tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16437518729468782552024-03-13T17:52:24.546-07:00H.Helpme MohrmenH.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-36836920584792572152023-10-12T06:10:00.005-07:002023-10-12T06:10:34.116-07:00 H.K. Singh’s “Unitarian Christianity” an Indigenous Connection (On the occassion of his 100 Death Anniversary 13, November 1923 - 2023)<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Hajom Kissor Singh Lyngdoh Nongbri, the
founder of the Unitarian movement in Khasi and Jaintia Hills District of
Meghalaya and Karbi Anglong District of Assam remains a lesser-known
personality in the contemporary society of the North East. The fact is though
HK Singh started the Unitarian movement in the hills 132 years ago, being a
non-proselytizing religion, the Church remains a small minority, hence the
popularity of its founder has not increased as it should. HK Singh was born on
15 June 1865 and started a formal worship of the Unitarian Church at Jowai on
September 18, 1887.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">He was converted to Christianity
probably on the same day with his younger brother, u Nissor Singh who is famous
for writing the first ever Khasi dictionary in the year 1885 <sup>1</sup>. He
grew up in the era of the advent of Christianity. Later in his life, he
witnessed the resurgence of the Khasi Traditional religion. Perhaps these
events have shaped his thoughts and philosophy. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Unitarian Church that H.K. Singh
established is unique in its own right. Maintaining its liberal outlook; the
church in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills took roots in the soil of the land and
adopted some of the thoughts and philosophy of the region. Its claim of being
an indigenous religion is based not only on the fact that it was not started by
any foreign missionary in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, but
it has also not received foreign assistance when it was first started. It is
also unique because this liberal Christian denomination which was started by a
Khasi absorbed and adopted the basic tenets of the Khasi traditional thoughts
and philosophy. Hence the theology of the religion he started is original in
that he blended the essence of the two faith traditions and formed his
philosophy. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">H.K. Singh though a disciplined diary
keeper who made regular entries on his day-to-day life, was also a prolific
writer of letters. Unfortunately, he does not have any essay, dissertation, or
sermon to his credit. His only work that reflects his thoughts and beliefs is
the hymns that he composed for the Unitarian Hymn Book. If H.K. Singh ever had
any theological discourses with his followers, they were not preserved for
posterity, neither did he enter in his diary his thoughts and philosophy.
Fortunately, H.K. Singh composed many hymns in the Unitarian hymnal and these
hymns represent his thoughts and philosophy in the myriad themes under the sun.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">His concept of the oneness of God was
based both on the traditional beliefs <sup>2</sup> and that of the Bible. He
went further indigenizing the concept of God by using the Khasi word “Phi”
(you) to address the almighty which is commonly used to address those in a
position much higher and more respectable instead of the Khasi word “Me”
(Thou). HK Singh’s use “Phi” to address the almighty was sometimes
misunderstood in the plural sense of the term. Hence he was thought to worship
many gods. His replacing of the Khasi word “Me” with “Phi” to address the
Almighty is in itself a landmark because it is a polite term to use in the
Khasi Pnar context. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">H.K. Singh’s concept of God is a
synthesis of the “Yahweh” of the Old Testament, the father in heaven of Jesus
and the ultimate God the Creator of the Khasi tradition. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">U Blei Nongthaw Nongbuh is not the only
name that the Khasi Pnar uses to call God. They also have another name for God
and that is ‘U Trai kynrad.’ Whether ‘U Trai Kynrad’ is a Khasi translation of
the English ‘Lord’ which is again derived from the Greek word “Kyrios” is a
debatable matter. Certainly in the Christian context; the using of the word ‘U
Trai’ connotes the New Testament concept of the Lord which many times refers to
the second person in the holy trinity which means Jesus Christ. This is what
Christian churches assume and would like others to believe that the name Trai
that Khasi gives to their God has a Christian origin and hence a Christian
meaning.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">U Trai is not a post-Khasi-Christian
period invention. In the Khasi parlance, the term has been in use since time
immemorial. Apart from using the name God, the Khasi also use the word Kynrad
or U Trai Kynrad in paying obeisance to God Almighty. Incidentally, the word
Trai in Khasi also has the same meaning as that of the English Lord, which
means owner, foundation, foothold, etc. Kynrad is the personification of
God </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the context of the Pnar or the
indigenous people of Jaintia Hills, they use two terms when referring to God.
God the creator, ‘U Blai” is similar to Yahweh and God the Father and U Blei
Nongbuh Nongthaw in Khasi. In the Pnar of Jaintia pantheon of gods, the
creator, the molder, and the keeper is a female deity known as ‘ka syiem wabuh
ka syiem wathoo.’ The Pnar has another term they use for God and that is “U Tre
Kirot” which is equivalent to Lord. The word “Tre” in the Pnar parlance
literarily means Owner, Lord, foundation, foothold, or roots. “Kirot” means
Caring and Compassionate and the other meaning of Kirot is bountiful and perfect.
Tre Kirot hence literarily means bountiful Lord the caring and compassionate
one.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The War Jaintia, which is a sub-tribe of
the Khasi people who live on the southern slopes of Jaintia Hills, speaks a
Khasi language that is quite different from the other dialects used by the
other Khasi sub-tribe. Scholars believe that the Amwi dialect spoken by the
people of War Jaintia is the foundation of the whole Khasi language. In the War
Jaintia dialect, there is only one word for God and that is “Prai”. There is no
other word equivalent to Lord in the war Jaintia, but just “Prai u ae thia”
which means “U Blei Nongthaw” in Khasi, and its English translation is God the
Creator. Whether ‘Prai’ means both God and Lord is another question, but based
on the evidence used by the War Jaintia people, ‘Prai’ which is incidentally
similar to both ‘Trai and Blai” in the Pnar language, connotes the same meaning<sup>3</sup>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It is obvious from the hymns that he
composed; Hajom Kissor Singh’s concept of God is that of a traditional Khasi Pnar
concept, God the Creator who is both God and Lord at the same time. Like the
traditional concept, he does not differentiate one from the other, but his
concept of God is much more than the God our forefather understands. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In his Statement of belief, H.K. Singh
in stanza 2 <sup>4</sup> of hymn number 1 in the Khasi Unitarian hymnbook
describes his idea of God as /The living God is one only God/ He is our real
father-mother/He is filled with love and compassion/ And forgive those who
repent/ (U Blei Ba im U long Blei Tang Ma-U-Hi/ U long u Kpa-ka-Kmie ba shisha
jong ngi/ U long Uba dap da jingieid jingisnei/.) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">By ascribing God as being both a “Father
and Mother” entity; HK Singh went a step further than the traditional concept
of God’s male gender <sup>5</sup>. His God is genderless. This is the
uniqueness of Khasi Unitarian theology although generally God is referred to as
a male even in the Khasi matrilineal society, God is beyond gender. Although
Khasi Pnar tends to use the prefix ‘U’ before the word God, which represents the
male gender of God, Khasi Pnar has no image of God, and their concept of God is
more of a spirit that pervades. Perhaps this idea is borrowed from the Pnar
tradition where the “ka Syiem waboo” is one of the important deities in the h”
Singh’s concept of God beyond gender and more of a formless spirit in nature is
a step ahead of the traditional Khasi concept of God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">HK Singh further elaborates his idea of
God in hymn number 66 <sup>6</sup> when he said/ Sing God’s praise; Lord of
heaven and earth/ His wisdom unfathomable/ All creation on earth and in heaven/
Is living proof of his greatness overall / Sing God’s praise, Lord of stars and
moon/ He is filled with glory, righteousness and lights/ All things that we
see/ He made thus to teach us/. Sing God’s praise, he is our mother and
father/Giver of spiritual light, He blesses us too/ He is loving, forgiving and
wishes that/ We love our neighbors, do good and live courteously/. Sing God’s
praise, Lord of lords, King of kings/ Lord of life and death Lord of the spirit/
Lord of times is also Lord of seasons/ Peace be unto us who worship him
eternally/. (To rwai ia U Blei, Trai ki bneng bad khyndew/ Ia jingstad bakhraw
jong U ym lah ban thew/ Ki jingthaw baroh ha pyrthei ne ha bneng/ Ki pynpaw ia
ka Burom jong U kylleng/ To rwai ia U Blei, Trai ki khlur bad ki bnai/ Ha u dap
tang burom, ka Hok bad jingshisha/ Kiei kiei baroh kiba ngi iohi-i/ U la buh
khnang ban ai jinghikai ia ngi/ To rwai ia U Blei, Pa Mei long Ma U hi/ U ai
jingshai mynsiem, U Kyrkhu ia ngi/ U ieit, U map ei kumjuh U kwah ia ngi/ Ban
ieit ia ki lok, ban lehbha leh tipsngi/ To rwai ia U Blei, Trai ki trai, Syiem
ki syiem/ Trai ka jingim jingiap, Trai jong ki mynsiem/Trai jong ki por U long
Trai ruh ki aiom/ Suk ia ngi long ban ai nguh ia U junom/) In the hymn number 5
<sup>7</sup>, HK Singh says: One God/ One truth/ One true religion/. (Uwei U
Blei, kawei ka hok/ Kawei ka niam shisha/ Ieit ia Blei, ieit ia ki lok/ Kylleng
ngin ia pyrta/) In the second paragraph of hymn no 24 <sup>8</sup> of the
Unitarian hymnal, he says, One God, one church/ One people, one mission/ Love
God love friends/ Live a blessed life/. The Khasi version of the hymn says:
(/Uwei U Blei, kawei ka Seng, kawe ka kam/ Ieit ia U Blei bad ia ki lok/ Ka
jingim kan syrtok/)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In Hymn number 63 <sup>9</sup> he
further said / Praise the Lord vociferously / Our Creator / Caregiver, Keeper
and Benefactor/ He is the greatest Lord/ With God’s support/ Heaven and earth
last forever / by divine love and grace/ He showed us the way of life /He
bestowed wisdom on us/ Lights, Spiritual consolation too/ Understanding and
overall progress/ And sow love inside us /That we may attain perfection/ Peace
in him we’ll find/ In love we’ll flourish forever/ We’ll all live in peace with
God/. (To rwai jamsawa I’U Trai/ Jong ngi baroh U Nongthaw/Nongsumar, Nongri,
Nongai/ Long jong ngi U Trai bakhraw/Da jingkyrshan jong U Blei/ Ki neh ki
bneng bad khyndew/Da jingieit da jingaiei/ Lad jingim ia ngi U kdew/ Jingstad
ia ngi U la ai/ Jingshai, jingtngen mynsiem ruh/Jingsngewthuh jingroi kyrhai/
Bad jingieit ha ngi la buh/ Kumta jingjanai ngin poi/Ka jinghun ha U ngin ioh/
Ha jingieid junom ngin roi/ Ngin im suk ha U baroh/.) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hymn number 74 <sup>10</sup> when
translated says /Sing sweet praise for God/ Spirit filled with joy/ We only
trust his benevolence / That flows and fill forever / In his benevolent, / We
live and were blessed/ Only he can quench the thirst/ Of a dry and eager soul.
/ There is no other like God/ In heaven and earth/ Fill with love and
forgiveness/ For us to give and fill. /Let us sing to the Lord/ Kneeling we’ll
pray/ Our souls will be enlightened/ with perfect peace/. (Rwai iaroh thiang
I’U Blei/ Da ka mynsiem ba thesei/ Ngi shaniah tang ha jingisnei/ Jong u ba
tuid bashlei/ Ha jingisnei jong U/ Ngi ioh im ioh kyrkhu/ Tang Ma U hi ba lah
ban pynjah sliang/ Ia mynsiem ngi ba rkhiang/ Kum U Blei ym don shuh/ Ha bneng
ha khyndew ruh/ Ba dap da jingieit jingmap-ei/ Ia ngi ban ai bashlei/ To ngin
rwai ha U Trai/ Da dem khohsiew duwai/ Mynsiem jong ngi kin ioh jingshai/ Bad
jingsuk hun janai/.) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In stanza 1 of hymn number 127 <sup>11</sup>
he says, /Oh God who is eternally wise / Creator and everlasting provider/
Heaven and earth cannot/ encompass all your riches/. (Ko Blei ba stad bymjukut/
Nongthaw, Nongai bym jukut/ Ki bneng bad pyrthei kim lah/ Ban kynthup jong phi
ka spah/) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The two original readings H.K. Singh
wrote are reading number 10 and 11 in the Khasi Unitarian Hymnbook <sup>12</sup>,
both these readings were dated 1891 and reading number 10 is another piece that
describes his concept of God. “…who is our creator and our foundation and
sources of everything else; Who is eternal, Everlasting, Perfect in all
respect, Who loves us most, Who is eternally good, the Wisest, who is present
around us and inside us and who pervades everywhere and permeates in
everything”. (… Uba long U Nongthaw bad Tynrai jong ngi bad jong kiei kiei
baroh; U Bymjukut, U Baiaineh, U Bajanai ha kiei kiei baroh; U Baieijtam, U
Babhatam, U Bastadtam, U Badap hapoh bad habar jong ngi, ha kylleng bad ha kiei
kiei baroh.) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Two Khasi stalwarts Radhon Singh Berry
and Job Solomon were contemporaries of HK Singh. They were also known for their
contribution to the literary world of the nascent Khasi language. RS Berry and
Job Solomon also immensely contributed to the growth of the Unitarian movement
by composing hymns for the Church. Radhon Singh Berry of Seng Khasi who
composed more than 30 hymns in the Unitarian hymnbook later became Unitarian
and Job Solomon remained in his faith till he breathed his last. Both these men
of letters emphasized in the hymns they composed in the Unitarian hymnbook the
truth that Khasi Unitarian’s God is God in the traditional Khasi Pnar context.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">R.S. Berry in the hymn number 40 stanza
3 <sup>13</sup>, says: /This is not a foreign God / God of our own he is/ He
created you the way you are/ Now he come to awake you/. The Khasi version says:
(Une Um long U Blei nongwei/ U Blei la jong U dei/ U ba thaw ia phi ka long
briew/ Mynta U wan kyrsiew/) Then Job Solomon in the hymn number 7 <sup>14</sup>
he again stress on the idea in the stanza 5 which says, /This is our God/ God
of our ancestors too/ God of the Pnars and the Khasi/ He is also Lord of the
Lords/. (Une U long U Blei jong ngi/ Blei ruh ki Ba-hyndai/ U Blei ki Pnar bad
ki Khasi/ Uba U Trai ki trai/). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The concept of God in the Khasi
Unitarian context is a unique concept of a Universal and formless God, it is
not God in the Judeo-Christian context -the father in heaven, God in an
‘anthromorphical’ form, or God in human image. The Khasi God is God in spirit
and all-pervading God. Hence Unitarianism in the Khasi Jaintia hills is an
indigenous religion precisely because it sprang up from its soil. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">H.K. Singh has to his credit composed 63
hymns in the Khasi hymn book of the Unitarian Union North East India. This is
by no means a small feat <sup>15</sup>. H.K. Singh’s contribution which the
Khasi literary world failed to notice is that, apart from composing the 63
hymns, translated several English hymns and responsive readings in the Khasi
hymn book of the Unitarian Church. H.K. Singh has also served as a member of
the committee along with his brother Nissor Singh to co-produce the first
English Khasi dictionary <sup>16</sup>. Later along with Babu Jeebon Roy, he
helped R.S. Berry with the famous book on Khasi Etiquette <sup>17</sup>. Again
H.K. Singh major contributions are the hymns he composed; the hymns are also
illustrations of his thoughts and philosophy on various aspects. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">H.K. Singh is vehemently against
superstitious belief which was prevalent among the natives then. He was against
the belief in ghosts and nature deities like the gods of rivers and mountains.
The hymns he composed that illustrate this are the second stanza of hymn number
5, paragraphs 3 of hymn no 7, and paragraphs 1 of hymn no 35 <sup>18</sup>.
Stanza 2 of hymn number 5 <sup>19</sup>, says; /We are joyful to preach the
holy church of God/ It is the power that liberate us from worship ghost and
demons/. (Ngi sngewbha ban ialap ia ka/Dhorom bakhuid U Blei/ ka long ka bor
ban pynduh ia/ jingmane ksuid ne khrei/). In stanza three of the hymn number 7 <sup>20</sup>,
H.K.Singh says /False worshiping and superstition/God, bring all that to an
end/ (Jingmane bieit bad jingngeit bieit/ Baroh pyndam a Blei/.) Lastly in the
first stanza of the hymn number 61 <sup>21</sup> he said, /Thou has liberate us
from darkness/ we thank thee Lord/ from the bondage of superstitious belief/ we
thank thee Lord/ from the demons of the houses and the hills/ we thank thee
Lord. (Phi la pynlait na jingdum/ ngi ainguh Trai/ Na ka jingngeit beit bakhum/
ngi ainguh Trai/ na ki suid iing bad suid lum/ ngi ainguh Trai/.) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It may be mentioned that in the Khasi
Jaintia thoughts and understanding; there is only one word for the two English
words the spirit and the soul -“ka mynsiem.” So when one says “Mynsiem” it
could either mean the soul or the spirit. To the Khasi Pnar the human soul is
the same with the all-pervading spirit. The Khasi does not differentiate
between the two. To the Khasi, ‘ka mynsiem’ is that which connects one soul to
another and that which encompasses the entire universe and also that which transcends
all creation. The universe and the entire creation are linked by the spirit or
filled with the spirit. H.K. Singh’s concept of the everlasting life of the
soul also bears the truth that his thought was inspired by the indigenous Khasi
thoughts and philosophy of life after death. The Khasi concept of life after
death is that the soul departed from the body will go eat bettlenuts in the
corridor of God’s house, so traditionally the Khasi too, believe that the soul
lives eternally. The immortality of the soul also proves that the spirit even
transcends the realm of mortality. The Khasi Pnar believe that during
conception, the mother conceives only the body that which is mortal, the soul
or the spirit was divinely instilled in the body in the womb. The Khasi
Unitarians believe that the spirit in the human body which was divinely placed
in the mother’s womb lives and grows in the human body and on its death return
back to God who is the everlasting source of all spirits <sup>22</sup>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Salvation to the Khasis is by deeds and
character. The Khasis lay great emphasis on the other cardinal principle of
life which is known as ‘Kamai ia ka hok’ to earn righteousness. In the Khasi
way of life, one’s entire life is governed by this principle alone. There are
two schools of thought about salvation, one thinks that he who does not earn
righteousness in his life will go to the nurok ka ksew, or the Khasi hell, and
the other thinks that whatever wrong one does in his life will befall on his
descendant. One who lives in the path of righteousness shall go to eat
bettlenuts in the corridor of God’s dwelling. In the Christian context, it is
the challenge that Jesus calls upon everyone to bear one’s cross and to do the
will of God. Unitarian also shares a similar belief that salvation is by one’s
deeds and character and not by faith alone. <sup>23</sup> Stanza 2 of hymn
number 251 <sup>24</sup> says: /He who has given one’s soul/ To serve the Lord
ceaselessly/ Those who have to spend their lives/ To help fellow human without
regret/ Blessings they will receive/ Before the Lord of honour/. (Kiba la aiti
la mynsiem/ Ban shakri i’U Trai khlem pud/ Kiba la pynlut la jingim/ Ban iarap
briew khlem bynnud/ Jingkyrkhu katno kin ioh/ Ha khmat Trai ka burom/). The
last four lines of the last paragraph of this same hymn say: /While living in
this world/ How we may serve/ The Lord God/ The keeper of our soul/. (Katba
dang im ha pyrthei/ Katno dei ngin iai shakri/ Ia U Trai Kynrad U Blei/ Ba ri
ia mynsiem jong ngi/). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">His idea of an afterlife is that the
spirit departed will return to the Kingdom of the Spirit. There is no concept
of the saved and the damned, hence salvation is universal according to HK
Singh’s thoughts and philosophy. One can conclude that HK Singh’s thoughts and
philosophy are original and though he started Unitarianism in the region he did
not merely copy the theology of other Unitarian groups in different parts of
the World, but rather developed his understanding of it and propagated the same
among his folks.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hymn number 1 <sup>25</sup> which is the
statement of faith of the Unitarians in the hills is a testimony of his belief
in immortality or the everlasting life of the spirit. Stanza number 4 of the
hymn says: /God has created us to be immortal/to have everlasting life and to
grow forever/ (U Blei ula thaw ban ym iap shuh/ hynrei ban im junom bad
nangiairoi ruh/) This also resembles the Khasi understanding of the soul and
the body which is like a bird and the cage. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">H.K. Singh concept of life after death
is that the spirit departed from the soul will journey to the Kingdom of the
Spirits. He described the Kingdom of the Spirit in the hymn number 248 <sup>26</sup>
and if we would freely translate the stanza number 2 of the hymn it would thus
read: “We cannot compare the Kingdom of the spirit with this earthly shelter.”
/ If for this earthly body/ God has provided so much/ which will be buried
under the ground/ tomorrow or in the future/ so much so the Kingdom of the
Spirit/. (Haba ia ka met khyndew/ U Blei u ai katne/ Kaban leit shapoh ramew/
Lashai la shisngi ne/) <sup>27</sup>. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the third stanza of the same hymn,
the poet sings: /In the Kingdom of the Spirit/ there will be no more trouble/
There are only wellsprings of life/which surge eternally/ (Hangta ha Ri ka
Mynsiem/ Ym don jingjynjar shuh/ don ki um ka jingpynim/ Kiba kyrsoi khlem
duh/) Furthermore in the next stanza of the hymn he says / In the land of the
Spirit/ In love we will grow forever/ (Hangta ha ri ka mynsiem/ha ieit ngin roi
junom/) The last two lines of the last stanza of this hymn, he said: /Those who
have departed before us/ We will meet again in joy/we will be cleansed and
continue to love/ we will live in perfect peace/ (Kiba laleit myshuwa/ ngin ia
shem lang kyrhai/ ngin nangkhuid nangieid hangta/ ngin ia im suk janai/) <sup>28</sup>. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In conclusion, this paper deals only
with the three subjects that manifest in H.K. Singh’s hymns. Other than his
concept of God and the afterlife and his disagreement with superstitions which
is prevalent in his contemporary society, his other hymns deal with many other
subjects. From the above deliberation; we can conclude that HK Singh by
blending the essence of the two faith traditions he was then exposed to, was
able to start his religion. He is indeed in his own right a religious reformer
par excellence. It was also to his advantage that the new religion he started
was liberal in its outlook and approach; hence it was open to accommodate new
thoughts and philosophy. Being a founder of a liberal religion, HK Singh
understood that it is only natural for the religion to adopt and absorb all the
good thoughts and teachings from other traditions. Before any religious
tradition even thinks of the idea of ‘Inculturation,’ he has already done it,
In fact ‘Inculturation,’ is only natural for a progressive church like
Unitarian. In his efforts to maintain the liberal outlook of the church he
coined the motto “To Nangroi” which literarily translates to ‘keep on
progressing’ that the church is not to remain idle but to move on with the
changing times. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Reference :<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">1. Syiem R.S., Ka Jingim u Nissor Singh
Lyngdoh Nongbri, Ka Thiar ki Nongthoh Khasi. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">2. Singh H.K., to Jabez T. Sunderland,
in the Unitarian, April 1891, p 172, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">3. Mohrmen H.H.
http://hhmohrmen.blogspot.com/2009/10/concept-of-god-in-khasi-unitarian_27.html<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">4. Singh H.K., Ki Jor Tynrai ka Niam U
Blei, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India. 1982 edition p.1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">5. Mohrmen H.H.,
http://hhmohrmen.blogspot.com/2009/10/concept-of-god-in-khasi-unitarian_27.html<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">6. Singh H.K. To Rwai ia U Blei, Hymn
Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 51-52<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">7. Singh H.K. Uwei U Blei, Kawei ka
Niam, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">8. Singh H.K., Rwai ia ka Niam U Blei,
Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 19<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">9. Singh H.K., Ki Jingai U Blei ia ngi,
Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p.50<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">10. Singh H.K., Rwai iaroh thiang ia U
Blei, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 59-60.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">11. Singh H.K., Ka jingshlei ka jingaiei
U Blei Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p.
119-120<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">12. Jingpule 10 bad 11, Hymn Book of the
Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 5-6. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">13. Berry R.S., Ka Jingkhot sha
Jingiaseng, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p.
37<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">14. Solomon J., Ha ri lum jong ngi la
nangroi, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition
p.5. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">15. Mohrmen H.H, Hajom Kissor Singh: U
Riewkhraw ba ka jaitbynriew ka leh klet, Mawphor September 15, 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">16. Singh Nissor., Preface of the
Dictionary <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">17. Berry R.S., Ka Jingsneng Tymmen, Ka
Lamphrang December 1902.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">18. Mohrmen H.H, Hajom Kissor Singh: U
Riewkhraw ba ka jaitbynriew ka leh klet, Mawphor September 15, 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">19. Singh H.K., Uwei U Blei, Kawei ka
Niam, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p.
4. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">20. Singh H.K., Ka Jingrwai Anniversary,
Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">21. Singh H.K., Ai nguh bala ioh lait,
Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p. 30.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">22. Mohrmen H.H. </span><a href="http://hhmohrmen.blogspot.com/2010/09/core-belief-of-unitarians-in-khasi-and.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4a6ee0; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">http://hhmohrmen.blogspot.com/2010/09/core-belief-of-unitarians-in-khasi-and.html</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">23. Ibid. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">24. Singh H.K., Ka jingleitnoh ki baieit
ia U Blei, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p.
237-238. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">25. Singh H.K., Ki Jor Tynrai ka Niam U
Blei, Hymn Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p.1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">26. Singh H.K., Ka ri ka Mynsiem, Hymn
Book of the Unitarian Union North East India, 1982 edition p 216-217.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">27. Ibid. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">28. Ibid. <o:p></o:p></span></p>H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-58163376697947391802023-10-12T06:05:00.005-07:002023-10-12T06:05:59.155-07:00 H.K.Singh : Man of the Prefaces ( On the occassion of his 100 Death Anniversary November 13, 1923-2023)<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">This
year marks the hundredth anniversary of u Hajom Kissor Singh Nongbri who died
on November 13, 1923, at Puriang. Not much about him except that he was only
known as the founder of the Unitarian Church in the Khasi Jaintia and Karbi
Anglong district of Assam. His contribution to the nascent Khasi literature
then is not being appreciated. Hajom Kissor Singh’s literary contribution to
the emerging Khasi literature and the knowledge about the tribe can be found in
almost all important publications published then. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #0e101a; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Khasis by PR Gurdon</span></span></strong><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One
cannot study the people who live in the Khasi and Jaintia areas without
flipping through the pages of PR Gurdon’s book The Khasis. The Khasis is like a
main door for outsiders who want to study the Khasis’, and Gurdon’s books are
in fact like a bible for those who study Khasi culture and history. In the
preface to the book “The Khasis by PR Gurdon”, Gurdon the author mentioned
Hajom Kissor Singh, and his brother Nissor Singh on the preface of this book.
Gurdon a foreigner rely on the natives who can speak English to help him in his
work, and of the nine Khasi names mentioned in the preface as people who had
helped Gurdon to come up with the book, the names of the brothers u Hajom
Kissor and his brother u Nissor Singh finds mentioned. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #0e101a; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">His Contribution to LP and UP School Education </span></span></strong><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Born
to Boor Singh Malngiang and ka Bida Nongbri on the 15 June in 1865 at
Saitsopen, Sohra, H.K. Singh studied up to Matriculation. His love for
education was obvious when in his initiative and while still working in the
DC’s office in the late eighteen and early nineteen hundred; he started an
Upper Primary School in Jowai called Unitarian Free School which caters to the
needs of the students in Jowai. H. K. Singh was also a signatory of the
petition sent by the school administrators in Jaintia Hills in which it was
pleaded with the Government to allow Khasi Pnar students to appear for their
Upper Primary School examination in their mother tongue. Unlike Assamese and
Bengalis students, Khasi Pnar students had to appear for their examination in
English language while the former wrote their exam in Assamese and Bengali
respectively. Under the leadership of u Hajom Kissor Singh, a petition was sent
to the government requesting that the Khasi Pnar be allowed to write their
Upper Primary school exam in Khasi. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In
a letter to the Director of Public Instruction, Assam (Through the Sub
Inspector of Schools, Jaiñtia Hills) dated Jowai, the 8th of February 1902 the
administrators of the three schools in Jaiñtia Hills pleaded that the Khasi
Pnar students be allowed to write their exams in Khasi. The application was
signed by Hajom Kissor Singh Manager, Unitarian Free School, u Soso Tham
Headmaster Shangpung U.P. School, and Samuel Challam officiating Headmaster
Jowai. Before the three gentlemen intervened, students in the Khasi and Jaintia
appeared for their Upper Primary School Scholarship and Pass Examination in
English as students of other communities were allowed to appear for their
examination in their lingua franca. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In
response to the petition of the three heads of school, the Director of Public
Instruction, Assam W. Booth in his letter to the Sub-Inspector of Schools,
Jaintia hills, Jowai number 7327 dated Shillong the 21st October wrote: ‘About
your Memo. No. 17, dated the 8th February 1902, from the manager, Unitarian
Free School, Jowai, and the Headmaster of Jowai Middle English School and the
Shangpung Upper Primary School, I have the honour to say that I agree with the
applicants on all points stated in their application, the Children must be
taught in their own vernacular to the end of the Upper Primary standard.’
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #0e101a; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">His contribution to the Text Book Committee</span></span></strong><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
government in the early 1900s constituted a Textbook Committee and in this
connection, U Khasi Mynta wrote that it was surprising that the Committee
members only comprised of the DPI of Schools, the Deputy Commissioner, and J.C.
Evans. Earlier Khasi u Babu Jeebon Roy was made a member of the Committee but
after his demise, the government has not appointed any native to the Committee.
The report in U Khasi Mynta requested the Governor to consider the request to
appoint a member from the local community to the committee. Later U Khasi Mynta
in its September 1903 edition reported that the DPI had made some corrections
and nominated Hajom Kissor Singh as a member of the Textbook Committee along
with Dr. Roberts. H.K. Singh not only replaced Babu Jeebon Roi and became the
native member of the Textbook Committee which was responsible for selecting
textbooks for use in the school in the region, but he also played a very
important role in the government’s effort to bring out the first English Khasi
dictionary. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #0e101a; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the Preface of the First English Khasi Dictionary </span></span></strong><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
first English Khasi Dictionary was published for the first time in the year
1920 and it took the committee about 11 years to complete the arduous task. In
the preface of the Dictionary the then Deputy Commissioner of Khasi and Jaintia
Hills A.W. Dentith wrote about the story of how the project was started till
the dictionary saw the light of day. Dentith remarked that according to office
letter Number 4445C Dated 30th March 1907, the government constituted a
committee to work on the project of coming up with the first-ever English Khasi
Dictionary which comprised Mr. F.E. Jackson, Mr. L.O. Clark, and Mr. B.C. Allen
members representing the Deputy Commissioner and the other three members were
Rai Sahip Dohory Ropmay, u Hajom Kissor Singh and u Nissor Singh the author of
the dictionary. The importance of the project can be seen from the fact that
the government was involved in it and has also made all effort to see the
dictionary see the light of day. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In
the later part of the project, a committee to revise the manuscript was
constituted with Rev. Walter Firminges, Rev. C.L. Stephens, Rev. J.C. Evans,
and Khan Sahib Amjad Ali as members. The preface also mentioned that the author
Nissor Singh read the part of the manuscript sent to him from the Printing
Press and was able to proofread only from alphabet A to O. Unfortunately Nissor
Singh died on February 20, 1918, while serving as the Inspector of School in
Tura, in the Garo region. A.W. Dentith in</span><u><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> </span></u><span data-preserver-spaces="true">the preface concluded that the proof of the
remaining letters from P to Z was read by his brother Hajom Kissor Singh. H.K.
Singh not only completed the unfinished task that his brother had left, but he
also wrote the keys to pronunciation and the list of abbreviations in the
dictionary. Hajom Kissor Singh is therefore instrumental in bringing out the
first English Khasi dictionary. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #0e101a; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the Preface of the Jingsneng Tymmen</span></span></strong><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ki
JIngsneng Tymmen is a collection of old saying which elders use to inculcate
good manners to the young ones and it was one of the important publications of
the time. H.K. Singh also contributed to the project of bringing out ka
Jingsneng Tymmen and he along with Babu Jeebon Roy wrote the introduction to
the book. The relationship between H.K. Singh and R.S. Berry grew deeper and
stronger and the latter ultimately converted to Unitarianism. Any study of R.S.
Berry’s work will remain complete if his contribution to the Unitarian Church
is not taken into consideration. Radhon Sing Berry composed 35 hymns in the
Unitarian hymnal and has also written the chapter “ki Kpieng Ksiar ban deng”
which was once part of the Unitarian hymnbook. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #0e101a; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">His major literary contribution </span></span></strong><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">H.K.
Singh also composed 72 hymns for the Unitarian Church hymnal and he has also
translated many hymns published in the hymn book and this is not a small feat
by any means. When H.K. Singh sent the first Khasi Unitarian hymnal to u Khasi
Mynta, the journal reported that it had nothing to say about the book, because
it is already known that it is a book of worship but added that it appreciated
the beauty of the Khasi language used in the book. Perhaps H.K. Singh’s hymn
should also be appreciated for the language and the grammar used in the hymns.
His translation of English hymns both by foreign and native composers is
commendable </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
only prose that H.K. Singh wrote was a piece about his journey from Jowai to
Jaintiapur and the sub-title of the write-up is ‘The Journey, the Forest and
the People.’ Again the journey was part of his assignment to address the
grievances of the people in Jaintiapur. At that point, in time Jowai and
Jaintiapur were part of the same subdivision under the then-British Empire.
This piece was included as a chapter in the Mawpun Jingtip which was one of the
prescribed textbooks of the Meghalaya Board of School Education. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">U
H.K. Singh may not have written his book but he had immensely contributed to
the development of the Khasi literature which was still in its nascent stage
then. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #0e101a; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">An able Administrator</span></span></strong><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">H.K.
Singh was also an able administrator, U Khasi Mynta in its November 1905 issue;
observed that it is important to have a native appointed as the Head Clerk in
the Deputy Commissioner’s office and the courts in Jowai and Shillong because
local people know the culture, tradition and religion of the Khasi, moreover
they can understand, read and write better in Khasi than the non-native head
clerk. Having a native officer in the office will also help the government
communicate better with the Syiem, the Wahadar, the Sordar, the Dalloi, etc.
Perhaps it was also due to the lack of qualified Khasi candidates to take the
job that no Khasi was appointed to the post till then. The Newspaper
appreciated Major Gurdon for appointing Hajom Kissor Singh to replace Babu
Radhanath who was transferred for posting in the plain area and hoped that H.K.
Singh would be able to do justice to his work and bring pride to the
community. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
government also appointed H.K.Singh as the Dewan (Prime Minister) of Khyrim
state for some time to help the Syiem of the Hima. S.E. Rita in his order dated
23-9-1902 stated that Hajom Kissor Singh was recalled before the expiration of
leave and appointed temporarily as Dewan of Khynrim State by Chief Commissioner
of Assam in a letter No. 156 confd dated 15-9-1902, 4219 on condition that the
Khyrim State bear the cost of his pay at Rs. 150 P.M. and pensionary contribution
as calculated under the rules in force. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These
are some of the contributions that this man has made to the development of the
Khasi literature and the Khasi Pnar Community in general. On his 100th
anniversary, we remember him for his contributions not only to the progress and
development of the Unitarian church in the region but to the society at large.</span>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-3245783825959010912022-10-02T21:00:00.005-07:002022-10-02T21:08:40.653-07:00Reimaging Black Clay Pots of Larnai West Jaintia Hills<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwOcZeZ05DQX31gL_smZrM6IKX-tebqO43BfBAgyYycpKvTAOsRPWVQ4QPgjm-5GJWoraoGomcVfVjhoGW8v6oGkMzj9gMrDhQxFGm2_qieNhon05cUC7v3Xyrjz-xaYQTgFJ8HnqG2_Mabqa7BlAQMqayDGxlh-gLxT-QVo5kwUR_3RuzAPQ7nU7hUA/s4320/DSCN3702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3240" data-original-width="4320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwOcZeZ05DQX31gL_smZrM6IKX-tebqO43BfBAgyYycpKvTAOsRPWVQ4QPgjm-5GJWoraoGomcVfVjhoGW8v6oGkMzj9gMrDhQxFGm2_qieNhon05cUC7v3Xyrjz-xaYQTgFJ8HnqG2_Mabqa7BlAQMqayDGxlh-gLxT-QVo5kwUR_3RuzAPQ7nU7hUA/s320/DSCN3702.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The two objects shared in this post were made of the same clay. The only difference is that the two items were made by different people, living in two different places using a different techniques. The pots are, the usual black clay pots from a village in West Jañtia hills commonly known as “kchu larnai” or Larnai pots. Although the tradition of making the black clay pots started at Larnai but people who were originally from Larnai and moved to Tyrchang village also make clay pots. But it is the other items that have an interesting story to tell.</div><p></p><p>Along with Willhelmost Shylla and Olary Nongtdu we have done a comprehensive study about the pottery activity in the two villages and the people who continue with the tradition. But to emphasis the importance of the pots and this activity, it is always appropriate to start by asking the uninitiated if they had ever tried “pu tharo or tpu señ”. How you ever tried the famous rice cake of the region? The fact is one cannot make “pu tharo” without “kchu larnai or khiew ranei”.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIczevzD5vOlKTnccrYVyDlKaUWlvIVaG7pxnNcDyEImm86SNxKbOZWhBmaxOeckOcGMAIHcWckO3AVQdZQ2JhkxEqTe07O-dG8cwbFUNWYYpEeTCOwEGq32vDuo96FdMWdxbseB_vJncFrfyHCVddQPvA50HMY2NpkDj4ZR4b-D5Uhu__gbCyePibDg/s1280/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-10-03%20at%2009.19.47%20(2).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="831" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIczevzD5vOlKTnccrYVyDlKaUWlvIVaG7pxnNcDyEImm86SNxKbOZWhBmaxOeckOcGMAIHcWckO3AVQdZQ2JhkxEqTe07O-dG8cwbFUNWYYpEeTCOwEGq32vDuo96FdMWdxbseB_vJncFrfyHCVddQPvA50HMY2NpkDj4ZR4b-D5Uhu__gbCyePibDg/s320/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-10-03%20at%2009.19.47%20(2).jpeg" width="208" /></a></div>To cut the chase, it was in one of the annual visits organized by Martin Luther Christian University, Shillong for its scholars that a very unusual incident happened. On that particular visit when the visitors reached Tyrchang and saw people making clay pots, one of the guests requested me to ask the artisans if they would sell him a kilogram of their clay. Kong Matilda Shylla one of the potters laughing said they only sell pots and not clay. She also said that she cannot estimate the cost of a kilogram of clay. Gideon persisted and said to me that he does not mind how much they charge for a kilogram of clay but wishes that he can take home the clay. Kong Shylla then finally said, “ok give me Rs 35 for a kg of the black clay.” The clay was then packed in a plastic bag and we left the village.<p></p><p>A few months later, when I visited Dr. Glenn Kharkongor, the chancellor of Martin Luther Christian University, at his office, he asked me if I remember the guy who bought a kilogram of clay from the potters in Tyrchang. I said ‘yes I distinctly remember the incident because ordinarily, visitors to the villages would only buy pots from the artisans, but it was the first and the only time that a visitor would buy clay instead. Dr. Glenn then handed to me two small plastic boxes and when I look inside I saw two beautiful black pendants. He told me that Gideon made several pendants with the clay that he purchased and these are some of the items he made with the clay. When Dr. Glenn told me the price of the pendant, I realized that the price of one small pendant is much more costly that the price of a “weñ” a pot, and a cover used for baking “pu tharo”. One can make about fifteen pendants with the same amount of clay the potter use for making a “weñ”. </p><p>Coming back to the study we made, the other findings of the studies was the clay which can only be found in the area around Sung valley is limited resources, and it can exhaust anytime. The need of the hour is to make the maximum profit from the available clay and making pendants and other items are ideas that one can explore. Another finding of the study is the fact that young people of the two villages are not interested in continuing with the activity. We have suggested involving them in adding value to the traditional products by painting the pots with local motifs or any image for that matter, but the youths are not interested.</p><p></p><p>Many times it was the people from outside who make us realised the true value of what we do. In this case, Gideon has opened up our eyes and our minds, that to help artisans earn more money from their clay, the need of the hour is to reinvent their activity. Surely the new way of using the clay will also attract the young people in the village to engage in the activity. We have approached the Meghalaya State Skill Development Society if we can bring Gideon to the village and help train the potters in the two villages to make pendants, bracelets, or even necklaces from the clay.</p>H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-71843155952819507392017-02-27T07:41:00.000-08:002017-02-27T07:41:02.140-08:00Semasi: A Village which Rediscover itself after mining ban<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-align: justify;">Semasi
village which is under the Sumer Patorship of East Jaintia hills district has
been in the news for about a decade till the NGT ordered an interim ban on coal
mining in the state, but for all the wrong reason. </span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Semasi’s next door neighbour is Mynthning
village which has been on the news for land dispute case which has reached the Supreme
Court and it is also a stone throw away from Briwar which was famous for land
grabbing cases which involves coal mine owners from other parts of East Jaintia
hills, bureaucrats, politicians and even surrendered HNLC militants. Also since
Jalaphet is still few kilometres away from these two conflict zones, Semasi was
the nearest medium size village to these two mining hotspots.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Recent
visit to this village is special because it happened three decades after my first
trip to the area in 1987. My first visit was as a young high school grad when i
took a temporary job of an enumerator to enrol new voters for the 1988
legislative Assembly election and i was assigned the villages in this area. Then
the area was peaceful and the main livelihood activity of the people was
farming and i remember when i reached Kseh the headman (in a jiffy) went to
catch some fishes from Kupli river to treat me. There were still lots of fishes
in the river Manar too and because i visited the area during winter i did not
realized that the river is also good for white water rafting. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Although
then mining has already begin in the Rymbai and Wapung area and Ladrymbai has
already developed as a hub of business activity in the area, the villages from
Jalaphet to the Ryngkoh khahnar was
occupied by farmers and in some villages local beer is available in abundance
because almost every house has a unit for making ale. But now that has change, ‘the
problem started when rich coal mine owners from Khliehriat, Ladrymbai, Sutnga
and Wapung’ came to buy land in the area and that too at a throw away price
said ma Gripbymon Dkhar. They turned our traditional land holding system
topsy-turvy and overnight every community land was converted to private land
and registered to enable the land owner s to sell the land to the coal mine
owners for a song. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
For
about three decades Semasi became a thriving mining village with a small weekly
market till April when NGT imposed the interim ban on mining in the state. But
two years and ten months after the ban; the village wear different look. In my
recent visit; i asked P. Manar one of the leaders in the village ‘what is his
opinion about the interim ban on coal mining?’ and his answer was both quick and
candid that ‘it was both a blessing and a curse.’ When i asked him to explain,
he said it was a curse because like bolt from the blue; their livelihood was
abruptly taken away from the people and it is a blessing because people started
doing farming again but more importantly people are able to sleep peacefully every
night and they enjoy hassle free day every day. Manar also added that during
the heyday of coal mining migrant labourers from all over the places stayed in
the area and they do not even know their antecedents, but now they have all
disappeared. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
We
use to live in fear every day; and we spend sleepless nights fearing violence
and conflict which can erupt anytime because of land grabbing cases he said. To
understand how tense the situation was; i will just share with you the story of
a visit to the area made by the journalist Sambhav Kumar who was then working
on a story on mining in North East for Down to Earth. After working on the
story for two days; Sambhav told me that he want to follow the land grabbing
case at Mynthning and Semasi. I told him that it is very risky preposition and
advised him to proceed to the area only if police give him protection because
the stake is very high and every criminal element in the state were involved in
land grabbing in both Semasi, Mynthning and Briwar area. Sure enough a gypsy
full of police accompanied him to the area and he was able to complete his
story which was carried by the magazine magazine (for which he won and
international award). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
It
is now almost three year after the ban and Semasi village is rediscovering
itself again and this is all because of the resilience spirit in the people and
one of them is a young man Amnesty Salahe. Because he was studying in Jowai;
Amnesty was deputed for training by DCIC (District Commerce and Industries
Centre) Jowai under the Apiculture mission of IBDLP (Integrated Basin
Development & Livelihood Program) at COLKS in April 2016. On his return
because he realized that this could be a new livelihood option for the people;
he shared his newly-acquired knowledge with his fellow villagers and he started
buying all the bees colonies from the villagers and his neighbourhoods. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
His
best student was his father Gripbymmom Dkhar and the father –son partnership
develops the trade and now they have a well equipped unit to add value to the
honey with a brand of their own. They had spent fifty thousand rupees in buying
15 colonies of bees and all the equipments needed for a honey producing unit
and they have a plan to expand the business. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
After
the training Amnesty got his brother his cousin sister and their neighbours
registered with Khliehriat EFC and they were also send for training on
beekeeping and on their returned, they all started bees keeping but the story
of his cousin sister is interesting. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
His
cousin’s father Jelwis Paslein of Semasi who was involved in coal business also
got interested in the activity and he immediately acquired bee colonies at the
rate of one thousand rupees per colony. He had even sent people to Assam to buy
bee colonies and now he had more than 42 boxes of bees which he kept at three
different locations in the Patorship. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Last
winter; Jelwis produced 24 kilo gram of honey from 12 boxes and he hoped that
he will harvest more this coming May-June season. Because he can afford it;
Jelwis bee boxes are different because he also made steel stand to put the
boxes and he spend more than eight thousand for each box. His future plan is to
make a shed where he can keep the bee boxes to protect them from insects and
vagaries of the nature. He planned to expand the business so; Jelwis has
already ordered his contact in Assam to acquire more bee colonies for him. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Collectively
all the seven household in Seamasi village who are actively involved in the
activity have among them around 80 beehives. Jelwis Paslein said that he is
willing to wait even for five years to reach breakeven point; but his only
concern is a market to sell his products if and when they produce tons of honey
from the area. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Honey
is one livelihood activity that the people are involved; farmers have started using
their paddy fields for planting rice, and also start farming ginger and other
vegetables in the area. Farmers who have land are also planting varieties of
fruits trees in their orchards. The mining ban also compelled them to start tilling
their land again and find that it is from these fields and gardens that they
can harvest everlasting gold. Two and half years after the ban people in Semasi
village rediscover themselves and realized that farming is the foundation of
their lives. Also few villagers in Semasi also know that Krem Tyngheng located
in the village which is 7,752 metres long (as on March 2006) is the seventh
longest cave in India. </div>
</div>
H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-64199252952281517622013-12-11T08:12:00.002-08:002013-12-11T08:12:50.612-08:00Of the spiritual and temporal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Much
space on the editorial page of this paper was dedicated to the debate on the
role of the church vis-a-vis the problem the state is facing. A section of the
laity questioned the role of the church in the society especially in this
trying time. The question asked was should the church remain adamant and remain
a mere spectator to all that is going on in the state? Or is the role of the Church
confine to the four walls of the buildings only? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
We
have seen articles and letter to the editors which only make obvious that people
are not happy with the prevailing situation. Some are of the opinion that the
church should not involve in earthly issues and it should only engage with spiritual
matters, while others think otherwise and wish that the church should involve
in issues which are crucial for the society. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
In
the Hynniewtrep traditional context even though the Kings or the Dalois are the
head of the faith, their role in the day to day religious life of the people is
very limited. Niamtre or Niam Khasi was not started as organized religion
because religion in the Khasi Pnar context is more of family affairs. It was
only in the late eighteen hundred that the followers of the Niam Khasi
organized themselves under the banner of the Seng Khasi and followers of
Niamtre in Jowai organised Sein Raij only after the country gain its independence.
In the traditional religion every rites of passages of any member of the family
is conducted by the Kni who is the head of the clan. And because it is not an
organize religion, the place of worship in the Hynniewtrep traditional religion
is the hearth and the home of the clan. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The Hynniewtrep
traditional religion may not have organized body like the other faith groups, yet
the Khasi Pnar are govern by their own set of value system. The three cardinal
principles of the Hynniewtrep people are ka Tipbriew tip Blei, Kamai iaka Hok and
Tipkur tipkha and the entire value system of the tribe rest on these tri-principles.
The three cardinal principles of Khasi Pnar value system is all about striking
a right relationship. The first principle is about having a right relationship with
the creator and the other two principles are about having a right relationship
with fellow human beings. Therefore in the Hyniewtrep religious context; ka Niam
or religion is a way of life and it is about how one is to live in the World-
by living a righteous life, by trying to have a right relationship with God and
having a good and cordial relationship with fellow human beings. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
traditional Hynniewtrep religion not only stresses on how one live in the
world, but the ten commandments of the Jews too are like compass which guide Jews
to live a righteous life. Rabbi Hillel of the Jews was once asked by some
pagans to recite the whole of Jewish teachings while standing on one leg, the
pagans said that they would convert to his religion if he can do so. Hillel
obliged and stood on one leg and said, “Do not unto others as you would not have
done unto you. (Or the other version is, do unto others as you would want
others to do to you) That is the Torah and the rest is commentary” he quipped. This
is the simple teaching of the entire Torah or as known to the Christian -the
Old Testament. According to Rabbi Hillel the basic teaching of the Torah is to
do good to others and nothing else. It was also recorded in the two gospels
that Jesus too said something similar when people ask him which is the most
important commandment. In his response Jesus said something like the Lord your
God is one, you should love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your
soul and the second commandment is to love your neighbours as you love yourself
there are no commandment greater than these. These two great religious figures also
square down their teaching to one simple idea and said something similar to
what the Hynniewtrep religion teaches, that the important aspect of all
religious teaching is for a person to strike a right relationship with God and
with fellow human beings and maybe even with our fellow creation. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Karen Amstrong one of the scholars in the
study of the three Abrahamic religion wrote in her book The Spiral Stairways that
“The one and only test of valid religious idea, doctrinal statement, spiritual
experience or devotional practice was that it must lead directly to practical
compassion. If your understanding of the divine made you kinder, more emphatic,
and impelled you to express this sympathy in concrete act of loving kindness,
this was good theology. But if your notion of God made you unkind belligerent,
cruel, or self-righteous, or if it led you to kill in God’s name, it was a bad
theology” In the same book Karen also added that “Compassion was the litmus
test for the prophets of Israel, for Rabbis of the Talmud, for Jesus, for Paul
and for Muhammad, not to mention Confucius, Lao-tzu, the Buddha or the sages of
Upanishads”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
teachings of major religions of the world too stress on the need of the individual
to strike a right relationship in life. We must try to have a right
relationship with God or the creative spirit and with our fellow creations. We must
also set our relationship with our fellow human and the entire creations on the
foundation of compassion. Many a times I find it difficult to have a perfect
relationship with God or with others and very often I failed in my efforts to
even have a good relationship with near and dear ones. I may fail once twice or
may be hundred times but for me; trying to make this relationship work is a
spiritual act. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
other moot question is what is really required of each and every one of us? Prophet
Micah has sums it beautifully when he said “What shall I bring when I come
before the Lord, when I bow before God of high? Am I to come before him with
whole-offerings, with yearling calves? Will the Lord be pleased with thousand
rivers of oils? Shall I offer my eldest son for my wrong doing, my child for
the sin I have committed? The Lord has told you mortals what is good, and what
is that the Lord requires of you: only to act justly, to love loyalty, to walk
humbly with your God.” (REB Micah 6:6-8). Karen Amstrong again in the same book said
that “What is vital to all the traditions, however is that we have a duty to
make the best of the only things that remains to us-ourselves- our task now is
to mend our broken world; if religion cannot do that, it is worthless. What our
world need now is not belief, not certainty, but compassionate action and
practically expressed respect for sacred value of all human being even our
enemy.” </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
For
some people religion is something which has to do with the spirit only and it must
not involve in anything materialistic, but religion is not something that
happened only once a week or in the four corner of the church only, - it is a
way of life. Religion is not something that only stare heaven ward but that which
look on the ground too, religion is how I act and live in this world; in short
it is the continuous act of trying to strike a good relationship with God and
with everything around me no matter how many times I failed. </div>
</div>
H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-50909490345984531052013-12-11T08:09:00.002-08:002013-12-11T08:09:44.512-08:00Folktales are Stories to give Meaning to Natural Phenomenon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In almost every Khasi Pnar
folktales there are elements in the stories which have some connection with nature
in it and in almost every tale; nature is a part of the story. In most cases
folktales are stories which our ancestors tries to explain the uniqueness of
certain part of the nature. One of the very prominent examples was the story of
the Shillong peak. Our ancestors were amazed by the majestic Shillong peak, so
they weaved a story around the peak. We have scores of stories like this and in
fact in the Khasi Pnar context, all folktales were created because people tried
to understand and then define the phenomenon which prevailed around them and that
which fascinated them. The story of the Krem Lamet krem latang was partly to
try to give meaning why the rooster crow every morning before the sunrises, again
in the same myth, the story have it that t</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">he </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">grand </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">council sent the hornbill</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ryngkoh-kit-knor</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> to woo
the sun back. Instead the sun hit hornbill on his beak </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">with a tiny wooden Stool
(lyngknot) </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">because he too was trying to seduce
this beautiful damsel. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Hence
the hornbill beak was dented and disfigured as it is now because of this
incident of it being hit by the sun so the story goes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In the Khasi Pnar culture all the
hills, the rivers, the caves and the unique stone formation some way or the
other have a story to tell. These are just two examples that we have in the
Khasi Pnar own Genesis story, but my paper deals with similar stories from
Jaintia Hills District some of which are common and some of these folktales are
still in oral traditions and perhaps this is the first time that the tales has
been documented. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Lets us start by embarking on an
imaginary journey from Shillong to Jowai, and the first village on the Jaintia
hills District side of the border is “Mookyndur” obviously the village derived
its name from a rock (moo) which was rests in an peculiar position (kyndur). But
there is another stone situated on the right side of the road and on the left
side of the office of the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council, the stone
is known as “Moo Kule” and it being left unattended and neglected by the
present generation. The name of the stone when translated to English literarily
means “Horse stone” and this is precisely the reason why this story has a
connection to the subject matter of this paper. The legends have it that there
was once a tiny kingdom in between the Jaintia kingdom and the Khyriem
syiemship and the name of the small country was “ka hima Malngiang” but unfortunately
not much is being heard about this kingdom in the folktales of the area except
for the event when this kingdom was ruled by a king whose name is u Mailong
Raja. Small though his kingdom may be, Mailong Raja was the only King who dared
to challenge the might of the then great Jaintia Monarch. The legend has it
that Mailong Raja has a unique supernatural power that he cannot be killed, so the
great Jaintia king was at his wits end when he cannot defeat Mailong Raja. It
was said that the Jaintia King has once captured Mailong Raja and severed his
head from his body and asked his men to throw the heads towards the west and
the body on the opposite direction far from one another, hoping that by doing
so he will be able to do away with Mailong Raja once and for all. It was at
Mookyndur that the Jaintia king’s men were able to capture Mailong Raja and mysteriously
the horse on which he rides when he was captured turned to a stone. Hence the
stone at Mookyndur was called Mookule but that was not the end of the story
because Mailong Raja mysteriously was able to come back to life and resurface again
in his beloved Malngiang kingdom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Then we continue on our journey
to Ummulong and on reaching Ummulong we take left and travel to Nartiang and
this village is one of the very the few village which still has cultures and
traditions. Before entering the famous Nartiang Monolith Park, there is a huge
stone slap to the left of the road and the story tells us that the flat stone
is the one that Mar Phalangki used as his knup to protect himself from the
torrential rain. The story has it that it was raining cats and dogs and Mar
Phalangki who married a woman in Raliang was prepared to leave Raliang for
Nartiang his birth palce. He was looking for something to protect himself from
the rain when he saw a small hut close by and went to ask the owner of the
house if he can borrow her knup. The old woman who lives in the hut all by
herself look at him and said “how can a giant like you ask for a knup from me?
You see that stone slap over there, go take that stone and use it to protect
yourself from rain.” Mar Phalangki too took the stone and put it over his head
and walked towards Nartiang, it is believed that the stone slap remain where it
is since Mar Phalangki put it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In the famous Monolith Park, the
many monoliths have their one common story to tell, but it is the largest and
the tallest monolith of them all which has a story unique of its own. The largest and the tallest monolith in the
park and perhaps in the entire Khasi Pnar is again believed to be put up by u
Mar Phalangki. The giant tried to erect the monolith several times but failed
to do so, finally they decided to seek gods’ intervention by performing egg
divination. The sign from the egg divination implies that the gods require
human head; human has to be sacrificed for the stone to stand tall was the clear
message from the gods. It was a market day and people were gathered to watch
the show of strength and finally Mar Phalangki came up with the idea to appease
the gods. He dropped a lime and tobacco container made of gold (khnown locally
as dabi) making it appear like it was not purposely done. Without any
suspicion; one of the spectator immediately went down the pit dug to put the
monolith to collect the golden container. Mar Phalangki instantly lifted the
huge monolith and put it on the pit over the man’s body and a human was
sacrificed and the stone stand tall as it is till now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">From Nartiang one can move
further and take right to travel to Barato, here too there are stones which
have stories to tell. Stone images of the two oxen tilling at Pynthor Latuba are
those made popular by the tragic love story of u Miat Rynsut and the beautiful
princess ka Latympang. On the way from
Barato to Saba and Mukroh there is another location where there are stones which
looks like goats and cattle believed to belong to the Princess which freezes
and turned to stones like the two oxen when the tragic story draw to a close. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In Jowai there are many stones
and monolith with stories to tell, the foremost of all are the “soo duar soo
luti,” or the four guardian angels of the town which are situated in all the
four directions of the town. These are Moo-ralong, Moo-khai, Moo-tong and
Moo-sniang. Legends have it that whenever enemies marched to attack on the
village, like faithful sentinels the
guardian angels shouted to alert villager and enable them prepare for the
imminent danger. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">From Jowai if one travel south
and on reaching Amlarem one can either take left to travel further to Syndai or
one can take right and travel to Nongtalang. If we chose the latter option in Nongtalang
in a locality knows as Khlachympa, there is another huge stone slap. The huge
flat stone have a similar story to that of u Mar Phalangki of Nartiang that a
certain giant was without any protection when rain started pouring down heavily
in plain where he was, so he took the flat stone and used it to protect himself
from rain. On reaching Nongtalang the rainfall too subsides and he has no use
of the stone and put it down where it is till now. The parallel story of Mar
Phalangki belongs to another giant in the War Jaintia folklore whose name is Bir
Nongpoh. Adjacent to the stone slap, there is another huge stone called in
local parlance “shmia dhurai” which is believed to be one of the three stone
Bir Nongpoh plan to use as trivet for his hearth. In Nongtalang there is a huge
stone near the Amtyrngui River, the shape of the stone is very distinct and it
looks like it has been chopped right in the middle with a huge sword. The
legend has it that certain ghost which dwelled in the stone caused undue harassment
to the people by causing them sickness. The
people complained to the Thunder god and the god strike the stone right in the
middle and cut it into halves, but the two pieces of the stone mysteriously joined
together again. The Thunder god strike again once more to rid the ghost from
the stone and before the stone could joined together again, another stone was
placed right in the middle to prevent the two pieces from uniting with each
other. Since then the stone is called in a local War Jaintia dialect as “Shmia
Psha” ‘shmia’ means stone and ‘psha’ is Thunder. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">If one would take left and travel
towards Syndai, in Pdengchakap village there is a place quite far from the
village where the people of the village believed that it was the place where
the legendary “Iew luri lura” was held in the days of the yore. On the huge
rock there are marks which looks like animals footprints believe to belong to
the animals who rudely stomped their feet on the Dogs fermented beans as legend
have it. Then in Syndai near the cave at the Pubon River there is a sculpture
of an elephant which the local believe to be the image of earthquake and this
sculpture too has its own story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">So much about stones and rocks but
there are also stories about hills, mountain range, river and lakes and one of
the famous lake that has a story to tell is the Thadlaskein lake dug by Sajar
Nangi and his followers by using just the edge of their bows. In Jowai the
river Myntdu is also believed to be another guardian angel of the people of
Jowai and Myntdu itself has lot of story to tell as every portion of the river
has a name and every name has a meaning or a story to tell. Kupli too has its
own story and Lum Iakor Sing from where the river and two other rivers, ka
Lukha and ka Lynju shared their source of origin has its own story. Kupli is not
just a river but ka Iawbei of the Passah clan, as it is believed that the
Passah clan and the Shadap Passah share their divined origin from the Kupli. It
is our common</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Khasi </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Pnar </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">belie</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">f</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> that the
rivers are not mere rivers but they too have a persona. It is </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">also said that the Lukha River
which was formed by the two tributaries ka</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Lunar and the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ka </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lynju were
sisters </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">and only
when the two meet at a confluence and river is called ka Lukha.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Lukha flow by the foothills
of Lum Bah-Boo Bah-kong of the Narpuh Reserved Forest and Lum Bah-boo Bah-kong
too has its own story. Bah-boo bah-kong in Pnar parlance literarily means one
who carries both his elder and younger sister in law. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In a way the folktales were
created by people out of sheer curiosity to give meaning to what is happening
around them. Amazed by both natural and manmade phenomenon, people ask question
why is it so? And the answer to the question came in a form of story. The
folktales are our ancestors’ ways of answering the myriad questions that
puzzled their curious minds; it is their efforts to answer and give meaning to
whys, the whats, hows that bewildered them during their time. The entire natural or manmade phenomenons have
names and stories, it is therefore the call of the day for all of us to protect
and preserve the natural phenomenon because they not only link us with the past
but more importantly they connect us with the ways of the nature which are both
unique and profound. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-75719335948625124002013-12-11T08:07:00.002-08:002013-12-11T08:07:30.668-08:00The outcome of the ILP imbroglio<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
A
friend who is a professor in the University and a co-speaker at the brainstorming
session on ILP organized by the Political department of the North Eastern Hills
University, while criticizing the Chief Minister for spending much of his time in
Delhi to convince the central government for more fund to the state than
Shillong when the state was burning; said that it has only reminded him of the
nursery rhymes that his daughter was reading. The professor came up with his
own rendition of the old rhymes which goes like this <i>“Chief Minister saap, Chief Minister Saap, where have you been? I’ve
been to Delhi to meet the Queen. Chief Minister Saap, Chief Minister Saap what
did you there? I went to beg for 3000 crore but nothing come by.</i> Why did
the Chief Minister choose to rush to Delhi than trying to solve the burning
issue in the state? Why is it so important to meet the personnel of the finance
ministry than to address the issue at hand when every day the state is losing
crores of money due to bandh and road blocks called by the NGO? Is this a good
economic sense? Isn’t this a classic case of penny wise pound foolish? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Of
late there is a tendency among the chief minister to outdo each other in trying
to bring more funds from the Central government to the state exchequer. This
subtle competition among the Chief Minister to try and prove that they are
better Chief Minister than their predecessor by bringing more money for the
state is but a competition for a wrong goal because it is a case of missing the
boat for a ship. There should be a healthy competition among the Chief Minister
to bring peace, progress and development in the state, not just bringing money
from the centre. But now it look like the Chief Minister who can bring more
money to the state from the central government’s kitty is considered to be a good
leader. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
question is; is the role of the Chief Minister of the state merely to bring
more funds to the state from the Finance Commission? May we ask when will this
begging bowl syndrome end? As a citizen of the state we are sorry that even
after 40 years of its existence the state still depends on the financial
support from the central government. Are we not ashamed of being perpetual
beggars from the central government? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
A
large part of our revenue went down the drain because we failed to check the
leakage in revenue collection in the transport check gate or even in the Land
Custom and many loopholes. Is there any effort to stop these leakages of
resources? This column has exposed the leakage of revenue especially in the
Dawki-Tamabil land custom where till now overloaded trucks exported coal and
limestone from this port to Bangladesh. The state can save crores of rupees if
this is check, but the government chooses to turn its nelson’s eye to what is
going on. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
We
need a chief minister who can make the best use of his time and energy in
making Meghalaya a state which can sustain itself without any outside support. The
state needs a leader who can take this state to a new height, a state which can
stand on its own feet. Meghalaya need to strive to be a state which can at
least be in the middle rank of the development list in the country and most
importantly a state that we can all be proud of. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The way
how the Chief Minister tackle the ILP issue left much to be desired, in fact
the chief minister’s problem solving style has only helped make the list of
people who dislike him longer. Not that he is in the competition to be the most
liked person in the state, but Chief Minister’s handling or mishandling of the
entire ILP issue will certainly back fire on the Congress especially in the
ensuing MP elections. One thing that is obvious is the fact that the Congress
has already lost a large chunk of young voters; this will be a huge problem for
the party. The chief minister’s mishandling of ILP has alienated it from the
young people and the party will find it difficult or maybe even impossible to
woe the young crowd to its fold again. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
only hope for the Congress is if the regional parties failed to come with a consensus
candidate for the Shillong parliamentary seat in the next MP election. If the
regional parties can unite and come up with a consensus candidate who can unite
all the regional parties’ voters; then the Congress will find it difficult or
may be even impossible to fight a united regional force. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Taking
leave from my professor friend’s book, I realize that if the regional partied
unite then it will a repetition of another nursery rhyme which we loved to sing
when we were kids and the same nursery rhyme are still being taught to our children now. Talking about nursery rhymes; I
sometimes wonder why can’t they teach our kids new rhymes. But I now realized
that these rhymes that kids still love sing, like all the holy books remain
relevant to every generations we only need to bring it to the present context
to understand its message. So I came up with my own version of another nursery
rhyme which is relevant to context and the same goes like this: <i>“CM (say CEM) and Cong went up the hill to
fetch a pail of water, CM fell down and broke his crown and Cong came tumbling
after.”</i> The Chief Minister mishandling of the issue will certainly cost the
Congress party dearly and the first casualty will be the Shillong parliamentary
seat. The seat or rather any seat will be very important for the Congress in
the next general election because it looks like it is going to be a tough fight
for the party in the entire nation. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
If
Congress falls then Dr. Mukul Sangma will also fall, there is no power in the
world that can save him from the axe to remove him from the chief minister hot
seat. And it is true; if the Congress loses the Shillong parliamentary seat it
is nothing but the failure of the government to handle the ILP issue. Precious
lives were lost to the ILP issue and the government cannot simply wash its
hands on any of the unfortunate incidents because as the saying goes it takes
two to tango. The state is equally responsible for all that has happened during
the last 3 months, it has failed in its duty to protect life and properties
both private and government. And we are in a situation that people does not feel
safe or secure to live in their own state anymore, is this not the failure of
the state? </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Perhaps
by now we can at least agree that the timeless nursery rhymes are not mere
rhymes that we love to sing by rote but they do have some profound meaning to pass
on and that is why we keep on singing these little rhymes through every
generation. We started with a nursery rhyme so it is very apt that we also end this
write up with another nursery rhyme. And here in my own rendition of another
nursery rhyme which I think is relevant to the situation that we are in and it
goes like this… <i>“Chief Minister Saap;
Chief Minister Saap; sat on the wall. Chief Minister saap; Chief Minister saap;
had a great fall. All the queen’s horses and all the queen’s men could not put
Chief Minister Saap together again.”</i> That will be a sad day not only for Dr. Mukul
Sangma but for all the people who admire him. We don’t want this to happen to
our Chief Minister, we still hope that Dr. Mukul Sangma; the young dynamic
Chief minister that we have; will be able to complete his term and see that all
his mission and programs were successfully implemented. </div>
</div>
H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-82517769761050687932013-06-26T23:59:00.005-07:002013-06-26T23:59:58.294-07:00Traditions and Modernity: Beyond Superstition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">The recent infamous attacked on a
family alleged to be “the keeper of u thlen” (nongri-thlen) at Mawlymbnang in
the East Khasi Hills District, again brought to light the dichotomy between
traditions and modernity that exist in the Khasi Pnar way of life. I don’t
think it is a clash at all but the truth is that the mystery exists and the
society is caught between traditions and modernity. The truth is what has
happened in Mawlymbnang is the reflection of what is happening in the society,
it is the manifestation of a society entangled in a tribal culture and
tradition and the modern way of life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">U Thlen, the Taro, ka Bih etc has
been part of Khasi Pnar beliefs system which has been inculcated in the mind of
the people from one generation to another. We grew up believing Nongshohnoh
exist when our parents in an effort to make us stay put at home; would tell us
of the Menshohnoh who is lurking around the locality to catch us. We were given
strict instruction not to partake food share by certain family in the society
because they keep Taro, ka Kymbad, ka Bih etc.
My grandfather died when I was one year old, I was told that Dr. Norman
Tunnel of the Welsh Presbyterian Hospital, Jowai diagnosed that the cause of
his dead is due to cancer, but friends and relatives believed that he died from
‘Kymbad’ (ka Bih) the symptom of which is similar to cancer. In this case it is
obvious that the Khasi Pnar did know about cancer and maybe cancer in the
mouth, throat and the many part of stomach is known as Kymbad/ka Bih in the
local parlance. The only problem is that the sickness is believed to be the
curse of certain family and the family was blamed for causing the same. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the Khasi Pnar Society, family of
patient who suffers from a chronic ailment is often advised to take both
allopathic and traditional shamanist treatment. It is often concluded as (ioh
dei ba leh ki briew) it could be the spell of someone’s evil eye, or the curse
of some evil person, so it is important to take necessary precaution by
consulting a local shaman as well as taking allopathic medicines. People are in
a dilemma and because it is a matter of life and dead; they neither have full
faith in the allopathic medicine nor in the traditional treatment. There are
many cases of patient with orthopedic problem who would simultaneously consult
a qualified orthopedics as well as a local herbal medicine practitioner to save
them from the predicament. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In matter of bad health people always
take the help of both world of medicine, in fact frail as any human, the Khasi
Pnar too; consult any available healing system be it ayurvedic, homeopathic etc
to get themselves cure. I know belief is personal matter; it is within an
individual right to choose what to believe and not to believe hence it comes as
no surprise to know that even practicing Christians sometimes perform sacrifice
if that is what it takes to cure the person. My take on the issue is not to
denounce this incident or any such incidents as superstitious act, because it
is too complex an issue to understand. But would rather like the educate Khasi
Pnar to look at the wisdom behind these legends and beliefs and interpret them
in the new light.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rather than looking at the traditions
and beliefs as superstitious we can examine these issues in a much broader
sense with deeper insight and try to understand and see the relevance this
Khasi Pnar wisdom in the modern day context. I am not condoning the violence
and madness that has happened in Mawlymbnang and other villages, such act of
vandalism need to be condemned in the strongest term, but my call is to try and
understand these legends and folktales in the light the modern world and to see
its relevance in our world today. We also know that there are folk beliefs which
have positive impact in our life if we only have time to study them carefully. On
a closer look; we sometimes realized the profound wisdom of our ancestor even in
those act that we initially denounced as superstitious. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We have barely crossed this year’s
halfway mark yet; I consider 2013 a spiritually fulfilled year because I was
able to fulfill my long cherished dream. I was able to visit the two sacred
groves and probably the biggest sacred forest in the Khasi Jaintia, the Raij Tuber
Sacred forest in Chohchrieh village and the two sacred forests in Raij Chyrmang,
the Khloo Langdoh in Chyrmang and Ka Khap-yaba in Iongnoh village. In my visit to the Khap-yaba sacred forest
very recently; I was not only amazed at the sheer size of the forest but was
equally surprise at the fact that the forest was really free from any human
interference. The forest was thick and green and there were no sign of human
activity anywhere. The reason is because the people who live in the vicinity of
the forest believe that the goddess Khap-yaba is very powerful and it punishes
those who trespasses its territory and transgress its domain. We were told that
the local seldom wander to the forest and if they have to do so, they would
always pay obeisance to the goddess Khap-yaba. I then realized why it was very
difficult to convince the two young men to take us to Khap-yaba, and when we
reach near the forest, they told us that they would not go any further and even
refused to point their fingers towards the forest. Before that we also passed
through the hut of an old lady and when we told her of our intention to visit
the forest, she read us the do’s and don’ts and advised us to ask forgiveness
for trespassing into the goddess territory. Sacred forests are considered
sacred because it is believe to be the dwelling place of the gods and
goddesses, on a cursory look; some would consider this superstitious but it is
this belief system that has help keep our sacred forest. In the tradition of keeping
sacred forest, we can see the wisdom of our ancestors, their profound
understanding of how the nature work and the need to protect and preserve it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the same way let us examine other
Khasi Pnar traditions and legends and try to interpret its relevance in our day
to day life. The ‘keepers of thlen’ are those, whose greed has overtaken their
sane self, they are those people who would do anything to garner more wealth.
They would exploit people even force them to do odd job and pay them a very
small return for doing so. They would go to any extend to exploit both human
and nature for their own selfish gain- these are the modern day Nong-ri-thlen,
because their only concern is to get money and more money. The ‘Nongshohnoh’
are those who work for the Nongri Thlen and would go to any extend to serve
their master even if it means taking somebody’s life for money. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The keepers of ‘ka Taro’ are those
who are envious of others. Their hearts is full with envy and are incessantly
jealous of their friends, neighbor and relatives’ success, beauty and wealth.
They would secretly wish to possess their friends and neighbours unique character
albeit with evil design. And when they were not able to achieve those qualities,
they would curse their friends and neighbours. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The ‘Badon bih’ are mean,
close-fisted people they are so stingy that they would reluctantly part
anything with others. Even if they would have to provide food to others, they
would do so with grudge and would even curse those with whom they share their
food. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Culture and traditions are not
something that we can just wish away, the legends, the belief systems was
imbibed in our psyche for generations, it will take time if not impossible to
rid off the same from the person. The way to the future for the Khasi Pnar
Society is that we take the best of both world and move forward. The Khasi-Pnar
tradition and modern way of life can go hand in hand; the two can co-exist
albeit with new interpretation of the legends and traditions. Then only we’ll
realize that u Nongri thlen, u Nongshohnoh, ka Taro, ka bih et al are alive in
every age, caste and creed and the Khasi-Pnar wisdom is ever-relevant; it lives
beyond race and time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-33356993215260220482013-06-26T23:57:00.000-07:002013-06-26T23:57:37.092-07:00C is for calm, clamp and change<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: justify;">So much has happened in the state during the last fortnight or so. Incidentally all important incidents revolved around words which started with the alphabet ‘C’. To punish drivers parking their cars in the no parking zones, police in Shillong came up with the idea of using clamps to fix on the errant drivers’ vehicles; then there was the three day literary festival named CALM and perhaps in the last fortnight the state has witnessed unprecedented movement for change that has not been witnessed before. Change has happened in the state. The three agencies involved in bringing the changes are the youths, the honourable court and the CBI.</span></div>
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After attending the meeting convened by the Deputy Chief Minister to appraise the stake holders about the new Meghalaya Mine and Mineral policy which the cabinet approved recently, I can only say that all the environmentalists who attended the meeting were a disenchanted lot. The policy seems tailored to benefit the miners. Protection of the environment appears to be of no importance to the government. In a shared taxi on our return journey to Jowai, disappointed, I said to Arwat (a fellow environmentalist) that it seems like we are fighting a losing battle and we will not be able to protect the environment. I told him the story that while in Manchester in the year 1989-90 an Indian friend from Haryana who chose to stay back in England called me ‘bewakuf’ because I told him that I will go back home to India. I told the lad from Haryana that if I stayed back in England there is very little that I will be able to contribute to the society but if I go back home I can help bring change in my hometown and perhaps in the state. I returned home with hope that perhaps I can contribute something to help build a better and a happier community. I told Arwat that perhaps I might have been wrong. Now part of me tells me that it is useless; all my efforts are futile. There is nothing I can do to change the way things are in the society here. But Arwat was much more optimistic than me; he believed that this is the most exciting time to be alive in the Meghalaya because change is beginning to happen now. Have things really started falling in place and is change indeed happening?</div>
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I was only able to attend the last day of the three day literary fest called ‘the Shillong CALM 2012’ which stands for Creative Arts, Literary and Music festival. Not happy with the kind of publicity CALM received, the first thing Sambha the organizer of the CALM festival said to me (in Pnar) when I met her at the venue of the fest was, something like, ‘Did you see the kind of publicity festival received?” I think she meant the Chetan Bhagat show which closed with almost no interaction with the audience. What I should have told Sambha is ‘all publicities are good publicity’ and I am glad they have decided to continue holding the Fest and that next year the Shillong CALM 2013 will held in the month of May.</div>
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Words will be inadequate to describe the experience I had on November 3 the last day of the fest. I can only say that if the previous two days are as enlightening, exciting and entertaining as the last day then I know I have missed a lot by not attending the previous two days of the festival. The last day started with a programme in conversation with Prajwal Parajuly author of upcoming book of short stories ‘The Gurkha’s Daughter’ who was introduced by Babatdor Dkhar of North East Monologue as the widely acclaimed upcoming English writer from the country. It was a very interesting conversation and Prajwal was honest and entertaining with his answers. The one thing that struck me about this young man was his humility. He was eager to talk to anybody who approached him. While watching him taking a back seat and listen through the M.J. Akbar talk, I couldn’t help but think that Prajwal could one day become much more famous than M.J. himself.</div>
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The next programme was for me the best part of the day, it was a talk chaired by Ananya Guha and the talk was by individuals from the two ends of the age spectrum. The first person to take the podium was Jerry Pyrtuh a 17 year old poet who is still studying in class XI at Umshyrpi College Shillong. Every one present was mesmerized by Jerry’s talk about his book of poems ‘The Mystifying face of time’. Audiences were left spellbound by his command over English language and all appreciated his book. Then there was the forever young retired teacher, author and singer Kong Cassadra Syiemlieh who shared with the audience her upcoming book ‘The west wind of popular music’ which looks at the connection between the lyrics of some of the all time best English songs with poetry. Kong Cassandra is 73 years old but the enthusiasm and joy in her face looks like she is ready for another book very soon. CALM fest also saw another Khasi Pnar artist Pauline Warjri of the Aroha choir launching her music book. Music is in the air and with Toshan making it to the finals of the India’s Got Talent show, Shillong is indeed set to be the music capital of every genre.</div>
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Another C is for culture and round about the same time, Shillong also witnessed the annual autumn festival organized by the MTDF which culminated with the Pomblang syiem or the Nongkrem dance. But the two Cs that have become the talk of the state are the CBI reports which are the outcome of a court order in connection with the illegal appointment of the Lower Primary School teachers in the Khasi and Jaintia hills. The lesson for politicians here is that young people are not going to take it easy anymore. Young men and women of the state are fed up with what is happening; they seem to say enough is enough; we can’t take it any more. Unlike their predecessors they are not going to eat the humble pie anymore. They are ready to fight and they will leave no stone unturned to fight for their rights. Politicians or bureaucrats will not be able to fool the young people anymore; they have now taken the mantle upon themselves to clean the system and will even seek redress from the court and the CBI or any agency if need be, to clean up the system.</div>
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The youth of the state are leading the change that is happening in Meghalaya. Gone are the days when politicians and bureaucrats on the pretext of recommending play favourites and get their own people appointed for the jobs available. The way ahead is merit and no nepotism and politicians who the still have the audacity to say that they simply recommend names for appointment and have done nothing wrong, should be punished for abusing their power and position. The uneducated politician should remember that the candidate cannot canvass for appointment to the post either directly or indirectly and by doing so the candidate is liable to forfeit his/her right to apply for the post.</div>
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Something is really happening in the state. The ground beneath is shaking and all these changes happened not because Mukul Sangma created 4 districts in one go, but because the young people are restive and are not going to lie low anymore. They want change and they are the catalysts of change and if change is to happen, it should start from each and every one of them. Meghalaya is happening now, these changes are happening not because the government is introducing some mechanism to change the system, but because the youth has decided to take upon themselves the responsibility to bring change. The RTI and the Court case were taken up by young people from Jaintia Hills and supported by Agnes Kharshiing. CALM was organized by Sambha Lamarr a young lady; I know this because she is my cousin. MTDF too is being led by the ever young RG Lyngdoh, DD Laloo, Larsing Ming and others. I think Arwat is right. This is the most exciting time to be alive in Meghalaya because change is beginning to happen in the state. Young people are standing up to expose corruption by various VEC’s implementing MNREGA in their respective villages. Young people are making their voices heard by opposing the setting up of more cement plants in Jaintia hills. Rina Bareh a young woman from Umlong village cried at the hearing conducted by the Meghalaya Pollution Control Board against the dorbar shnong’s decision to allow setting up a cement plant in the village and selling the community land to the cement companies. This was another sign of young people making their feelings heard. They are not going to be cowed down so easily. So politicians should stop their empty rhetoric because youths cannot be easily fooled anymore. Mr. Chief Minister, are you listening?</div>
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H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-12216102899187769552012-10-12T20:29:00.000-07:002012-10-12T20:29:07.876-07:00PA Sangma and new political party<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Three months is a long time in the history of politics in Meghalaya. In a matter of ninety days a person can go from being an MLA to a presidential candidate and finally an ordinary citizen of the country like any of us. In three lunar cycles a founder member of a party can become a person independent and without any party affiliation to the founder of another party. In Meghalaya politics a lot can happen in a short span of time as history is made and unmade but the test of time is whether the event created in that history is going to last and create more histories or otherwise. If the change in the history is going to have a positive impact on the society then perhaps the history in the making will last; if not then the incident will become history the moment it happened.</div>
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August 24 is an important date in the history of Meghalaya, because it was the day when a major political party in the state folded its flag and merged en bloc with the new National People’s Party. The incident also saw the former NCP president W Kharlukhi taking over as the President of the Meghalaya unit of the NPP with the 12 former NCP legislators joining the new party with him. It was indeed a historical moment for the state and its people because a new party is born.</div>
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Purno A Sangma NPP national president said on the occasion that his new party will build a new India. According to Sangma’, there are altogether 46 seats reserved for tribals in the Parliament and eleven more seats from which tribal candidates always win despite those being general seats. According to Purno’s calculation, if fifty seven tribals come together then the community can have a say in national politics. He also reiterated that the party is going to be a ‘tribal centric’ party but open to all communities. Nobody can dispute the seasoned politician and an optimistic Sangma’s calculation, but the question is – Is Sangma the messiah that the tribal communities in the country have waited for so long? Will his new NPP be able to unite all the 57 tribal MPs in the country? What Sangma does not realize is that if his calculation works the margin of his defeat in the recent presidential elections would not have been so huge. At the moment, 57 is but a number that he hopes his new party will garner but the fact of the matter is that the 57 seats have already been taken by other parties. It is not going to be easy for a new party like NPP to capture those 57 seats. Tribals in the country already belong to different political parties. Take for instance the two seats in Meghalaya, NPP can definitely win one seat; the other seat has always gone with the Congress. To begin with, NPP already started with a small target and as the saying goes, one can only reach as much as one aims to achieve and not beyond. Yes, 57 is a big number in the coalition politics and the 2014 general election is obviously going to give the country a fragmented mandate and the number 57, (small as it may be) can certainly make and unmake kings and queens. But the question that begs an answer is whether the NPP even get half of the 57 it is targeting for the 2014 general elections? 57 is s jinxed number in the Khasi Pnar society. We have a song titled ‘la shet u 57’ (cheated by 57 sung by a bard to mourn his loss of money by buying the archery ticket with No 57). Hope it is not going to be the same with NPP.</div>
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Sangma has also boasted that his political career is being guided by strong principles that he holds dear to himself. These principles, he says, has seen him through many ups and downs and through the thick and thin of his political career. But what people fail to understand is what principles Purno is talking about when he allows both the MPs even his own daughter to remain with the NCP? Isn’t true that there is something wrong here? Isn’t it true that Agatha even allowed PA Sangma to use her official residence to run his show in his presidential campaign? I mean are they not complicit in this? One would expect that a principled politician like Sangma would also do well to inculcate and instill good principles in his children. But what the elder Sangma did not say is that he is also a shrewd politician and why he did not advice the two MPs to join the new party. Well, because they will then cease to be MPs under the anti defection law and there are two more years to go until the current parliament term ends. Sangma is wise enough not to risk young Agatha’s fate by asking her to join his new party. It is all about power isn’t it Mr. Sangma?</div>
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The merger of NCP state unit with NPP was made at the wrong time. It seems like it all happened too fast even for a seasoned politician like Sangma to have time to think of the consequences that the merger can have. The ill-timed and ill-planed incident has cast a pall of gloom for candidates planning to contest from NCP tickets in the forthcoming elections.. Till then they were canvassing on an NCP ticket and the clock was still their symbol; then all of a sudden they are not NCP candidates anymore. The incident has particularly upset the candidature of prospective candidates in the different constituencies, I know quite a few candidates in Jaintia hills who had earlier planned to contest on an NCP ticket but after the merger they are now in a dilemma. They cannot decide whether to stick with the NCP which is now a leaderless party or join the band wagon and contest on an NPP ticket.</div>
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The sour grapes resentment in the NCP camp has made the current leadership go all out to get their old comrades the 12 MLAs disqualified from being members of the legislative assembly under anti defection law, but everybody knows that this is not going to happen. The question is how can a thief catch a thief? The Congress led MUA will not even think of disqualifying the 12 MLAs because if they do so, they will also have to disqualify one of their own. AL Hek was elected from Pynthor Umkhrah on a BJP ticket but had defected to join the Congress without resigning his membership in the house. As for now the 12 new NPP MLAs are safe but what is going to happen to the NCP? Without the Sangmas the NCP will gradually disappear from the political scene of the state and not supporting Purno’s presidential aspiration is one move that the Maharashtra strongman Sharad Pawar will regret. The Sangmas still have the charisma to take their followers wherever they move; their people also faithfully follow them.</div>
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This is the second time in the recent past that PA Sangma has started a new party and it remains to be seen if Sangma’s new venture is going to be another clever political move. This time it is very crucial because unlike the political risks he took earlier, this time he is also taking his politically groomed children with him. Everybody hopes that the move Sangma has made is not for his sake but for the political prospects of his children not that I believe in dynastic politics but the junior Sangmas have a lot to contribute to the state.</div>
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<a href="http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/09/10/pa-sangma-and-new-political-party/">http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/09/10/pa-sangma-and-new-political-party/</a></div>
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H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-54025498776399797942012-10-12T20:27:00.000-07:002012-10-12T20:27:02.768-07:00Unitarian Church’s 125th Anniversary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After I presented my paper in a seminar on intellectual history at NEHU, during the question-answer session a wise professor of the history department asked me, “Where do Unitarian’s trace their origin? Or what is the origin of the Unitarian Church? As a matter of fact it was not a question I had expected but no doubt an interesting one.</div>
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One of my favourite books is also a New York Times best seller titled ‘The history of God,’ by Karen Armstrong. Armstrong a renowned scholar of the history of religions said in her book that her study of religions has revealed that human beings are spiritual animals. There is a uniqueness about humans in that they experience the sense of wonder and awe and they demonstrate this in their work of art and religions. In fact Karen observed that humans started using religion and art round about the same time that they developed their faculty to appreciate the beauty and wonder around them. Since then, humans started to use both art and religion as tools to attempt to find meaning and value in life. When humans started to experience this awe they started to worship one God much before they worshipped numerous gods and goddesses.</div>
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Armstrong also mentioned that Father Wilhelm Schmidt had suggested in his book ‘The origin of the idea of God,’ that there had been a primitive monotheism before men and women started to worship a number of gods. This God is a supreme deity, creator of heaven and earth and he governs all human affairs. He is also known as high God or Sky God who watches over humans and punishes wrong doers. As time passed this Sky God gave way to the worshipping of many gods and this is seen even among the Pnars of Jaintia Hills. The celebration of Behdienkhlam is one such example. The festival is celebrated for 4 days and three nights when the Creator is believed to descend to the earth to be with human beings.</div>
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Gradually people started to personify the unseen force like the wind, the sun, the sea, the stars, thunder etc and gave them human characteristics and worshipped them. In Jaintia hills u Pyrthat (the thunder god) is worshipped along with the gods and goddesses believed to dwell in nature. People started to pay obeisance to the spirit they believe dwells in nature and natural phenomenon like rivers, falls, hills and mountains etc. In the Paleolithic period when agriculture developed people started to realize the importance of fertility of the land they depended on for their livelihood so they began to worship the god of fertility or the mother goddess. Interestingly this goddess is represented by the image of a naked, pregnant woman in Europe, Middle East and India.</div>
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Later on, in the Judeo-Christian context the call to worship one God began with the Patriarch Abraham worshipping one God he calls El Shaddai. He was followed by Moses who liberated his people from Egypt with the help of the one God he called Yahweh and Moses insisted that God can only be called by one name and that is Yahweh.</div>
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Later, Jesus Christ came with his teaching to love God and to love one’s neighbours. These are the two most important commandments he said. He also preached of a loving God who he called Father in heaven, hence the Unitarian considers Jesus as the greatest of the teachers who taught people to worship one God.</div>
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History has it that three hundred and twenty years after Jesus died, the early Christians were divided in their beliefs as they were separated in the places where they were located from Egypt to Syria and Asia Minor. They had no common doctrine. Evidences are available that different churches even used different gospels, till the book was canonized. A section of the church under the leadership of a young presbyter of Alexandria by the name of Arius led a movement of a group of the early Christians who believed that Jesus is not of the same substance with God. Arius’ question which bishop Alexander realized he cannot ignore is ‘how can Jesus be God in the same way as God the Father?’ Arius did not deny the divinity of Christ but insisted that the Father was greater than He. Armstrong mentioned in her book that the idea was put to music and the issue was discussed like the people would discuss football today. It was also informed that the controversy reached such a height that emperor Constantine himself had to intervene and summoned a synod in Nicaea only to realize that the churches do not have an official position on the issue raised by Arius and more importantly even Origen held a similar doctrine. The prominent member of the group who were of the view contrary to that of Arius was Athanasius. History also has it that on the May 22, 325 AD, when the bishops gathered at Nicaea majority of the bishops held a view midway between that of Athanasius and Arius. But the debate was finally closed with Athanasius able to get the support of the emperor and only Arius and two of his companions refused to sign the creed. The creed which says: ‘We believe in one God… and in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God… and we believe in the Holy Spirit.’ Though the creed signed and adopted in Nicaea but it is not the Nicene Creed per-se. The Nicene Creed was only adopted in the year 381 at the Council in Constantinople.</div>
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In Europe Unitarians also trace their origin to Michael Servetus (1510-53) who wrote the book Errors of the Trinity in the year 1531. Servetus was burned at the stakes in Geneva ironically by the reformers in Geneva in the year 1553. It was a preacher in Transylvania which is now part of Romania who first used the word ‘Unitaria’ to describe the people who rejected Trinity and believed in one God. In the year 1566 Francis David preached against the doctrine of Trinity and was able to convince the king of Transylvania, John Sigismund to adopt Unitarianism. John Sigismund was also the first king to adopt a kind of religious toleration when he proclaimed the law allowing freedom of religious beliefs in his country in the year 1568 which is known as ‘Diet of Torda’. To cut the long history short, Unitarian churches then began to emerge in many countries like England, USA etc.</div>
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In India the first Unitarian Church was started by a low caste Tamil Hindu Moodelliar Vellagha who on becoming Unitarian changed his name to William Robert. He came in contact with the British Unitarian in the year 1816 but it was in December 19, 1813 that he started the Unitarian Christian Church in Madras. In Khasi Jaintia Hills and Mikir hills (now Karbi Anglong District of Assam) a Khasi person by the name of Hajom Kissor Singh Lyngdoh Nongbri and three of his followers, ka Hirbon Lakadong, u Kat Shylla and u Mar Sutnga founded the Unitarian faith in Jowai on September 18, 1887. The story of H.K.Singh Lyngdoh Nongbri’s tryst with Unitarianism is also similar to the experiences that his predecessors like Arius and William Roberts experienced. H.K.Singh was not comfortable with his beliefs and this made him question the Trinity. His personal understanding is that there is only one God, whom Jesus called father in heaven and who the Khasi Pnar called U Blei Nongbuh Nongthaw. He later came into contact with Unitarianism and decided that he had found his spiritual home and committed himself to the propagation of Unitarianism in the region.</div>
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H.K.Singh Lyngdoh Nongbri believed that monotheism was a marriage of the Father in Heaven whom Jesus worshipped and later taught his disciples to pray to (in the Lord’s prayer) and the Creator God of the Khasi Pnar. He even went a step further and called God our father and mother. The history of Unitarian church is therefore the story of humans experiencing the one God which differs from one culture to another and the one God which humans have worshipped since the dawn of human existence.</div>
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<a href="http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/09/17/unitarian-churchs-125th-anniversary/">http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/09/17/unitarian-churchs-125th-anniversary/</a></div>
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H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-76859002740358934272012-10-12T20:23:00.003-07:002012-10-12T20:23:56.796-07:00Crash course in animal behaviour<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I always envy people who live in the village; their lives seem simple, easy and at peace with everything around them and not difficult and complex as life in the towns and the cities. In fact it was out of this love for country life that I decided as a young boy on the course of my future life and chose the profession I love so much. I opted to be a minister in a church, because it involved visiting the churches in the different villages. I enjoy the pleasant breeze in the green open fields. I also love to watch the clear pristine waters that flow from the rivulets to the roaring river down below. For me the drive down the calm and traffic-less narrow road in the countryside is a spiritual exercise in itself. It is an opportunity to enjoy nature in all its grandeur, a hassle free drive where I can park anywhere I like and be overwhelmed by the splendoor of the green environment around.</div>
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Of all my visits to many villages in these beautiful Khasi Jaintia hills of Meghalaya, this one visit was the most memorable. Ksehrynchang is another beautiful village on the important road which connects Jowai in Meghalaya with Khainduli and Hamren in the state of Assam. I used to shuttle to and from Jowai to Ksehrynchang every now and then to perform my pastoral duties. It so happened that on one particular visit to the village I had to stay overnight to complete my pastoral duty the next day. I arrived in the evening just before dark and the night was indeed a magnificent moonless and cloudless night. I spent some time out of doors in the cold dry night sitting on a bamboo stool to enjoy the darkness which was illuminated by the light from the stars in the sky. The soft light from the starry sky dimly lit the nature around me. Even though it was mid December, the needle-leaves on the pine trees still looked fresh and green, the pristine water of the Mynriang river sparkled while it flowed on its course to join the Myntang river. When I looked around the open outfields surrounded by hills they looked so beautiful, everything was black and white, and I took beautiful black and white snap shots of the wonderful night with my mind’s eye.</div>
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I thought village life is simple and that I know almost everything that I need to know about living in the countryside. I was woken up by the mooing of a mother cow calling its calf which had somehow deserted her mother during the day. It was the onset of the post harvest season in the area and by tradition, after harvest farmers are allowed to let their animals loose in a tradition called “Dat-rai” in Jaintia hills and “pynlait-lan” in the Khasi hills. During this time of the year animals are allowed to roam freely without anyone tending to them. It is the only time of the year when the cowherds and goat- herds are given a holiday. The animals (cattle and goats in particular) will be shepherded back in spring before the sowing season.</div>
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The next morning was cold and crispy. I hesitatingly unchained my sleeping bag and got out up of bed and walked out of my host’s home, raised my hands and stretched them high to greet the rising sun. While standing on the portico of the house, I looked for a place nearby with patches of wood in it. I noticed a small hill nearby with plenty of standing pine trees and walked towards the hill to answer to nature’s call. On reaching the hill I noticed a herd of cows grazing in the frosty morning. I walked on the path and a young bull threatened me, lowering his head as if to hit me down. I shouted at the bull, which from the way it was blowing air from its nose, seemed to be in rage. I shouted at it again and we somehow avoided confronting each other. I continued to walk and went to finish my chore. I walked the same path again to return to the house where I was put up for the night. Not suspecting anything from the noble herds of animals, I heard the cows mowing but it meant nothing to me. I kept walking my way through the stranded herd of cows. Then all of a sudden a young bull which had threatened me earlier attacked me from the back and hit me on my right abdomen. I fell on the ground with my head still high becoming an easy target for another attack by the raging bull.</div>
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The second attack hit me on my right face near my right eye; the attack was so powerful that with a big thud I saw darkness and lost consciousness. Even after I fell on the ground, the furious bull was not finished with me; it went on hitting me and made me conscious again. While hitting me, it also made an angry call, which was answered by the mother cow nearby. The cow too joined forces with the bull to merciless attack me and fix me on the pine tree nearby. It was only by Gods grace that Khlanhiwot and Beitlang who accompanied me on the trip were close by. They, being villagers, understood the unusual call of the cows, went to see what happened and when they saw me being hit time and again mercilessly by the two cows, Khlan tried to shoo the cow away; but the cow paid no heed. He then took a long stick and started hitting the attacking cow to save me from the animals. Finally the bull and cow finally left me alone with bruises and pain all over my body. Khlan and Beitlang helped me on my feet and walked me down to the house. They told me I was lucky that it was the young bull which attacked me, because its horns are still too small to do any serious damage. When I reached the house I told them innocently that I always assumed that the cows are harmless animals. Then I asked them why it attacked me. They said it was because I was too close to the mother cow which had a baby calf. I was advised not to walk near the mother cow anymore. Thank goodness, my ribs are intact and I only had bruises on my face, but it would have been different if it had been an adult bull with full grown horns that attacked me.</div>
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Of course I also learned another lesson, but I learned the lesson the hard way. I call the incident a crash course on cow behaviour not because it is short but because it came crashing on me all of a sudden. I also learned another lesson and that is never to assume that village life is simple. It is in fact very complex and includes among other things, to know and predict the behavior of animals and the life cycle of different plants.</div>
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<a href="http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/09/24/crash-course-in-animal-behaviour/">http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/09/24/crash-course-in-animal-behaviour/</a></div>
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H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-49673125162606072192012-10-12T20:21:00.000-07:002012-10-12T20:21:11.341-07:00Money – name of the game during election<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: justify;">There you have it, this is from the horse’s mouth and a statement from no less than the President of the Congress party who said that he was offered a bribe of 10 to 20 crore (or 1 million to two million) rupees by aspiring candidates who are desperate to contest on a Congress party ticket from a certain constituency in the ensuing election. It is therefore no longer just media report or columnists’ comments which allege that huge amounts of money change hands during elections. Although the MPCC President retracted his statement the next day, blaming the media for misquoting him or quoting him out of context, everybody knows that the President was caught on the wrong foot. When he realized his mistake he blamed others for it. He will have a lot of convincing to do, to get people agree that the blame lies entirely with the media.</span></div>
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The statement made by MPCC President (subsequently denied) has only exposed the rot that is not only in the Congress but in all the political parties and the entire electoral system that we have. But the question is why now? Why the two individuals from the Jaintia hills district were singled out? Surely many candidates too must have offered the party money to be allotted a party ticket even in the past. There must be a reason why the President chose to make the statement now. The important point of discussion is not what the President of the MPCC has allegedly stated but what he didn’t say. Is the Congress party fed up with the money bags from the Jaintia hills? Have the two business tycoons who are still very much with the Congress gradually lost their influence in the party? Both the individuals have been with the Congress through trials and tribulations and one of them was even caught with huge amounts of money during the last bye election to the Umroi constituency. The Umroi bye-election was a turning point not only for a Government employed technocrat to jump into politics and win the election to the Lok Sabha, but it was also a turning point for Ngaitlang Dhar a businessman with no education, to decide to take the plunge into state politics. Much water has flowed down the river since then and coal mining lobby, seems be gradually losing its grip on the string of power in the state, and the question is, have they been replaced by the cement lobby now?</div>
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The other important point must be seen on a positive light and the question is, can we say that the Congress is also fed up with candidates with less or no formal education? The two individuals named in the report are rich businessmen but with little or no education, one especially with no formal education whatsoever and the other has barely completed his lower primary school. The other question is whether the Congress is trying to nip in the bud the dynastic politics that the two are trying to start? Nehlang is vacating Rymbai for his nephew Justine Lyngdoh and Ngaitlang Dhar is the elder brother of the present MLA who is contesting from Nartiang constituency in the 2013 election. The development has only proved what was mentioned in this column a few months ago that Jaintia hills will have more than 7 MLAs after the next election; we already have 3 names from Ribhoi District Nehlang, Ngeitlang and now Barnabas Nangbah. They are all from (the undivided) Jaintia hills. Whoever plays this game has his cards very close to his chest and if he has his way, then Meghalaya will be under his thumb. But it is for the people to decide. Then again with money playing a major role in the election, one doubts if the next election is going bring any change for the state.</div>
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As long as elections are decided by the amount of money the candidate can spend, what change can really one expect? The election rules of the Election Commission have no meaning at all; they only operate after the announcement of the election. It is meaningless because the rules operate in a very limited period of less than a month whereas candidates have already started spending money one year or even earlier before the election. Candidates not only spend money to buy party tickets, they also make sure they have the best orator in the area to canvas for them and headmen (especially in the villages) are being taken care of much before the election. Hence the election rules which permit a candidate to spend only 5 lakhs in the election is a farce. A lot of money has already changed hands by the time the election code of conduct is made operational. Money has been spent in providing schemes for the villages, NGOs and even churches make hay while the sun shines to get as much benefit from the MLA as possible. This comes in the form of schemes for the church run schools, providing chairs, cooking utensils for the women groups, music and PA system for the church and even grants for construction of the church buildings (yes this happen in a secular state) and even roads connecting to the churches before the synod .</div>
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The blame for the increasing influence of money power during the election is because of the MLA and MP Local Area Development Schemes. Almost every MLA or MP keeps it till the eleventh hour to distribute their respective Local Area Development Schemes. This is a clever ploy to influence people and the ulterior motive is to use the MLA-LADS to buy votes for the MLA for his re-election. The scheme is used but for MLAs’ own selfish gain. The scheme (which is a tax payers’ money) is not being used as it was literarily meant to be which is for local area development. Because MLAs use the MLA-LADS with ulterior motives and at the last minute, the opposing candidates too have no other options but to compete with the MLAs in distributing freebies. The candidates too are seen involved in distributing utensils, plastics chairs etc. to the people, NGOs, Youths clubs and even churches and thereby starts the cycle of corruption even before they become politicians. One is surprised to see that even former student leaders who are now in the election fray for the first time providing heavy machines for tilling play grounds for the village. The question is where did the money come from?</div>
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The MLA-LADS/MP-LADS is squarely to be blamed for the deteriorating kind of election that we have in which money dictates and decides which candidate wins. Because of the MLA scheme people are not discussing what change the MLA has brought to the constituency or what new policy has he helped frame for the betterment of the state as a whole, but people are now talking about how much money the MLA gave for ‘our locality’, ‘our Youth Clubs’ and church related activities. Voters are no longer debating about the development that the MLA is able to bring to the constituency, but money is the sole criteria of deciding how good or how bad the candidates is.</div>
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Until and unless the Local Area Development Scheme is done away with, this will continue and we will still have elections where money power will play a major role in the elections. MLA scheme must be done away with because it is unfair to the opposing candidates. The sitting MLA already has an upper hand against the opposing candidates and it does not allow a level playing field for all the candidates.</div>
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In conclusion we must thank the president of the MPCC for opening the can of worms that is the election process in the state. One really finds it difficult to calculate and contemplate how much it really costs to be a candidate to contest an election? If one has to shell out 10 to 20 crore just for the party ticket; then your guess is as good as mine on how much it costs to contest an election. The state will therefore never have young, bright and educated candidates contesting the election because a lot of money is at stake and, serious candidates will not find the prospect of being MLA attractive since ultimately they will not be gauged by development and the policies they help bring about but solely by the money they spend.</div>
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H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-34229596033334718712012-08-31T02:51:00.000-07:002012-08-31T02:51:00.445-07:00Higher education – an expensive proposition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We have very recently celebrated the 65th Independence Day of our country; the day we attained freedom from foreign yolk. But the question is- are we really free? And if I may borrow Dr Mukul Sangma’s statement from his recent speech at a seminar to commemorate the 150th death anniversary of u Kiang Nangbah, “Does the democracy we practice really make us free?’ Are we, and in particular the poor really free in the current state of affairs in the state?</div>
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The state higher education in Meghalaya is still very poor. We are yet to have a state- owned technical institute and have only one medical school. Hence young people have no other option but to pursue engineering and medical education outside the state. I am not saying that we should discourage students from studying outside, but let us consider how this impacts on the economy of the state?</div>
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In a year the state can hardly afford to sponsor 40 medical seats from the government quota which means that many students whose parents can afford to pay huge capitation fees and exorbitant monthly or annual fees send their kids to study in private institutes. This is good for the state because if we depend only on the government sponsored quota we will never be able to attain an acceptable doctor people ratio in the state. In the years to come, we will have more doctors and hopefully the state will not have the problem of getting doctors willing to work in the rural areas. But this comes at a price. Private medical education is unaffordable for many. Only the rich can afford it. The minimum cost of a complete MBBS course is approximately half a crore which includes Rs 22 to 25 lakh capitation fee and Rs 4-5 laks per year annual fees for five years. A private dental study would cost the parents 2.5 to 3 lakh capitation fees and Rs 2.5 to 3 lakh annual fees. This is information I personally collected from some of the institutes and agencies in the business of providing admission for students from Meghalaya to the rest of the country.</div>
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Then there are those who study medicine in the foreign countries like China, Nepal, Philippines, Russia etc and I am sorry I don’t have information on these but the fact of the matter is people from Meghalaya spend crores of rupees to educate their kids outside the state. A simple understanding of the economics of it will tell us that if the state has its own medical institutes much of this money will remain within the state. Besides Meghalaya will also attract students outside to these institutes which in turn will help the economy of the state.</div>
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Obviously private medical education is beyond the reach of poor parents and with the kind of capitation and monthly fees the private institutes charge the education loan provided by the various banks will be of no use. The banks will finally find the kids of poor parents not credit worthy. So the poor students have nowhere to go. To add to the problem, the only medical institute in the state is not of any help either. In spite of the allegations in the media against the way the entrance test to the Institute was conducted, yet the North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) chose not to make any clarification. Letters to the editor questioning the result of the entrance tests were published time and again, yet the Institute for reasons best known to those in charge chose to dodge the question.</div>
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When no clarification is forthcoming from the Institute, the public in general are in a dilemma and are compelled to accept the saying “silent means consent” – that the charges of nepotism against the Institute are true. And the staffs of the medical school still have the gumption to demand that the government reserve two seats from the state quota for the children of the teaching fraternity of the institute. Where is equality? Does it mean that children of the staff in the Institute are preordained to be doctors? Isn’t there a common entrance test where the children of farmers, carpenters, daily labourers and perhaps even single mothers take to get admission to the Institute? If the children of the staff of the Institute with all the advantages and the kind of upbringing they have cannot compete with the children of the poorer parents then they don’t deserve to study medicine and I don’t see why the government should succumb to their demand. The doctors should be ashamed of themselves to even raise this issue with the government, because it implies that their kids can’t even compete with children of the poorer section of the society.</div>
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With regards to the entrance test, NEIGRIHMS should ensure transparency and conduct the test in a free, fair and just manner. If the HRD Minister Kapil Sibal’s common medical entrance test does not materialize by the next year, the Institute should at least use OMR to conduct the entrance test and make the OMR answer sheets of every candidate available online.</div>
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September is approaching and the Directorate of Health Services is yet to publish the list of candidates selected for studying medicine and allied services. One wonders why. What takes the Department so long to publish the list? These are signs that make people question our democratic system.</div>
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Meghalaya is yet to have its own engineering institute too, so students who wish to pursue engineering studies have to go outside the state and private studies of any engineering trade is a very expensive. So where is the opportunity for the young, poor students? The central government has sanctioned a Regional Engineering College and was proposed to set that up at Sohra, but the state government is taking its sweet time to even start the project.</div>
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I support the MHRD’s plan to conduct a common entrance test for admission to all the medical colleges and engineering institutes in the country. This will provide a level playing field for students irrespective of the differences that they may have. Although candidates from rural areas will still have the disadvantage of not having had the best education opportunity, but a common entrance test for both medical and engineering studies in the country is the only viable alternative in the present scenario.</div>
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In Meghalaya, the process by which some departments selected students for pursuing technical studies from government quota also leaves ample room for suspicion that there is foul play by the heads of the departments. The case in point is the department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary. The director did not take proper attendance of the selected students. Those on the waiting list who reported as instructed in the notification were not asked to sign any attendance sheet and the director is the only one who keeps the attendance by a mere tick on the notification. There is no transparency in the process hence there is ample space for manipulation by the man in charge. Every department selects students for undergoing studies based on their performance in the class 12 science board examinations, but the directorate of AH & Veterinary is also the only department which conducts its own entrance test for students who wish to study veterinary in Mizoram. The question is whether the Department has the wherewithal that the various boards have, to conduct the test? Or is it because the Directorate does not trust the results of the various boards of examinations? The Directorate of Health and the Directorate of Higher and Technical Education selected students for studying medicine and allied services and engineering based on their performance in the Board examination so why does the Directorate of AH & Vety have to conduct a special test for this? I think the government should see that the Directorate does away with the entrance test because the Department will not do justice to the candidates. This will also minimize chances of manipulation and prevent favouritism and nepotism by those in power.</div>
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It is the bounden duty of the Government to see that citizens of the state irrespective of their caste, creed, economic status or religion are given equal opportunity to pursue higher studies. The Government which is the custodian of the Constitution should see to it that the poor are treated in a just and fair manner and equal opportunity for higher education is made available to them.</div>
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<a href="http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/08/20/higher-education-an-expensive-proposition/">http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/08/20/higher-education-an-expensive-proposition/</a>
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H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-40758394950354655652012-08-31T02:49:00.001-07:002012-08-31T02:49:27.927-07:00Northeast lessons from the exodus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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While the homeward bound exodus of north-easterners was at its peak and workers from the region and the students particular headed home out of fear of the backlash against what was going on in Assam, we decided to do the opposite (although not quite a reverse exodus) and travel to Gujarat for my daughter’s admission in one of the cities in that state. The decision to travel was a cause of worry for our relatives in spite of the fact that Gujarat is in the west and there was no report of any threat or intimidation against the north easterners in that state. But that did not stop our near and dear ones from trying to speak sense to us and help us realize that for our own good we should postpone the trip. Although the problem originated only in the southern part of the country we were advised to postpone our trip till the problem subsided. But we stuck to our plans and travelled to Ahmedabad but before that I did my own little research by meeting ex-students from Gujarat and people who had lived and worked there. Everyone encouraged me to go ahead with my plan and assured me that Gujaratis are good people. I called people who live in Gujarat and asked if there is any threat to visitors from the east and the answer was in the negative so we continued with the journey.</div>
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The dust has finally settled and all fingers are now pointed at the internet; social media network sites were blamed for the exodus of the people of north eastern origin from this area. It is true the internet has given us freedom beyond our imagination, but it is only natural that there will be people who will abuse their freedom and use it to serve their own vested interests. But whatever may have happened censorship is not the answer to the problem. In fact no matter how much efforts the government puts in trying to censor the net, anti social elements will always find a way to skirt around and accomplish their evil designs.</div>
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The freedom that the internet allows sometime causes embarrassment too when one posts wrong information. During the recent 2012 Olympics, Amitabh Bacchan tweeted to appreciate Mary Kom’s achievement. The problem is that Bachhan did not know that Mary Kom is from Manipur so he said she is from Assam. The tweet was shared on facebook and facebookers were astounded by senior Bachhan’s ignorance of the geography of the country.</div>
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If censorship is not the answer what is to be done to make sure that false propaganda and disinformation does not finds it ways to the internet? If we are to learn any lessons from the recent imbroglio it is this that NOT all information shared or posted on the internet are true. There are unscrupulous elements on the prowl in the internet too and we must be careful with that kind of information. At the individual level, the mantra for all the internet users is to be very careful and exercise absolute self restraint before commenting, sharing or even liking the posts. Users should not get carried over by emotion, for the very reason that devious elements are targeting users’ emotion to drive home their point. Internet users should be very cautious in dealing with the content of a webpage, a blog, a tweet and even a facebook post. The recent exodus of north-easterners was obviously caused by people with evil intention who used pictures with mischievous content to play with people’s emotion. Internet users should be sensible and ignore page or pages with malicious contents, and to think twice before acting on such internet content.</div>
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Some say that people are like flies; they thrive on filth. It is the wrong post or bad pages which always have the strongest effects on people. Spiteful posts, offensive videos, posts or blogs always go viral the moment they are put on the internet. But kind and good content does not always get the same kind of attention. The recent exodus is again the best example. The pictures of people carrying their luggage on the railway platform went viral while a photo of a young Muslim in his Islamic attire (probably on the same platform) holding a placard which says “Please do not leave” has only a few shares. In short, the problem escalated because people were not able to separate facts from rumours. When we have a platform like internet which allows us unlimited freedom to share our thoughts, photographs and even opinions, it is our responsibility to exercise absolute restraint. Internet gives us the freedom of thoughts and expressions that the generation before us did not have, but we must use it with utmost responsibility.</div>
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The government too instead of censoring the net should in fact try to make its presence in the cyber space more robust by strengthening its cyber intelligence. If the cyber intelligence is active, the government would have been able to prevent the exodus by checking the websites or facebook which carried these hateful messages. The answer is to increase and strengthen intelligence presence in the net and not censor. This will enable the government to check and monitor odious content in the net and prevent any untoward incidents.</div>
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But beyond the cloud there is always a silver lining. The incident of the mass exodus of young north-easterners was reported in almost every newspaper worth its salt. The story was carried by every print and electronic media in the country and even abroad. The outcome of the mass movement of people has indirectly found mention even in the White House briefing when India was asked to be cautious on how it deals with the issue of censoring the net. All of sudden the region found mention in the media and there is a rush to learn more and understand about the region. On August 21, the Ahmedabad Mirror came up with a brilliant idea of publishing a quiz on the north east, which challenged its readers on how much they know about the region. There were write -ups in several newspaper about the region and the people who live in it and in many cases by the people from the northeast.</div>
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A story of the London Olympic bronze medalist Mary Kom’s consideration to settle in Bangalore which says “Think Northeast: Promoting Sports could bridge the gap between the region and the rest of India” was part of the August 24 editorial of the Times of India Ahmedabad edition. Who would ever think that Mary Kom’s mere consideration to settle in Bangalore would find space in the TOI’s Ahmedabad edition?</div>
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An optimistic view of things would help us learn than complain and curse against what had happened. Every ying has its yang too; the good and the bad of it. First it brought to light the in-fighting within the Congress party when the views of the President differed from that of the Government; the party and the government spoke in two different voices on a single issue. But the most important thing is for the people of the region to learn from what had happened. We need to be more cautious in dealing with the content in the internet and to be able to separate the shaft from the rice. We need to be more mature in our treatment of internet content and act responsibly in whatever we do and to refrain from hiding ourselves behind a fake identity; we should in fact avoid having to do anything on the internet with a person who uses a pseudonym or fake identity. Freedom is personal so it should also start and end with each and every individual’s exercise of his/her freedom with responsibility.</div>
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<a href="http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/08/27/northeast-lessons-from-the-exodus/">http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/08/27/northeast-lessons-from-the-exodus/</a> </div>
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H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-7617406816297129212012-08-12T19:46:00.002-07:002012-08-12T19:46:24.592-07:00Protecting Myntdu before it’s too late<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Jowai town and Myntdu are two separate entities interconnected to one another and the stories of the town and its people are intertwined with the story of the river Myntdu. What Myntdu is to Jowai, the Thames is to London; the two are inseparable one from the other. Myntdu’s relationship with Jowai is unique because it flows in an almost circular motion around Jowai town. Though a large part of the river is polluted and the river has become a dead river, only a small portion in the upstream of river Myntdu from its place of origin in Mihmyntdu till the periphery of the town, is still free from pollution caused by acid mine drainage (AMD)- a discharge from both abandoned and active coal mines. But the question is how long will it be before Myntdu becomes the next wah Umkhrah? Though there are no mining activities in the town and the Jaintia Fishing and Environment Society was able to convince miners in the Chyrmang, ?ongnoh and even Mustem village not to release mine seepage to the river Myntdu, the threat to the river is from the activities of the people who live in the town.</div>
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It is sheer coincidence that in my two recent trips to Shillong, I happened to share a taxi with the same person and what is unique about this gentleman is the moment the taxi crosses Myntdu, he would move his hand in a gesture of prayer as the car crosses the bridge. A large chunk of Jowai’s population still worships Myntdu as a deity which protects the town and its people from enemies and evil spirit. In fact, the river is as it is because of the sacred relation the town dwellers have with the river, but this too is gradually diminishing as people began to neglect the shared stories they have with the river and the gap in the relationship is only getting wider. For people who don’t know or care about these stories, Myntdu is but a mere river where they dispose their household seepage and dump their garbage in.</div>
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Myntu is not only a deity ka tawiar ka takan or the guardian angel of the town; it is the life line of the people which feeds the two vast stretches of paddy fields ka pynthor wah and ka pynthor nein and till now Myntdu is the only source of drinking water for the town’s folk. Like any town and city, Jowai too is growing by leaps and bounds; new townships have developed in the outskirts of the town and this development is going to have a drastic impact on the Myntdu which flows around these satellite townships. Sadly, the entire town does not have a proper drainage system hence all the liquid waste are discharged into the Myntdu. The town does not have a proper solid waste management either; hence the same is also dumped into the river.</div>
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Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council is a failed institution. The council is yet to implement the rule forbidding people from constructing houses right on the banks of the river. Because of that people have started constructing houses on the river in the Chah-tngid and Myntdu bridge area. And the worst part is that the council has distributed the council land in the Riatsasim area to the kith and kin of the MDCs. This particular land had once been designated as an orchid sanctuary by the former CEM, JHADC, JD Pohrmen. This land also serves as a catchment area of the river Myntdu, but now the forest has been cleared and very soon new houses will come up right on the banks of the river and we have only the JHADC to blame. If this trend continues, it will not be too long before Myntdu becomes like Wah Umkhrah.</div>
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The man at the helm of affairs in the Clean Wah Umkhrah campaign told me recently that the MLA of Jowai categorically stated that Myntdu will never go the Umkhrah way and that he had done his bit to ensure that Myntdu does not suffer the same fate that has befallen Wah Umkhrah. But the only thing that Dr RC Laloo has done so far to protect the river is to get the department of Soil and Water conservation construct a check dam at Syntu Ksiar. The two other check dams upstream were constructed at the initiative of the Jaintia Fishing and Environment Society which was sponsored by the JHADC when Moonlight Pariat was the CEM and another was sponsored by Rotary club of Jowai. I had the opportunity to be part of the discussion when the idea of constructing the first check dam to protect Myntdu was conceived. Of all the places, the idea was conceived when this writer was travelling in SK Lato’s car with W Pynkyntein Secretary of the JFES then known as Jaintia Fishing Association. When the idea of constructing the check dam as one of the means to protect Wah Myntdu was thought of, Lato a Rotarian suggested that JFA come up with a planned estimate so that he could raise funds for the project since he was due to attend the international Rotary meet shortly. That was how the first check dam over the river Myntdu came up.</div>
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These check dams or even more of these check dams will be of a little help to protect Myntdu, unless the government and the people work together to protect the river. The government needs to do more to save the river from becoming an eyesore for the people and a dead river in the future. The task to protect Myntdu is also an opportunity for Dr RC Laloo to prove to the people of Jowai that it is worth electing a PhD as their MLA. Dr Laloo has been an MLA for 20 years and now he is a frequent flyer to London. He must have therefore seen how the Thames and London co-exist. One therefore hopes that Laloo comes up with a blue-print to save the Wah Myntdu. Otherwise what is the point of having a PhD MLA if he cannot even foresee the future of the town in twenty years time? Laloo has no doubt initiated the constructing of new internal roads in Jowai which help ease traffic congestion in Iawmusiang, but I don’t think the people of Jowai constituency elected a very educated MLA simply to initiate construction of new roads and distributing MLA schemes. If the job of an MLA is merely to distribute MLA schemes then what is the point of electing a highly qualified person as an MLA, a graduate or a mere matriculate can do the same work.</div>
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And for the entire Khasi Pnar society, the challenge before us is to change our attitude towards the rivers and Mother Nature. To do that we need to rediscover our stories, the tales that link us with the rivers and the nature around us like those of Myntdu and Jowai. It reminds me of a journey to Kolkata and while the train crosses the Brahmaputra Bridge, my wife’s aunt dropped a piece of coin on the river, it didn’t strike me then that the small act has to do with the story that connects us with the nature. My wife belongs to the Passah Clan and the Passah believe that their ancestress (ka ?awbei/Seiñ jeit) was ka Beipun Bor Kupli and their ancestor grandfather was u Papun Yale, the coin was dropped to pay obeisance to the Brahmaputra to which the river Kupli flows. I later learnt that a member of the Passah clan has to perform ka siang or offering before crossing the river Kupli, the offering consists of one unpeeled betel nut and three or five betel leaves (pan leaf) without lime. This is one story that I would tell my kids to help them discover the profound links we have with the nature and hopefully it will help them respect the rivers and Kupli in particular. I want them to know the story of the Passah clan and I hope they will be proud to know that they are the descendants of ka Beipun Bor Kupli- they are the children of the mighty river. There are many such stories that demonstrate the profound relationship the people have with nature and all we have to do is to rediscover these stories.</div>
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<a href="http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/08/06/protecting-myntdu-before-its-too-late/">http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/08/06/protecting-myntdu-before-its-too-late/</a>
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</div>H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-20729885059192456082012-07-29T23:18:00.002-07:002012-07-29T23:18:29.233-07:00Heritage sites in Jaintia Hills<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Jaintia Hills is one of the three original districts of the State of Meghalaya when it was carved out of the erstwhile composite State of Assam in the year 1972. The District has some incredible heritage sites and some unique flora and fauna distinct only to this part of the country. Apart from the flora and fauna, Jaintia Hills also has many historical monuments and of course a rich culture, from traditions to food and from dress to pottery.</div>
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The people of Lynrai village are the keepers of a unique Pottery tradition as it is commonly known “Khiew Ranei” in Khasi and “Kchu Lyrnai” in Pnar. The pots for baking Putharo ( a steamed rice bread) are made in Lyrnai only and nowhere else. Lyrnai is a small hamlet of about 6 km from Ummulong village which is on the NH 44. It is the only place where people are still involved in making pottery. Lyrnai pots are not only used for baking Putharo but there are also pots of different shapes and sizes used for other purposes too. Some of the pots made in Lyrnai have religious significance; these pots are still being used by the Doloi of Nartiang to perform some rituals. Another type of pot made at Lyrnai is also used by the people in the traditional religion for the purpose of keeping a piece of the severed umbilical cord that connects the newborn baby with its mother.</div>
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Nartiang is famous for its Dolmen and Menhirs and also for its monolith park which is the only place where one could see the largest collection of monoliths in the entire state of Meghalaya. The tallest monolith in the whole of the Khasi Jaintia hills can be found in the monolith park of Nartiang. Nartiang being the summer capital of the erstwhile Jaintia Kingdom also has monuments made by the people of that era which includes mookhrah, etc. There are two temples in Nartiang one is a Durga temple and the other in a Shiva temple. In the Shiva temple there are old canons used by the Jaintia kings in the past. There are also two lakes in Nartiang dug by Sajar Nangli, Umtisong and Myngkoi tok and another of Sajar Nangli’s well preserved and protected lake is the Thadlaskein lake.</div>
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Few kilometers from Jowai on the Jowai-Dawki road or rather Jowai- Muktapur road, is the famous stone bridge and a collection of dolmen and menhirs at Thlumuwi. The bridge connects the erstwhile Jaintia King’s winter and summer capital and the monoliths served as a “Kor shongthait” (resting place) for the people to rest and relax before they continue on their arduous journey.</div>
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Before reaching Jarain there is a lake which is now called the Pitcher plant Lake. That is because Amlarem, the seat of the Amlarem development block is famous for another unique natural heritage of the district- the Pitcher plant. The Pitcher plant Park is on the left of the Jowai Amlarem road and it is situated in a place called Myrkein. It may be mentioned that apart from Balpakram National park; this unique insect eating plant can be found in different parts of Jaintia Hills like in Chyrmang-Yongnoh near Jowai, Myndihati, Wahiajer in Khliehriat Sub-Division, but Jarain-Amlarem area is the only place where is it found in abundance and the park is easily accessible. In Amlarem there is also the famous water-fall the Krang Shuri falls and adjacent to it there is the Umiaknieh stone bridge. The Umianieh stone bridge also has some sculpture or carving on stone in some part of the bridge.</div>
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Syndai is a small village on the Southern slope of Meghalaya’s border with Bangladesh but this tiny hamlet has in its possession a massive collection of heritage both natural and manmade. In the natural heritage category we have the famous Syndai cave, which is not only one of the most beautiful caves but it is also a tourist friendly cave. Apart from the natural cave in the village, there is also the famous Royal Path that connects the two capitals of the ancient Jaintia Kingdom. In front of the Syndai cave there’s a ruined temple partly destroyed by time and weather and also by the banyan tree which grew over the temple. Near the temple there is a small stone path that leads down to the wah (river) Umpubon and few minutes’ walk from the temple, is a stone sculpture. It is carved on one lose rock. The sculpture is that of Ganapati or Ganesh, the elephant god of the Hindu pantheon. The path from the Pubon leads down to the Wah Umpubon. Here also one can see a few sculptures, and the most prominent is that of the elephant under the river water.</div>
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A few minutes walks to the left of Wah Umpubon (after crossing the Jowai-Amlare-Muktapur road) one can see the magnificent bathing ghat. Rupasor is a bathing tub carved on one very huge rock. It is a 10-meter square shaped tub and its depth is 4 meters. The rocky bathing tub was well carved with steps that lead to the pool. To the left of the pool an elephant head was sculpted on the same rock, but sad to say the trunk of the elephant is broken. On the entry point to the pool, there is another sculpture of the sun and the moon on the rock. From the pool a walk on the steps down the path that leads to the plains of Bangladesh. There is a stone bridge of a better architectural work and there is another stone bridge near the Wah Umpubon.</div>
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Nongtalang also has a cave but perhaps not fit for amateur cavers. The village also has quite a few monoliths in and around the village. Most of these monolith have religious significance. Nongtalang is the only place where the tradition of erecting monoliths is still practiced. War Jaintia is also famous for its living root-bridges. A living root bridge is formed when two Ficus elastica or Ficus Indicus trees (dieng jri in local parlance) are planted on each side of the river, and once the tree starts growing humans manipulate the roots of the trees to connect to each other to span across the river. In Nongtalang village there is one bridge over the river Amrngiang on the way from Nongtalang to Amlympiang, another is on the river Amladiar on the Amtyrngui River and there are two more root bridges one over Amdap Sohpiang and another over the Amdoh stream.</div>
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In Padu village there are three living-root bridges very close to village which is again less than 10 kilometers away from Amalrem. All the three living-root bridges in the village are on the Amdep creek. There are two living-root bridges in Kudeng rim a village near Sohkha village. One of the two bridges in Kudeng Rim village is on the river Amlamar and another is on the river Amkshar. There is one living-root bridge in Darang village on the river Amsohmi and another two in the Khonglah village one over the Amsohkhi rivulet and another over the Amlunong stream.</div>
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This is perhaps the first of the two write-ups I plan on the natural and man-made sights which have a heritage value in Jaintia hills. In the subsequent article I will also write on the sacred forests in Jaintia hills.</div>
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<a href="http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/07/30/heritage-sites-in-jaintia-hills/">http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/07/30/heritage-sites-in-jaintia-hills/</a>
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</div>H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-46908372172622156692012-07-22T22:16:00.000-07:002012-07-22T22:16:17.640-07:00Media spotlight on Northeast<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In the last few weeks the North Eastern region of the country has received the media attention that the people of the region had wished for so long but for the fact that the media glare is for all the wrong reasons. The people of the North East have blamed the national media for neglecting the region, and the common refrain is that many important stories from the here go unreported. There were also those who suggested that perhaps we need to buy space in the national press for stories from the North East to appear in the national media like we do for advertisements. But in the last few weeks the northeast received more than its fair share of media attention.</div>
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The first story that captured the limelight was the coal mine tragedy in Nengkol near Baghmara in Garo Hills, in which precious lives were lost and the fate of the 15 miners is uncertain. The situation has put the state government and the mining department in particular in an awkward position; it only goes to show how ill-prepared the government is to meet such eventualities The incident also brings to the fore the farce about local governments in the state where the nokmas or the headmen are said to be all in all in the area of their jurisdiction. Yet in this case they failed to do anything to rescue the miners. The delay in reporting the unfortunate incident and the effort to cover-up can only happen when the nokma or the headman is involved in the incident. And because the government is yet to have a mining policy in place everything went haywire. The saving grace for the government of Meghalaya came from the unfortunate incident of molestation of a girl in Guwahati. This incident pushed the mining disaster to the backburner. The media spotlights shifted its focus to Guwahati.</div>
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The incident exposes how ill-prepared the state is in case of such eventualities but more importantly of the sheer absence of any rule of law in the mining areas of the state. There were also reports that the roads caved-in because of mining activities underneath them. Then there were reports of mining in the heritage sites where caves are destroyed, trees are cut and forest was cleared for mining, and yet for reasons best known to the Mining Department, the policy is still being kept in abeyance. One hopes that this will be a wakeup call for the minister in charge of mining and hopefully make him realize that the state cannot afford to delay the implementation of the proposed state mining policy any further.</div>
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The two incidents in Assam which captured the spotlights are the molestation case and the assaults on the lady MLA. Both incidents are cases of moral policing. The MLA was assaulted because she allegedly committed adultery and married a Muslim. I don’t see why people should have a problem with the personal life of an individual, if she is not happy with the marriage; what right do the goons have to assault her, how she lives her life is her choice. If she converts to another religion again that is not only her constitutional right but also a basic a human right. From the legal point of view the problem is if she enters into a marriage without divorcing her previous husband. But again there is the law of the land to deal with such issues. The matter is a private affairs of the couple so how does it concern the thugs who assaulted her and the new man her life? But the incident that has shocked the nation was the molestation of the young girl in the heart of the city of Guwahati. I remember while watching the un-pixilated youtube video, the first word that came to me was barbaric and that was what I posted on the Facebook. The young men who attacked the girl look like wolves to me; I can’t think of them as human beings. Who gave them the right to touch a woman? Who gave them the right to mercilessly assault and abuse a hapless girl? No one has the right to even assault a relative. How can anyone treat a human being like a toy? For one who has a daughter of a similar age I feel like this is happening to her. I can feel the pain and the anguish of the parents of the girl, but the big question is what does it say about our society? If this is happening is Guwahati it can happen in Shillong, Tura or Jowai. What kind of young men do we have in the society today? This is a big question that the society at large needs to address. It is also a question for every parent. Are we not to blame when such incident happens?</div>
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Such incidents shows that there is something wrong with the way we bring up our boys. It also confirms that the same archaic attitude which exist in every religion that the girls or women are subordinate to men, hence men folk have the right to do moral policing on the fairer sex, is still alive. Yes, some would say that the woman are to be blamed too, they attract undue attention to themselves when they act and dress strangely and do not conform to the traditional lifestyle. But are we not living in a free country where each citizen is entitled to live one’s life according to the fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution? As long as the person does not infringe on the rights of another citizen, I don’t see why one’s way of life should be a problem for any individual or the society at large. When I think of those who justify what befalls a woman and blame the way women dress for all the crimes committed against women, I say thank goodness there are no beaches in the northeast otherwise there will be a rape case every second (because then women will all dress in bikini) and police will indeed have to be like ATMs, to borrow from the police officers phrase.</div>
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I have to be careful with my comments on the role of the video journalist who recorded the incident knowing that many journalists are in the job without any formal training. I can only put myself in the journalist’s shoes and think what would I do if it was me in his place. If I were in the video journalist shoes, I would immediately call the police (before I even start rolling the camera) because a crime has been committed. In the meantime I would record the video footage or the photograph of the incident which is my duty. And I don’t think I need a 30- minute footage for my story, so after recording the incident for few minutes I would stop, intervene and try to stop the goons from molesting the girl.</div>
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Then there is the question of identifying the girl. It is wrong to disclose the identity of the girl, first, because she is still a juvenile and second she is a victim and by naming her we do more harm than good. It reminds me of a similar incident in Shillong where the identity of boys who were caught smoking in the toilet was not protected, the private channel did not even pixilate the faces of the boys to protect their identity.</div>
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The last story on the national media was the attempt to kill a female journalist in Arunachal Pradesh. The incident also brings to light the fact that journalists are treading on a dangerous track. I therefore salute all the women who have taken journalism as their profession. Yes, you can say that this is for the other half of humanity.</div>
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<a href="http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/07/23/media-spotlight-on-northeast/">http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/07/23/media-spotlight-on-northeast/</a>
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H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-61950440602479065022012-07-15T19:42:00.001-07:002012-07-15T19:42:53.164-07:00Elections 2013: Tickets up for sale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Allegations that political parties are allotting tickets to candidates based on their winnability factor are gaining ground. But what is also learnt is that political partesi are assessing the winnability factor by the amount of money a candidate has to splash around during the elections. And now that politics is fast becoming a lucrative profession, businessmen and women of every hue are making a beeline to join politics in hordes. No wonder political parties both regional and national prefer to allot party tickets to these mercenaries with fat bank balances because money undoubtedly is one major winnability factor. There were allegations in the past that rich candidates were allotted ticket because they were also expected to contribute to the party’s election kitty. But one thing is certain – if there are two contenders for the party ticket – one a well qualified candidate and another a semi literate but with a big bank balance – the ticket will go to the latter because the one with educational qualification cannot win elections but money can.</div>
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If we think that poor people who make a long queue in front of the candidates’ houses during elections are the only ones who get monetary benefits during election, then we are far off the mark. In fact, those who make a beeline for the candidates’ houses are simply demanding money for their immediate needs like hospital bills, children’s education, young people for picnics and excursions etc and the candidates may, at best also have to serve them tea and rice. This is just a fraction of the money that candidates spend during election. A person I know told me recently that she had been advised to undergo a surgical operation but she could not afford it. She was then introduced by an acquaintance of hers to a candidate for the ensuing election and now she is ready to go under the scalpel – courtesy the candidate. There are also NGOs taking undue advantage of the election to benefit their organization. But we will be appalled to know that big money changes hands between a candidates and the many layers of supporters that he has. In other words, a candidate has to spend more money to gain supporters particularly those who are in leadership positions in their respective areas.</div>
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A serious contender in Jaintia hills began his electioneering two years ago. This young candidate and a first time MLA, who started electioneering much before any other candidates did have been able to remove all potential candidates from his constituency two years before the election is expected to happen. He was able to make the current and the only non-congress MLA to move from the present constituency lock stock and barrel and seek re-election from another constituency in the district. The current MLA from the constituency was forced to look for a greener pastures and the tycoon MLA was also able to convince the previous MLA and a possible strong contender against him to shift base to another constituency in another district. Both the candidates voluntarily moved to another constituency to enable this young business tycoon have a cake walk next February and there is all likelihood that this candidate might return uncontested too. But the big question is – how was he able to convince the two contenders to make way and allow him to have a smooth sailing next election?</div>
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When a candidate is asked to make way for another candidate so that he has an easy win, in Pnar they call it ‘chah pynchong’ or ‘he was asked to sit’. And yes your guess is as good as mine; the candidate or the potential candidate, who was asked to sit or withdraw his candidature on behalf of the other, would not do so unless he benefited from the deal. There is again a saying in Pnar about such events. They call it ‘ka bai pynchong’ or the price one asks for withdrawing one’s candidature. The trend is now increasing. There are candidates who announce their candidature for the next election only to withdraw later when the deal is struck and the price is settled with the opposing candidate. It is another way of earning easy money for people with popularity. This is one way how money exchanges hands during elections and of course the candidates are not for sale, but candidature is and it involves big money.</div>
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The recent deals that the Congress MDC from Jirang and a strong contender for the Congress party ticket entered with the MP to make way for his friend to contest from Jirang constituency bears a striking resemblance to the many cases of candidates who were urged to withdraw (chah pynchong) in favour of another candidate. The deal the two Congressmen struck which was reported in the media leave ample room for speculation that there is more to it than meets the eyes and everybody knows that the MDC would not withdraw his candidature unless he benefited from the deal and only the MP, MDC, and the potential Congress candidate from Jirang Constituency who also claims to be a descendant of Kiang Nangbah will know.</div>
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This column had predicted that Jaintia Hills would have more than 7 MLAs. In other words, more than 7 MLAs of Jaintia origin will win the next election. Jirang was not on the list then. The list includes a business tycoon from Jaintia hills with no formal education contesting from Umroi, the previous MLA of Nartiang who has to shift base to Nongkrem to make way for the high and the mighty, possibly a JHADC MDC from Sohryngkham. The present MLA from Rymbai is expected to contest from Umsning. These are the candidates from Jaintia expected to contest the 2013 elections from East Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi District with the backing of money bags from the district. Most of these candidates will contest the election come what may, because they know that money is the only winning factor in the election; and that they have in plenty.</div>
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Huge amounts of money are also spent on buying canvassers and leaders in the villages and regions of the constituency. To improve their winning chances the common strategy adopted by many candidates during elections is to make sure they have the support of the local MDC of the area and also as many Rangbah Shnong as possible on their side. The MDCs too have their own price; they make sure that the expenditure they incur during the campaign is replenished after elections and some even charge a hefty fee for their support and to canvass for the candidate. The candidate also makes sure that the Rangbah Shnong or the leader in the village is pumped with enough money to cover expenditures like serving tea, rice for the villagers and even to buy their votes.</div>
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Sad to say but we are not going to see any change with regards to the use of money power in the coming election. Money will play a major role and it will influence the election results of every constituency particularly those in the rural areas. In fact if there is any change it will be for the worse. More money is going to change hands during the elections. In some cases the process has already started. Even fresh candidates have to arrange excavators for making village playgrounds, roads etc. Candidates also require money to donate to NGOs and to distribute to voters to pay hospital bills, children’s education and etc. Candidates are also being invited to grace all kinds of functions. They have to offer money at every event invited.</div>
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So money does indeed make the election world go round despite what the Election Commission of India rules!</div>
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<a href="http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/07/16/elections-2013-tickets-up-for-sale/">http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/07/16/elections-2013-tickets-up-for-sale/</a>
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</div>H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-83449039378780639242012-07-15T00:41:00.002-07:002012-07-15T00:41:22.208-07:00Meghalaya miners: Rescue operations called off<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Operations to rescue 15 miners trapped in a water-filled Meghalaya coalmine since July 6 afternoon were called off on Friday as slushy conditions were beyond the scope of the rescuers. Failure of magnetic life detectors to locate any heartbeat was also a factor.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">A 31-member team of the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) had reached the mine at Rongsa Awe village Wednesday night. The team called off the mission after 14 hours of search.</span><br />
<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><br style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">“The NDRF submitted a report saying they found no trappers. They also said the chances of their survival in highly acidic water were very thin,” South Garo Hills district deputy commissioner in-charge RP Marak said.</span><br style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><br style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">“Because of incessant rainfall, the mine access was slushy. Our canine squad, capable of sniffing up to 50-60ft did not find sings of life beneath. Neither did our magnetic life detectors register any heartbeat. That area needs excavators and earthmovers to get to the trapped miners,” NDRF commandant AK Singh told HT.</span><br style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><br style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Singh added the rescue mission could have borne fruit had they received information immediately. “The incident happened on Friday, and it wasn’t until Monday or Tuesday that mine operators informed the local authorities. This is too long a time.”</span><br style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><br style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Mines in Meghalaya are owned by the tribal communities. Though mining laws are applicable, the government seldom interferes. Multi-layered systems of governance – traditional village durbars, jurisdiction of king-like chieftains and district councils – with overlapping jurisdiction also add to the confusion.</span><br style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><br style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">“Rat-hole mines are not only dangerous for miners; they are a threat to the environment. Mine owners, enjoying patronage from the power lobby, are least bothered if abandoned mines are sealed to prevent disasters. And because of unscientific mining, we have ended up with dead rivers with no aquatic life forms left,” green activist HH Mohrmen said from Jaintia Hills district headquarters Jowai.</span><br style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><br style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Meanwhile, the local police arrested the mine owner – he is also the headman of the village – a foreman and a head labourer on Thursday for causing death due to negligence. Mine operator Gurdeep Singh had been arrested earlier this week.</span>
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<a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Meghalaya/Meghalaya-miners-Rescue-operations-called-off/Article1-888303.aspx">http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Meghalaya/Meghalaya-miners-Rescue-operations-called-off/Article1-888303.aspx</a>
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</div>H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-27960185829593034922012-07-09T21:27:00.001-07:002012-07-09T21:28:33.569-07:00Behdieñkhlam prayer for bountiful harvest and to rid off evils<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Very often Behdiei</span><span style="background-color: white;">ñ</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">khlam is being defined by merely describing the literary meaning of the name of the festival, the term beh-die</span><span style="background-color: white;">ñ-</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">khlam comprises of three words ‘Beh’ literarily means to chase or to rid off and ‘dieñ’<span class="yiv793554932apple-converted-space"> </span>means wood or log and ‘khlam’ means plague, epidemic or pestilence. So Behdieñkhlam literarily means the festival to rid off or get rid of the plague but that is not what Behdie</span><span style="background-color: white;">ñ</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">khlam is all about.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Very few people know that altogether there are 6 Behdie<span style="color: #333333;">ñkhlam festival celebrated by the Pnars throughout the year, the first behdieñkhlam was celebrated by the raij Chyrmang, then followed by the raij Jowai, Tuber, Ialong, Mukhla and raij Muthlong. <span class="yiv793554932apple-style-span">Rupaia Lamarr lecturer of Kiang Nangbah Government College has aptly described the festival when he said: “Behdieñkhlam is an agrarian festival which is a testimony to an advanced culture of wetland cultivation as against Jhum cultivation practiced by other indigenous communities.” Lamarr also said “It is also during the festival that family members and relatives experience the joy of homecoming. It is a time to be at home with Mother Nature and dance on its lap, its soil and its water, Behdieñkhlam also expresses the relationship between man and god, man and nature and man with fellow men.” He also added that “at the community level Behdieiñkhlam is a joint effort to drive away evil and diseases, the prayers and sacrifices offered to god are for the health, the economy and the society.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="yiv793554932apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 21px;">K.C. Rymbai Daloi of the elaka Jowai recently has confirmed to this writer that the festival indeed has a fine connection with the agricultural activities of the people. The main part of the festival was the council of the 4 high priest of the four raijs, the raij Jowai, raij Tuber, raij Chyrmang and Ialong. Rymbai also said that every part of the rituals performed throughout the year in preparation of </span></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 21px;">Behdie</span><span style="line-height: 21px;">ñ</span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 21px;">khlam intricately link with agriculture. The significant of Thoh Langdoh is after the ritual is performed then people can start planting cucumber, pumpkins, beans and various types vegetables and it is only after another ceremony ka Chat thoh that farmers can start tilling their paddy fields.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 21px;">The various Behdiei</span><span style="line-height: 21px;">ñ</span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 21px;">khlam klam festivals celebrate by different raij also signifies the many important events of rice cultivation. The first raij to celebrate Behdie</span><span style="line-height: 21px;">ñ</span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 21px;">khlam is the raij Chyrmang and it indicates that time for tilling the paddy fields has started. The Jowai Behdie</span><span style="line-height: 21px;">ñ</span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 21px;">khlam signifies the season after the seeds was been placed on the lap of mother nature and the raij Tuber’s Behdiei</span><span style="line-height: 21px;">ñ</span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 21px;">khlam coincides with the time that farmers has done with weeding the weeds from the fields, the raij Ialong celebrates its Behdiei</span><span style="line-height: 21px;">ñ</span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 21px;">khlam when the rice plant starts to flowers and the celebration of the raij Mukhla’s festival suggest the advent of the harvest season.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 21px;">So Behdiei</span><span style="line-height: 21px;">ñ</span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 21px;">khlam is not merely about the plague but it testify to the fact that the Pnar of Jaintia were the first tribe in the region to develop their farming from Jhum cultivation to a more developed farming practices, while their counterpart like the War Jaintia, the Karbis and even the Biates still practice Jhum cultivation till as recent as the early nineties. </span><span style="line-height: 21px;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">The three days and four nights Annual Behdieiñkhlam festival of the Pnars always starts with the tradition of offering food to the ancestors in a tradition call “Ka Siang ka Pha” or “Ka Siang ka Phur.” Of course preparation for the annual Behdieñkhlam festival was started many months back but the immediate rituals and sacrifices that precedes the designated days of the festival are the ‘k</span>ñia khang’ performed on Muchai; the first day after the market day of the week and ‘kñia pyrthad’ sacrifice to the thunder god on the Mulong the seventh day of the same week. But the festival officially<span class="yiv793554932apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color: #333333;">begins on the sixth day (Pynsiñ) of the eight days a week traditional calendar of the Jaintias.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The feast of offering food to the death is a mark of veneration and gratitude to the ancestors the forbearer of the clan and the tradition. In the Khasi Pnar concept of the afterlife, departed souls reside with the Creator and eat bettlenuts in the courtyard of his abode. The spirit of the death (ki syngngia ki saret) every year, decent down to the Earth to partake in the feast provided by the descendant still alive in the world to propitiate the departed souls. Ka Siang ka pha is celebrated by every clan except when there is sickness in the family or if death has just occurred in the family. The family which had just met with bereavement, do not perform the offerings because the annual ‘ka siang ka pha’ has already been offered to the departed souls as part of the last rite of a person. It begins with family informing the children of their maternal uncles or their brothers (khon kha) about the preparation for the offerings to the ancestors. The ‘khon kha’ offers money (pyn-nam) as a token of respect, love and affection to their paternal family. This also has a connection with one of the cardinal principle of the Khasi-Pnar known as (ka tip kur tip kha,) respect for one’s family of both mother’s and father’s side. Not all clan perform their offering to the death on Pynsiñ, there are also clan which perform ‘ka siang ka pha’ on Muchai the last day of the festival.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the traditional calendar “Mulong,” is the day before the market day “musiang,” the market day in Jowai is also the second day of the fest. By the end of the day all the Dieñkkhlam, all 9 round neatly carved logs were kept at their allotted place in the Iawmusiang area. The 9 Dieñkkhlams cut from huge trees were prepared and carried to their respective place at Iawmusiang by the 7 localities namely Tpep-pale, Dulong, Panaliar, Lumiongkjam, Iongpiah Loompyrdi Iongpiah, Loomkyrwiang and Chilliang Raij being the khon Raij was by tradition given the responsible to prepare and bring two round log called ‘Khnong blai’ and ‘Symbood khnong’.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The third day of the holy week is “Musiang” it is also the last day of the week and on this particular day all the Dieñkhlam and the Khnong are carried from the heart of Jowai town to the respective localities. Apart from the 7 dieñkhlam and two khnong; hundreds of 15 to 19 feet trees called ‘ki Dieñkhlam khian (small Dieñkhlam) were cut by the followers of the Niamtre. 2 or 3 of these tiny Dieñkhlam were kept in the frontage or patio of every house of the followers of the Niamtre. The tiny Dieñkhlam are used when the community dancer come to bless the house and use it to beat the rooftop of the house symbolizing ridding away the plaque and evil spirit from the house and pray to the almighty God to bless the family. By tradition every tree cut during Behdieñkhlam was done so with proper prayer and asking for exoneration from the Mother Nature (Bei ram-aw) and the Ryngkaw the basa, the gods; the guardian angels of the area.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Muchai is the last day of the Behdieñkhlam festival of the Jowai Raij and it is also the first day of the eight days a week traditional calendar.<span class="yiv793554932apple-converted-space"> </span>The day started in the wee hour of the morning with the tradition of ‘kyntiñ khnong’ at the Priestess official house. The programme was followed by the Ka Bam tyngkong led by the Daloi at the clan-house of the first four settlers of Jowai town. But the main part of the festival was the coming together of all the khon (children) ka Niamtre at the sacred Aitnar, a pond in which the last significant part of the festival was performed. The ‘ia knieh khnong’ traditions at the sacred pool is whence men compete to set foot on the ‘khnong’ symbolized cleansing of the souls and blessing for good health. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The climax of the day is the arrival of the colourful Rots brought by the many dongs of the Jowai town to be displayed at the Aitnar, and all the beautiful Rots are then rid-off as part of the offering. </span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1341891624552191" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dat Lawakor, the last part of the Behdieñkhlam is about the farming community in the Jowai Raij, asking God to indicate which of the two valleys around Jowai, the Pynthor neiñ or the Pynthor wah will yield a good harvest this year. It<span class="yiv793554932apple-converted-space"> </span>is a football played using a wooden ball with no goals bars. The only rule of the game is that the team which can carry the ball to the designated end wins and the particular direction will reap better harvest that year.</span></div>
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H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-42625424331778492332012-07-09T21:25:00.001-07:002012-07-09T21:25:27.307-07:00The end result of education<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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What is the ultimate goal of education? Is the purpose of education just to confer diplomas and degrees on students? Is that the sole aim of education? For that matter, how do various boards of school examination and universities evaluate and decide on the progress of a student? Are examinations a fool-proof mechanism to decide on the intelligence of the student and her/her ability to comprehend what is learned? And the most important question is: is the prescribed syllabus and the courses of study relevant for the student or is it going to be of any use to them to live a better life in the future? But the most important question is the system on which we evaluate and decide the progress of the student.</div>
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A couple of weeks ago The Shillong Times carried a letter to the editor by a student who understandably requested that her/his identity remain undisclosed. This student highlighted some pertinent problems faced by students of Meghalaya Board of Secondary Education (MBOSE) I was given to understand that the concern of students and their parents is that those who migrate to other boards in the country were able to score better percentages than students who pass out of MBOSE. In the letter the student raised two pertinent questions (1) Is the prescribed syllabus of the Meghalaya Board too cumbersome (2) Is the teaching approach a hindrance to students to score higher marks. What the student did not ask was whether there is any difference in the way the various boards in the country evaluate, assesses and allot marks?</div>
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Few days later, The Shillong Times carried an article by a person the paper introduced as one of the toppers in the recent board examinations and the writer basically sermonized that students should not find fault with the system but should carry on and work hard to achieve their goals. Point taken, but the question is how can one accept one’s result when the various boards evaluate and mark their students differently? Some boards are liberal in their marking and this is not my statement but that of the vice Chancellor of Delhi University. When a private TV channel approached him for a statement on the cut-off marks for admission in the premiere colleges of the University, the VC ascribed the problem to the liberal marking that some of the boards are using. This means that there are boards which are liberal in their marking and others which are conservative. How does this translate for the students? The future of the student is being decided by the boards. If the student passes out from a board with a liberal marking system then her/his future is secured while the fates of those who study in those boards with a conservative marking approach are doomed.</div>
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The editorial of the premiere English daily in eastern India stated that the students who secured above 90 marks in the recent Class 12 examination conducted by a central board is more than three percent. Compare this with the results of the MBOSE. What is the percentage of students who cleared the same exam with more than 90 percent marks? Tell us Mr. Chairman, isn’t there something wrong with the way boards evaluate and allot marks? The different methods of evaluation and marking adopted by the various boards is also the main reason that a section of the IITs rejected the Minister of HRD Kapil Sibal’s proposal to give due weightage to the student’s Class 12 examination results for admission to the premiere engineering institutes in the country. The different methods that the boards adopts is now affecting the fate of the students who are applying for the state government quota to study engineering, medicine, agriculture etc. In the past decade most of the students selected for government quotas were MBOSE students. But I am sorry to say that very few students of MBOSE will make it to the list this time. In fact it is the duty of the board to see how many of their students are selected for study in government sponsored institutions and how they fared in the various entrance tests like IEEE, PMET, AIMS entrance test, JIPMER and even NEIGRIHMS. How many MBOSE students crack other entrance tests in a year? This will help the Board to assess itself and improve on its performance.</div>
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The trend of parents preferring to get their kids admitted in schools run by other boards started a few years ago. Now most parents prefer to get their children admitted to schools affiliated to boards other than MBOSE. Now hundreds of parents (who can afford it) send their kids to study in the state of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and even CBSE affiliated schools in Assam perhaps because of the liberal marking system that the boards in these states adopt. When even our kids opt to study outside Meghalaya, can the government still brand Shillong as the education hub of the northeast?</div>
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I am no fan of examinations as a way to evaluate a student’s progress and I don’t believe there is a fool-proof system to evaluate a student’s academic progress. It reminds me of the time when I passed my HSLC back in March 1984. The assistant headmaster of the school on seeing me in the campus, asked me what division I secured and assumed that I passed in the third division right. When I said I secured a second division he said, ‘give me your hand then.’ Now that I come to think of it, I realized that according to my teacher’s evaluation I’m a ‘third divisioner.’ In fact I was a ‘third divisioner’ throughout my school days, I barely passed my annual promotion examination and if I did it was always a simple pass. I think what is important is not the degree, but the information, the knowledge one garners and more importantly how one makes use of what one has learned throughout the school and college days and even now. What use are those credentials when one is not making use of what one has learned?</div>
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I believe the goal of education is to equip the youth with the ability to face the challenges of life and to bring change to society. In fact we are what we are now because the generation before us had struggled to bring this change that we now enjoy. The role of education is to make young people understand they are important and that they have the potential to help bring change at least around where they live. Recently two young ladies who are third year BSW students of St. Edmund’s College visited me. They requested that I come to speak at the environment awareness programme and tree plantation programme they organized as part of their community work. They sought my advice to suggest names of authorities or NGOs that can financially support their programme. I suggested that they approach cement companies and convince them they need to fund the programme as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment. The two young ladies were delighted with the suggestions which gave them the confidence to share more information with me. They started telling me how they enjoyed their community field work which is part of their studies. They chose Mynso in Jaintia hills as the village for their community project and they had rented a house in village. They visit the village every week-end and work with the community. They have also helped organize eye check-up camps in the village and now they are planning to organize environment awareness and tree plantation programmes.</div>
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I was already happy with what these 5 or 6 BSW students of St. Edmunds College have achieved and the change they have been able to bring within the community they work with. But the most important thing is that the experience in the village has changed them. They said they were very sad at the sorry state of education in the village and they plan to do something about it. They told me they want to make a video documentary to bring to light the plight of the people in the village. I asked them how they plan to do it. They said there are two institutes with mass media department in Shillong and so they would rope in some of those mass media students to jointly work with them in the project. Now this is what I call real education. The students were not only transformed by what they have learned but were motivated to also transform society. They have taken the saying “Be the change you want see seriously” and hope to make Mynso a better place than when they first visited it. I wish them well.</div>
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<a href="http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/07/09/the-end-result-of-education/">http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/07/09/the-end-result-of-education/</a>
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</div>H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-31378464622552866132012-07-09T21:16:00.001-07:002012-07-09T21:16:31.002-07:00It’s about protecting the environment<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Since the incident of my being detained at the Laitumkhrah Police Station was reported in the press, one out of every ten people I meet would greet me differently. Even before enquiring about my health, which is customary practice in Khasi Pnar society, the first question that people ask me is, “What happened to the case?” Some would venture a wee bit further and ask, “Has anything happened to you after that incident?” Well, there were also letters and articles of support and my name or the unfortunate incident found mention in many articles, speeches in seminars, debates and even panel discussions and I am grateful for the generous support. But all the efforts of trying to bring to light the adverse effects of unregulated mining on the environment will be futile if instead of debating the real issue, the unfortunate incident takes precedence.</div>
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The issue is about the government ensuring sustainable use of mineral resources and protecting the environment and not about anything else. As we debate about the need to immediately enact regulatory mechanisms to regulate and monitor mining activities in the state, our environment is being destroyed day in and day out. And if the current rate and the free for all mining system that is being practiced in the state continues, many more rivers will be polluted and larger tracts of land will be in danger of becoming deserts. The threat of the earth caving in is imminent in the mining areas. The Shillong Times June 13 issue carried a report of coal being mined in the area where the famous stone bridge on the river Thlu-mu-wi near Chkentalang village stands. The Stone bridge is not only the remnant of the monolithic culture of the Khasi Pnar society which falls in the ‘mawpoon, or mawkjat’ category of the different types of monoliths that we have, but the same is under the protection of the Archeological Survey of India and a signpost to that effect is found dotted all over the place in that area. But that does not deter the coal miners in the area from mining even in the heart of an important heritage site.</div>
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The mawpun at Thlu-mu-wi is one of the many stone bridges on the ancient trail which starts from Nartiang the summer capital of the Jaintia Monarch to Jaintiapur which is the winter seat of the Kingdom and the fact that the bridge is on the Jowai-Amlarem-Dawki road and the miners still continue with the illegal activity in broad daylight is astounding to say the least. Where is the law enforcement agency in the Amlarem Sub Division? On the same day a prominent vernacular paper carried another story relating to mining and it was about the collapse of a portion of the National Highway 44. Part of the National Highway 44 in the Wapung Chnong area in front of the petrol station caved-in and the land owner immediately hired a JCB and two dumpers to fill the huge crack. Without obtaining any permission from the Executive Engineer PWD central division, Jowai or even informing the authorities concerned, the landowner adjacent to the road took it upon himself to fill the cracks on the road before anybody from the government could see it. The effort to fill the portion of the road which collapsed was to cover up for the mining that is going on under the ground horizontally and which has reached the portion of the road and caused the side of the road to cave-in.</div>
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A few days later newspapers reported the findings of the Meghalaya Pollution Control Board with regards to the mass death of fishes in the river Kynshi. The report has clearly stated that it has evidence to prove that the cause of the death of fishes in the river of West Khasi Hills District was due to the contamination from the acidic runoff from the coal mines in the area. Ironically I had predicted that the rivers in the coal mine areas of West Khasi Hills will suffer the same fate as that of the rivers in Jaintia Hills, in the same article where an FIR was filed against me, but it is sad that this happened so soon. While the government is yet to decide on the fate of the State Mining Policy, mining is being carried on in the area where there are exotic and famous caves of Meghalaya. Who will be responsible for the loss of these unique caves and cave systems some of which are yet to be properly surveyed and mapped. We should thank the Meghalaya Adventurers’Association (MAA)for mapping and photographing much of the cave systems in the state and even filming them. These photographs and films will be the only evidence of the presence of these extraordinary caves in the state that we will be able to pass on to our children!</div>
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Funnily the Dorbar Shnong has now become an expert in mining. They are now the authority to permit mining in the area under the village’s jurisdiction. Take the example of Nongtalang village which has a headman who is not even a high school graduate and whose position as the headman is only by virtue of the tradition that the Lyngdoh of the Niam Tynrai in the village will also be the headman. He along with the local committee arbitrarily decided to allow lime stone mining in the area. One wonders if the village elders have consulted any expert in area of mining and environment to arrive at a conclusion that mining will not have any adverse effects on the environment. Nongtalang is also a peculiar village in the sense that large tract of land are still owned by very few clans and they call themselves ‘the Jamindars.’ The Jamindar inherited the thick green forests from their ancestors who have kept it intact. But the present generation has decided to lease it for mining to the highest bidder. The tradition of keeping the land for the future generation has been done away with by the present generation of Jamindars and unlike their ancestors they have leased out the land without thinking of the future generation.</div>
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The absence of the mining policy is one reason that the mining in the state is in a complete mess and there is chaos everywhere. But having ineffective government agencies has only add fuel to the fire. The office of the SDO Civil Sub Division which is supposed to ensure that the law of the land prevails in the area turned a Nelson’s eye to all illegal activities going on in the mining areas in the Amlarem sub division. The miner use explosive in the mines, and the explosives are illegally procured. The question is, isn’t the office of the SDO by its act of omission also party to the illegal act?</div>
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The Chief Forest Officer of the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council, has also by his act of omission failed to stop the illegal cutting of trees which is a breach of the court order and thereby liable to be booked for contempt of court. The State Forest Department Jaintia hills too has not done anything to stop the clearing of large forest areas for limestone mining which is again in contravention of the National Forest Act. The Office of the SDO Civil Sub Division Amalrem Sub Division needs to put its act together and see that the law of the land prevails in the area and the government of day should see that the environment is protected.</div>
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<a href="http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/06/25/its-about-protecting-the-environment/">http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/06/25/its-about-protecting-the-environment/</a>
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</div>H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-23836786403718404212012-06-24T21:39:00.003-07:002012-06-24T21:39:51.049-07:00Time to protest is here again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Why is it that the election in the state is always preceded by protests? Is there any connection between the two? Or is it sheer coincidence that Meghalaya is now going to experience a numbers of protests and agitations organized by various NGOs and even by individuals and politicians? What is the reason behind the unexpected resurgence of protests and agitations during pre-election time?</div>
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The question with regards to the inter-state border dispute is; is it because of the Government’s lackadaisical attitude towards tackling vital issues which has been the bone of contention between Assam and Meghalaya for more than four decades now? And in matters relating to People with Disabilities, could it also be because of Government’s insensitive attitude towards the plight of the PWDs that the Government has time and again failed in its duty to provide PWDs their rights? What about the non-native voters’ enrolment process? What has the committee constituted to look into the matter done so far? Has it been able to come up with suggestion(s) to address the issues raised by the NGOs?</div>
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Last week, physically challenge people protested against the government’s attitude towards their problem, by taking to the streets in the State capital. If this State still has a soul, the protest whereby physically challenged people literarily took to the streets, should make this Government ashamed of its failure to address the problem of this very vulnerable section of the society. The photograph on the front-page of many newspapers of physically challenged citizens of this state crawling and walking with crutches, sticks and on wheelchairs in the streets of Shillong will be one image that will remain in public memory for a very long time. Many had tears welling in their eyes; others wept to see the plight of the disabled. It pains the heart to see PWDs march in protest for what is rightfully theirs. Why did they have to take to the streets to demand their rights? The Government should treat this section of the society with special care and see that rights and privileges due to them are fulfilled. But this is easier said than done. It takes days for PWDs to even get their identity cards and they have to move from pillar to posts to even get one (this is from a person who has helped people with disability get their ID). Then another vital question is how many PWDs are registered and how many of them are yet to be properly registered and provided with identity cards? Then there are government schemes or loans from the bank which is supposed to help PWDs gain employment, but it will be interesting if the Government tries to collect information of how many PWDs avail the loan? I tried helping 2 PWDs to avail loans from the bank, but had to abandon the idea when the bank asked them to provide names of government employees who are willing to stand surety for them. How many people in the village have relatives working in the Government? If the Government really wants to help PWDs, it should do away with the section on the form which has to do with the need of a guarantor for them to avail a loan. Why can’t the government stand surety for them? This column has highlighted the Government’s approach towards people with disability when the State Government did not even recognize Bertha Dkhar’s achievements of putting the Khasi alphabets in Braille.</div>
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The Assam-Meghalaya border dispute is an issue which is as old as the State itself. The issue known to the people as Block I and Block II has been hanging in the balance for so long. Politicians come and go and in Jaintia hills their brag of breaking the 12 machines lock (tala khat-ar kor) or solving the border disputes are but clanging of the cymbals. At one point of time certain politicians went to Khainduli/Khanduli and dismantled the border pillar put up by the then Assam government and brought a piece of the pillar to Jowai. A public meeting was held in the evening at the Loompyrdi Yongpiah hall and after the meeting the piece was left in the hall and the people of Jowai jokingly said that Assam-border with Meghalaya now starts from Loompyrdi Yongpiah hall. Is the boundary dispute with Assam again going to be an election gimmick which will provide politicians with an opportunity to shout empty rhetoric and fool the people once again? Many protests and agitations have been organized by various NGOs to demand that the Government solve this long pending problem; but so far no Government has been able to do so.</div>
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The Congress party in the state has once again missed the opportunity to solve the interstate border problem once and for all by not being able to capitalise on the rare occasion when the same party is in power in the two contending states and in Delhi. But perhaps the Congress does not want to solve the boundary dispute with Assam. It remains to be seen whether the planned agitation by the NGOs and individuals will be able to pressure the government to solve the boundary dispute, and another pertinent question is; does this government still have the time on its side to address the issue before the State goes to polls in 2013? The threat made by a young man from the Langpih area to take the recourse of fast unto death from June 30 onwards to pressure the State Government to come up with solutions to the problem is something that the Government has to take into consideration and cannot simply brush aside as a non issue.</div>
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The threat of the NGOs protest against the enumeration of doubtful voters in the state electoral roll also looms large over the state’s skyline. The Government is in a Catch-22 situation; whichever decision the Government makes is not going to be an easy one. If the government tries to please the NGOs, then it has to be against the election rules and vice versa.</div>
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But there is a silver lining in the dark sky. In spite of the threat of protests and agitations in the state, the people of Meghalaya can find consolation in the fact that the kinds of agitation the protestors have in the pipeline are not going to be the usual strike which hits the poor section of the society the hardest. The lone agitator on the Langpih issue plans to protest by going on a fast unto death; this is an honourable protest which will not affect the people in general. Then the protest planned by the NGOs and some individuals against the government’s failure to come up with solution to the vexed non-native voter’s enrolment process is also not going to affect the movement of the public as such. Are we seeing a change in the kinds of agitations that NGOs organize? If this is the shape of things to come then may be bandhs, road blockades, picketing are now consigned to the history books and the NGOs are embarking on new methods of agitations which are not going to affect the general public.</div>
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Whatever protest or strikes lined up for the state will definitely give the powers that be more sleepless nights. And can the protests and strike impact the prospects of the parties in power in the ensuing general election to the State assembly? Does election and pre-election protests have any connection?</div>
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<a href="http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/06/11/time-to-protest-is-here-again/">http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/06/11/time-to-protest-is-here-again/</a>
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</div>H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1643751872946878255.post-18766926473298820772012-06-24T21:37:00.003-07:002012-06-24T21:37:43.807-07:00Gambling through archery (‘Thoh tim’) and interpretation of dreams<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Very often we associate ‘thoh tim’ with gambling and yes without the slightest doubt thoh-tim is a game of chance, but it is more than a number guessing game. It would be interesting to know how long the Khasi Pnar people have been practicing this game of chance. Perhaps very few know that this game also has some connection with the Khasi- Pnar’s milieu of interpretation of dreams. An uncle of mine, who represented NEHU at the University game somewhere in Punjab, told me that while in Punjab one CRPF personnel who was earlier posted in Shillong, on seeing the inscription NEHU, Shillong, on his tracksuit, approached him and exchanged pleasantries with him. But in course of the small talk the policeman told his fellow policemen, “In Meghalaya the State from where this man comes from (pointing his index finger at my uncle) if you are lucky to dream a good dream you have the opportunity to win big money.</div>
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In the seventies during our childhood days my parents owned a cloth shop at Yawmusiang market of Jowai. Those days in the entire district and even in the State readymade garments were not so popular; so every dress was made by the local tailor. There were women seamstresses for tailoring female dresses while men made dresses for males. So the local cloth store was also a tailoring shop. My father employed two tailors in our shop named Join and Moor and since both my parents were also working in the shop there was nobody in the house to look after me and my siblings. So we were taken to the shop every day. I remember that every morning as soon as we reached the shop, the first thing that both the tailors would do was to ask us, “What did you dream last night? (ym em u ymphoo mi?) And if the answer was in affirmative then we were asked to tell them the entire dream and they would then interpret the same and convert it to numbers for playing Thoh-tim.</div>
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I learned from them that in the Khasi Pnar tradition of interpretation of dreams, each individual is represented by a number. If one dreams of an ordinary Khasi Pnar man the number is 6 while a woman is represented by the number 5. The number 4 signifies blood. Four is ‘saw’ (pronounced saaw) in Khasi and since ‘saw’ also means red, the colour of blood, so 4 gets its meaning thereby. The number 7 is for a non tribal and 9 is the number for death. If one dreams of teeth the number is 3, and water is represented by 8, the number for money is also 8. All animal’s are numbered 7 except for the elephant whose number is 9. If one dreams of an elder like the daloi the number is 9 and a car is also represented by number 8. These are but few examples of the numbers used by the Khasi-Pnars to interpret dreams for playing the game of Thoh-tim.</div>
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There are instances where the numbers was arranged to rhyme with the incidents or the items it represents. For example number 4 ‘saw and soo’ in Pnar rhymes with ‘mynsaw in Khasi and mynsoo’ in Pnar; hence 4 is chosen when an accident or something which has blood in it occurs. It is the same with money ‘pisa or poisa’ and number 8 ‘phra’ was chosen because it rhymes with the above words. It reminds me of the time when as a young boy I tried to listen to my father’s tailors debate on our dreams. If the dream is about a woman who met with an accident the number to be played is 54 or 45, number 4 for accident and 5 for woman and if it is a man who met with an accident the number 64 or 46 and if it is a non tribal, the number is 74 or 47. The number for a dead man is 69 or 96 and dead woman is 59 or 95 and a dead non tribal is 79 or 97 and if one dreams of a man and a woman the number is 65 or 56.</div>
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Recalling the days gone by, I understand that for the people who play Thoh tim it was a pastime which gave them some money if they were lucky. During those days there was very little or no entertainment in the towns and villages in the region. Initially the game was organized privately. Later Thoh tim was considered illegal. Later on the government legalised the gambling game of Thoh-tim and that was also when it became commercialised. In Jowai the game was uniquely organized in such a way that localities like Loomyongkjam, NGOs like the Kiang Nangbah Iasiat Khnam Memorial Fund and even individuals were allotted a day of the week to organize the game. But once the state laid its hands on the game, Thoh-tim was no longer part of culture. It became pure and simple gambling. Later it became a bad habit that was difficult to get rid of. Some became addicts of the game. This compelled lyricists to compose the popular folk song, ‘La shet u 57′ (betrayed by number 57, meaning that the person invested his all on the number but lost)</div>
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Perhaps if one understands Thoh-tim and the number associated to it then one can also have a little insight into numerology or people’s understanding of numbers and its usage in the Khasi Pnar tradition. For instance we already see the link between the number 9 and the dead and their abode. But then when we call the Khasi Hills ‘Ka Ri ki laiphew (30) Syiem,’ it does not mean that there were precisely 30 chieftainships only in the Khasi hills. The number 30 is associated with something that is uncountable or innumerable because we also say, ‘Ki laiphew mrad’ which means innumerable numbers of animals. Then there is also something unexplainable with way the Khasi Pnar use the number 12, we say ‘Ki rang khat-ar (12) bor’, ‘ki 12 daloi’, ’12 snem pynthiah,’ ’12 snem lynti’ and so on and so forth. The Khasi Pnar’s understanding and usage of numbers is an interesting study that one could pursue.</div>
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It would be interesting if the department of folk studies of the Universities in the state conduct a study on this unique tradition of the Khasi Pnar. Where did the tradition of Thoh-tim start? Was it Jwai or Shillong? When did the Khasi Pnar first play the game of Thoh-tim? If Thoh-tim has its origins among the Khasi Pnar, then how did our ancestors link the game of archery which is another favourite pastime game of the Khasi Pnar with dreams and numbers? And the most important element is the interpretation of the dreams to numbers. How are incidents, individuals and other parts of human life linked to the numbers? There are still a few elderly individuals who gather everyday at Yawiongpiah, Loompyrdi, Jowai who still while away their time interpreting dreams and converting them to numbers to play the game of Thoh-tim. Unlike the now big time players in Jowai and Shillong who play with big money, these few individuals still play the game the usual way they used to a long time ago. They do not buy big stakes. Unlike the big time players who spend a lot of money in the game and are sometimes accused of manipulate the game in their favour, the elderly individuals play the game just for the sake of playing it.</div>
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<a href="http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/06/18/gambling-through-archery-thoh-tim-and-interpretation-of-dreams/">http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/06/18/gambling-through-archery-thoh-tim-and-interpretation-of-dreams/</a>
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</div>H.Helpme Mohrmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061954310675882037noreply@blogger.com2