Day: November 24, 2012

The post On the road appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

By Chitra Ahanthem.
One question that almost leaves me stumped looking for an adequate answer is “What do you do?” Till 2008, the answer was easy for me since till then, there was an involvement in the NGO sector as a full time employee. The only difficulties I faced then was while trying to make people of my grandmother’s generation understand just what I did for my living. To keep things short and simple, I would say, ‘it is a private job’ and that would be met with a ‘at a private school or private bank?’ and the not so satisfactory common answer would be ‘something like that.’ Post 2008, a decision to do freelance work in terms of consultations has meant that I am mostly in between assignments or caught up in traveling or just waiting for an assignment to happen. Those who are familiar about my writing at IFP or other web sites often take me for a journalist but those on the regular media beat hardly get to see me since I don’t do event reporting.

Regardless of my inability to coin a particular occupational designation for myself, it will suffice to say that I do end up writing and traveling, with more of the former than the later. Yet, almost all my travel has been because of my writings with only a few exceptions here and there. Many years before I began writing for IFP, I remember writing a letter to myself on an inland envelope. I was in Class 2 then! When asked why I was doing that, I said that I wanted to read my own letter. Being away from home in college for the first time led me to write a few fledging poems that do not impress me much anymore. The first published IFP footprint was a ‘Letter to the Editor’ which I wrote in part rage, part sarcasm following a diktat from a banned underground group who ordered everybody to stay put from Hindi films and entertainment channels. Looking back, it’s almost like yesterday: I was mad that everyone just followed the ban order and remained silent. I felt I had to say something and did not know where to take my rage that kept me awake for two nights on a row (I dozed during the day though!). The third night, I just got up in the middle of the night and wrote the letter, which went on to the IFP pages. That brought on a series of articles and a few of my earlier poems to be published till the time IFP editor gave me my present column. Writing has also taken me to 90% of the places I have been to till date. I would either be part of a media team at various conferences and workshops or working as a Rapportuer. And though my travel schedule will never come near to the amount of traveling that certain people in the IT or what other salaried class take, I am seen as someone living out of a suitcase in my extended family circle. It gets rather interesting here: one class of people want me to use my trips outside the state to shop for them, giving me lists for shoes and bags and shawls. There is another group that wants to know about what sights I get to see. Unfortunately though, traveling out of the state on account of work means mostly that I end up reaching the hotel and trying to settle in and then going to the venue of the assignment I am on. Not many realize how disconcerting it is to check in to hotel  rooms where nothing is familiar and ease the self into work, work and work. If it is a workshop or a seminar or some such thing, it means mostly that the day will end late followed by desk work (writing about the day). If the assignment is about field work, it means that one starts out early and come back early BUT totally drained out and dreading the next day and the next but keeping things on schedule.

Yes, one does try to get a bit more out of the travel for work grind and mostly, it is to try out local food and flavor. Sightseeing unfortunately, takes time and effort and can happen only after the workload gets sorted out and done with. Rarely do agencies that calls you in for work schedule in an entire day to explore the place you are in but that’s what happened one time when I was Utrecht in The Netherlands for about 10 days, attending a training on designing Program methodology for HIV/AIDS projects. The training organizers gave us one day to explore Amsterdam and till date, the day remains as one that left me most fulfilled and happy. It started with a tour of the old pubs to check on the Delph tiles, a run in the market square eating raw fish dipped in sauce, a two and a half hour solo time at the Van Gogh Museum, a walk in the red light area (I tend to check out red light areas in most places) and then a canal ride.

The other bit of the travel is of course the hours that one loses while preparing to travel by flight. Getting into an early flight from home means skipping on meals and soothing the stomach and the mind with cold airline snacks that often take the place of real food for the entire day. The result of travel and skipping meals followed by work can be pretty bad on health: ulcers and sheer exhaustion. So when people expect that all the travel that I do is leading me to shopping expeditions and sight seeing tours, it is far from the truth totally.

End-point:

In the light of terrorist attacks, one hears and read of security measures at airports. In the US it borders on the paranoid and while on transit to Mexico, I nearly missed out my flight there since their security check entails taking out belts, shoes, body scans and what not. Cut to India and I am yet to hear the metal detector go ‘beep’ even though I have been traveling with steel braces on my teeth since July this year. It probably means, the metal detectors are not even put in ‘on’ mode. I have been traveling with my dental papers but no security guard has asked for it. And yes, being travel weary also leads to missing out Footnotes!

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The post False Priorities appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

By B.G. Verghese
The Opposition’s stalling the opening days of Parliament’s winter session when so much urgent business is long pending is deeply regrettable. The issue on FDI retail is bogus. It constitutes a legitimate executive decision that does not require parliamentary ratification and leaves States free to decide their course of action.  Dissatisfaction can find expression in a no confidence motion, which was resoundingly defeated as the first item of business. Why then insist on a separate vote on FDI.

When the brick and mortar of Parliament House was attacked by Pakistani trained terrorists in 2002, the BJP angrily described that as an attack on India’s democracy. And now here is a grossly irresponsible BJP once again destroying the very soul of Parliament. What astonishing hypocrisy as it gleefully what the terrorists failed to do. Are state assemblies to be similarly vandalised and all anarchy to reign?

AjmalKasab’s hanging ends a chapter in the brutal 26/11story but does not represent closure. Those whosavagely worked nine triggers to take 166 innocent Indian and foreign four years ago, are now dead, martyrs to no cause but a blind hatred. The masterminds are still preening themselves in Pakistan -HafeezSaeed the Let-JuD leader at large and spitting venom, and Lakhvi and six others undergoing an in camera trial that is still far from getting anywhere.

Once the President rejected Kasab’s mercy petition on November 5, things moved fast. All procedures were meticulously followed, including informing Kasab’s family through diplomatic channels, transferring him to Yeravda Prison in Pune and performance of his last rites and burialby a Muslim priest. No “secrecy” was involved and due process was completed with dignity without attracting hostile notice vulgar “celebration”.

Those “humanists”, Indian and foreign, who criticise India forretaining the death penalty,areengaging in a separate debate.  Capital punishment is on the Indian statute bookand the Supreme Court has ordained that the death penalty will only be awarded in “the rarest of rare cases” in accordance with the increasing emphasis on restorative rather than retributive justice. Kasab’s crime was certainly a“rarest of rare” case,compounded by neither remorse nor regret for the terrible crime he committed as a jihadi mercenary.

The Kasab execution has also rekindled debate on the fate of others on death row for longer periods and whose mercy petitions remain pending in a sequential “queue”. Afzal Guru, who was involved in the attack on Parliament House in 2002 has been singled out for special attention. Some argue that his complicity was of a lower order and the evidence against him not watertight. Apart from being special pleading, there can be no room to question the verdict confirmed by the Supreme Court. The clamour for mercy is in fact political and delay has only aggravated politicisation of an essentially judicial matter on extraneous grounds that some in J&K may not take kindly to the event, witness the trouble that erupted when Maqbool Butt was executed. Surrender to blackmail is simply not an option.

There is also an element of dishonestly and hypocrisy about foreign humanist groups criticising the Kasab execution as out of step with world trends. India was with the US, Japan and Pakistan in rejecting a U.N call last week to ban the death penalty, claiming that this was a sovereign decision that must be left to each country to take. Who hanged Saddam Hussain and many others after the Iraq invasion and the war in Serbia? Who objected on grounds of “humanism” ? What about the taking out of Osama bin Laden and many others who have been executed from the air? These are double standards.

The other strange event preceding the Kasab hanging was the state funeral accorded to the Shiv Sena leader, Bal Thackeray. State funerals, one would have thought,are a national honour reserved for the good and the great.Bal Thackeray was a divisive, parochial, hate-monger, who was responsible for the destruction of the Babri Masjid and the terrible Mumbai killings of 1992-93. He indulged in the politics of fear and used his “Marathi manoos” goons to terrorise others.

Many were quick to condemn the police who arrested young,Shaheenin Palgar, who queried on Facebook why Mumbai was being shut down for one man. A friend,Rini,  agreed with her. Both were kept in the lock up overnight and only released the next day after paying a fine. Meanwhile, hospital of Dr Khan, Shaheen’suncle, was vandalised by a couple of hundred Shiv Sainiks. Shaheenlater stated that she had been wrong and that Thackeray was a great man.The girl had obviously been terrorised into retracting her comment. Everybody criticised the police for gross over-reaction. But few, if any among the pontificating media and panellists, made the point that Mumbai was shut down because the state Government,as in the past, feared Sena violence and mayhem.What is the message that is being sent out? Now some Sainiks are demanding a Thackeray memorial at Shivaji Park, which Dadar residents are rightly resisting. What values do we honour.

“Secular” pandering to communal forces has become commonplace. There was a clash in Delhi’s GurdwaraRakabganj recently following rival tensions over a proposal to amend the current SGPC election rules on the eve of the forthcoming gurdwara elections. Merits apart, why in this day and age should the Government be legislating on gurdwara management?Likewise, what is one to make of a Civil Aviation Ministry affidavit on Haj travel before the Supreme Court which has been reported to read as follows:Subsidies by Air India are incurred “purely on the basis of benefit for the Hajis who should revel in the glory of  their pilgrimage with minimum burden on their shoulders  as well as with as many benefits as the government can provide”. The Government might legitimately facilitate the Haj but why subsidise it against Islamic tenets? Matching this is the subsidy given to pilgrims to Kailash-Mansarowar. A couple of years back the Andhra government reportedly offered to subsidise Christian pilgrims going to Bethlehem but
wisely backed off from the idea.

Why this competitive communal indulgence all round? On November 6, MahantAdityanath  of Gorakhnath, a BJP MP, demanded that Nepal’s  “Hindu status” be restored afterit lost the sobriquet as the world’s only Hindu Kingdom. And then a textbook horror.  A Class VI book brought out by a Delhi publisher warns, “Non-vegetarians beware! Your food causes you to easily cheat, tell lies, forget promises, be dishonest, steal and commit sex crimes”. The NCERT has been asked to look into the matter. In another instance, a Chennai teacher has been suspended for the academic year for reciting a Hindu prayer is Class XII. What is the crime here? A prayer of any faith recited to seek the Almighty’s blessing for all is surely no crime. Growing up in ignorance of others’ faiths hardly promotes secularism. On the contrary. How silly can we get? 

The crudity and contempt with which secularism is practised is cause for concern.

www.bgverghese.com

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The post 34th State and Inter-district TT championship appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

IMPHAL, November 24: K Rohit of Imphal West will meet P Suman of BPR in the final of the cadet boys’ singles of the ongoing 34th State and Inter-district Table tennis Championship.

The championship is being played at the DM College Campus Indoor stadium.

In the cadet boy’s singles semi-final matches, K Rohit defeated W Lanthoiba of TBL by 3-1 (11-0, 4-11, 11-6, 11-3), while P SUman defeated K Kenna of I/W by 3-2 (11-6, 12-10, 7-11, 5-11, 11-7).

In the sub junior boys’ singles semi-finals, Th Monish of Imphal West defeated Y Prakash of Bishnupur by 4-1, while Kh Banta Kumar of I/W defeated S Ravi by 4-0.

In the Junior boys’ singles semi-final matches, Ak Chaoba of TBL defeated O Bishwanath of the same district by 4-2, while Kh Banta Kumar of I/W defeated K Jackson of BPR by 4-0.

In the Youth Boys’ singles semi-final matches, Ksh Ushakiran of TBL defeated L Subhash of I/W by 4-1, while Y Boy of I/E defeated N Bipin of TBL by 4-2.

In the Men’s singles, semi-final matches, Th Dharmendra of I/W defeated Ksh Ushakiran of TBL by 4-0 while, Y Dinesh of I/W defeated Munindro Soram of I/W by 4-0.

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The post Life After Death appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

By Dr. M. Nara Singh
Impressive stories of lives saved through organ donations are well known. So also stories of restored vision due to eye donations. Most people however, are still unfamiliar with tissue donation and its benefits although, worldwide the number of tissue transplants far exceeds organ transplants. Tissue such as bone, cartilage tendons, heart valves, blood vessels etc. can be banked and transplanted with considerable clinical successes.

The first kidney transplant took place between two brothers in Boston, USA in the year 1954. It is reported that the first human liver transplant also took place in USA in 1963. Pancreas Transplantation was first reported in the late 1960s. At present, it is available as a standard form of therapy in many developed countries, but not yet available in India. Heart Transplantation has dramatically changed since Dr. Christian Barnard performed the world`s first heart transplant on 3rd December 1967 in Cape Town, South Africa. The medical advances during 1980s have made heart transplantation an effective therapy for carefully selected patients with advanced heart disease. In India Dr. Venugopal of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi transplanted Cadaver Heart in 1994 after the Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) was enacted by the Union Government in the year 1994 itself.

Ganadarpan, a voluntary organisation which started the movement on Donation of Posthumous Body/organs and Tissues to Medical Science for Education, Research and for Therapeutic uses (Transplantations) in the mid eighties of the last century. This bridges the movements of Science and Technology with Scientific Temperament. This organisation played a great role in preparing and passing through the Transplantation of Human Organ Bill in the Indian Parliament in the year 1994. The same Act was endorsed by the West Bengal Government in 1995. This Act, on the one hand banned the illegal trafficking of organs and tissues and on the other hand, it accepted a new concept of death, the Brain Stem Death. The world of treatment got a host of life saving materials i.e,. organs and tissues retrieved from a donated body that has undergone brain-stem death to give a new lease of life to moribond patients.

The medical science is passing through a very dynamic phase and has dramatically advanced. Community participation in each advancement is essential so that the fruit of the achievement reaches to the needy. Ganadarpan is doing a pioneering work in respect of body donation and organ transplantation movement not only in Bengal but also in the whole of India.

Death is mistified in all Societies, many superstitions are in vogue regarding the states after death. As a result the death bodies are destroyed in many ways, with an idea that the corpse is harmful for the society. But to-day Science has proved that even the dead bodies can cater social needs, if they are used in proper way and at proper times. The transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994 defines “disceased person” means a person in whom permanent disappearance of all evidence of life occurs by reason of Brain Stem Death at any time after life birth has taken place. Brain Stem Death means the stage at which all functions of the brain stem have perminently and irreversibly ceased. These legal provisions are in tune with the World Health Organisation`s guidelines.

After Brain Stem Death, many organs and part of the body can give new lease of life to the persons who are suffering from ailments of those parts. Even after cellular death, organs like cornea, heart valves, skin, earbones can be effectively transplanted. All posthumous donation of body, tissue or organ in the Scientific Path followed by evolved societies. This requires everyone`s involvement and with conviction. Hence, this article is presented during the 8th International and 3rd National Organ and Tissue Donation Days Observance from 14th Oct. to 28th Nov., 2012.

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The post Jr Sofball championship concludes appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

IMPHAL, November 24: The 30th Junior National Softball Championship ended today at the Khuman Lampak Sports complex.

The championship was organized by the Manipur Softball Association.

Kerela and Chhattisgarh became the winners of the girls’ and boys’ events respectively.

The Manipur girls’ team was ousted in the semi final by Punjab with a 14-1 scoreline.

Kerela defeated Punjab by 11-10 in the girls’ final, while, Chhattisgarh defeated Madhya Pradesh by 13-4 runs in the boys’ final.

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The post The art, the artist and the audience appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

By Tinky Ningombam
I am a big fan of theatricality. I am enthralled by it. Hence, it is only logical that artistes intrigue me.  And be it a musician, an actor, a street-performer. Last weekend, I was fortunate to meet with an intriguing mind reader, performer and an illusionist, who outsmarted us more than once. It does leave a mixed bag of feelings, the spectacle of the performance but also the frustration in trying to outsmart the outsmarter on the trick and trying to solve it. 

Entertainment shows are played out mostly based on a common understanding and knowledge, which means that the trick/show has to be culturally relevant to you or performed on the mutually understood common belief system. Common belief systems hence dictate any form of theatricality, be it magic, movies, drama, art and even sports and extends to humor, jokes and so on. One needs to have a common shared memory or a belief system that is mutually congruent to the participants and the observers. Which no doubt leads to the popularity or non-popularity of that form of entertainment. And it is exactly in these premises that I tried to understand the power of innuendos that performers use to engage audience.

And moving to the contemporary and popular form of entertainment art, we have the new age movies of today. While some ages ago, one just needed to wear a police uniform to depict a cop, now one gets into the detail of performing the role to the T. But of course, we still have movies with bad scripts and equally bad actors who makes it virtually impossible for us to believe the plot. Popular roles of broken-hearted lead protagonist becoming IAS officers who walks into an office with a laptop and says a few words in English. Well, that takes the cake. The moral of the story being the fact that if your girl dumps you, that is motivation enough to study harder and become an IAS officer. I would love to see where that true-story inspiration came from.

I am tired of stereotypes in movies. People have exhausted ideas for movie plots, I conjure, now that commercial movie are on a high. We have the much popular plots and roles : the rich girl – poor guy plot, the scheming  uncle,  the manipulative rich father figure, the innocent girl, the comic helper, the junkie villain. And like everything else in entertainment, I am exhausted with the predictable characters. Why can we not have the un-assuming innocent looking girl turn into a serial killer? And in the similar way, we can have the junkie drug-addict being a super-hero.

But why don’t we do it? Well, simple, because, we think, it will not be believable.  We are not ready for such unlikely roles. We still believe that the alcohol drinking, red-lipstick wearing girl who wears a “western” dress has to be the vamp, just as we think that the good-looking,  good natured, saver-of-all-mankind guy (who eventually turns out to be the IAS officer) to be the hero. And perhaps that is why I wonder if we have richer roles in Theatre and Drama then in contemporary movies because it is more real and in-the-moment. And the performance is somehow more seriously portrayed.

I do not however discredit good movies, however farfetched from reality or realistic it be but with Theatre, even the audience comes in with an expectation of some “serious performance” which sadly is missing in the mindset of the movie-audience. This analogy was perfected by a good friend of mine who is researching Manipuri plays who has rightfully quoted that “Even though people make fun of popular figures, even politicians, the cops or prominent people in the society in our popular “Shumang Leela” (form of regional theatrical arts) , even these people do not get offended by it because  Shumang Leela is not considered as serious art, sadly. So even if the audience relate to the political or personal satire, they do not get much affected by the message/moral as would a movie or serious Drama” .This observation however personal it may seem does brings home simple truths.  And as part of an enthusiastic audience for new-age entertainment forms, such analysis can help in bringing a better environment for artistes and the art-forms alike.

We have a rich and unique artistic history.  And we have the artistic talent pool. We have only touched the tip of the ice-berg. We are happy with some mimicked song-and-dance sequence in movies and theatre, most obviously made in a way to get back some box-office returns. Except for a handful of serious artistes who try to create a world-class product, we have these random run-of-the-mill popcorn art. While I do understand the popular demand for commercial art forms, but we sometimes forget in creating something unique, different or thought-provoking. I believe that when artistes and producers fail to create something unique to us, we will not be able to sustain it for the future. 

And coming to the simpler example that I know of especially, that of the commercial movies of today, if they are indeed depicting the real lives and real people, I am in awe of the kind of racist, sexist and stereotypical comments that are passed in the dialogues. Its about time that we make it culturally relevant. We should get passed such stereotypes and instead aim higher.

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The post District level Lower rural tournament appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

IMPHAL, November 24: Sawombung block emerged as winners in both the boys’ and girls’ football event of the District Level Lower Rural Tournament of Imphal East played at the Khuman lampak sports complex.

Sawombung Block defeated Keirao Bitra block by 3-0.

The block has also emerged as team champions in both the boys’ and girls’ Judo events.

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The post State teams in natl Sepaktakraw final appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

IMPHAL, November 24: Both men’s and women’s state teams have booked their places in the respective finals of the team events of the ongoing 23rd Senior National Men’s and Women’s Sepaktakraw Championship at Hyderabad.

In their semi-final match, the state men’s team defeated Delhi by 2-0 regu (15-12, 15-11), (15-5, 15-5).

Manipur will meet SSB in the final.

In a women’s semi-final, the state team defeated Orissa by 2-0 regu (15-3, 15-11), (15-5, 15-1).

The state team will meet neighbor Nagaland in the final.

Meanwhile, league play-offs of regu event of both men’s and women’s commenced from today.

In the first match of the league play-off, Manipur defeated Assam by 2-0 sets (15-7, 15-6); the state team later defeated Jharkhand by 2-0 (15-3, 15-6).

In the women league, the state team defeated Maharashtra by 2-0 (15-0, 15-5), and later defeated Karnataka by 2-0 (15-8, 15-3).

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