Childhood Dreams

To be a child again… what would I not give

Innocent and carefree

The world full of strange and exciting possibilities

Untainted, the mind – a blank slate

 

I see my son, all of 9 years old …. struggling to learn his lessons. He reminds me so much of my own childhood. Of course, he is a much better and faster learner than I ever was. But then, he lives in a world very different from the one I grew up in.

The sepia tinted memories of my own childhood come rushing back. Those days, Imphal was not the crowded, polluted shanty town it has become. Yes, it was a dusty shanty town even then, but it was not polluted or crowded like it is today.

My dad used to play Bridge with his friends at the Public Library most evenings. Sometimes, I would tag along and spend my time watching them play or just wandering around the building. On the way home, he would buy an ice-cream lolly for me from Lake View Restaurant which was located just across the road from the library. (That was the main reason why I would tag along in the first place).  

The roads have become very crowded nowadays. Traffic Jams (which were unheard of just a few years ago) are a common occurrence. Imphal has also become a much more dangerous place than it used to be for other reasons as well. There has been an increase in lawlessness over the years. Cases of kidnapping of children and adults, bomb blasts, etc are quite frequent these days. Because of the prevailing environment, sending children outside the home unescorted and alone is like taking a risk. When I was his age, I and my friends would go wherever we fancied, even kilometres away from home… to play cricket or to visit schoolmates’ homes.

The games that we played were usually outdoor ones like cricket, marbles, cheitek kotpi (gilli danda), kite flying, etc. I bought my son a PSP which he plays on when there is load shedding and he cannot use his PS2 or watch TV. He is familiar with computers and surfs channels on TV like a pro. Unfortunately, the only cricket he’s familiar with is the one he plays on his videogame console.

Minutes of the proceedings of a very important meeting

It has recently come to light that the powers that be in Manipur had a meeting to discuss some very urgent and important issues confronting the smooth operation of the machinery. The said meeting, a confidential but strategically placed source confided, took place at an undisclosed and highly classified location given the sensitivity of the issues discussed and the potentially fatal combination of participants.

The meeting was participated in by representatives from all major power brokers of the state such as the Politicians, the Police, the Bureaucrats, the Thikadaars (Contractors), the Indian Military/Paramilitary, the Business Class and the ‘Freedom Fighters’ (Ima leibak gi damak katho aba kangbu).

This meeting came in the backdrop of supposed protectors of society, like policemen/army personnel getting caught carrying out some not too legal activities like trying to smuggle drugs across the border into Myanmar or politicians apparently not being too honest while declaring their educational qualifications before the elections and the Election Commission finding out about it or policemen kidnapping businessmen for ransom from the heart of the city and murdering them. Among the agenda discussed threadbare at the conference were:

1) Whether to legitimise the selling of govt. jobs so as to streamline the amount charged.

2) How much percentage to charge from bootleggers like Mr. Chandu of Thangal Bazar and the folks at 1^st and 2^nd MR for selling IMFL and how to distribute said percentage among different stakeholders.

3) How much percentage to be charged for awarding Govt. contract work taking into consideration the profit margin of the different profiting agencies.

4) The hike in prices of commodities esp. during ‘economic blockades’, again keeping in mind, the profit margin of the concerned profiting agencies like the traders, taxing authorities such as the Policemen at the check gates and the, ahem, ‘Freedom Fighters’ who levy their own taxes on the transporters.

5) How to co-ordinate the smuggling of drugs and other contraband across and from the border among the various agencies so that embarrassing incidents like the ones cited above can be avoided.

After much deliberation, it was decided that, henceforth, all vacancies in various govt. depts. will be consolidated and then sold at a standard rate from a kiosk to be opened at Babupara, Imphal. The rate for different jobs will depend on the position and ‘earning potential’. Giving in to demands from the SC/ST/OBC lobby, it was also decided to give 15% discounts to STs and 10% to OBCs. Because of the likelihood of demand exceeding supply, the jobs will be sold strictly on ‘’first come first serve basis’.

It was decided that designated bootleggers like the gentlemen mentioned above will be given due protection by the concerned authorities. Keeping in mind the welfare of the consuming public, the said gentlemen will not be allowed to hike their rates at random. Also, efforts will be made to ensure that stock do not get exhausted so that the, again, consuming public do not suffer.

In the interest of fairness, a common percentage will be charged for the award of contract work from the concerned contractor. This percentage will then be distributed among the various profiting agencies. The modalities for this distribution will be worked out by the representatives of the profiting agencies at a later meeting, the date, time and venue to be decided after this current meeting.

It was also decided that from now on, proper co-ordination will be done among the different agencies to ensure that the smuggling of drugs etc across and from the border can take place without any hiccups like the ones already mentioned above.

The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks by the senior most participant who expressed his belief that such meetings are absolutely necessary to ensure that Manipur remains firmly in their grip. He also mentioned that it was in the interest of all stakeholders to continue co-operating with one another. He thanked everyone for taking time off from their busy schedules to attend this very profitable meeting.

Disclaimer: The writer means no harm to any living, dead or undead persons or animals. Any resemblance of any of the participants of the meeting to any living person is purely coincidental.

How Mother India treats her daughters

A five year old child! How can one find a five year old child even remotely sexually attractive? It gives me the shivers…. just to think about it. I read somewhere that people who commit such heinous and unspeakable crimes are often normal seeming and not obviously psychotic as one would assume. This is a very worrying thought cos it means there are people among us … colleagues, friends, acquaintances, people we pass on the streets…. who may, if given the opportunity, turn into monsters.

My heart goes out to the little girl in Delhi who became a victim of such monsters… and who will carry the unimaginable scar of her harrowing experience for the rest of her life.

But how many other Gudiyas have been victims of such crimes in our country and how many such similar incidents go unreported? The truth is, our Indian society, in spite of all the diversities in terms of race, caste and creed, have one thing in common and that is, the way we treat our women and girls. Thousands, if not millions of girls and women, suffer various kinds of atrocities at the hands of their fathers, brothers, husbands, neighbours, classmates, teachers etc.  

Ours is a country where women are burnt for not bringing the desired dowry. In many parts of the country, women still do not have any say in who they want to marry or how they want to live their lives. Even in the big cities, women, especially those perceived as defenceless or easy prey like those from the North east, are frequently molested and raped.

Yes, there are changes. The media is taking a more proactive role in highlighting these cases. The government and its organs like the police are becoming more sensitized and are making positive noises. The people, like in the cases of Nirbhaya and Gudiya, are also taking their anger out into the streets, which is good because it shows that many of us have had enough and wish to see some changes.

However, I feel that what we need is a huge attitudinal change cutting across all classes and regions. This change should come from inside. I dream of an India where girls may form a rock band and play at concerts anywhere without inviting fatwas; an India where they can love and marry anyone regardless of caste or creed without being ‘honourably’ murdered by her own brothers or fathers.

The hallmark of a truly civilised society is the freedom and liberty granted to the members of the fairer sex. It is clearly evident that we still have a long way to go.