Kangleimaichou

               A place which had gone through invasions after invasions; its people forcefully converted; the native rulers conquered, and the new foreign rulers overrun by another power. Much has gone into the minds of the people, and a lot has been forgotten; remembering and restoring them intact with less practical intelligence could only prove detrimental, but this lacking in them also creates a confusion which makes people behave in a rather weird fashion. A society which could otherwise have been quite open and forward-looking has become humiliated and quite protective. Like in other places, those at the top are the people who are as rich as any affluents in downtown New York. To them the place is always on the move with all the modern features one can find in any metropolis. It’s easy for them to bring in something strange and get used to it, unlike those who have been left untouched, t...

         It was a rectangular room adorned with black upholstered chairs at a long conference table, there were more upholstered chairs of the same colour against the freshly-painted walls, a projector was suspended from the white ceiling and what was visible was the map of the North-East India. The man sitting at the top of the table was some academic who was considered a sympathizer of some militant group. I instantly recognized him, the upper part of his face was white as a dead man’s and from the lips till the jaw disappeared in his thick long beard. Six more of them were at the table, two Bengali ladies, one in jeans and kurta and another in Bengali sari and a Khasi lady. One among the three men was an Anglo-Indian and the rest were some Khasi men in big blazers.         The sympathizer spoke, “We are honoured to have some distinguished people from the North-east, a much-neglected place. Some I got to admire during my sojourn, rather...

             I had to withdraw some money, so we got off after two stations and walked the touristy area of the city where Delhilites behaved themselves and kept themselves clean in the presence of foreign tourists; some girls were seen wearing short skirts. That was rather a strange sight. Later on we were on the train again to get to the other side of the city, the train was more crowded than before. At one interchange station few sari-clad ladies with their infants and their foreheads marked with vermillion powder squeezed themselves in. May be there was no space for them in the lady’s compartments, with great struggle they stood and because of the congestion the infants began to feel uncomfortable and  began crying, and the shrill noise travelled over our heads. No man stood up to offer the ladies with the infants to sit, when some stood up, men scrambled for the seats. There they sat talking loud to each other while the sari-clad ladies...

His was a “UK-bound” call centre which was involved in selling Orange network to “UK Clients.” The firm trained them to speak in British accent, and then how to pitch in that fed accent. Sometimes they would be tolerated by people who took some interest in their imitated accent, some would be scared thinking that their safe and civilized world had now been intruded by some aliens from the other world, many would just sign up, and a lot of them would ask their personal data to be erased from the database.   One had to be “ on the floor” the whole night and one could get a short break to have a cup of coffee which would be announced by the shift supervisor with a whistle as though they were in some prison. Right after one call another would pop up on screen and the person had to click the button and carry on with the same pitch which they had been implanted with. When the clock ticked four the supervisor would whistle and everyone would scramble out for the parking lot from where ...

           As the black and yellow three-wheeled vehicle with black leather roofing got in further the colours and the beauty began to change. It was dark, and the sides of the alley were occupied by rows of shop houses, the sky was virtually invisible and what was opened as a narrow strip was  crisscrossed by cable wires. From the shops lighted up yellow bulbs and fluorescent tubes loud Bollywood numbers thundered out forcing their likes on others. Had the path been a bit smooth and less crowded as it appeared from the outside the driver could have driven faster. Seeing this labyrinthine behind the high-rise modern glass building and the one which could soon be replaced by it I felt that the buildings were the thick walls holding some sort of boiling liquid ,and when it couldn’t contain it would explode and spill over the well-kept area and the littered road.             The vehicle moved in with one side of it over smal...

               Seeing me with a large pack on my back they all turned around and examined me from head to my booted feet and in unison they waved their hands at me as though I was some public figure whom they all had long been expecting. Two among them came up and took me by the arms; that wasn’t comfortable at all. I told them to let go of my arms, to which they wouldn’t listen, then I repeated they still wouldn’t yield to my demand. When I shook off their hands they stepped back, as though sensing the anger, and the two returned to join the group. I said I wanted them to take me to the southern part of the city. They heard me clearly and no one seemed to be ready, instead they put their heads together and this time one person spoke as if they had just elected a group leader.             I thought to myself of the tomfoolery they were showing in th...

                 The train journey was supposed to take sixty-two hours but the locomotive stopped several times for unexplained reason ,and finally it halted for one whole night. Some inebriated men jumped on the train to travel for few kilometres kept on asking about my nationality and when that wasn’t enough they wanted to me answer some queries of which I understood not a word. I was subjugated to that while our gentlemanly-looking fellow passengers busied themselves reading English newspapers.   The worry that some inebriated people with nasty intention could do anything to you and yet you wouldn’t be in a position to drag them to some police officer was quite clear.       Before the next station along a line of ivy-clothed trees they jumped off when the train slowed down and disappeared.   Mr. Subramaniyam folded his newspaper and said, “They ...

     Now that he sits in a police station as one  among many sub-inspectors, my former friend courts people, who he cannot ignore, wink at people, with whom he had understood dealings, and appeared dreadful when he is faced with victims’ families. Years ago, he wouldn’t be indifferent to many vital things in life, and now he can be indifferent to friends, worrying that in this sinking state stricken with violence they could become a burden or perhaps a bunch that would make him do favours without any compensation. If one backtracked and weighed the tw- millio- bribe his parent had arranged for this job, then one would understand why he opted for this versatile personality and how important it is for him to stay in the characters to recover the invested money. Land and gold had to be mortgaged, and understanding the fact that his parent is responsible for a hundred thousand rupee interest one could only sympathize.     The fact...

                                      The essay that he had memorized was “A white cow”, and ,much to his dismay, the essay before him in English test was “ A black cow.” How could he think up of something which could go in paragraphs below “ A black cow.” His English teacher said only one out of three, he had ticked, would come, and every one of them, who had attended his special classes, felt being betrayed by that “question-setter.” All that his father wanted him was to be just like the photographed-village boy, who ranked 3 rd in the state’s high school exam; everyone recognized that photographed-village boy; dragged from one leikai( locality) to another to be garlanded by those village leaders who would even skip a meal to get hold of the microphone at every event in the village.      ...

            The director appeared much humbled and he asked the secretary to get some drinks; we were given options. And the man who had stood up to stop us now began smiling and was exceedingly polite: he began calling me tamo( big brother ) and my friend khura ( uncle). My friends had come here to ask the director to help activate the 3G connection for his minister and legislator friends. Having associated with those men, the man stood up, as though he was tickled by the request, and came and stood by the sofa.             The Director, with the secretary, accompanied us till the main gate, stirring up the security personnel. The commander in-charge of the gate was ordered to escort us till the Chief Minister’s official resident. Above the few-metre-high walls towers stood, and in the towers the security personnel’s faces were scarcely visible behind the sandbags and th...

              We were not stopped nor the notion of frisking us hadn’t crossed their minds, instead the armed commandos directed the way till the door of the legislature. The influential man with me didn’t consider it necessary; he gave an understood holler and from behind the door the legislator’s soft voice came. He shook my hand and said the influential figure with me was a well-respected person. I did have a fair idea, but had never attached that importance, since to me he was just an old friend. In his soft-spoken voice he talked about the recent security arrangements, and then he went on to talk about ministerial portfolios and some upcoming foreign trips. The men whom he had been courting before we had arrived stood up and the eldest-looking among them asked with a brimming smile, ‘ So, can it be considered done?” He said they should start with the walls, and then the cheque would be signed. The men lingered and pre...

              Sometimes sitting all alone in this strange place, which you have started calling home, you do wonder what it is that had brought you here. There is comfort, there is absence of obstruction, but you wonder how it would be like if these had been a part of that distant place.   When you were in school it was easy for you and your friends to go for a long run at four in the morning; all that your mother would ask you was to be mindful while crossing the road. When the days of boyhood were virtually over the place was filled with charades and the vigour in the vocal voices was astonishing; but you couldn’t tell what those charades were all about and wondered why the vigour was so intense; they were far off things and you were busy in your boyish life guided by an ambition.   Perhaps you were too young to feel the impact and also to look beyond to foresee the consequences.      ...

                     From the bicycle rickshaw I could see the Victorian building of the country’s best college. They said it had been rated as the best in several discipline for several years. I didn’t go to a good college, nor did I take great interest in required reading; the actual learning came to be much later when I was exposed to a very harsh environment. I wasn’t awed, but I was curious to find out what was inside the best college of the nation: a sprawling clean campus with serious students working till midnight in their comfortable hostels, active students playing some sports taking the view of practical education and, perhaps, a place where a debating environment was vibrant. Those were certainly some of the stereotypes that had crept in the mind of a man who had been battling the rising mercury in this capital city of India. One evening about the area, where I had rented an eyrie-like...