Bangalore's IT Workers Start Tech Tattoo Craze

Bangalore, May 17 : In Bangalore, India’s technology capital, tattoo artists have reported an uptick in men asking for brand tattoos to celebrate jobs at the world’s top technology companies, including Microsoft and IBM.

Young high fliers in India’s technology capital Bangalore are so proud to work for Western technology firms such as Microsoft and IBM that they are having their logos tattooed on their bodies.

Tattoo artists in the city have reported an increase in the numbers of men asking for "brand tattoos" to celebrate the high status that comes with a job at one of the world’s top technology companies.

The permanent "branding" of their bodies with their boss’s logo is not seen as a symbol of slavery or eternal submission but as a symbol of triumph to commemorate landing a highly coveted job.

And despite the fact that many move on to other jobs, they keep the tattoos, according to the city’s leading artists.

“Its called Brand tattooing. Mostly people from IT companies like IBM, Apple, Microsoft and Oracle have got their company logos tattooed on their bodies.

"Its like the first love, like a symbol of success for them. Most of them have started their careers with these companies and want to keep their logos as a memento.

"Such tattoos can land us in a legal soup. Since they are copyrighted logos, they may attract legal suits against the inscriber,” said Giresh Bramhanayapura of Bramha Tattoo Studio

Pradeep Menon of the "Dark Arts" tattoo studio said owners of small businesses have also been asking for their companies’ names to be etched forever on their skin. “Not only employees of IT companies but owners of small enterprises get their company logos tattooed on their bodies."

Inking and coloring them is not straightforward, however simple the design. “We have to consider many things including the tone of the skin. Indians have generally dark colored skin and getting a perfect logo is a bit difficult,” he added.

Why is Mizoram A Distant Dot in The National Mind Space?

A landslide in Aizawl that killed 17 people struggles to find space in the national as well as Northeast media. Why is there both, a national and regional disconnect with Mizoram, asks Ratnadip Choudhury

The landslide site in Aizawl, Mizoram. PTI photo

On 13 May, the website of a leading English daily carried a story with the headline ‘Meghalaya landslide toll rises to 13, more bodies likely to be extricated’. The story quotes the Press Trust of India (PTI) from Aizawl regarding the rescue operation of the massive landslide in Mizoram’s capital Aizawl on 11 May. An old office building of the Public Works Department (PWD), lying vacant after a crack developed on it a year ago, had collapsed under the impact of the landslide and damaged nine houses.

Clearly the English daily had mixed up ‘Mizoram’ with ‘Meghalaya’. This is not the first time that such a goof up has happened. Many a time, the media in mainland India has done the same, maybe with no malicious intent, but out of ignorance. There is a lack of sensitisation about the Northeast- a land mass of 2.9 lakh sq km, where a population of little over 40 million people live and speak 400 different dialects.

Mizoram happens to be the most far-flung in this periphery, so most of the national media does not ‘pick up’ the landslide tragedy as it scarcely helps boost TRPs. But even the regional media who claim to be ‘voice of Northeast’, particularly the dozens of satellite news channels based at Guwahati, did not run the story as headlines. Apart from a few, the regional newspapers failed to report the story or a follow up, clearly suggesting that there is a regional disconnect within the Northeast states as well. When it comes to Mizoram, the most peaceful state in the insurgency torn region, this disconnect travels many a miles.

So while Aizawl battled a tragedy last week, the rest of the Northeast was perhaps as equally unaware as New Delhi. Mizoram is a very blurry, distant dot in the national mind space; but it seems that the rest of the Northeast has also failed to take notice. “Mizoram is in a geographical isolation. I lived in Delhi for 10 years and saw how the rest of India simply does not know that we, the Mizos, or our state exists,” says Alan Lalthanzara, a young Mizoram Civil Service Officer. But with the coming of the internet, these geographical boundaries are slowly being scaled. Mizos are getting on the social network, they are interacting with the rest of the country. Facebook and Twitter are popular here as well, so information is now just a click away, photos and videos can be easily shared. “I guess the national think tank does not count a small state with a minority population. This is proved by the way the national media ignores Mizoram. The same goes for the regional media as well. They have to understand that Guwahati is not the end of the Northeast,” Alan adds.

Ever since the tragedy took place, several people from Mizoram shared pictures of the crumbling houses and rescue operations on social media. “We shared lot of pictures, but did not see much of a response from the rest of the country. Only people from Mizoram who stay outside reacted. Had it happened in Kolkata or Delhi, it would have had a bigger response on social media. But when it happens here, the nation is simply not bothered,” says R Pachacau, a businessmen from Aizawl.
So why is Mizoram ignored? Is it because it is peaceful for three decades, or because it is the country’s second most literate state after Kerala where the Church has a huge domination and the people are very disciplined and secluded? Or simply because Mizos cannot speak Hindi or that they look ‘different’ because of which Delhi cannot relate to them?

“It is true that there is a huge regional and national disconnect when it concerns Mizoram. Being a Christian state, they follow certain norms which are different from even other parts of the Northeast,” explains Rajib Chowdhury, Executive Editor of Guwahati-based regional news channel Prime News. “The media inside Mizoram also likes to recoil into a shell. For a regional and national channel to reach here and do a story, involves a lot of logistical bottlenecks. You do not find well trained human resource to cater to the national media, who remain happy to believe that Mizoram is a sleepy peaceful state, that there is no news there. There is also a language barrier. But having said all this, I guess editors in Delhi always like to report about conflicts in Northeast. They love insurgency stories. In Mizoram, they feel there are no stories other then bamboo flowerings, the Bru refuges crisis and the Mizo Jews. There is a stereotype about the place in their mindset,” he adds.

It was in 1987, that Mizoram became a full-fledged state; earlier it was part of Assam. Between 1966 to 1986, Mizoram saw a bloody insurgency by the Mizo National front (MNF) led by Lal Denga. They first demanded Mizoram’s sovereignty and later scaled down to a separate statehood. The conflict ended with the Mizo peace accord of 1986, which is also considered as one of the most successful peace deals in the history of independent India. Post 1987, Mizoram had not seen turmoil apart from the ethnic conflict between the Brus and Mizos in 1997- the repatriation process of Bru refuges from neighboring Tripura is still struck in limbo.

A senior journalist who has travelled extensively in Mizoram says on the condition of anonymity, that it is the design of New Delhi to keep the Northeast ‘disconnected’ with the rest of the nation and create a scope for ‘regional disconnect’ within. The Assamese community could not accommodate other smaller groups and thus Assam got bifurcated into Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh while the cry for a separate Kukiland, Bodoland, Kamtapur is still abuzz. In Manipur, the Meiteis have not been able to accommodate the hill tribes and in Tripura the Bengalis have dominated over the indigenous tribals. “You do not find chapters on the history of the Northeast, its tribes, culture and language in text books anywhere, not even inside the Northeast. So Assam does not know about Meghalaya and vice versa. How then can a child in Delhi know about Mizoram?” the senior journalist asks.

So until the mindset changes, very few people in this nation and the younger generation that makes its new conscience, will ever know that the only time New Delhi used its fighter aircrafts to bomb its own citizen was on 5 and 6 March 1966, when the Indian Air Force conducted air raids on the Mizo hills to flush out the Mizo rebels.

But is there a will for the rest of the Northeast or even a mainland connect to Mizoram? Purabi Bora, an officer with the RBI at Guwahati, feels that the vernacular media in Northeast should start writing about different states and communities. “In the feature section of different vernacular publications, I find stories about places in southern India, south-east Asia and Europe. My son knows more about Bangkok and Singapore than Aizawl or Agartala. This is not the way to protect the culture and language of different communities”.

“But we cannot blame just mainland India, we also have shortcomings. While there are a few national media correspondents here, our youth who are good in English, are not a big part of the mainstream media. Secondly, we are not fluent in Hindi and other languages. Sensitisation should be present both ways,” says young acvitist Dororthy from Aizawl.

Source: Tehelka

landslide in Aizawl that killed 17 people struggles to find space in the national as well as Northeast media. Why is there both, a national and regional disconnect with Mizoram, asks Ratnadip Choudhury

Ratnadip Choudhury

May 16, 2013

Print & Email

Comment Share

More by the author >

The landslide site in Aizawl, Mizoram. PTI photo

On 13 May, the website of a leading English daily carried a story with the headline ‘Meghalaya landslide toll rises to 13, more bodies likely to be extricated’. The story quotes the Press Trust of India (PTI) from Aizawl regarding the rescue operation of the massive landslide in Mizoram’s capital Aizawl on 11 May. An old office building of the Public Works Department (PWD), lying vacant after a crack developed on it a year ago, had collapsed under the impact of the landslide and damaged nine houses.
Clearly the English daily had mixed up ‘Mizoram’ with ‘Meghalaya’. This is not the first time that such a goof up has happened. Many a time, the media in mainland India has done the same, maybe with no malicious intent, but out of ignorance. There is a lack of sensitisation about the Northeast- a land mass of 2.9 lakh sq km, where a population of little over 40 million people live and speak 400 different dialects.
Mizoram happens to be the most far-flung in this periphery, so most of the national media does not ‘pick up’ the landslide tragedy as it scarcely helps boost TRPs. But even the regional media who claim to be ‘voice of Northeast’, particularly the dozens of satellite news channels based at Guwahati, did not run the story as headlines. Apart from a few, the regional newspapers failed to report the story or a follow up, clearly suggesting that there is a regional disconnect within the Northeast states as well. When it comes to Mizoram, the most peaceful state in the insurgency torn region, this disconnect travels many a miles.
So while Aizawl battled a tragedy last week, the rest of the Northeast was perhaps as equally unaware as New Delhi. Mizoram is a very blurry, distant dot in the national mind space; but it seems that the rest of the Northeast has also failed to take notice. “Mizoram is in a geographical isolation. I lived in Delhi for 10 years and saw how the rest of India simply does not know that we, the Mizos, or our state exists,” says Alan Lalthanzara, a young Mizoram Civil Service Officer. But with the coming of the internet, these geographical boundaries are slowly being scaled. Mizos are getting on the social network, they are interacting with the rest of the country. Facebook and Twitter are popular here as well, so information is now just a click away, photos and videos can be easily shared. “I guess the national think tank does not count a small state with a minority population. This is proved by the way the national media ignores Mizoram. The same goes for the regional media as well. They have to understand that Guwahati is not the end of the Northeast,” Alan adds.
Ever since the tragedy took place, several people from Mizoram shared pictures of the crumbling houses and rescue operations on social media. “We shared lot of pictures, but did not see much of a response from the rest of the country. Only people from Mizoram who stay outside reacted. Had it happened in Kolkata or Delhi, it would have had a bigger response on social media. But when it happens here, the nation is simply not bothered,” says R Pachacau, a businessmen from Aizawl.
So why is Mizoram ignored? Is it because it is peaceful for three decades, or because it is the country’s second most literate state after Kerala where the Church has a huge domination and the people are very disciplined and secluded? Or simply because Mizos cannot speak Hindi or that they look ‘different’ because of which Delhi cannot relate to them?
“It is true that there is a huge regional and national disconnect when it concerns Mizoram. Being a Christian state, they follow certain norms which are different from even other parts of the Northeast,” explains Rajib Chowdhury, Executive Editor of Guwahati-based regional news channel Prime News. “The media inside Mizoram also likes to recoil into a shell. For a regional and national channel to reach here and do a story, involves a lot of logistical bottlenecks. You do not find well trained human resource to cater to the national media, who remain happy to believe that Mizoram is a sleepy peaceful state, that there is no news there. There is also a language barrier. But having said all this, I guess editors in Delhi always like to report about conflicts in Northeast. They love insurgency stories. In Mizoram, they feel there are no stories other then bamboo flowerings, the Bru refuges crisis and the Mizo Jews. There is a stereotype about the place in their mindset,” he adds.
It was in 1987, that Mizoram became a full-fledged state; earlier it was part of Assam. Between 1966 to 1986, Mizoram saw a bloody insurgency by the Mizo National front (MNF) led by Lal Denga. They first demanded Mizoram’s sovereignty and later scaled down to a separate statehood. The conflict ended with the Mizo peace accord of 1986, which is also considered as one of the most successful peace deals in the history of independent India. Post 1987, Mizoram had not seen turmoil apart from the ethnic conflict between the Brus and Mizos in 1997- the repatriation process of Bru refuges from neighboring Tripura is still struck in limbo.
A senior journalist who has travelled extensively in Mizoram says on the condition of anonymity, that it is the design of New Delhi to keep the Northeast ‘disconnected’ with the rest of the nation and create a scope for ‘regional disconnect’ within. The Assamese community could not accommodate other smaller groups and thus Assam got bifurcated into Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh while the cry for a separate Kukiland, Bodoland, Kamtapur is still abuzz. In Manipur, the Meiteis have not been able to accommodate the hill tribes and in Tripura the Bengalis have dominated over the indigenous tribals. “You do not find chapters on the history of the Northeast, its tribes, culture and language in text books anywhere, not even inside the Northeast. So Assam does not know about Meghalaya and vice versa. How then can a child in Delhi know about Mizoram?” the senior journalist asks.
So until the mindset changes, very few people in this nation and the younger generation that makes its new conscience, will ever know that the only time New Delhi used its fighter aircrafts to bomb its own citizen was on 5 and 6 March 1966, when the Indian Air Force conducted air raids on the Mizo hills to flush out the Mizo rebels.
But is there a will for the rest of the Northeast or even a mainland connect to Mizoram? Purabi Bora, an officer with the RBI at Guwahati, feels that the vernacular media in Northeast should start writing about different states and communities. “In the feature section of different vernacular publications, I find stories about places in southern India, south-east Asia and Europe. My son knows more about Bangkok and Singapore than Aizawl or Agartala. This is not the way to protect the culture and language of different communities”.
“But we cannot blame just mainland India, we also have shortcomings. While there are a few national media correspondents here, our youth who are good in English, are not a big part of the mainstream media. Secondly, we are not fluent in Hindi and other languages. Sensitisation should be present both ways,” says young acvitist Dororthy from Aizawl.

- See more at: http://tehelka.com/why-is-mizoram-a-distant-dot-in-the-national-mind-space/#sthash.hkv3Ic6F.dpuf

Cyclone Mahasen Likely To Hit Mizoram Tonight

Mahasen Reaches Coastal Bangladesh

Aizawl, May 16 : With Cyclone Mahasen likely to hit the State on Thursday night, the Mizoram Government has decided to close all schools on Friday and declared a half-holiday tomorrow.

State Education Secretary K Lalnghinglova said today that a circular to this effect has already been issued and circulated to the head of the institutions of government schools as a precautionary measure.

Lalnghinglova, however, said the government had not taken any decision to close government offices. Meanwhile, Principal Scientific Officer of the State Planning Department’s Science and Technology wing Vanlalzara said the cyclone was not likely to hit northern parts of the State.

Quoting data from the Regional Meteorological Centre in Guwahati, Vanlalzara said Cyclone Mahasen was likely to hit the southern part of the State – Lunglei and other southern districts.

“Though we have received information that the cyclone picked up speed, we hope that it would eventually slow down when it hits the State on Thursday night,” he said.

The cyclone’s speed might lessen when it hits Mizoram but unprecedented heavy rain is predicted for the northern parts of the State, the officer said.

Schools in Mizoram to remain closed on Friday

 With Cyclone Mahasen likely to hit the northeast state on Thursday night, the Mizoram government has decided to close all schools on Friday and declared a half-holiday on Thursday. State Education Secretary K Lalnghinglova told PTI on Wednesday that a circular to this effect has already been issued and circulated to the head of the institutions of government schools as a precautionary measure.

Lalnghinglova, however, said the government had not taken any decision to close government offices. Meanwhile, Principal Scientific Officer of the state Planning Department's Science and Technology wing Vanlalzara said the cyclone was not likely to hit northern parts of the state.

Quoting data from the Regional Meteorological Centre in Guwahati, Vanlalzara said Cyclone Mahasen was likely to hit the southern part of the state - Lunglei and other southern districts. "Though we have received information that the cyclone picked up speed, we hope that it would eventually slow down when it hits the state on Thursday night," he said.

The Mizoram government declared a half-holiday on Thursday as a precautionary measure.

The cyclone's speed might lessen when it hits Mizoram but unprecedented heavy rain is predicted for the northern parts of the state, the officer said.

 

Aizawl Landslide: All Bodies Recovered, Clearing Work Begins

Aizawl, May 16 : With the last remaining body being recovered from under the debris, the workers were now busy clearing the site here that was hit by the massive landslide on May 11 leaving 17 people dead.

SP (Traffic) Lallianmawia on Wednesday said the body of Vanlalrema of S Lungpher village was recovered last night.

This was the last of the 17 bodies that had been recovered from under huge chunk of concrete slabs.

Members of the state Disaster Response Force, assisted by workers of the Young Mizo Association worked round the clock to recover the bodies, Lallianmawia said.

He said work to clear the debris would continue.

The massive landslide at Laipuitlang area in northern part of the state capital early on May 11 was triggered by a cyclonic storm and heavy pre-monsoon rainfall.

A PWD office building, which had been vacated about a year ago after a crack developed on it, collapsed under the impact of the landslide and fell on nine houses below killing 17 people.

The government on Monday ordered a magisterial inquiry and Aizawl DC Dr Franklin Laltinkhuma was appointed to inquire into the incident and submit report within seven days.

Opposition parties slammed the government and demanded resignation of Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla who holds the PWD portfolio.

Mizo National Front and Zoram Nationalist Party demanded a judicial inquiry and not a magisterial probe.

Update: Cyclone Mahasen Panic Grips Mizoram

Cyclone Mahasen to hit NE in 72 hrs

GUWAHATI/KOHIMA: Tropical cyclone Mahasen is expected to hit northeast India in the next 72 hours with heavy rains and thunderstorms expected in the region. On May 16, the cyclone is expected to cross the Bangladesh coast between Khepupara and Teknaff, close to Chittagong.

The cyclonic storm over the south-east Bay of Bengal moved northwards and lay centred near latitude 13.50 N and longitude 85.50 E, about 760km south of the port town of Paradip, the Centre said. The system would move northwards for some more time and thereafter recurve towards Bangladesh-Myanmar coast, it said.

The NE could reel under heavy thundersqualls and Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura are expected to be hit. As per the Indian Meteorological Department, heavy rain is expected in the northeast over the next three days. The region could also face heavy winds measuring from 65-75km per hour that could gust to 85kmph. On May 17, heavy winds measuring 50-60kmph gusting to 70kmph are also expected.

Meanwhile, the Nagaland government has issued an alert on Mahasen. In an official statement, Nagaland home commissioner Temjen Toy called upon the public to be prepared for "expected severe weather conditions" following information that the tropical cyclone originating from the Indian Ocean was expected to hit Bangladesh and Myanmar coast.

He said the cyclone would cause heavy thunderstorm/squalls in the northeast, including Nagaland, in the next 48 hours. Requesting the public "not to panic or spread rumours" but to stay alert, Toy said the state disaster response force has also been alerted for any emergencies. He requested the public to read the "dos and don'ts" issued by disaster management authority and the home department and be prepared for the expected inclement weather.

Latest Mahasen Tracking in wunderground.com

Aizawl, May 15 : In the wake of widespread panic over tropical cyclone Mahasen that is said to be approaching Northeast India, Mizoram chief minister Lal Thanhawla told the people of Mizoram not to panic, but to 'pray more'.

In an official statement, Lal Thanhawla said that as per his instructions the science and technology department was on 24-hour alert.

Mary Kom Gives Birth To Baby Boy in Imphal

Imphal May 15 : And it’s a boy! Supermom and superfighter Mary Kom this afternoon had her third baby, a bonny boy, six years after her twins were born in 2007.

A C-section arrival, the boy is yet to be named, said Onler Kom, Mary’s husband and proud father of three.

“Both the mother and newborn are doing well. The boy is very healthy,” Mary Kom’s doctor N. Purnima Devi said after the operation at Public Hospital in Imphal’s Hatta area. Like mother like son. As compared to 3.1kg, the average weight of the average baby, Mary’s littlest one weighed in at 3.81kg as he arrived at 3.10 this afternoon.

The procedure took the “usual 45 minutes to an hour”, doctors said. Mary had been admitted to the hospital yesterday. Her older twins, Rechungvar and Khupneivar, who complete six years in June, were also C-section babies. “Because of the size of the third child we didn’t want to take chances and opted for surgery,” a doctor said.

“The baby was extra healthy because she followed the doctor’s advice to the letter,” Onler said. “We were worried, though. Thank God, both our child and Mary are safe.”

Her doctors didn’t allow Mary, who was recuperating, to speak to visitors.

Their two elder sons were away at their home at Langol Games village in Imphal, waiting for the kid brother to come home.

And the littlest will learn the family way soon, says Onler. “Till he grows up it’s going to be the usual baby food, but once that’s done, he gets on to the staple —that would be rice.”

And now that she’s had another baby, will Mary, our London Olympic boxing bronze medallist, come back even stronger and win another world championship?

After all, hadn’t she won one after Rechungvar and Khupneivar came?

“Well, she will rest for six months and we will see how she recovers. Once she is okay, she is back in the ring,” said Onler, who was once her manager.

And timing is everything. Weren’t the London Olympics in August of last year? And the baby comes in May, just nine months after the games.

“She wouldn’t be allowed to fight had she been pregnant then,” said the husband. “Mary went the family way just after the Games.”

Timing surely matters. And no, whether the sons will become boxers, too, isn’t under consideration now. It will be only once they grow up.

Just one more thing. The Magnificent one isn’t throwing in the towel in the ring all right, but when it comes to size of the family, now that they’d crossed the “hum do hamare do” line, will they wait for a daughter?

“No, we are planning to stop at three,” said Onler.

26.03% Growth in Arunachal Population

Women outpace men
By PRANAB KUMAR DAS

Tezpur, May 15 : The population of Arunachal Pradesh according to Census 2011 is 13,83,727, a decadal growth of 26.03 per cent.

The highest decadal growth in population has been recorded in Kurung Kumey district.

Papum Pare occupies the first position in population density, followed by Tirap district. The lowest density of population has been recorded in Dibang Valley district.

The data was revealed in the Primary Census Abstract (PCA) Data, Census of India, 2011, for Arunachal Pradesh, released by the directorate of census operations, government of Arunachal Pradesh, at the press club in Itanagar today.

The PCA data included 16 districts, 188 circles, 26 statutory towns, one census town and 5,589 villages in the state.

The number of literate people in the state has been recorded at 7,66,005 in 2011 as against 4,84,785 in 2001.

Papum Pare recorded the highest literacy rate with 79.95 per cent followed by Lower Subansiri with 74.35 per cent, while Kurung Kumey recorded the lowest literacy rate with 48.75 per cent.

The growth rate of females (29.30 per cent) is higher than males (23.10 per cent) during the decade.

Releasing the PCA data, Bharati Chandra, joint director of census operations, gave the data highlights on PCA 2011, which showed decadal increase of total number of households by 25.51 per cent.

She said the PCA data was the first set of final data from the population enumeration exercise held in February 2011.

MZP To Carry Out Census Of Chakmas in Mizoram

Aizawl, May 13 : The Federal Council meeting of the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), the Mizo apex student body, resolved to conduct an elaborate census of the Chakmas in Mizoram.

The Federal Council comprises not only the leaders of the general and district headquarters, but also leaders of ethnicity-based student associations like the Hmar Students' Association, Siamsin Pawl Pi (SSP - Paite Students Organization), Lai, Mara and other ethnicity-based Mizo student organizations.

Student leaders maintained that after the then East Pakistan government constructed the Kaptai dam in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, many people belonging to the Chakma community were displaced and resettled in India's northeastern states, especially Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura.

A separate autonomous district council - the Chakma Autonomous District Council - was created for the community by the Centre in 1972.

This encouraged more Chakmas to migrate to Mizoram, one of the student leaders participating in the meeting said, adding that this was the first time a separate autonomous council was created in the country for the Chakmas.

"There are many Chakmas who are Indian citizens who have been in Mizoram since before Independence and these people welcome our proposed census," said a Mizo student leader.

The MZP Federal Council meeting also resolved that the student body should make concerted efforts to ensure that Mizoram has a high court on its own as provided in the historic Mizo Accord signed between the Centre and the erstwhile underground Mizo National Front on June 30, 1986.