Tipaimukh Children Fall Sick Due to Mysterious Disease

Hmarkhawlien (Assam), Apr 19 : According to reports, more than 40 children have fallen ill after infected by unidentified diseases in Damdei village under Tipaimukh sub-division of Churachandpur district, Manipur.

The children, in the age group of 12-18 years, reported common cold, stomach problems, high-fever, etc. The children feel weak and cannot go out from their homes. There are no reported deaths so far.

Schools have also been closed for more than two months due to fear of an epidemic. The infected children are given Paracetamol tablets and other common medicines by the villagers without any prescriptions.

The State government is yet to send health authorities to identify the diseases and to prevent further outbreak which can be controlled with proactive intervention.

In 2009 last year, there was an outbreak of an epidemic-like disease that tolled the lives of more than forty (40) infants in the Tipaimukh sub-division. There are no doctors, nurses, health authorities, and public health systems in the area even after repeated appeals by villagers and different organizations to the State authorities.

Mukul Sangma to be Meghalaya's New Chief Minister

Shillong, Apr 18 : In a late night development, Mukul Sangma has been named the new Chief Minister of Meghalaya. He replaces D D Lapang. The decision came after a leadership row in the state Congress.

Sangma is currently the deputy chief minister of the state. Sangma had rushed to Delhi earlier on Saturday, apparently with an eye to the top job claiming the support of majority of the party's legislators.

With Lapang already camping in New Delhi at the summons of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), Sangma reached there with 14 Congress MLAs, including 10 dissidents who have sought Lapangs ouster.

The development came after 21 of the 28 Congress MLAs, including some detractors of the chief minister, met at Sangma's residence late on Friday night and were understood to have pledged him 'unconditional support' to him. The dissident MLAs have been pressing the Congress High Command for nearly a month for a change of leadership as well as their inclusion in the ministry. Only six of total 28 Congress MLAs have found berths in Lapang's ministry. The ruling Congress alliance, sworn in last year after the fall of the NCP-led government, enjoys the support of 44 legislators -- 28 from Congress, 9 from UDP, two from Hill State Peoples Democratic Party, one from Khyun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement and four Independents in a House of 60. (With PTI inputs)

Over 200 Trucks Stranded at Manipur-Nagaland Border

Imphal, Apr 18 : More than 240 loaded trucks have been stranded at Manipur-Nagaland border due to economic blockade by a Naga students' organization for the past four days, official sources said today.

The trucks, carrying essential commodities, coming from Dimapur in Nagaland were stranded at Mao in Manipur's Senapati district because of a blockade on NH-39 (Dimapur- Imphal) by All Naga Students' Association Manipur (ANSAM).

Passenger vehicle movements, however, were not yet affected, the sources said.

The ANSAM was opposing the government's plan to hold elections to autonomous district councils in hill districts of the state next month demanding more monetary power for the district councils.

A report from Senapati district said the blockade could continue till April 24. The sources said the government had given enough power to the district councils.

Dance of Diversity

By Ranjita Biswas

The colourful dances of the Northeast offer a glimpse of the outstanding diversity of the region’s population and their sense of beauty, writes Ranjita Biswas

The Octave, according to Oxford English Dictionary, is “The day week of a festival, eight days, including festival and its day week.” In music, an Octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. This phenomenon is considered as the “basic miracle of music.”

At a recent festival of dances held at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata, the nomenclature for the event, “Octave”, merged both the elements. If not in the number of days — three days actually — the festival showcased the virtuosity of the folk dances from eight states in the North East, a slight extension of the ‘seven sisters’ group of NE states that is Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura with the addition of Sikkim. These states extending from the foothills of the Himalayas have a certain homogenous quality, though the differences are as great in performing arts. 

Most of the dances on display made it amply clear that the folk dances of the region are basically based on agriculture and celebration of Nature. Spring — a time to plough the field for sowing and harvest are of supreme importance to the farmer community and folk dances and songs are woven around them all across the world. The essentially folk beliefs and elements have now entered into the urban milieu as folk art traditions of a country or region. 

The spring Bihu or Rangali Bihu (Bihu of joy) of the Brahmaputra valley is now firmly ensconced as a symbol of Assamese folk dance. The vibrancy, the nymph-like movements of the women resplendent in Muga mekhela-chadar who whirl to the beat of the dhol, is now pretty familiar to the audience across the country. Why, even abroad! The group that came to perform in Kolkata  has also travelled to New York and other cities.

But less well-known are dances like Eme-Relo dance of Arunachal Pradesh or Hozagiri dance of Tripura. In Eme-Relo dance, women dress in black and white sarong-cum top dress. They belong to the Galo tribe of the Adis living in the West Siang district. The theme of the dance is based on the creation of rivers and animals living in the water.

The Hozagiri dance of Tripura was a discovery of sorts for most city-breds as they are less exposed to this folk dance. It belongs to the Reang community who, next to the Tripuris, constitute the second biggest group among the tribal population of Tripura. It is believed that they migrated to Tripura from somewhere in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the middle of the 15th century. However, some pundits point out that since in older times the boundary extended from Burma (Myanmar) to the Bay of Bengal, including the Lusai Hills (Mizoram), they were the original inhabitants of Tripura and have similarities with some tribes of Burma.

The women dancers dress in black sarongs and striped material tied at the back like a kachuli to cover the upper part (Pachra and Rea); heavy chains made of coins completely cover the upper part. They move to the beat rhythmically creating wonderful waves of lasya while round plates made of metal twirl around their fingers.

Only the lower portion below the waist moves since the dance also involves acrobatic movements. More awe-inspiring is the way they keep on moving even as they prop themselves up on earthen pitchers with a bottle on the head and a lighted lamp on it but never missing a beat. The dancers even form acrobatic formations with one girl standing on the shoulders of another, all the while keeping the lighted bottle intact. Musical instruments like Khamb, flute made of bamboo and bamboo cymbal are used.

From Meghalaya came the dancers of Masieh associated with the Nongkrem dance festival. Nongkrem dance is a part of the original autumn festival of the Khasi people which is held in autumn. The festivities are to celebrate a good harvest and appease Ka Blei Synshar, the ruling goddess of crops.
The Nongkrem dance is actually a part of the pom-blang (goat killing ceremony) performed by the Siem (king) of Khyrim (or Nongkrem). Traditionally, the Siem sends words to all villages to congregate with their offerings for the worship. The dance called Ka Shad Mastieh (dance of men) starts with men with sword and shields and chowries (fly-flaps or whisks) They are dressed in black and white attires of dhotis, full sleeved shirts, embroidered sleeveless coats and turbans which are adorned with cock’s feathers (U thuiyah).

The women, usually unmarried debutants, dance at the centre taking tiny steps, barely lifting their feet from the ground. Their dance is called Ka Shad Kynthei. The women wear rich silk clothes and silver or gold crowns with plates and hold down their arms to the sides and their eyes are demurely cast down.

Tiew Lasubon (a rare sweet scented golden coloured flower found only in the deep jungles), worn on the crown indicates the purity of women. The hair is worn tied in a knot behind the head but with a long tail hanging down and adorned with silver ornaments at the end. They also wear an assortment of silver and gold chains, coral beads, bracelets and earrings.

Meanwhile, to the sound of Tangmuri (pipes) and drums, the men dance round the south side of the circle of women holding their swords on their right hands and whisks in their left. The sword symbolises the man’s defence of himself, his house and his family and his mother, and the whisk signifies his care and sound advice.

The Cheraw dance or bamboo dance of Mizoram which was also on display recently made news by figuring in the Guinness World Records as the largest and the longest dance ensemble in the world. A total number of 10,736 dancers in 671 bu or groups performed this intricate dance. In the dance men sit face to face on the ground and tap long pairs of horizontal and cross bamboo staves opening and closing in rhythmic beats. Girls in colourful Mizo costumes of  Punchei, Vakiri and Yhihna dance in and out between the beats of bamboo to the accompaniment  of gongs and drums.
Cheraw is a very old traditional dance of the Mizos. It is believed that the dance form goes back to the first century AD, while the Mizos were still somewhere in the Yunan province of China, before their migration into the Chin Hills in the 13th century AD to the east of present Manipur-Nagaland border and eventually to the present Mizoram. Some of the tribes living in South East Asia have similar dances in one form or the other with different names.

The performance of other dances from the NE as part of the festival, like Nuknarar Tsungsang dance of Nagaland, the whirling-drum Pung Chalam dance of Manipur in Vaishnavite tradition, vindicated the diversity of North East not only in flora and fauna but also in folk traditions. Not to forget the Buddhist tradition reflected in Singhi Chham dance of Sikkim where dancers are attired as snow lions the guardian deity of the land as decreed by Guru Padamsambhava. He is revered as the teacher who first spread the word of Buddha in  Bhutan, Sikkim, Tibet etc. The dance performed in autumn is also  a tribute to mount Khan-Chen Dzongpa, or the Kanchenjunga, worshipped in the land.
Octave rightly showcased how every corner of India has a unique folk dance tradition to offer.

[ via Deccan Herald ]

Fishing Festival in Manipur

Willong, Apr 18 : The annual fishing festival in Manipur has attracted hundreds of people from the Maram tribe.

The festival commenced on Friday at the origin of the Barak river in Willong area of State's Senapati district.

Ngauning Gabriel, chairman of Willong, explained the rituals of the festival, known as 'Karjoi'.

"As part of our tradition, after the fish have been caught, people start drinking and bring out the Yai (type of fish) and declare that the fish have been caught. After catching the fish, we go back to our homes and offer the fish to the elderly and people who are ill and were unable to come to the festival. The majority of the fish is dried and stored until the next fishing festival takes place," said Gabriel.

The fishing festival takes place in either the month of March or April.

The Maram tribe is known for their age-old fishing techniques and believes failure to hold the festival brings misfortune to their community.

Hmar Rebels Asks Mizoram to Rethink Policy on Tipaimukh Dam

Sakawrdai, Apr 18 : The Hmar Peoples Convention-Democratic (HPC-D) in its press statement today urged the Mizoram government to reconsider its policy on the construction of the controversial Tipaimukh Dam project to be built near the Mizoram and Manipur border.

The armed HPC-D group is an offshoot of the Hmar People’s Convention (HPC), which came into existence in 1986, spearheading a movement for self-government in the north and northeast of Mizoram.

H. Zosangbera, General Secretary of the HPC-D, stated that it is the duty of the Mizoram government to provide protection to the people in the demand areas of the HPC-D. Last year, the HPC-D demanded the creation of Hmar Territorial Council (HTC) in the State of Mizoram within the scope of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India.

The HPC-D stated that it is firmly committed not to seek separation from Mizoram but to strengthen it against outside actors who are planning to steal and grasp the rich natural resources and land of the people of Mizoram.

It also added that if the Tipaimukh Dam is forcibly built without first considering the destructive impacts it will have on Mizoram and its people, and without taking the consent of the Hmar people, it will create more conflict and bloodshed.

The press statement also said that if the Mizoram government allows the dam to be built, then it will be fighting against its own people. It asked the Mizoram government in protecting the interests of its people and land.

The armed group destroyed the foundation stone of Tipaimukh Dam and some drilling machinery used by NEEPCO in 2008 at the remote Tipaimukh Dam site.

The Tipaimukh Dam is a 1500MW hydroelectric project proposed to be built 500 meters downstream of the confluence of the Tuivai river (Mizoram) and Tuiruong (Barak) rivers in Manipur.

Last year, the Government of India asked the NHPC Ltd, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVN) and the Government of Manipur to form a joint venture (JV) for developing the project. NHPC would hold a majority 69 per cent stake in the project, while SJVN would take up another 26 per cent stake. The remaining 5 per cent would go in favor of the Manipur government.

The project was initially awarded to the state-owned utility North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (NEEPCO). The company had, however, expressed its inability to take up the project citing lack of budgetary support. The Mizoram government had 1-2 percent stake then.
Different national and international organizations have long been resisting the construction of the Tipaimukh Dam.

Iceland's Volcano

Today, British civil aviation authorities ordered the country's airspace closed as of noon, due to a cloud of ash drifting from the erupting Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. The volcano has erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters. The volcanic ash has forced the cancellation of many flights and disrupted air traffic across northern Europe, stranding thousands of passengers. Collected here are photos of the most recent eruption, and of last month's eruptions, which were from the same volcano, just several miles further east.

Smoke billows from an erupting volcano which seems to be close to the top of the Eyjafjalla glacier on April 14, 2010 near Reykjavik. All London flights, including those from Heathrow, will be suspended from noon (1100 GMT) today due to volcanic ash from Iceland that has already caused almost 300 cancellations here, officials said. (AFP/Getty Images)

An aerial handout photo from the Icelandic Coast Guard shows flood caused by a volcanic eruption at Eyjafjalla Glacier in southern Iceland April 14, 2010. The volcanic eruption on Wednesday partially melted a glacier, setting off a major flood that threatened to damage roads and bridges and forcing hundreds to evacuate from a thinly populated area. Picture taken April 14, 2010. (REUTERS/Icelandic Coast Guard/Arni Saeberg)

Melting ice caused by a volcanic eruption at Eyjafjalla Glacier in southern Iceland April 14, 2010. (REUTERS/Icelandic Coast Guard/Arni Saeberg)

Photo taken on April 14, 2010 the Markarfljot glacial river, west of the Eyjafjalla glacier. Iceland's second volcano eruption in less than a month melted part of a glacier and caused heavy flooding on April 14, forcing up to 800 people to evacuate and grounding some flights over Norway. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images)

Flooding caused by a volcanic eruption at Eyjafjalla Glacier in southern Iceland April 14, 2010. (REUTERS/Icelandic Coast Guard/Arni Saeberg) #

A man takes a picture of a road that has been washed away by flood water following the melting of the Eyjafjalla glacier due to the eruption of a volcano on April 14, 2010 near Reykjavik. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images)

In this Wednesday April 14, 2010 photograph, smoke and steam are seen rising from the volcano under the Eyjafjalla glacier in Iceland, which erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters. (AP Photo/Icelandic Coastguard) #

A natural-color satellite image shows lava fountains, lava flows, a volcanic plume, and steam from vaporized snow. The image was acquired on March 24, 2010, by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite. The lava fountains are orange-red, barely visible at the 10-meter (33-foot) resolution of the satellite. The scoria cones surrounding the fissure are black, as is the lava flow extending to the northeast. White volcanic gases escape from the vent and erupting lava, while a steam plume rises where the hot lava meets snow. (The bright green color along the edge of the lava flow is an artifact of the sensor.) (NASA's Earth Observatory/Robert Simmon)

This picture taken on March 27, 2010 shows lava spurting out of the site of a volcanic eruption at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano some 125 km east of Reykjavik. With lava still gushing, a small Icelandic volcano that initially sent hundreds fleeing from their homes is turning into a boon for the island nation's tourism industry, as visitors flock to catch a glimpse of the eruption. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images)

Tourists gather to watch lava spurt out of the site of a volcanic eruption at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano on March 27, 2010. Up to 800 people were evacuated in Iceland early on April 14, 2010 due to a volcano eruption under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in the south of the island, police and geophysicists said. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images)

People gather to watch lava flow at the site of a volcanic eruption at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano near the Eyjafjalla glacier on March 27, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

Heat shimmers above lava flowing from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland on March 28th, 2010. Original here. (Bruce McAdam / CC BY-SA)

Lava spews out of a mountain on March 21, 2010 in the region of the Eyjafjalla glacier in Iceland. (RAGNAR AXELSSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Lava spurts out of the site of a volcanic eruption at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano near the Eyjafjalla glacier in Iceland on March 27, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images)

Smoke and steam hang over the volcano under the Eyjafjalla glacier in Iceland, early Thursday April 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gaudi)

Lava spews out of a mountain on March 21, 2010 in Hvolsvöllur in the region of the Eyjafjalla glacier in Iceland. (Fior Kjartansson/AFP/Getty Images)

Steam and hot gases rise above lava flowing from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano on April 3rd, 2010. Original here. (Ulrich Latzenhofer)

This image made available by NEODASS/University of Dundee shows the volcanic ash plume from Iceland, top left, to the north of Britain at received by NASA's Terra Satellite at 11.39 GMT Thursday April 15, 2010. (AP Photo/NEODAAS/University of Dundee)

[ via Big Picture @ Boston Herald ]

Norway’s Stranded PM Uses iPad to Govern Country From U.S

What has technology done for us? Norway PM command & control is now the Ipad…20 years down the line, we could be electing someone in US to rule somewhere in Africa, its a possibility we cannot ignore.

Power does flow from the Ipad.

An enormous volcanic ash cloud has shut down air travel in Europe, canceling flights and stranding Europe-bound passengers around the world.

But thanks to the iPad, stranded Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg hasn't had any trouble.

Stoltenberg, who traveled from Oslo to the U.S. to participate in President Obama's nuclear summit, is now stuck in New York City. Stoltenberg's press secretary told CNN that the prime minister has been running his government from Apple's tablet.

A photo of Stoltenberg on the Norwegian Government's official Flickr account shows the prime minister and his iPad under the (translated) title "The prime minister is working at the airport."

(Flickr headline translated using Google Translate)

[ via Huffington Post ]