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| An unemployed youth goes from door to door selling handicrafts in Guwahati. It only shows how much the Assam capital needs a place like Delhi Haat where people from the region can market their products Picture by Eastern Projections |
When children suffer, the hearts of all mothers weep. Moved by the plight of the countless children orphaned during the Bodoland movement and the continuing militancy, the All Bodo Women's Welfare Federation (ABWWF) has moved in to set up the first orphanage in the Bodo belt.
Kokrajhar district is one of the worst violence-hit districts in the entire Northeast, with the number of orphans pegged at over 1,200.
?The turbulent times have hit not only the present but the future generations very badly. Families have lost the main breadwinners, leaving the children at the mercy of relatives who are themselves not in a position to fend for their own children,? said a social worker associated with Alayaron, a non-government organisation, based in Kokrajhar. The NGO is helping set up the orphanage.
According to the secretary of the NGO, Kananbala Basumatary, the orphanage will shelter 100 children up to the age of 14 years.
?We have already received a long list of children, much more than our capacity. We will consult the guardians of the kids so that we can identify the needy ones. It will be like a residential school. However, children who are already studying in different schools can carry on their studies while staying at home,? said Basumatary.
Assam police had earlier drafted a plan for establishing residential schools for the orphans in Kokrajhar but the project did not take off.
nTwenty-five years is a long time, but for Abahan Theatre ? one of the top mobile theatre groups in Assam ? it has been a tireless journey of entertaining and educating the masses. On its silver jubilee, the theatre group has dug out a hit play that goes back to its inaugural year. Only to prove what Shakespeare had once famously said: ?Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety...?
True to Abahan?s tradition of drawing in the crowds, the play Snehbandhan ? which, loosely translated, means Bond Of Love ? has turned out to be a hit once again and is running to full houses wherever Abahan has put up its tents.
The social play, which revolves around the trials and tribulations of a motherless child, was a trendsetter for other mobile groups 25 years ago.
One of the highlights of the play is the title song, Morom Enajorisingi Jowa Nai...
Strange though it may seem, atrocities on women are on the rise in Manipur, if one goes by the statistics disclosed by an NGO.
According to the United NGO Mission, Manipur, at least 24 women were raped since January this year while 12 others were murdered during the same period. R.K. Mema Devi, convener of the NGO, said a total of 168 cases of crimes against women were reported this year.
The cases include attempted rape and molestation and 17 cases of girl child abuse. Several cases of atrocities on women by their spouses have also come to light.
Manipur?s society is known to place women on a high pedestal but the findings of the NGO must come as a surprise to many.
The first-ever municipal polls in Nagaland have thrown up more surprises than any other polls in the past. People came out in hordes to vote and public excitement was at its peak last week. But it had its own moments of irony.
Senior BJP legislator and chairman of the ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland, Hokishe Sema, got into a spat with Nagaland People? Front MLA Hewoto Awomi. Both had nominated their kin as candidates in the municipal polls. While Awomi had put up a near relative, Sema?s son contested. Both accused each other of using unfair means in the bid to win the ward. The results notwithstanding, both MLAs were found united on the day of voting. Names of both the MLAs could not be found on the electoral rolls! And the electorate had a hearty laugh.
The polls have also been pretexts for family gatherings. Candidates? relatives filled up buses from their respective native villages and came for voting!
Even people from villages exercised their franchise, since there is no way villagers can be prevented from enjoying voting rights in towns. Sources said such voters had imposed ?conditions? for taking ?risks?. One, they would have to be paid money. Two, the risk would be borne by the candidate concerned in case police or the rival parties detected the proxies.
Music can touch souls. And what can be a better way to spread awareness about a dreaded disease than melodies? You can count on me/ Let me slip away ? this soul-stirring song will be featured in a cassette, to be brought out by Impulse NGO Network of Shillong to generate awareness about AIDS.
The number was selected through a contest conducted recently at Don Bosco Youth Centre. The NGO has tried various other innovative means, such as making T-shirts and bags with slogans printed on them and a magic box campaign in schools to post their queries.
The album will be part of a School AIDS Education programme, which is supported by the Meghalaya AIDS Control
Society. The song has been composed by David Ash and was recorded at Overbell Studio. There are seven singers, from Classes III to IX, who have lent their voices to the song. They are Edelbert, Daniel, Connielus, Jason, Jessica, Erica and Stephanie.
