannabis. Think anti-drug laws world over. Flashback, sitting blissfully on the banks of Malana River near the Himalayas, high on Malana cream as a “Ganja tourists.”
India’s ancient philosophy, culture and tradition has always fascinated and baffled the world and been the subject of debates and discussions, and Malana cream is just one of them.
“Malana cream is a high quality Cannabis extract (Hashish/Charas) that is named after this remote ancient village in Himachal Pradesh in Kullu valley where it is produced,” Director General of Narcotic Control Bureau, OPS Malik told the Assam Tribune.
Asked if it is legal to take this drug and Malik’s answer is intoxicatingly subdued. “We (NCB) are a drug trafficking control agency. We don’t disturb cultural traditions. So long the use of these substances does not lead to business and trafficking.”
Malik walks a tightrope between his professional callings and India’s age old tradition. “We don’t allow movement of drugs from one part to the other,” he said mildly.
Malana Cream, considered the world’s best Hash or Hashish, at one point of time became so popular that hoards of backpackers crossed continents heaving 3029 feet above the sea level to Malana village, often dubbed as “Ganja tourists,” for the drug. One Tola (about 11 grams) of Malana Cream costs above Rs 2000, however, fake brands from Nepal now comes much cheaper.
Its not that Malanis are addicts, but use of the drug is closely associated with the socio-cultural practises of these ancient people, who some say, are the oldest practitioners of democracy in the world.
Not just in Malana, use of Cannabis or Marijuana has been closely associated with the socio-cultural lives of Indians, for thousands of years now.
In the West, there has been a growing debate on Cannabis’ medicinal properties, although it has not been proved beyond doubt, only that this plant induces euphoria amongst users. Prolonged use of the drug can cause mental disorders.
“There is research going on about the medicinal properties of Cannabis, but nothing has been proved beyond doubt so far,” Malik said.
NCB, meanwhile, has been conducting raids and seizures and busting International cartels involved in smuggling of Cannabis and other banned substances across India, Malik said.
Each year, India seizes around 1000 kg of Heroin and 4000 kg of Cannabis extracts like Hashish and Charas each year. “There has been a steady decline in the use of Hashish and Charas in India and hence lesser seizures over the years,” he informed.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
HOPPING FROM EXAMINATION HALL TO MARRIAGE PANDAL
If “marriages are made in heaven,” then some IAS officers are certainly made on Earth.
So when the constellations bounded this IAS officer’s marriage date auspiciously, Biniti Purkayasta did not have the faintest idea that an uphill task was cut up ahead of her.
On October 16, therefore, Biniti woke up early not to deck up as a Dulhan, but rush to her examination desk to appear her IAS Mains.
Then from the examination hall she rushed back to the marriage hall, to assume the role of a dotting bride, just hours after completing her examinations.
Biniti is one of the four candidates to have cleared this year’s IAS examinations from Meghalaya. She ranked 510.
“Bintidi would have ranked much higher if not her examination date clashed with her marriage,” Diksha Purkayasta her sister and self-confessed friend said confidently.
Not only did her marriage date clash with her IAS examinations, Biniti also sat for her IAS English exams on October 19 on the day of her engagement.
Her father D Purkayasta proudly recalls how Biniti would shut herself in her room during the month-long marriage rituals and toil on her studies.
“She instructed me not to allow anyone to disturb her during her studies and call only when an important ritual was on and her presence was absolutely necessary,” Biniti’s father recalled fondly.
Biniti who has completed her Masters in English and Sociology from Delhi University is interested in implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). She is presently doing her thesis on slum dwellers in Shillong.
“Biniti wants to help the poor and is against corruption. She wants to be associated with the transparent and accounted implementation of NERGS,” her mother Mala Purkayasta added.
Now happily married and settled in Noida, Biniti with her grit and determination has proved that not all stars are in heaven, some do shine amongst us unassumingly.
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