MC Mary Kom: Can she be the face of Manipur now?

I posted this in one of the social networking sites recently. "This is the first time ever in my life I am actually contemplating in my decision of going back home." It might have sound like one of those impulsive moments when you just speak your mind. Well, it wasn't really the same for me. 

Mary Kom assures medal in the Olympics | © copyright Anupam Nath / AP

Having lived all my life amidst the hills of North East India, till 2003 when I left my home town for higher studies, I have had always wanted to go back home. I thought I could at some point of time. Today, I am actually contemplating; for various reasons of course.

It's after the Guwahati girl molestation case that I have been compelled to rethink about  my decision. For I know for a fact that North East is one of those few places where women are still given a higher esteem. Be it Manipur, a place known to have woman who have always played  a very vital and active role in socio-political uplift of the State, or Meghalaya known for the matrilineal society. When news on inhumane acts like female foeticide, dowry et al are still prevalent, we still have places like these which depict a different part of the story -- which, of course, often gets unreported. 

In a male dominated country, it's rare to see the fairer sex given more prominence in any walk of life. It's pretty much prevalent in India. In a majority of caste and communities. Whilst the majority of the country still believe in bestowing man with higher authorities, it's not really the same in North East India. If there is a State like Meghalaya with its legacy of a matrilineal society, a heritage that sets it apart from all the other states of not only the northeast but that of the entire country of India, there is a State like Manipur known to have witnessed the successful role of collective women's power in the past, which dates back as early as early 90's. 

Even after British subjugation, the Manipuris did not remain meek spectators. The women vendors rose in revolt twice against the colonial policies of the British. The first was against British efforts to browbeat the men folk into submission through enforced labour. The second revolt was against the extractive policy of the British causing artificial scarcity of rice in the otherwise food surplus state. These two revolts are engraved in history as the Nupilals.

© copyright withthisstringfilm.com

It clearly gives out the testimony that Manipuri Women's are not just courageous, but revolutionaries too. 

Manipur's 'iron lady' Irom Sharmila Chanu, who has been on a fast, for over 12 years now, demanding the revocation of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, has been in news on and off. But is that she deserves? Today, when  Team Anna goes fasting the whole country seems to be with him. Here, we have a lady who has been on decade-long fast, yet many seems to be still unaware of the news. So, I am not surprised when Binalakshmi Nepram, the founder of the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network with characteristic passion asks, ‘Why don’t you cover Irom Sharmila’s decade-old fast with the same intensity as you did Anna Hazare’s 12-day fast?’  

The 29-year-old Mary Kom, a mother of twins, is now assured of a medal in the Olympics after she booked a place in the semi-final, beating Tunisian Maroua Rahali 15-6 in a one-sided quarter-final at the ExCel Arena. Losing semi-finalists are assured of bronze medals. But Mary Kom has her eyes fixed on the Olympic gold. Now, is this enough to bring Manipur into the limelight. Well, that's something that we can figure out as days go by. 

“When I started, they say boxing is not for girls. After I get married, they say I cannot win after marriage. After I have baby, they say I cannot win after baby. So I want to prove, I want to show that I can make history for India," words coming out from this petite lady -- a fighter -- not just inside the ring but outside too: Mary Kom.

Out of the five world championships, Mary Kom, the fearsome fighter from the little known State of Manipur, has two two of them after giving birth to twin boys. In a nation bereft of athletic achievement, she ought to be a household name. But most Indians have never heard of her.

A mother of two, Mary Kom started her career as an athlete but later switched to boxing following the success of fellow Manipuri boxer Dingko Singh. She started her boxing career in 2000 after which there was no stopping her. 

That's the sorry plight of our country.

When you can't prevent, live with it

When Flood becomes a yearly affair

                                                      Hide and seek / nishal lama ©                                                   

This had to be my first blog post; guess, I wanted it that way. Don't ask me why, for I may not be able to convince you with my answer.

Well, I am a north-easterner (India) from the deepest core of my heart. And I am proud of that very fact. You will find many like me, living in different parts of the country, far away from home. We really don't have a lot to do back home, you know. Do you hate me because I say this? Well, what do I care! This is my space and I, too, have got certain prejudices -- just like many of you -- and here I have got this little space to think, write, photograph, just the way I want. That's precisely why I have this blog. Man, I am glad to have finally found this space. 

Anyways, let me tell you why I say the above -- many will say a poignant -- statement.

I have a masters in Audio Visual Communication. Been a journalist (just to know how frustrating helplessness can be)-turned-photographer. I can go back home and apply for a job, but then I won't be able to justify my work. Many reasons to be blamed. No-no, I am not talking about the senior reporter, or the sub editor, for they are helpless too.

I am from Assam, or at least should I say I have lived almost all my life there -- long enough to call the place my own.

Just like they say, It is NOT what you see, It is How you see it! I feel if you really have to see the real beauty, you get to go to the interiors. So, my sincere advice to somebody going to the North East India would be, try going to the interiors. Like places that you haven't heard of before. Life is not what you see in the city, but beyond.

The photographs below will tell you a similar kind of story. 

There are many like me from Assam who would have heard or seen life in a flood affected area. Well, flood is a yearly affair back in my State and everyone gets to face the music living in the plain areas, you know. Everyone! I was lucky that way, for I come from the one and only hill station of Assam, Haflong. So, speaking about the flood, I always thought that was the end of it. I mean whatever I could see, you know. And I am speaking about Guwahati.

The extent and magnitude of flood problem is assessed in terms of different types of damages caused by flood. And till then I had only seen this in the city, which was only the tip of the iceberg.

The entire North East is connected with rest of the country through Guwahati. The Capital of Assam, Dispur, lies in this city. (How small the region -- North East India sounds like -- right? Well, that doesn't give you the authority to generalize me with the rest from N-E India, for we may look like one, but we are different, as different as chalk and cheese, night and day, black and white.

Flood. I was speaking about that. So, this happened in the year 2007, while I was an intern in Action Aid, Guwahati. I discovered something that I would have never been able to otherwise. 

For the internship, I was assigned the responsibility, along with other members, to develop a brief documentary to capture the impact of flood amongst people living in these flood affected areas in the State. I was all excited about the internship until the day when I actually happened to go for  field work and interact with the people from a small Village at Padimpora Chowk in Nalbari district. Everything happened really fast, you know, and it took quite a bit for me to understand what was going on.

Some revelations from my one-month-long internship in Action Aid:

Nalbari district is one of the most worst affected areas during flood.

During flood, the people didn't have any place to stay and rehabilitation would reach them after long days of wait.

There was no sign of proper sanitation. What's worst, is during flood villagers had to live amidst so many epidemics.  

Not less than 150 kms away from the capital city of Assam, there still is a Village with no electricity at all. I felt miserable to have actually travelled all the way there in an air conditioned car just to see them living life in an oven. And to make the water murkier, half of the village was immersed under flood water. 

There was just one school and the village still has children's wanting to pursue higher studies. Some doctors, and some engineers. Many would leave the village after class X, for they wanted to pursue higher studies.  

Along with usual course, the children's were taught ways to tackle flood situation. 

More than prevention, precautionary measures were given more importance here. Why? Well, flood is a yearly affair in Assam and it has continued for the last five decades. Yet, the appropriate rescue and relief operation never reach the needy on time. 

                    Children playing in the mud after a night of heavy rain / nishal lama ©

During the monsoon, children's often have to travel to school this way / nishal lama ©

As flood water recedes, risk of epidemic looms / nishal lama ©

A group of Children get together while their parents are out in  the fields to catch some fresh fish / nishal lama ©

A child does her assignment in the only existing school in the Village at Padimpora Chowk / nishal lama ©

Every year the floods leave a trail of destruction, washing away villages, submerging paddy fields /

nishal lama ©

An old lady looks at the mighty river Brahamaputra, which has wiped out nearly 4,000 square kilometres of area at a rate of 80 square kilometres per year, destroying more than 2500 villages and affecting more than five million people in Assam /

nishal lama ©

The issues related to floods in  the Brahmaputra are many, which has now become a yearly affair.Ravaging flood enters Assam villages every year and affects lakhs of people.

The floods of 1988 and 1998 of the Brahmaputra basin were unprecedented which completely shattered the economy of the state. Comprehensive studies have been undertaken to go into the various aspects of floods and flood control. Continuous rainfall during in Assam has led to a serious threat with floods. The worst affected are the Villages. Subansiri, Ranganadi, Dikrong, Baginadi, Pabha, Kakoi, Johing and other rivers take dangerous shape with their waters drowning hundreds of villages around.

 

Acknowledgement: 

 

Commits, the college I did my masters in. This internship was part of my academic curriculum

Action Aid, for giving me the opportunity to do my internship

Deepmanjuri and Ananya for helping me speak in the local dialect, and just being around

My second hand film slr for letting me shoot everything I wanted