I wanted to put the following into as last Sunday's post. I could not do it then. On Monday also, I could not it. Yesterday, there was nightlong power outage. So, today I put it as a current blog post anyway!
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Today being a Sunday, it was late in the morning when I went out of my bed.
With the steaming cup of tea, I tried to get a glimpse of the morning news. But I could not log into the network connection.
After several tries, I gave up and instead, fired up my recently downloaded vlc media player to play my currently favorited playlist. To the tune of my favorite songs, I quickly washed the utensils! You know, I was on my way to the daily chore of making my lunch.
As soon as I was over with the chore, I turned off the music and tried to log into the network, thinking that I had no chance of getting there on the Web. But surprisingly, I could log into the network at the very first try.
To my surprise, I found a friend online. It was a surprise because this particular friend usually needs a lot coaxing for a simple online presence there on my buddy list.
Well, well, we talked and talked. Until the bad BSNL internet connection dropped, we had not lost a second to play catch up with each other. It now seems to me that we were literally trying to devour each other.
We had not talked for several years now. That might one of the reasons why we actually tried to devour each other.
But I am really happy to learn that our friendship remains as fresh as ever. I also sent her an email telling this.
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Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Was it of paranormal kind?
It was in the middle of the night of the 24th when I felt myself suddenly awaken (by what?). Immediately, I sensed that ‘something’ was there inside the confines of my residential space, if not, inside my house.
It was around 1.30 in the morning.
My immediate suspicion was that it was a burglar. There were those unnatural and muffled sounds. I felt that something was moving around, all the while trying to do so without making any sound.
I was there lying on my bed, now fully awaken. I thought—if it was a burglar, what might be his immediate incentive?! He would make his next moves in pursuit of this ‘incentive’—I further reasoned!
What should I do to counter his moves?
All this mental planning was necessary because I’m living alone. But after some 15 minutes of trying to discern any pattern in the unusual sounds, I was out of the bed and, with a flashlight in hand, I tried to find out the ‘something’ behind the unusual sounds.
But there was nothing.
Nevertheless, sleep deserted me. At around 2.30 in the morning , there came the noises and footsteps of the patients or the patient parties, queuing up in the doctor’s residence, who is my neighbor. What do you think of the patients trying to start queuing up from 2.30 in the morning onwards?
With the stomping of footsteps and the people starting to strike up conversations in my next neighborhood, all the unusual sounds were gone or muffled up. I went to sleep again and I woke up at around 8.30 in the morning!
In the afternoon, one of my sisters phoned me telling me that my mother’s youngest was no more.
In the morning when I woke, I was totally puzzled as to what might be behind the night’s unusual sounds. I have been living alone for several years now and it was the first the instance of my encountering such kinds of unusual sounds. Most of the times, I also sleep like a log and I can’t remember any night when I was awaken by such sounds in the middle of the night.
As soon as the phone conversation with my sister ended, a thought crept into my mind—Were sounds anything to do with the death? Were the sounds of what you call the paranormal type?
UPDATE: My not coming to my blog for two consecutive nights does not have anything to do with the ‘paranormal sounds’ of the other night. The following night saw all night long power outage. Yesterday, I went to the house of the deceased. My intent was to stay there as briefly as possible. But all my dear and near ones were all there and I ended up staying the whole day there itself. When I returned late in the evening all those grieving and sadness somehow seeped inside me and I could not pull myself up to blog.
It was around 1.30 in the morning.
My immediate suspicion was that it was a burglar. There were those unnatural and muffled sounds. I felt that something was moving around, all the while trying to do so without making any sound.
I was there lying on my bed, now fully awaken. I thought—if it was a burglar, what might be his immediate incentive?! He would make his next moves in pursuit of this ‘incentive’—I further reasoned!
What should I do to counter his moves?
All this mental planning was necessary because I’m living alone. But after some 15 minutes of trying to discern any pattern in the unusual sounds, I was out of the bed and, with a flashlight in hand, I tried to find out the ‘something’ behind the unusual sounds.
But there was nothing.
Nevertheless, sleep deserted me. At around 2.30 in the morning , there came the noises and footsteps of the patients or the patient parties, queuing up in the doctor’s residence, who is my neighbor. What do you think of the patients trying to start queuing up from 2.30 in the morning onwards?
With the stomping of footsteps and the people starting to strike up conversations in my next neighborhood, all the unusual sounds were gone or muffled up. I went to sleep again and I woke up at around 8.30 in the morning!
In the afternoon, one of my sisters phoned me telling me that my mother’s youngest was no more.
In the morning when I woke, I was totally puzzled as to what might be behind the night’s unusual sounds. I have been living alone for several years now and it was the first the instance of my encountering such kinds of unusual sounds. Most of the times, I also sleep like a log and I can’t remember any night when I was awaken by such sounds in the middle of the night.
As soon as the phone conversation with my sister ended, a thought crept into my mind—Were sounds anything to do with the death? Were the sounds of what you call the paranormal type?
UPDATE: My not coming to my blog for two consecutive nights does not have anything to do with the ‘paranormal sounds’ of the other night. The following night saw all night long power outage. Yesterday, I went to the house of the deceased. My intent was to stay there as briefly as possible. But all my dear and near ones were all there and I ended up staying the whole day there itself. When I returned late in the evening all those grieving and sadness somehow seeped inside me and I could not pull myself up to blog.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Bomb Blast inside high security zone
This morning, at around 10.30, there was a bomb blast inside the high security zone of Babupara. The spot was a just a stone’s throw away from Chief Minister’s official residence.
The bomb, believed to be fitted inside a scooter and triggered by a remote control device, had damaged the compound wall of T. Mangibabu, who is a MLA from Thanga Assembly Constituecy . He is serving as the chief whip of the legislative wing of the ruling party in the State.
Five people, ostensibly passer bys, were hurt and hospitalized.
Another bomb, this time fitted inside a cycle rickshaw, was defused by the police near the main entrance of the Polo Ground.
Interestingly, the bomb was defused shortly before the visit of the State Governor to the Polo Ground to attend a polo match there.
The bomb, believed to be fitted inside a scooter and triggered by a remote control device, had damaged the compound wall of T. Mangibabu, who is a MLA from Thanga Assembly Constituecy . He is serving as the chief whip of the legislative wing of the ruling party in the State.
Five people, ostensibly passer bys, were hurt and hospitalized.
Another bomb, this time fitted inside a cycle rickshaw, was defused by the police near the main entrance of the Polo Ground.
Interestingly, the bomb was defused shortly before the visit of the State Governor to the Polo Ground to attend a polo match there.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Good old dialup
Today being a State holiday, I stayed indoors all day.
Today is Khongjom Day.
My plan was to stay home all day long and wrap up encrypting my ADSL connection. And, I have had several subjects that I need to look up in search engines. My plan was to complete all those tasks today itself.
But my ADSL connection went mad. I can still log in but it cannot load a simple web page. An ADSL connection having trouble loading a simple page—what to make of this?
I’m using my dial up connection to post this!
Today is Khongjom Day.
My plan was to stay home all day long and wrap up encrypting my ADSL connection. And, I have had several subjects that I need to look up in search engines. My plan was to complete all those tasks today itself.
But my ADSL connection went mad. I can still log in but it cannot load a simple web page. An ADSL connection having trouble loading a simple page—what to make of this?
I’m using my dial up connection to post this!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Summer days
This morning it's look like Summer days are here.
While in my rooms, I could not even tolerate the feel of a flimsy shirt. So, I went bare chested and also bare footed. Only then, I felt a little cooled down.
It's already well past mid April and most of the times, we feel that Summer days are yet to be here. Today, it seems they are here.
They are making their appearances just when we just had heard about the depleting water level in Singda dam. It's said we have only 21 days stock there.
And, the whole of Imphal is depending on Singda dam for its drinking water.
The news reports told us that the problem lies in the leaking valves of the dam. Four of eight valves are leaking. The dam is managed by Public Health Engineering Deptt and they are not repairing the leakages for want of funds.
How much?
Would you believe this--the amount required for the repair is paltry 4 lacs of rupees!
For want of Rs 4 lacs, Imphal is facing the prospect of not getting its drinking after 21 days. This is ludicrous.
Now, every Imphal resident feels it to be fortunate if he/she can get tap water for some 30 minutes in a single in a week.
We are fortunate. We are getting that much amount per week!
While in my rooms, I could not even tolerate the feel of a flimsy shirt. So, I went bare chested and also bare footed. Only then, I felt a little cooled down.
It's already well past mid April and most of the times, we feel that Summer days are yet to be here. Today, it seems they are here.
They are making their appearances just when we just had heard about the depleting water level in Singda dam. It's said we have only 21 days stock there.
And, the whole of Imphal is depending on Singda dam for its drinking water.
The news reports told us that the problem lies in the leaking valves of the dam. Four of eight valves are leaking. The dam is managed by Public Health Engineering Deptt and they are not repairing the leakages for want of funds.
How much?
Would you believe this--the amount required for the repair is paltry 4 lacs of rupees!
For want of Rs 4 lacs, Imphal is facing the prospect of not getting its drinking after 21 days. This is ludicrous.
Now, every Imphal resident feels it to be fortunate if he/she can get tap water for some 30 minutes in a single in a week.
We are fortunate. We are getting that much amount per week!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Obama's trial
It’s always tricky to poke your nose in matters of trying to speculate the possible winner in any election. But I’ll stick out my neck and try to do just the tricky job!
For one, where will I be able to stick out my neck quite safely but in my own blog?!
Even if Barrack Obama be able clinch the Democratic Party’s nomination, would he have a reasonable chance to win the big thing in November?
I don’t think so.
I think Obama needs to further articulate with what America is or what America stands for. It’s quite tricky to put a finger on what America is or what America stands for. But when John McCain said that Obama’s agenda would compromise what America stands for, it would certainly strike a chord with the majority of the American population.
More specifically, would a symbol ( like Obama) be able to bridge the Red and Blue Americas? To a question like this, most of the American, I guesss, would most likely to ask themselves—‘Is it ‘doable’ by a symbol?’.
Sadly, most of them would answer with a firm ‘no’.
Then, what’s Obama’s take on the questions like the Red and Blue divide and the fleeing of jobs from American mainland because of globalization?
I think not much substantive and the American voters would see through it as the big event comes closer.
For one, where will I be able to stick out my neck quite safely but in my own blog?!
Even if Barrack Obama be able clinch the Democratic Party’s nomination, would he have a reasonable chance to win the big thing in November?
I don’t think so.
I think Obama needs to further articulate with what America is or what America stands for. It’s quite tricky to put a finger on what America is or what America stands for. But when John McCain said that Obama’s agenda would compromise what America stands for, it would certainly strike a chord with the majority of the American population.
More specifically, would a symbol ( like Obama) be able to bridge the Red and Blue Americas? To a question like this, most of the American, I guesss, would most likely to ask themselves—‘Is it ‘doable’ by a symbol?’.
Sadly, most of them would answer with a firm ‘no’.
Then, what’s Obama’s take on the questions like the Red and Blue divide and the fleeing of jobs from American mainland because of globalization?
I think not much substantive and the American voters would see through it as the big event comes closer.
Monday, April 21, 2008
That little girl from Delhi
‘Oh! Poor Mamo’, my niece said.
That was my niece when she first saw me after—how many years?—nearly 5 years. Her mum, my eldest sister, studied at Vanarasi just after she left her school. That must be nearly 10 years of her student life. As soon as she got her masters degree she stayed at our home only for some brief months before she got married. As soon as she got married, she and her hubby stayed again for only some brief months in Imphal before they set sail for Delhi.
We, at the family, got so used to her staying so far away from home that when she got married we didn’t feel particularly any emptiness at our home. When my other sisters married away, we always felt some spaces emptied out.
Our original schedule was to invite my niece at my house at Keisampat, mainly because my house is easy to reach from all sides of Imphal, where all my sisters are scattered! But my youngest sis had a crisis (my last post). Although she and her family came out unscathed from it, we decided that it was not proper for her to go out so soon after the crisis.
So, this morning, we all went to my youngest sister’s place, cooked delicious chicken and said goodbye to that busy little girl from Delhi, who has to catch another flight tomorrow to appear in yet another entrance test.
She was here to appear in another of her entrance tests.
When she phoned me last afternoon, she was over with her exam and was shopping. She wanted to visit me at my house but I was at the reading room of Central Library when I received her call. When she said she was shopping, I instantly knew that she must be at the Paona International Market.
When she first saw me, she said that I was so thin and she continued with a distinct maternal undertone that the reason for me looking so thin must be because I live alone and there was no one to cook for me!
I still remember how I used to hold her as a cute little baby and now she has that maternal undertone!
Every girl, regardless of her present age, grows up, it seems, with that maternal instinct deeply buried inside her.
That was my niece when she first saw me after—how many years?—nearly 5 years. Her mum, my eldest sister, studied at Vanarasi just after she left her school. That must be nearly 10 years of her student life. As soon as she got her masters degree she stayed at our home only for some brief months before she got married. As soon as she got married, she and her hubby stayed again for only some brief months in Imphal before they set sail for Delhi.
We, at the family, got so used to her staying so far away from home that when she got married we didn’t feel particularly any emptiness at our home. When my other sisters married away, we always felt some spaces emptied out.
Our original schedule was to invite my niece at my house at Keisampat, mainly because my house is easy to reach from all sides of Imphal, where all my sisters are scattered! But my youngest sis had a crisis (my last post). Although she and her family came out unscathed from it, we decided that it was not proper for her to go out so soon after the crisis.
So, this morning, we all went to my youngest sister’s place, cooked delicious chicken and said goodbye to that busy little girl from Delhi, who has to catch another flight tomorrow to appear in yet another entrance test.
She was here to appear in another of her entrance tests.
When she phoned me last afternoon, she was over with her exam and was shopping. She wanted to visit me at my house but I was at the reading room of Central Library when I received her call. When she said she was shopping, I instantly knew that she must be at the Paona International Market.
When she first saw me, she said that I was so thin and she continued with a distinct maternal undertone that the reason for me looking so thin must be because I live alone and there was no one to cook for me!
I still remember how I used to hold her as a cute little baby and now she has that maternal undertone!
Every girl, regardless of her present age, grows up, it seems, with that maternal instinct deeply buried inside her.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
A sad day
Yesterday, my youngest sister had a crisis.
Her hubby, a minor officer in an engineering department of the State government, was ‘picked up’ by the personnel of the Manipur Police Commandos the night before. They wanted to question him about the details of the ‘percentage money’ which was alleged to have been collected by the controlling officer of my brother-in-law from all the contractors in their department. The commandos accused them of keeping the amount in their custody for further transfer of it to the Naharols.
It was a serious allegation. They even threatened to detain the controlling officer under NSA.
It’s an open secret that such instances happen all the time. But my brother-in-law is still a minor officer and he is still not anywhere near the upper official hierarchy to have anything to do with signing of cheques. So, why detain him?
To use a diplomatese, he has no ‘locus standii’ of the signing of cheques in his department!
But the whole family member lost the whole day yesterday trying to secure his release.
The Police did not press any charge.
From our side also, we did not use any provision of law to secure his release.
Instead, we activated a vast web of ‘connections’ to send out the message to another set of ‘connection’ within the government that he should be released.
The whole day saw the hectic efforts by educated, capable and well-meaning men and women trying to side stepped the established laws. This is totally alarming. Our society is not run by established laws but by innuendos and influences.
He was released at around 8 pm. But when I returned at around 9, I was so freaked out by the day long exercises of sidestepping established laws that I could not do anything worthwhile.
I felt sad.
Her hubby, a minor officer in an engineering department of the State government, was ‘picked up’ by the personnel of the Manipur Police Commandos the night before. They wanted to question him about the details of the ‘percentage money’ which was alleged to have been collected by the controlling officer of my brother-in-law from all the contractors in their department. The commandos accused them of keeping the amount in their custody for further transfer of it to the Naharols.
It was a serious allegation. They even threatened to detain the controlling officer under NSA.
It’s an open secret that such instances happen all the time. But my brother-in-law is still a minor officer and he is still not anywhere near the upper official hierarchy to have anything to do with signing of cheques. So, why detain him?
To use a diplomatese, he has no ‘locus standii’ of the signing of cheques in his department!
But the whole family member lost the whole day yesterday trying to secure his release.
The Police did not press any charge.
From our side also, we did not use any provision of law to secure his release.
Instead, we activated a vast web of ‘connections’ to send out the message to another set of ‘connection’ within the government that he should be released.
The whole day saw the hectic efforts by educated, capable and well-meaning men and women trying to side stepped the established laws. This is totally alarming. Our society is not run by established laws but by innuendos and influences.
He was released at around 8 pm. But when I returned at around 9, I was so freaked out by the day long exercises of sidestepping established laws that I could not do anything worthwhile.
I felt sad.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Seeing it from Imphal.
Tibet seems to be everywhere in the news. I read 4/5 feature articles by renowned sinologists today!
One of them said that Tibet makes up of nearly 30% of China constitute today. That’s huge. More so, if we consider the population size of Tibetans, which may be some millions only. That constitutes negligible percentage of 1 billion plus of the Chinese population.
One said the Chinese would have no problem in applying the ‘one nation, two systems’ principle (as is being applied in Hong Kong, Macau) to Tibet’s case also. The stumbling block is the Dalai Lama himself. In China’s perception, whatever be the principles of governance (like ‘meaningful autonomy’ as demanded by the Dalai Lama) which involves installation of the Dalai Lama in Llasa, the new government there would end up leaning towards India. That’s not acceptable in China’s strategic calculation.
So, everything seems to be measured in terms of either India’s or China’s strategic needs. Nobody seems to have any time for the Tibetans. It’s a pity.
But what should we make out of what’s happening out there? In trying to answer this today, I suddenly remembered one columnist of the Hindu who went to the Dharmasala just as the first instances of violence was breaking out in Llasa. He got the distinct impression that the violence was planned from Dharmasala and the Indians officials were in the know.
Now, I think that it’s quite plausible. As the Olympic torch rally is progressing prompting more protests by the Tibetans, I get this feeling that the Indian government was all along trying to send some messages to the Chinese. The message: ‘We have Tibet card if you are trying to play a NE card’.
Hers now, 3/4 ambassadors of Scandinavian countries are descending to Imphal next week. Whatever the reasons they are putting out to the media for the sudden descending down in the ‘interiors’ like Imphal, it’s quite clear that they are acting on some informations which are privy to the diplomatic circles only. They are acting on some information which are not in the media as yet and so, we, laymen, have no way of knowing.
It’s looking like increasingly possible that the Indian government is acting on such information, the very existence of which compels them to send the message to the Chinese.
One of them said that Tibet makes up of nearly 30% of China constitute today. That’s huge. More so, if we consider the population size of Tibetans, which may be some millions only. That constitutes negligible percentage of 1 billion plus of the Chinese population.
One said the Chinese would have no problem in applying the ‘one nation, two systems’ principle (as is being applied in Hong Kong, Macau) to Tibet’s case also. The stumbling block is the Dalai Lama himself. In China’s perception, whatever be the principles of governance (like ‘meaningful autonomy’ as demanded by the Dalai Lama) which involves installation of the Dalai Lama in Llasa, the new government there would end up leaning towards India. That’s not acceptable in China’s strategic calculation.
So, everything seems to be measured in terms of either India’s or China’s strategic needs. Nobody seems to have any time for the Tibetans. It’s a pity.
But what should we make out of what’s happening out there? In trying to answer this today, I suddenly remembered one columnist of the Hindu who went to the Dharmasala just as the first instances of violence was breaking out in Llasa. He got the distinct impression that the violence was planned from Dharmasala and the Indians officials were in the know.
Now, I think that it’s quite plausible. As the Olympic torch rally is progressing prompting more protests by the Tibetans, I get this feeling that the Indian government was all along trying to send some messages to the Chinese. The message: ‘We have Tibet card if you are trying to play a NE card’.
Hers now, 3/4 ambassadors of Scandinavian countries are descending to Imphal next week. Whatever the reasons they are putting out to the media for the sudden descending down in the ‘interiors’ like Imphal, it’s quite clear that they are acting on some informations which are privy to the diplomatic circles only. They are acting on some information which are not in the media as yet and so, we, laymen, have no way of knowing.
It’s looking like increasingly possible that the Indian government is acting on such information, the very existence of which compels them to send the message to the Chinese.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Sudden impacts
I’ve been avoiding the Paona Bazar Road for quite sometime now. Now, there is a parallel road right on the Nambul banks. This road is also not blacktopped but not dusty. In contrast, the Apaona Bazar Road was so dusty that I usually had a major bout of sneezing while I was still on that stretch of roads!
But, yesterday, all the dust seemed to have vanished into thin airs so suddenly.
My point is that I have been walking on the parallel road several times on a daily basis. But I did not notice any lessening in the degree of clouds of dusk kicked up by the feet of the pedestrians and, by the wheels, of the two wheelers, three wheelers and cars.
But yesterday, I found out that all the dust had gone. Does nature have a way of presenting her decisions in so a sudden manner? Like, a sudden impact of an assassin’s bullet?
For no particular reason, I stated thinking of global warming. We’ve been reading about the increasing emission of green houses gases but still, kept on producing them so nonchalantly. Would we find out, on a fine (let’s say, not so fine day!) morning, that the climate has changed so suddenly, and that too, on a scale beyond our imagination? Would that happen?
We can also see another sudden impact. All the Imphal streets are literally knocked out of space by the crawling pedestrians, commercial passenger vehicles and cars. Even the street towards Singjamei, which is being widened more than 50% of the original breadth, has now already become a congested one. A street becoming congested while it’s being widened! What do you call this?
I, foe one, did not notice any gradual increase in the size of the traffic on the streets. It all seems to happen so suddenly.
Is this a nature’s way?
But, yesterday, all the dust seemed to have vanished into thin airs so suddenly.
My point is that I have been walking on the parallel road several times on a daily basis. But I did not notice any lessening in the degree of clouds of dusk kicked up by the feet of the pedestrians and, by the wheels, of the two wheelers, three wheelers and cars.
But yesterday, I found out that all the dust had gone. Does nature have a way of presenting her decisions in so a sudden manner? Like, a sudden impact of an assassin’s bullet?
For no particular reason, I stated thinking of global warming. We’ve been reading about the increasing emission of green houses gases but still, kept on producing them so nonchalantly. Would we find out, on a fine (let’s say, not so fine day!) morning, that the climate has changed so suddenly, and that too, on a scale beyond our imagination? Would that happen?
We can also see another sudden impact. All the Imphal streets are literally knocked out of space by the crawling pedestrians, commercial passenger vehicles and cars. Even the street towards Singjamei, which is being widened more than 50% of the original breadth, has now already become a congested one. A street becoming congested while it’s being widened! What do you call this?
I, foe one, did not notice any gradual increase in the size of the traffic on the streets. It all seems to happen so suddenly.
Is this a nature’s way?
Monday, April 14, 2008
Missed target
Even in the US where corporations are super smart, laymen, like me, are encrypting their DSL accounts and effortlessly using BitTorrents. Here also, my ADSL service provider constantly keeps blocking the ports used by BitTorrent clients. I’m also trying to encrypt my ADSL account and portforward a dedicated port for downloading torrent files. Why there is such a fuss for downloading some songs per month, that too, mainly, country songs and non-commercial music? My target was to finish doing the two tasks today itself but they proved to be so time consuming. I could not achieve my target.
In the evening, I went out to buy fish. There were very few women selling fish. I went there expecting far less number of buyers and sellers but I was surprised by the scale of non-attendance to the usual business. It’s a glaring example that majority of the population still stick to observing Cheiraoba today. This is sad. Cheiraoba this day symbolizes the unobtrusive muzzling of our world view.
Some fifteen minutes back, I could hear a lone thabal. Later, I learnt it was in the 2nd MR campus. Was it an official thabal?
But, it is clear there is a heated competition between the two Cheiraobas!
In the evening, I went out to buy fish. There were very few women selling fish. I went there expecting far less number of buyers and sellers but I was surprised by the scale of non-attendance to the usual business. It’s a glaring example that majority of the population still stick to observing Cheiraoba today. This is sad. Cheiraoba this day symbolizes the unobtrusive muzzling of our world view.
Some fifteen minutes back, I could hear a lone thabal. Later, I learnt it was in the 2nd MR campus. Was it an official thabal?
But, it is clear there is a heated competition between the two Cheiraobas!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Imphal is parched
The tap ran dry. Not a drop of water comes out it. For how many weeks now? It must be 7-8 weeks now!
There is a lot of construction works going on right now. Those constructions entail digging up of several popular roads, which, in turn, damage several main trunks of the networks of pipes carrying water.
So, everybody tries to understand it and so, keeps mum. Past few weeks saw people buying up water. It is quite a change!
Today, my drinking water stocks touch alarming level. I actually have stocks that would last for several days only. I began examining several options for emergency procurement of water!
But I pinned my hopes for not implementing those options on TODAY! Why?
Today is 12th of April and the following day would be another Cheiraoba. For several weeks now, I kept trusting my gut feelings that there would be water on the pipelines on the day before Cheiraoba. If not, I would have to go for some emergency procurement.
I made it a point not to go out today. But 2.30 pm came and went away. Nothing happened. 2.30 pm is the usual time for the water to start running through the pipes.
Then, at around 5 pm, the light also went. I was on my desk shutting down my computer. Just then, there was this commotion in the neighborhood. Real commotion! I just knew there must water in the taps!!
Sure enough, there was water! Now, I have several weeks’ stock. But, still, it’s not certain when would it starts flowing again next time.
There is a lot of construction works going on right now. Those constructions entail digging up of several popular roads, which, in turn, damage several main trunks of the networks of pipes carrying water.
So, everybody tries to understand it and so, keeps mum. Past few weeks saw people buying up water. It is quite a change!
Today, my drinking water stocks touch alarming level. I actually have stocks that would last for several days only. I began examining several options for emergency procurement of water!
But I pinned my hopes for not implementing those options on TODAY! Why?
Today is 12th of April and the following day would be another Cheiraoba. For several weeks now, I kept trusting my gut feelings that there would be water on the pipelines on the day before Cheiraoba. If not, I would have to go for some emergency procurement.
I made it a point not to go out today. But 2.30 pm came and went away. Nothing happened. 2.30 pm is the usual time for the water to start running through the pipes.
Then, at around 5 pm, the light also went. I was on my desk shutting down my computer. Just then, there was this commotion in the neighborhood. Real commotion! I just knew there must water in the taps!!
Sure enough, there was water! Now, I have several weeks’ stock. But, still, it’s not certain when would it starts flowing again next time.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
It's a watershed mark
The State cabinet has decided to approach the Home Ministry in New Delhi to consider giving arms to the villagers of Heirok to enable them to protect themselves from the intimidations and threats coming from the rebel groups.
It’s slowly becoming clear that the Heirok incident, in which a rebel group shot 3 young girls, 2 of them fatally, has already emerged as a watershed mark in the history rebellion in Manipur.
Some of the rebel groups are overstepping, to my mind, intentionally, and with devilish design, the whatever mandate they had managed to extract from the general public by dint of sacrifice and blood of their fallen comrades.
Now, there is this gaping chasm between the general public, whom the rebel groups are supposed to liberate from the colonial grip of New Delhi, and the liberators themselves!
But what about Salwa Judum? If the State government has its ways, then the scheme might be modeled, more or less, in the line of Salwa Judum. But right at the moment, there is widespread condemnation of Salwa Judum within the political class of New Delhi itself.
It’s slowly becoming clear that the Heirok incident, in which a rebel group shot 3 young girls, 2 of them fatally, has already emerged as a watershed mark in the history rebellion in Manipur.
Some of the rebel groups are overstepping, to my mind, intentionally, and with devilish design, the whatever mandate they had managed to extract from the general public by dint of sacrifice and blood of their fallen comrades.
Now, there is this gaping chasm between the general public, whom the rebel groups are supposed to liberate from the colonial grip of New Delhi, and the liberators themselves!
But what about Salwa Judum? If the State government has its ways, then the scheme might be modeled, more or less, in the line of Salwa Judum. But right at the moment, there is widespread condemnation of Salwa Judum within the political class of New Delhi itself.
Friday, April 11, 2008
India is being too aggressive
With so much headlines made by the passing of the Olympic torch inside India, it’s now quite apparent that the Indian uneasiness for anything Chinese runs far deeper into the Indian psyche. It’s not merely government to government competitions. At least in India, distrust for the Chinese percolates down to the lowest level of the population pyramid.
This does not bode for a stable Asia and so, for a global peace.
Amidst all these, the Indian Prime Minister told us that there is no competition between India and China for entering Africa. The phrase ‘entering Africa’ is also quite revealing. The colonial mindset is quite apparent. Do Indians still want to colonize Africa? Why doesn’t he say ‘working with Africa’ or ‘cooperating with Africa’?
Besides, ‘there is no competition with China’ line is meant to project a peaceful loving, non-aggressive India to the international community. While in practice, there are silent but concerted efforts to, discredit, and thus, to overtake, China. See the visa granted to the recently exiled Karmapa to travel to the US to tell the audience about the present misdeeds of the Chinese in Tibet.
It’s now quite apparent that India is more aggressive that the Chinese in the competition for the domination of Asia.
Nearer home, there is an interesting development. The Indian ambassador to Burma, Mr Bhaskar Mitra and the Jt Secy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was in Moreh some days back. They were ostensibly there for the re-negotiation of the border trade. But I don’t believe that vibe. There is more to the extremely low profile and hush hush visit to the god forsaken place like Moreh. They even took the trouble of having organized meeting with student leaders, leaders of various NGOs!
I have this feeling that India is being too aggressive.
This does not bode for a stable Asia and so, for a global peace.
Amidst all these, the Indian Prime Minister told us that there is no competition between India and China for entering Africa. The phrase ‘entering Africa’ is also quite revealing. The colonial mindset is quite apparent. Do Indians still want to colonize Africa? Why doesn’t he say ‘working with Africa’ or ‘cooperating with Africa’?
Besides, ‘there is no competition with China’ line is meant to project a peaceful loving, non-aggressive India to the international community. While in practice, there are silent but concerted efforts to, discredit, and thus, to overtake, China. See the visa granted to the recently exiled Karmapa to travel to the US to tell the audience about the present misdeeds of the Chinese in Tibet.
It’s now quite apparent that India is more aggressive that the Chinese in the competition for the domination of Asia.
Nearer home, there is an interesting development. The Indian ambassador to Burma, Mr Bhaskar Mitra and the Jt Secy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was in Moreh some days back. They were ostensibly there for the re-negotiation of the border trade. But I don’t believe that vibe. There is more to the extremely low profile and hush hush visit to the god forsaken place like Moreh. They even took the trouble of having organized meeting with student leaders, leaders of various NGOs!
I have this feeling that India is being too aggressive.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
What would be the new rule of the game?
Sometimes, what appears to be something of passing interest, or, even trivial matters, might just be the signposts telling us that we are now about to go into a completely new territory, where the whole rule of the game would be different.
Two things fit this description.
One, the killing of two young girls and a young man in Heirok during a thabal.
Two, the killing of one Uttam by Police commandos.
In the first case, a rebel group owned responsibility telling us that the killing was a result of some unintentional misfire. And they expressed regret while asking for forgiveness by the general public. To be fair, in the past some very few instances where, some particular rebel groups expressing regrets and asking for forgiveness for some unintentional misfire, did happen. In all of those instances, we somehow brought ourselves to believe that the rebels were telling the truth and they were really sorry for that. But, in the case of Heirok, the feelings are totally different. We cannot persuade ourselves to believe the rebels.
In the second case, a man in his early thirties was shot down in his own house, in front of his own family members. The gunmen, who were in civil clothes, later, turned out to be the Commandos of the Police. But the most shocking episode is yet to come. That arrives as the callous act of the State in disposing the death body saying that nobody came forward to claim it. This is pure shock. They are not even honoring the dead. We have remember here that the family members and residents of the neighborhood were demanding from the State one single point—put the two Police personnel involved in the killing under suspension. They are not demanding either judicial inquiry or compensation.
These two instances show us that we are about to step into a new territory where the State itself is being traumatized by the vigorous rebellion whereas the rebels themselves are facing creeping moral corruption in trying to withstand the coercive power of the State.
What would be the rule of the game governing this new territory?
Two things fit this description.
One, the killing of two young girls and a young man in Heirok during a thabal.
Two, the killing of one Uttam by Police commandos.
In the first case, a rebel group owned responsibility telling us that the killing was a result of some unintentional misfire. And they expressed regret while asking for forgiveness by the general public. To be fair, in the past some very few instances where, some particular rebel groups expressing regrets and asking for forgiveness for some unintentional misfire, did happen. In all of those instances, we somehow brought ourselves to believe that the rebels were telling the truth and they were really sorry for that. But, in the case of Heirok, the feelings are totally different. We cannot persuade ourselves to believe the rebels.
In the second case, a man in his early thirties was shot down in his own house, in front of his own family members. The gunmen, who were in civil clothes, later, turned out to be the Commandos of the Police. But the most shocking episode is yet to come. That arrives as the callous act of the State in disposing the death body saying that nobody came forward to claim it. This is pure shock. They are not even honoring the dead. We have remember here that the family members and residents of the neighborhood were demanding from the State one single point—put the two Police personnel involved in the killing under suspension. They are not demanding either judicial inquiry or compensation.
These two instances show us that we are about to step into a new territory where the State itself is being traumatized by the vigorous rebellion whereas the rebels themselves are facing creeping moral corruption in trying to withstand the coercive power of the State.
What would be the rule of the game governing this new territory?
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Happy Cheiraoba
It’s a bit better now, as I’m typing this out. With sounds of several thabals in the air, this is festive!
But in the morning, it was as if we were in some kind of mourning. So, I turned on my playlists—full blast. I played all my recent downloads—that too, on my recently downloaded vlc media player! Most of the time, I won’t play that loud but today I didn’t give a damn. Do we forget how to celebrate?
My kind of Cheiraoba is to take an early bath and preparing the lunch and eat it assuming that it is some kind of Cheiraoba special!
After that, I took a very satisfying nap. I think it’s a good sign on a Cheiroaba afternoon!
Since then, with only several cups of green teas to intervene, I’ve been on my desk, online and reading. To be able to go online and read all the afternoon on a Cheiraoba is also a very good sign.
Don’t you notice that we have a really improved power supply for the last few weeks? I don’t know what goes wrong here! (pun, PUN!!).
But I have to go now. I want to rise early in the morning. I have several phones calls to make very early in the morning.
Happy Cheiraoba, everybody!
But in the morning, it was as if we were in some kind of mourning. So, I turned on my playlists—full blast. I played all my recent downloads—that too, on my recently downloaded vlc media player! Most of the time, I won’t play that loud but today I didn’t give a damn. Do we forget how to celebrate?
My kind of Cheiraoba is to take an early bath and preparing the lunch and eat it assuming that it is some kind of Cheiraoba special!
After that, I took a very satisfying nap. I think it’s a good sign on a Cheiroaba afternoon!
Since then, with only several cups of green teas to intervene, I’ve been on my desk, online and reading. To be able to go online and read all the afternoon on a Cheiraoba is also a very good sign.
Don’t you notice that we have a really improved power supply for the last few weeks? I don’t know what goes wrong here! (pun, PUN!!).
But I have to go now. I want to rise early in the morning. I have several phones calls to make very early in the morning.
Happy Cheiraoba, everybody!
Monday, April 07, 2008
Bird flu: human to human transmission reported.
I feel sick inside reading the news. I read the news here.
Bird flu outbreak here last year amply showed us that this society was, and still is, wholly unprepared for a virus outbreak. Even in this stage of society’s unprepared ness we can reasonably feel safe if it is the case of containing the virus within the domain of poultry by culling its population. But if the virus mutates enabling it to jump from human to human we are in a serious danger. The whole population is in danger.
I had had a first hand account of how the government agencies carried on culling the birds in the affected region of 5 kms radius within Imphal. Once the culling personnel arrive at the farm, every able bodied men rush ahead of them and carried away the supposedly affected birds in their bare hands to their houses to be cooked later in the evening! Culling of affected birds here has the opposite effect of spreading the virus from a particular farm to its immediate surroundings. We were lucky that all of the farms culled by the government agencies happened to have freed of the virus. Otherwise, we would have had the widespread transmission of the virus here in Imphal.
If the human to human transmission is confirmed beyond reasonable doubts, it will be the most damning development here in this part of the world.
Bird flu outbreak here last year amply showed us that this society was, and still is, wholly unprepared for a virus outbreak. Even in this stage of society’s unprepared ness we can reasonably feel safe if it is the case of containing the virus within the domain of poultry by culling its population. But if the virus mutates enabling it to jump from human to human we are in a serious danger. The whole population is in danger.
I had had a first hand account of how the government agencies carried on culling the birds in the affected region of 5 kms radius within Imphal. Once the culling personnel arrive at the farm, every able bodied men rush ahead of them and carried away the supposedly affected birds in their bare hands to their houses to be cooked later in the evening! Culling of affected birds here has the opposite effect of spreading the virus from a particular farm to its immediate surroundings. We were lucky that all of the farms culled by the government agencies happened to have freed of the virus. Otherwise, we would have had the widespread transmission of the virus here in Imphal.
If the human to human transmission is confirmed beyond reasonable doubts, it will be the most damning development here in this part of the world.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
A meeting to discuss the recent violence.
I went to a meeting organized by Manipur Forward Youth Front (MAFYF) at the Press Club. It was named ‘Citizen’s conference on violence in Manipur’.
It was the first meeting organized by a Civil Society Organization to discuss the recent spurt of violence here. I came to know of the meeting from yesterday’s newspapers, all of which carried it as a news item. Some of the papers inserted it into far inside the inner pages and made it as innocuous as possible. I still wonder why.
I was late there. As far as the speakers I had had the chance to listen to are to be taken into account, nobody seemed to have any clue about the recent violence. Everybody said they hate violence. All of them blamed the government. That is routine, cliché.
It seems that our society is still in bewilderment by the sudden impact of the recent spurt of violence. It is yet to size it up and dissect it to find the appropriate antidote.
I still remember MAFYF launching it site at www.mafyf.org. I have no idea if they are still updating the site.
It was the first meeting organized by a Civil Society Organization to discuss the recent spurt of violence here. I came to know of the meeting from yesterday’s newspapers, all of which carried it as a news item. Some of the papers inserted it into far inside the inner pages and made it as innocuous as possible. I still wonder why.
I was late there. As far as the speakers I had had the chance to listen to are to be taken into account, nobody seemed to have any clue about the recent violence. Everybody said they hate violence. All of them blamed the government. That is routine, cliché.
It seems that our society is still in bewilderment by the sudden impact of the recent spurt of violence. It is yet to size it up and dissect it to find the appropriate antidote.
I still remember MAFYF launching it site at www.mafyf.org. I have no idea if they are still updating the site.
So, Moorrestown is here!
I even like the name. Moorestown is cool. Intel has just announced Moorestown, which will be world’s smallest motherboard. We have to wait for 2010 to have Moorestown enabled device in the market.
With that kind of motherboard we will have really small computer which would, in turn, have a lot of processing and memories.
With that of kind configurations we can easily compressed every feature we need into a single device. Cameras, phone, portable media center and what not.
I don’t like phones which have some processing power. Instead, I would go for a small and powerful computer which also have calling facility.
Why don’t go in for the reverse of Palm and the ill-fated Folio? First, we have a Folio type device which shall be smaller but more powerful. In that compact machine why don’t we house a really thin and futuristic handset? Even if we don’t use the handset housed in the machine we would still be able to call using the mic and speaker. When we have the mood for using the handset, we can easily take it out from the machine.
To me, that would be really cool.
With that kind of motherboard we will have really small computer which would, in turn, have a lot of processing and memories.
With that of kind configurations we can easily compressed every feature we need into a single device. Cameras, phone, portable media center and what not.
I don’t like phones which have some processing power. Instead, I would go for a small and powerful computer which also have calling facility.
Why don’t go in for the reverse of Palm and the ill-fated Folio? First, we have a Folio type device which shall be smaller but more powerful. In that compact machine why don’t we house a really thin and futuristic handset? Even if we don’t use the handset housed in the machine we would still be able to call using the mic and speaker. When we have the mood for using the handset, we can easily take it out from the machine.
To me, that would be really cool.
Friday, April 04, 2008
A new development?
When somebody is sound signaling by clanging an electric pole with a rock or something, then there is trouble brewing up in the neighborhood. That was what just happened in my neighborhood this morning.
It was hardly 8 in the morning when I heard the clanging sound. At first I thought it was some kind of a prank. Then, there came another spell of clanging sound. Only then I knew there was trouble here.
Womenfolk were protesting the killing of one Uttam. They were, and still are, blocking the Mayai Lambi Road indefinitely. Police came and fired teargas shells and smoke bombs to disperse them. Disperse they did but the shops along the road pulled down their shutters and everybody avoided that stretch of the road.
Uttam was shot down in his own house by two men who came in a Honda scooter. After they shot him down, the two men coolly deposited a handgun by the side of the dying body. Several people who were there in their house at that time were eyewitnesses to it.
Later, the two killers turned out to be the commandoes of the Manipur Police.
As usual, a JAC (Joint Action Committee) was formed by the residents of the neighborhood and met the Chief Minister. After the meeting, the members of the JAC complained to the media that they were hurt by the tone of the Chief Minister when he told them about the ‘guilt’ of Uttam.
It would be better if they told the media what the Chief Minister actually told them and then, refute him publicly. Neither did they spell out what the allegations made by the CM nor did they refute the allegations.
Most intriguing is that Police have so far do not come out with an official statement.
So, what is going on here?
The killing took place some 4/5 leikais away from here. As the sizes of the leikais are very small here, the site of the killing is just a stone’s throw away. I even asked a friend even more close to the site of the killing and found out that he also did not know anything about the killing.
This development surprises me. Usually, behind the scene happenings that lead to a killing always come to us by words of mouth. This seems to be not happening anymore. See the killings of migrant workers, two ladies from Chandel district and then another 3 young girls in Heirok. Nobody knows who were the killers and the motives behind the killing.
I feel that we are being slowly but inexorably sucked into a new societal development so profoundly impacted by the conflict of the forces of insurgency and counter-insurgency.
It was hardly 8 in the morning when I heard the clanging sound. At first I thought it was some kind of a prank. Then, there came another spell of clanging sound. Only then I knew there was trouble here.
Womenfolk were protesting the killing of one Uttam. They were, and still are, blocking the Mayai Lambi Road indefinitely. Police came and fired teargas shells and smoke bombs to disperse them. Disperse they did but the shops along the road pulled down their shutters and everybody avoided that stretch of the road.
Uttam was shot down in his own house by two men who came in a Honda scooter. After they shot him down, the two men coolly deposited a handgun by the side of the dying body. Several people who were there in their house at that time were eyewitnesses to it.
Later, the two killers turned out to be the commandoes of the Manipur Police.
As usual, a JAC (Joint Action Committee) was formed by the residents of the neighborhood and met the Chief Minister. After the meeting, the members of the JAC complained to the media that they were hurt by the tone of the Chief Minister when he told them about the ‘guilt’ of Uttam.
It would be better if they told the media what the Chief Minister actually told them and then, refute him publicly. Neither did they spell out what the allegations made by the CM nor did they refute the allegations.
Most intriguing is that Police have so far do not come out with an official statement.
So, what is going on here?
The killing took place some 4/5 leikais away from here. As the sizes of the leikais are very small here, the site of the killing is just a stone’s throw away. I even asked a friend even more close to the site of the killing and found out that he also did not know anything about the killing.
This development surprises me. Usually, behind the scene happenings that lead to a killing always come to us by words of mouth. This seems to be not happening anymore. See the killings of migrant workers, two ladies from Chandel district and then another 3 young girls in Heirok. Nobody knows who were the killers and the motives behind the killing.
I feel that we are being slowly but inexorably sucked into a new societal development so profoundly impacted by the conflict of the forces of insurgency and counter-insurgency.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Pull cord generator.
You pull a cord continuosly(as in starting a portable genset) for 5 minutes and you have power for one hour of lighting. That sounds good, isn't? It is potenco's pull cord generator. At the top is a picture of the generator.
Here is a video.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
FOSS 2008
I planned to be there and to spend maximum time, observing and learning new things. But I could not make it to the opening day, that is, yesterday.
I was also late there today. I was able to just catch the last presenter of the day and so,of the event. The presenter was Dr Linthoi Akoijam, who is the general secretary of European Manipuri Association. It enthuses me alot seeing the presenter trying to contantly break the barrier between the audience and herself. She wanted to interact with her audinece. It is refreshing seeing that kind of effort.
Of course, I was in the last rows observing the whole procedure!
My general impression is that as most of the organizers are from the corporate sectors, if not techies, they seem to be trying to expand the audience of their familiar power point representation! Naturally, they sometimes seem awkward in trying to reach out to a wider circle. But it is really heartening to see all of them trying to reach out.
In future events, I'll try to be there in time.
As the event was in MU campus, I also pay a visit to the University library. I was trying to update myself on my regular journals and magazines. When I was to go out I try the good old 'poknapham'. I was just browsing through the headlines. In the foreign news section, there was this innocuos item of encounter with a UFO in Pennsylvania, USA. It said USAF's raptor fighters intercepted it and forced to land in the airbase. There elite US military commandos storm the spacecraft and captired four the ETs. I said 'WOW' and just trying to absorb the shock, I wander towards the end of the news.
There, it said--'Courtesy April Fool'.
C'mon, I forgot it--today is April Fool!!
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Wellness vs sensitivity
When I first read a short piece on how sunbathing for about one and half hour daily is extremely good for health, my instant reaction was—“That must be true”. That piece sounded so true!
When you keep yourself covered most of the time and using sun-blocking lotions, how will you going to get Vitamin D? Vitamin D is much essential for proper body metabolism. Now, new researches have already proven that Vitamin D deficiency triggers major illnesses in human. So, exposing maximum parts of the body to the sunlight when the sun is young makes a lot sense to me. I suppose UV ray comes into play when sunlight becomes harsher as the day goes on.
So, I make it a point to take my bath in the open at around 10 am everyday. How can you possibly find a separate time for sun bathing? I try to expose as much body as possible and to try to linger on as long as I can! But 1 hour is the maximum I can manage so far!
Most important, I have this sense of wellness when I keep following this routine of mine. I think we need to have that sense of wellness now and then.
But today, it was raining in the morning. It was already 1 pm when the rain stops and the good sun makes its grand appearance. Immediately I rushed to have my bath in the sunshine!
Now, I have a running nose for taking bath so late in the afternoon! That’s not because I’m a weakling or in a bad health but because my body is so sensitive to even a minor changes like the timing of my taking bath. It can discern some minor fluctuations in my daily routine and give appropriate punishment for that!
And, I fancy that having a sensitive body is not that bad at all.
When you keep yourself covered most of the time and using sun-blocking lotions, how will you going to get Vitamin D? Vitamin D is much essential for proper body metabolism. Now, new researches have already proven that Vitamin D deficiency triggers major illnesses in human. So, exposing maximum parts of the body to the sunlight when the sun is young makes a lot sense to me. I suppose UV ray comes into play when sunlight becomes harsher as the day goes on.
So, I make it a point to take my bath in the open at around 10 am everyday. How can you possibly find a separate time for sun bathing? I try to expose as much body as possible and to try to linger on as long as I can! But 1 hour is the maximum I can manage so far!
Most important, I have this sense of wellness when I keep following this routine of mine. I think we need to have that sense of wellness now and then.
But today, it was raining in the morning. It was already 1 pm when the rain stops and the good sun makes its grand appearance. Immediately I rushed to have my bath in the sunshine!
Now, I have a running nose for taking bath so late in the afternoon! That’s not because I’m a weakling or in a bad health but because my body is so sensitive to even a minor changes like the timing of my taking bath. It can discern some minor fluctuations in my daily routine and give appropriate punishment for that!
And, I fancy that having a sensitive body is not that bad at all.
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