Randomrandom

Around Oxford

2011-02-20T12:01:00.000-08:00

Noticed this at a corner in Woodstock

Northeast India From A Distance

2011-01-30T05:37:00.000-08:00

In Oxford now and visiting the university as a Fellow. And in an attempt to recast my travels in Northeastern Indian states in the form of structured words--what could be a book at some point of time. This photograph is from a museum visit.

Train Again

2010-09-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

The Hill Queen zigzagging to Halflong, North Cachar

On a train to North Cachar

2010-08-29T02:20:00.001-07:00

After Nagaland was in Delhi for a while. And then travelled to North Cachar in the hill district of Assam. What a fascinating train journey in the metre gauge line! More on the journey and North Cachar in the next posts.

Inside Nagaland

2010-08-29T02:13:00.000-07:00

We took National Highway-39 and crossed Senapati district. Crossed Mao Gate. Reached Kohima. From Kohima travelled inside Nagaland to meet Thuingaleng Muivah in Pughoboto for a long interview. In this photograph my cameraman with Muivah after the interview.

Back to Imphal

2010-08-29T02:05:00.000-07:00

We got back to Imphal. Met people from the valley. Most of them disgusted with this economic blockade ( which was on then) and also with New Delhi. Here we are talking to Rajkumar Ranendrajit.

Somdal

2010-08-29T01:49:00.000-07:00

In Somdal in the hill district of Manipur, we met a lot of people. Some still waiting for Thuingaleng Muivah to visit his home. This is the road just outside the village

Waiting for Jesus

2010-08-13T06:30:00.001-07:00

Noticed this is in Ukhrul. In fact in a lot of other places as well.

From Ukhrul we travelled to Somdal, then travelled back to Imphal. From there to Senapati district of Manipur and then to Kohima. This is the news documentary we did on the 68 day Manipur blockade.

Towards Somdal

2010-08-13T05:39:00.001-07:00

We travelled to Somdal, a village in the Ukhrul district of Manipur. It's also the birthplace of NSCN-IM General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah. Rains and more rains on the way

Ukhrul

2010-08-13T05:21:00.000-07:00

Think it was Fathers' Day celebration that Sunday

Those who braved the rain and reached for Sunday church

June rains in Ukhrul, when we reached. Am told the weather is like this through the year.

Trapped In Time?

2010-08-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

Travelled to Ukhrul, the hill district of Manipur. Met people who had imposed the economic blockade along National Highways. Underdeveloped and cut off from the rest of the nation, Ukhrul, almost, stays trapped in time. Pretty much like these posters in the town.

And what we have seen so many times in different corners of Northeast India. On a Sunday, it is time for church ( in this case, braving the June rain and the June cold).

Manipur: June 18

2010-08-07T22:57:00.000-07:00

Back from Calcutta to Assam and then headed straight to Imphal. Reached on June 18 in Manipur--a day observed as Martyr's Day. When we reached Imphal, it was still battling the effects of the 68-day blockade by Naga outfits. And at the time of the economic blockade the gathering of people in Imphal for June 18, was a reminder how clash of communities and identities can go out of hand, destroy lives and divide people, like it did in 2001. On June 18, 2001, 18 people died in the clash between central forces and a mob protesting the extension of ceasefire with the NSCN-IM to Naga areas in Manipur.

"The day is being observed when Manipur is again in turmoil on account of the fear of losing the territorial boundaries of Manipur to NSCN-IM in their hope of greater Nagalim to the utter neglect of the people of Manipur," Professor Sadanand, of the Senior Citizens Forum told us.

Indifferent Industry

2010-08-07T22:17:00.000-07:00

I was in Calcutta in June. Went to report on the civic elections. Then stayed back for a week as help was needed in the CNN-IBN Calcutta bureau. From elections to the beginning of the football World Cup, to the updates of a train derailment it was interesting to report from the city. But one report that will stay with me is the one on sick industries in Bengal. During my stay in the city, Railway Wagon maker Burn Standard got Rs 1,000 crore loan writen off from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. Burn Standard had turned sick 16 years ago. Both the Left and Trinamool claimed credit. We travelled inside Burn Standard in Howrah. The spectacle that is a combination of politics, trade union, neglect that has killed industry in Bengal was evident. Even with the loans written off, the future seems trapped in all these.

That is Swapan Roy, one of the oldest employees at Burn Standard. For him the celebrations had little or no meaning--at least that's what I felt. "Today, I am remembering my co-workers many of whom had no other option but to jump from the sinking ship in despair. Just 500 of us stayed back". With elections round the corner, there is a newfound love of industry in Bengal. But for West Bengal to come out of an industrial coma will require more than promises and votebank politics.

To Sikkim And Back

2010-04-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

Sikkim University, a 32 month university held its first convocation in Gangtok. I was most happy to be part of this grand moment. (Photograph) Gangtok from the hotel window.

The Kanchanjunga remained in a hide-and-seek mode for those ( like me) who woke up at 6 and not at 5 am.

An old Sikkim post/Photograph

Carnival

2010-04-22T08:05:00.000-07:00

Rongali Bihu in Assam is "a unique new year festival. In reality it is a carnival" This photograph, was taken at Karbi Anglong district of Assam.

City By The River

2010-04-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

Best part of Guwahati is the river

The Kaziranga Trail

2010-04-22T07:04:00.000-07:00

Was most happy to have Sapta ( dear old friend) in Assam just after Bheblu, Priyo, Beq and Sue left. Our little friend is in love with Sapta. Look at the photograph.

Bitter Tea

2010-04-18T02:37:00.000-07:00

Trade Unions, Tea bodies and the government in Assam have decided to give an increment to labourers in tea gardens. All this has been done probably keeping in mind the state elections in 2011. Sadly, post-raise it appears that the trade unions have stayed on in negotiations as a yes-body. The wage increment is just one small example of labour exploitation. Not just Assam and tea, it is a trend across India.

These labourers, asked us for money half-jokingly when they were being photographed. The tea industry not just in Assam but across India has come out of a slump after almost 10 years. When we met the top policy guys in tea, they said that it is a labour intensive industry and wages should not judged on the basis of money alone. We were told that there are also a lot of other benefits ( like subsidised ration/medical care) given to the workers. And now a raise.What is the raise amount? Rs 18 over a period of 45 months. How will the raise play out. In the first 15 months, the raise will be Rs 8. In the next 15 months, the raise will be Rs 5. And as a third and final installment Rs 5 will be increased in the next 15 months.

Sombaru works in a tea estate in Assam. A gentle, welcoming and helpful soul, he looks after labourers involved in plantation. A supervisory position that gives him the title of sardar. We met him near Kaziranga. When informed that the wages of daily labourers have been increased from Rs 58 per day to Rs 66 per day, he was clueless. We found out that wages are often paid in these gardens not on a daily basis and only per week. Subsidised ration that the labourers are entitled to is also not up to the mark.

Picture Yourself On A Boat In A River

2010-04-03T23:38:00.000-07:00

Majuli is the world's largest fresh water mid-river deltaic island. That's what everyone says. But some are not too sure about the claim. Majuli was once, 1,200 square kilometre. A web search and recent satellite images reveal that the island is now anything between 577 and 875 square kilometre. As Amar Grover writes in 2006, December issue of Geographical, " each year several square kilometres of the island, simply disappear"

This 100 feet long monstrous boat does three trips from Nimatighat to Majuli every day. We took the 10.30 am ride.

Everyone is up and ready to be in Majuli after a one and half hour ride on the Bramhaputra

Sunayana and her son Rahul with the happy group of women from Majuli. It appeared that they are regulars on the boat, old friends---travelling on the Bramhaputra, in and out of Majuli.

Krishna--the icon of the island? Some say that Majuli is the epicentre of culture in Assam. Probably, all began when in 16th Century, social reformer Srimanta Sankardeva came here and began spreading a more accessible form of Vaishnavite culture.

The boat moves. And those who are on it everyday, go about their routine. For them it might be just a boat and just a journey.

When do I cross the river? My journey, it continues and continues.

Overwhelmed at/on being photographed. (Sunayana and Priyodorshi noticed this). Most of them appeared to be followers of Krishna( or at least a deep faith in Krishna's divine powers), some of them were widows. On a 90 minute boat ride, we hardly got their stories. Stories probably hidden behind their smiles and helpful nature.

Between a journey and a book

Beautiful woman on the boat(II).

On the river, from our boat

A journey we have talked about and finally we are on the Bramhaputra.

We start for Majuli

The river we loved crossing

And what all will cross the river? Motorcycles

Bicycles

Happiness is a river and a boat

Nimatighat, Jorhat

Inside the boat. Masks, Mising huts and the island. Crossing the Bramhaputra is just a matter of time.

Beautiful woman on boat (I)

Friends

And friends

And river and boat

get set go! for Majuli.

http://www.silchartoday.com/tour_travels/assam/majuli/threatenedisland.htm

(Link to a 1998 report on the island)

http://www.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19980705/18650344.html

Inside Camp Hebron

2010-03-03T09:13:00.000-08:00

So we're back in Camp Hebron--headquarters of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland ( Isak-Muivah) faction. Formed in 1980, they are in a struggle with the Indian government for a greater Nagaland. Their primary demand is the formation of a Greater Nagaland with areas that has Nagas in the Indian states of Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and also some portions of Myanmar. NSCN-IM considers these areas to be part of Greater Nagaland or Nagalim.

Singing for the cause of Nagalim--Greater Nagaland.

This is an NSCN-IM military training session in progress. And that is Azeno looking into the camera. A 22 year-old cadre, she is here to "serve the nation".

As I have mentioned in my previous post, the NSCN-IM has been in a ceasefire with the government of India for the last 13 years. Other than minor technical yes or nos not an inch has moved forward in the Indo-Naga peace talks in all these years. And no one seems bothered about it, other than the occasional statements. Since 1997 there have been sixty rounds of talks that have been held in Paris, Bangkok, Zurich, Geneva, some unspecified location, Amsterdam, Hague, Dimapur and New Delhi. As I write this post, the present round of talks is being held in New Delhi.

The cadres go through a full training cycle for our cameras. They repeat, some sections of the drill for our filming. Don't know how many cameras they have faced before. Inside the camp the cadres seem trapped in time fighting for a sixty three year-old cause that probably holds little meaning in 2010.

These are some of the cadres at the camp. I don't know if they have much of an option but to stay with the "council".

Young cadres of the NSCN-IM at Camp Hebron. " We are serving the nation and NSCN-IM is the right choice" --that's their line. Everyone in the camp believes in this.

After an extensive shoot, once we are done, the cadres are allowed to go back to their camps. They are most happy and relieved to be over and done with this sudden filming session.

Almost at the end of the filming. Self-styled Lt Rex with my cameraman Mukut Medhi.

Still Talking

2010-02-27T07:26:00.000-08:00

On March 2, Thuingaleng Muivah, Chairman of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland is supposed to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Muivah reaches Delhi from Amsterdam tonight ( 11.30 pm IST/27th Feb). What are we expecting? Nothing probably. There have been 50 rounds of talks between the Government of India and the NSCN-IM, in Amsterdam, Paris, Bangkok, Geneva among other locations. So far, no one has been able to achieve anything. The ceasefire between NSCN-IM and Government of India ( signed in 1997) is still on. Everything seems to end there. Asia's oldest insurgency or movement for recognition of the Naga identity still continues in Nagaland. I took this photograph at the NSCN camp in Nagaland, few years back. I will be visiting this place again on Monday ( March 1), just to get an idea what people are thinking not just inside the camp, but also in Nagaland about Muivah meeting the Prime Minister. How much relevance does a Muivah visit still have?

The photograph above was taken at the NSCN-Unification faction camp in Nagaland. It was a faction formed by Azeto Chopy. I visited this camp in 2008--the year of state elections. Lack of unity among different groups is also one reason why the Naga talks have often failed. (NSCN-Khaplang is another prominent group that needs mention.) But lack of unity is of course not the main reason for failure to arrive at a solution. The games played by the Indian government, Intelligence Bureau, Indian Army for votes and making one faction fight another are well known.

Link to an old post when I visited this Camp in 2008

http://orijitsen.blogspot.com/2008/04/nagaland-elections.html

Report Card

2010-02-19T07:39:00.000-08:00

A poster of Indian leaders in the classroom with no teachers (classroom pic below)

This classroom has no benches and right now no one introducing these students to the alphabets. There is one teacher. She runs from one classroom to another, taking two classes simultaneously

It is more than learning your name, and going by an all India Educational Survey conducted by Union Ministry of Human Resources Development these children are at the lowest rung of the education ladder. According to the survey, out of nearly 3 lakh school teachers in Northeast, only 45 % teachers are qualified to teach. The India average is 87 %. In this school in Assam with nearly 300 students there is only one qualified teacher out of a staff of four.
Our Education Minister, Harvard-educated Kapil Sibal wants a uniform syllabus across India, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has directed state education department to include computer science as a compulsory subject. But with schools and classrooms like this, it will require more than computers and a syllabus, for these prayers to be heard.

Our filming began with a retake of the school prayers.

This is my favourite photograph

ADDENDUM: This is a link to Shailendra Pandey's essay Too Tired To Teach: They travel long hours---On Foot, Carts And Cycles, Leaving Home And Kids. Photographer Shailendra Pandey Tracks The Lives Of Women Teaching In Government Schools in Uttar Pradesh ( View the Slideshow also)

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main43.asp?filename=cr270210too_tired.asp

Farewell to arms?

2010-02-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

These are the faces that had unleashed a reign of terror in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam for the last 6 years. Four hundred and eight militants of the Karbi Longri National Liberation Front laying down arms hoping to talk about 'self-rule" with the UPA government. Each surrendered militant will get 2 lakh rupees as a one time grant from the state government and will move to designated camps. I met Habe Tokbi the chairman of the outfit. "No one can guarantee. If problems are not solved, then? After independence sixty years is over. But no development in Karbi Anglong", he said. More than 10,000 square kilometres of Karbi Anglong lie trapped in underdevelopment and terror.The Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council is present in pen and paper. Corruption, clashes between Karbis and Dimasas and attacks on Hindi-speaking migrant labourers from Bihar and Nepal have held back any progress. It is also unfortunate that it takes a militant group, a government to legtimise violence and talk development at a so-called arms decommissioing ceremony. Something that takes place often, almost as a routine in some states of northeastern India.

Music from the margin

2010-01-24T02:23:00.000-08:00

(H Kerious with his grandson)

H Kerious Wahlang is a poet/ Khasi (folk) musician based out of Meghalaya. A self-taught musician, who makes his own musical instruments, Kerious stays in a village near Shillong. He has been on All India Radio since 1979. Kerious is okay with rock'n roll but wants people to listen to his music also.His voice is divine. His poetry beautiful. When we reached his home Kerious cancelled another appointment and stayed back for a recording/filming session. Kerious got emotional after his performace with the marangthin ( seen here in photograph) and broke down.

Making Music

2010-01-24T01:54:00.000-08:00

(Lou Majaw/Shillong, January, 2010)

Anjum Hasan in her essay, Shillong, Bob Dylan and Cowboy Boots captures the spirit of music in Shillong and the magic, music and madness of Lou Majaw. " Shouldn't a singer who takes the risk of living entirely by an image of the 1960s western pop musician, who genuinely considers himself an artist, who displays a great deal of cheek and naughty humour, who sings with seductive charm, be the most sought after role model of Shillong's west-infatuated youth? But he isn't. His concerts are only attended by faithfuls, and are rarely sell-outs. I don't know how many young people would be able to identify his songs. He is recognised on the streets of Shillong less for his music, and more because he has great style......And the west is near, and yet so far. Bob Dylan could be a local hero, the way devotees sing happy birthday to him each year. But despite these birthday parties, he will never age. The words of his songs will remain frozen in memory, Cowboy Boots will do Dylan-voiced imitations every 24th of May, while all around him life in Shillong ebbs and flows to the rhythm of some other, less audible music."

True to his promise Lou Majaw, arrived with his six year old son. Majaw, in his signature shorts and shades walked in like a rock star. And without wasting any time started to sing. A self taught musician, he has been walking along the long and winding roads of Shillong for the last six decades, spreading the spirit of music

Shillong's western music soundscape and indeed India's has always had a definite space for Majaw. He started his career in Calcutta in the Sixties. Majaw shot into prominence with the Great Society, a seminal band that was formed in the late 70s. "I came across Bert Cooper. He was a drummer. There were two of us. Then I came across Arjun Sen. That's how the Great Society was formed. We made a contribution to the field of music, through poetry, music. that's it" But what would make a permanent impression on the rest of India, would be the Bob Dylan concerts Lou decided to organise in Shillong in 1972, to celebrate the birthday of Bod Dylan. Majaw's dream is to sing on stage one day with his son. His son is called Dylan.

Resistance

2010-01-18T11:36:00.000-08:00

(Manjula Rabha)

(Birobala Rabha)

These are some of the faces from Thakurbilla village. Post office: Borjhora in East Garo Hills. When iPods, LCD screens, Macbooks and Big Bazaars are ruling India, almost unknown to the rest of the country, some women in this village are slowely but surely fighting superstition, age old beliefs and witch-hunting and the brazen murders that take place in the name of witch-hunting. Leading the fight is Birobala Rabha. She is around 75. Birobala was one of the one thousand women nominated in a group for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. We visited her village for filming a report. There was warm food, adda, music and stories. In 2010, when urban educated India are immersed in the "art of living" , Birobala and her village appeared to be refreshingly, utterly, wonderfully resistant to regressive beliefs. Also with Birobala is Manjula Rabha. Manjula lost her mother to witch-hunting and she has given her life to this cause. She is also a poet.

Manipur: Schools reopened after 6 months. Government employees are now on strike in the state.

Manipur

2009-12-22T10:31:00.000-08:00

In Manipur, education is under lock and key. Not one single official class has been held in this Indian state for the last 4 months. Schools, colleges and universities have been shut officially. Watch VIDEO.

Student bodies want justice in the alleged fake encounter killings that took place on July 23 in Imphal and the Chief Minister to resign.(post on encounter) Hence the call for boycott. Such is the law and order breakdown in the state, parents are afraid to send students to schools. Schools are apprehensive of attacks by boycott supporters. The state government is not able to provide security, probably couldn't care less. Most ministers have their sons, daughters studying in expensive boarding schools in other states. The Indian education minister has not issued a single statement. He would probably say that this problem does not fall under his jurisdiction. The Indian Home Minister is mostly busy in meetings and talking to TV reporters (trying to bring law and order under control). The photograph was taken in Manipur this August.

Little Buddhas

2009-11-16T05:21:00.000-08:00

And all of them waiting for the 14th Dalai Lama in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh

Faith

2009-11-16T04:54:00.000-08:00

The journey back to Tawang on the 50th year of his (The Dalai Lama's) escape from Tibet in 1959, drew Tibetan Buddhists from different corners to this town. People not only came from different corners of India, some have even come from Bhutan and Nepal on foot. And all of them came to meet the person they believe to be the Bodhisattva of Compassion, the living god.

Chasing The Old Monk

2009-11-16T04:29:00.001-08:00

He spoke to the media twice inside the Tawang Monastery. That was the first day of his visit. And he spoke at length. Dalai Lama: I am not the issue, issue is 6 million Tibetan people’s well being, their basic rights, unless the Chinese govt address these basic issue seriously, there is no question my return, the very reason why we left Tibet because of there is some problem so unless the Chinese govt you see address these basic problem you see no use

Kurseong Morning

2009-10-09T06:14:00.001-07:00

At the Kurseong Tourist Lodge

Kurseong

2009-10-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

My favourite Kurseong photograph

Assam October

2009-10-08T11:14:00.001-07:00

Militancy

2009-10-08T11:03:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, October 4, 12 people were killed by the anti-talks faction of the National Democractic Front of Bodoland. This group was primarily responsible for the October 30 serial blasts in Assam in 2008 that killed 90. But the intentions of the Centre or the State government in containing the NDFB remain unclear. As government officials/ministers keep rushing from one TV studio to another and talking about Mumbai Blasts or so-called Naxalite violence, these deaths it seems go unnoticed. It's almost as if life in this corner of India is expendable.

Tawang

2009-10-05T06:16:00.000-07:00

Fifty years ago, the 14th Dalai Lama made his escape into India through Tawang. He stayed in this monastery, the 328 year old Galden Namgey Lhatse Monastery, Tibetan Buddhism's biggest monastery after the Potala Palace in Lhasa. Fifty years later much has changed. We now have the 1962 war and a defeat--deep imprint of which still remains in the minds of Indians and residents of Tawang. Fifty years later, we also have the Tawang Lhasa highway. A highway that I thought looked better with all the distance maths on this beautiful yellow board. I visited Tawang to find out if indeed people were waiting for the Dalai Lama's much talked about November visit. Last year he had cancelled his visit reportedly after he was denied permission to travel by the Ministry of External Affairs. This year the story so far seems to be different. Tawang remains the shortest route from Tibet into India. When we went, it was early morning, very few people and the monastery was just waking up.

Sela Pass

2009-10-04T02:42:00.000-07:00

Sela Pass is the second higest motorable road in the world. It's named after Sela, who apparently was the girlfriend of an Indian army soldier Jaswant Singh. In the 1962 war Jaswant was killed at this place. Story goes, Sela used to bring him supplies and help him. She killed herself after Jaswant's death.

Another version( from the web): The hill in the background is called Sela Top in memory of Sela who (during the 1962 War) took Chinese soldiers to its top on the pretext of showing Jaswant Singh ( Indian Army Jawan); and from there she pushed the Chinese soldiers down killing all of them; she also committed suicide before being shot by others. Jaswant was the soldier who stood his fort alone against the Chinese. Finally he was caught but he shot himself before the Chinese soldiers could take him. Jaswant Ghat is the place in his memory.

Arunachal II

2009-10-04T02:38:00.000-07:00

Second Arunachal visit. This time, I was travelling to Tawang district and then to Bum La on the Chinese side of the border. This photograph was taken at the Dirang area.

Calcutta

2009-10-04T01:59:00.000-07:00

Shobabajar Durga Idol in North Calcutta. My first visit to this place. Managed to start early morning and do a bit of Puja pandal hopping. ( was there in Calcutta for 3 days) . Shobabajar has an interesting history. In 1757 after the Battle of Plassey, the British decided to build Fort William in the heart of Gobindapur. The people who stayed here were compensated and provided with land in Taltala, Kumartuli and Shobabajar. Nabakrishna Deb built his Rajbari at Shobabajar. After the death of Siraj ud-Daulah, Nabakrishna Deb, Mir Jafar, Amir Beg and Ramchand Roy earned eight crore rupees from the secret treasury. These were people who colluded with the British. That's how the people of Shobabajar Rajbari made their fortune. This place witnessed more. After his return from the Parliament of World's religions at Chicago, Swami Vivekananda was given a civic reception at the Shobabajar Rajbari. Also the famous widow remarriage debate between the upper class orthodox Hindus and Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar took place in Shobabajar ( wikipedia has a good entry under Shobabazar)

Arunachal

2009-09-24T08:27:00.001-07:00

Just back from Arunachal Pradesh. The state goes to elections on October 13

Manipur II

2009-09-23T22:19:00.000-07:00

Manipur

2009-09-23T21:43:00.001-07:00

On July 23rd, 27 year-old Chungkham Sanjit and 23 year old Rabina Devi, seven months pregnant was allegedly shot dead by the Manipur Police Commandos. After two months, the two deaths are still caught in the cycle of enquiries and protests. Manipur, today, presents a picture of extremes. The state has over 30 militant outfits and is under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, that was imposed in the state in 1980. Caught between the army, paramilitary, police commandos and the underground outfits are the people of the state. No development, almost no water, no electricity, schools closed in protest and yet no one seems to care about Manipur.

Delhi

2009-09-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

Jama Masjid area. Al Jawahar. Besides Karim's

Shillong II

2009-09-23T21:04:00.001-07:00

July, 2009

Shillong

2009-09-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

Police Bazaar, Shillong

Sikkim 2009

2009-08-15T00:48:00.000-07:00

Back after a long break. Garhwal, Sikkim, Delhi, Calcutta, Shillong--waiting to upload some photographs. This photograph was taken in Yumtham valley in Sikkim in July this year.

German Bakery, Rishikesh, 2009

2009-06-17T00:41:00.001-07:00

One of our favourite spots in Rishikesh

Bridge

2009-06-17T00:39:00.000-07:00

Bridge, just after Rudraprayag

Biru

2009-06-17T00:36:00.000-07:00

Biru ( background) with Senior Lala. Biru is our friend and the magic-man of the mountains.

Mountains

2009-06-17T00:32:00.000-07:00

Near Tunganath. Biru, Raju, Banerjee, Whitney and Dharmaraj

Lord Of The Lofty Heights

2009-06-13T06:25:00.000-07:00

Just back from a trek to Tunganath in Uttaranchal. Photograph taken at Tunganath ( 13,000 feet)

Tura Friends

2009-05-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

My two friends on the road to Tura in Meghalya. Water is precious in Tura. My blue t-shirt friend is carrying water in a beer can. His big brother is carrying the umbrella. Both are helping their mother.

Garo Hills

2009-05-30T05:50:00.000-07:00

The contrast between the roads that lead to Tura and the villages are stark. Though Phiding is on the other side of the divide, his love for the Sangmas is evident on his NCP-Agatha-t-shirt. But for many like Nere ( photograph at the top)--a mother of ten living in the remote Chibragre village--entitlement is an alien idea. "We need water, roads. What else do I ask for", she says. Nere stays in Chibrage village in Garo Hills.

Kurseong

2009-05-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

Hill Districts

2009-05-07T02:00:00.000-07:00

The Hill districts of Assam, where I was travelling before the polls was deceptively quiet during the day of polling. At night this area presents a perfect picture of darkness and despair. Miles and miles of sugarcane fields, dark villages with houses open to the highways, bad roads, bad bridges and the constant fear of being ambushed by militants -- Karbi Anglong and North Cachar injects depression into every soul. It is difficult to realise the idea of election in these parts of India. Some political flags, some wall posters. Before elections, every night the Dimasa militants were targeting trains, killing people. The Karbi militants were abducting people, killing them. Strangely, on the day of the vote, the turnout was a near 60 per cent in these areas, the violence magically vanished. "They've been bought off," said our stringer. Maybe, he was right. After the polls, the violence and attacks on trains have begun yet again. These are some photographs taken in both Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hill Districts of Assam

Bramhaputra

2009-04-27T05:35:00.000-07:00

Elections 2009

2009-04-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

In one of the worst communal riots in India nearly 3,000 Muslim men, women and children were killed in Nellie, Assam on February 18, 1983. All the victims died for defying a call to boycott elections. Twenty five years since the riots it was time for the residents of this area in Assam to face elections again. Today in Assam, illegal migration remains a key election issue. Unfortunately, often, the people of Nellie who are bonafide citizens have been equated with foreigners. For victims of the Nellie massacre, the compensation has been Rs 5,000 for the next of kin of the dead, Rs 3,000 or Rs 1,000 for the injured. The people who survived the attacks plead to take a look at their wounds. But even 25 years on, the healing process hasn't started. At a time when people attack people labelling them outsiders, foreigners and what-nots, I found most of these men and women unaware of the larger politics behind it. Their voting decisions are also, often taken en masse. This April when suddenly the informed blackberry carrying citizenry want people to vote and independent candiddates are mushrooming to take care of Mumbai's potholes and Bangalore's highways, spare a thought for people at the margins.

Time-Off

2009-04-27T04:34:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year. Meghalaya, Assam and Bhutan with Shamya, Ajitha, Rajarshi

Borders III

2009-03-16T22:46:00.001-07:00

Borders II

2009-03-16T03:56:00.000-07:00

India-Bangladesh border

2009-03-02T22:04:00.000-08:00

The partition in 1947 resulted in a long stream of refugees. By the first year of partition 1.25 million people had crossed over to West Bengal, Assam and Tripura. The second major wave of migration took place after Mujibur Rehman’s assassination in 1975. It created a communal rift that forced many people to move out of Bangladesh and just cross over to West Bengal. 60 years after independence the number of illegal migrants from Bangladesh staying in India is 20 million. With the rise of fundamentalist forces and terror outfits in Bangladesh that simple crossing over often helped by political has turned into one of the biggest security threats in the subcontinent. Our journey along the India-Bangladesh stretch from Hili to Sunderban with people from both sides of the border only proved that real security can only be ensured by increasing the awareness of these people and not just construction of a fence . Then only the checkpoints and the increased battalions can help counter terror.

Borders I

2009-03-02T21:55:00.000-08:00

Petrapole on the Jessore Road in Barasat in North 24 Parganans. It is one the 3 integrated check points in West Bengal. There are 3 ICPs in Bengal. One each in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. It’s also one of the busiest with 400 trucks crossing this point both ways every day. Overall India and Bangladesh do legal business worth $ 3.6 billion. The illegal trade is 3/4th that amount. On an average 1,200 people criss-cross the border daily. Petrapole remains the flagship ICP for people to people contact between India and Bangladesh and the largest land port between the 2 nations. (photograph taken around January 09)

Borders

2009-02-25T21:33:00.000-08:00

The Indo-Bangladesh border has been severely neglected and has been called by many a ticking time bomb. Beginning of this year, I travelled with Our Senior Editor V K Shashikumar and cameraman Debasish Nandi along the entire stretch of the border. Many of the illegal migrants who walk from Bangladesh to India come in search of a livelihood, but there are many among them who are backed by terror outfits like the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the HuJI. The BSF with its limited manpower and not the best of equipment has a tough task at hand patrolling a very porous border. This photograph has been taken by Debasish in the Nadia stretch of the border.

Kohima Orphanage VI

2009-02-03T21:49:00.000-08:00

This is a link of a short video report on the Kohima Orphanage and Destitute Home:
http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/85659/mothering-orphans-despite-troubles-she-is-a-real-hero.html

Kohima Orphanage V

2008-12-25T03:08:00.000-08:00

Kohima Orphanage IV

2008-12-25T02:53:00.001-08:00

Zaputuo with the kids. (and below) Zaputuo and her daughter Nebanuo at the Kohima Orphanage and Destitute Home.

Kohima Orphanage III

2008-12-24T23:39:00.000-08:00

"For every Naga born in his generation and the subsequent generation, fear, anger, frustration, persecution and the sound of gunfire have been his/her companion for their entire lives"---Nagaland and India: The Blood And The Tears. Kaka D Iralu.

Kohima Orphanage II

2008-12-24T23:35:00.000-08:00

This is Zaputuo Angami with a 11-day old baby abandoned by her parents.

Kohima Orphanage

2008-12-24T23:08:00.000-08:00

This is the first post on the Kohima Orphange. More to follow.
Kevizenuo, is a member of the Kohima Orphanage Home. (photograph)

The orphanage was started by Mrs Zaputuo Angami in 1973.
Zaputuo Angami, who was the widow of an army jawan, and a mother to a year old baby girl, took a decision, that changed the whole course of their life. Today, Zaputuo is 85.

The home has about 80 children. The home does not have any monthly income. Funds are almost zero. They survive on donations. They wear borrowed clothes, cheap shoes. Daily meals are rice and dal, (that people donate) and two cups of tea. Because of no funds work on weaving of Naga shawls and Mekhlas, dry flower arrangements, that the inmates used to learn/do, have stopped.

The Home has established a Govt primary school upto class IV. Three teachers are also employed. But after school the children have to study on their own. During school session every year it becomes extremly difficult for Zaputuo and her daughter Nebanuo. With little money they have to buy books, shoes, uniform( if possible).

Day starts at 5 o'clock in the morning, that includes prayer, lunch, dinner and study. "Unfortunately,there is no structured playtime in the routine as there are no playgrounds or play items".

If you want to help them, please leave a message with your contact on the blog.

Nagaland

2008-12-16T22:41:00.000-08:00

Off to Nagaland on 18th. The photograph was taken during the assembly elections in the state earlier this year.

Mizoram III

2008-11-25T04:31:00.000-08:00

Mizoram II

2008-11-25T04:26:00.000-08:00

There are 3 lakh 8 thousand women voters in Mizoram. Six thousand more votes than men. Yet out of the 205 candidates there are only 9 women candidates contesting the polls.

Mizoram Elections

2008-11-25T04:20:00.000-08:00

The Mizo National Front faces a huge anti-incumbency wave this year as Mizoram goes to polls on December 2. In power for ten years, allegedly, MNF has just promised development. MNF also faces allegations of corruption.

Cheap Sunglass Moment

2008-11-25T04:11:00.000-08:00

Back from Mizoram. This is my cheap sunglass moment in Aizawl city. Despite friends disowning me this had to happen.

Memorial Service

2008-11-09T05:26:00.001-08:00

Guwahati, Assam, November 2008

Remembering the Dead

2008-11-07T01:18:00.000-08:00

People getting together every evening in different corners of Assam, remembering people killed in the horrific October 30 blasts.

Evening

2008-10-28T05:25:00.000-07:00

Coming back from a shoot in Nalbari, Assam. Photograph taken while crossing the bridge on the Bramhaputra

Electric Cool

2008-10-17T04:07:00.000-07:00

Durga puja madness in Assam courtesy the magicians/electricians from Chandannagore, West Bengal

Relief camps

2008-10-07T06:09:00.000-07:00

Two photographs taken at the relief camp in Udalguri district of Assam. From a distance , this boy and the young woman was observing us. Observing what we were trying to do with the camera. The condition of the relief camps are really bad. Inadequate food, little water. In these temporary relief camps with basic facilities ( in absolute discomfort) the women and the children are still waiting for the violence to end.

Death

2008-10-07T05:36:00.000-07:00

Mob violence/communal violence/rioting is something that we often read about. When we witness that madness it's something that beats all imagination. It's horrifying, nauseating . People killing people is not the best thing to watch. Assam witnessed the worst form of communal violence just few days back. At least 40 people were killed in the districts of Udalguri, Darrang and Baksa. No one knows what sparked off this violence. I was there in Udalguri and there were many versions doing the rounds. No one knew what was the reason for organised hatred among thousands of people and what led them to hack each other to death in these districts. I have read many times, many accounts of the India-Pakistan partition riots ( probably the worst in history) on both sides of the border, in Punjab and in Bengal. I have read stories by Manto, by Manik Bandopadhyay, by Khuswant Singh. I have also read about the infamous Nellie massacre that took place in Assam in 1983 when more than 2,000 people were killed in one night of communal frenzy. But nothing comes close to what you witness. On assignment in Assam's Udalguri district, these are photographs that captured the hatred for me. An assignment that has also put questions in my mind about the (ir)responsibility of television. The first photograph is of a pair of black sandals in a pool of blood. I was told that it belonged to a man from another community who was hacked to death. His body was dragged away. Rest, no one knows.

Assam 2008

2008-09-24T06:37:00.001-07:00

Floods hit Assam again this year. Photograph taken inside the flooded Pobitora National Park in Assam.

Delhi

2008-09-24T06:17:00.000-07:00

So from Makaibari to Calcutta and then to Delhi. And this is part of F-1207, CR Park, first floor, Delhi: 19. And (below) the late night Golden Dragon revisit after many years.

Tea

2008-09-24T06:09:00.000-07:00

Makaibari is an exception. Across India, most tea gardens are not doing well. And the government's policy just doesn't seem to work. Tea is not going through its best time. The workers are not paid well enough and the idea of profit distribution seems to have just flown out the window in the tea industry. Not a nice brew to sip, this one. This photograph was taken during the Makaibari shoot.

Hamro Makaibari ( Our Makaibari)

2008-09-24T06:05:00.000-07:00

Women are the main workforce in Makaibari.

Makaibari shoot

2008-09-24T05:40:00.001-07:00

The King of Tea

2008-09-24T05:33:00.000-07:00

Rajah Banerjee, is the soul of organic tea and Makaibari's green song. Almost 70 % of Makaibari is forest land. It produces the best tea in the world.

Kurseong

2008-09-24T05:25:00.000-07:00

The car that decided to fly. At Cochrane Place in Darjeeling. The magic of the mountains just let the car fly one day. Photograph taken during the Makaibari shoot in Darjeeling district, North Bengal.

Tracing tea

2008-07-30T07:28:00.001-07:00

Just back from Makaibari tea estate. Off to Delhi tomorrow. More about tracing tea later.

Bimal Gurung

2008-07-25T04:01:00.000-07:00

Bimal Gurung's first interview with CNN-IBN. After repeated requests we managed to make him stand in the rain ( please note: my cameraman is mad about lights, a bit more than anyone else ). Bimal Gurung is the President of the Gorkha JanMukti Morcha, the party that is leading the demand for Gorkhaland. Now in July everything seems to have returned to a past-equilibrium. We are travelling for another shoot to Makaibari at Kurseong in the Darjeeling district. Makaibari makes the best tea in the world.

Darjeeling III

2008-07-19T04:08:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite Darjeeling photographs

Darjeeling II

2008-07-19T04:03:00.000-07:00

It was drizzling throughout our shoot. Initially the drizzle seems like fun and then follows irritation, lost equipment and fever. This is on our way up to Darjeeling. Photo taken by Vinayak. Will be uploading some more Darjeeling pictures. Was on leave in Calcutta. Back in Assam, now. Will be in Delhi end of this month and then we hit the road again for stories.

Gorkhaland 2.0

2008-06-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

On shoot in Darjeeling, once again back with the demand for Gorkhaland.

Boat on the river

2008-06-09T01:00:00.000-07:00

Photograph taken by Vinayak Dasgupta. Assam, June, 2008.

Balancing Act

2008-06-09T00:56:00.000-07:00

Taken by who else but Vinayak Dasgupta on his "decisive moment capturing drive" in Assam, in some corner of the river.

Untitled Colours Of The River

2008-06-09T00:50:00.000-07:00

On the daily Guwahati to Umananda Bramhaputra boat service.

Adda

2008-06-09T00:45:00.000-07:00

Adda in Assam. Bilu and I on a cha and adda session near Umananda temple complex on the Bramhaputra. Again the genius of Gobindo.

Boat on the Bramhaputra

2008-06-09T00:38:00.000-07:00

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi says that this state has to live forever with ULFA and floods. Two things that many other than him have accepted to be an integral part of life. This photograph taken by our man on the wheels, the one and only Gobindo Das. A classic, unknown Japanese film poster-ish shot of this boat on the Bramhaputra.

Pangs of Adoption

2008-05-26T00:17:00.000-07:00

This is a photograph , I took, in a school in Dimapur. We were travelling in Nagaland, for a 30 minutes on the state before the elections. Dimapur, now, wears the look of a dead town. Continous factional clashes between the NSCN(IM) and NSCN(unification) have turned the town in one of the most dangerous places to live in. ( more on Dimapur and the Naga factional clashes later)

One of the most respected journalists of the country, Patricia Mukhim has written an excellent article titled: Pangs of Adoption in The Telegraph, Guwahati edition. Ms Mukhim writes in Northeast India's tribal societies the death of one or both parents does not necessarily make a child an orphan. She says, members of the extended family quickly take the child or children under their wings and life goes on an usual. But she points out, how times are changing. "The pressure to conform to modern value systems where church marriages are sacrosanct and those who do not meet up to those standards and fall by the wayside are actually ex-communicated is forcing deviants to go for abortion or disown and abandon a child born out of wedlock. Hence the growing number of abandoned kids.."

Full article: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080526/jsp/northeast/story_9317041.jsp

Agatha Sangma

2008-05-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

Agatha Sangma is a lawyer, an environmentalist, an amateur photographer and at 27, she is also India's youngest Member of Parliament. Agatha has just won the Tura Lok Sabha seat in a by-election after it was vacated by her father, former Lok Sabha speaker, Purno Sangma — also a nine-time winner from the constituency who is returning to state politics — even though the Opposition alleges Agatha is just riding her father's luck.
But Agatha ignores these jibes saying, "At the end of the day, even if I get a ticket from a national party or anywhere, it's the people who will elect me. I will not win with one vote or four votes from my family. I will win with the votes of the people of Garo Hills."
And a lot of voters — despite the criticism from the Opposition — have put their faith in Agatha.
They say she is a courageous girl and will do well. They also believe that she will fight for Garo Hills. This photograph was taken on the day of the byelection in Tura

Tura

2008-05-24T01:20:00.000-07:00

First rains in Tura, Meghalaya. We had gone to cover the Tura Lok Sabha byelections. This is on our way back.

Mizoram Colours

2008-05-23T04:01:00.001-07:00