Meghalaya Governor R.S. Mooshahary eats at the gurdwara in Shillong flanked by his wife and Maj. Gen. K.S. Sethi. Picture by Eastern Projections

Sharing a meal and a way of life

A Bodo governor ate at a Sikh langar in a Christian state last week, throwing up an interesting piece of anecdote on “universal brotherhood”.

Meghalaya Governor R.S. Mooshahary and his wife enjoyed a meal at a langar during a religious congregation at Shillong gurdwara on Wednesday.

The occasion was the three-day celebration to mark Guru Gobind Singh’s proclamation at Nanded Sahib in Maharashtra 300 years ago that Guru Granth Sahib should be treated as a “living” guru. A function will be held at Nanded next month.

Over a thousand people, primarily Sikhs from all over the Northeast, ate the langar during the festival, organised by Guru Singh Sahib in association with Sikh Pratinidhi Board, eastern zone, representing Sikhs from North Bengal and the Northeast.

Mooshahary was accompanied by Maj. Gen. K.S. Sethi, GOC 101 area.

The governor in his address harped on religious unity.

“The Guru Granth Sahib has sayings from different religions. It teaches us how all religions can co-exist,” he said.

After Guwahati and Shillong, there are plans to hold similar functions in Dimapur, Dibrugarh, Barpeta, Nagaon and Tezpur, to promote peace, a Pratinidhi Board member said.

“It is the need of the hour,” he said.

Charity at home

Haunted by the memory of an underprivileged life, a retired schoolteacher from Imphal East distributes a “pension” of Rs 100 to 208 old, infirm women and physically challenged people every month.

Laishram Nabakishore Singh knows what it is to be poor and tries within his meagre means to ensure that at least some people get two square meals a day.

“I have lived the life as a poor person. So I want to extend help to the poorest of the poor and the physically challenged with the little amount I have. If we do not help one another, who will help us?” he said.

Born in an impoverished peasant family, Nabakishore Singh grew up working in farms to fund his education and his family.

He helped people with money throughout his life, earning a Padmashri for social work in 2001.

Every month now, M. Keinaton Devi, a 71-year-old widow, meets Nabakishore Singh for her pension and a few words of encouragement.

Another 106 people like her gather at Nabakishore Singh’s home every month for their money, as do 111 physically challenged persons.

Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih receives the award from Balram Jakhar

Footnote

Khasi poet, short storywriter and translator Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih won the first Veer Shankar Shah-Raghunath Shah National Award, instituted by the tribal welfare department of the government of Madhya Pradesh.

Named after two of Madhya Pradesh’s famous freedom fighters, this is the first national award instituted by the department. The award is meant for writers or artists who have made a name at the national level “for dedicated service in the field of creative writing/traditional tribal art, which focus attention on the constructive beauty of tribal life and tradition”.

It carries a sum of Rs 2 lakh, along with a citation and a trophy.

Nongkynrih received his award recently at a function attended by hundreds of people in Bhopal.

During his speech, Madhya Pradesh Governor Balram Jakhar heaped praise on Nongkynrih, saying his poems, which he had read earlier in Hindi, were a “source of inspiration” and had “enthused” him and “pipped something new into his ideas”.

The governor ended his commendation by saying, “I give you full marks”.

Nongkynrih, who was born and brought up in Sohra (Cherrapunjee), was conferred the first Northeast Poetry Award in 2004 by the Northeast Poetry Council of Tripura, and a Fellowship for Outstanding Artists 2000 by the Centre. Some of his poems have been translated into Welsh, Swedish and many Indian languages, including Hindi and Bengali.