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They say, "we are not united"

Sunday is a sleeping day! After six days of strenuous job-home daily routine, Sunday comes as a day to unwind ourselves, to envelope ourselves with our personal work. It may be taking a sound sleep, meeting with friends, bringing things in order etc...etc...

However, if you ask me - how did I spend this Sunday? I don't have words to say more than uttering- fantastic. I wouldn't have spent this Sunday much productive than what I did actually. It was full of fun, camaraderie, and of course resourceful.

I met with married, unmarried, employed, unemployed, struggling, established, old, young Bishnupriya Manipuri people. Yes, I spent the whole Sunday with my own people. The day couldn't be less enjoyable than a picnic, and educative than visiting a library, a workshop. What more to say.

We - Henry Sinha, Jishnu Sinha, Lakhikanta Sinha, Babu, Shashikant Sinha, all packed in two cars - at first took a recce of the venue where Sadhu Baba uthsav will be held, and finalised it. [The name of the venue and its location will be announced later.]

After this, we went to Khanpur, New Delhi area to meet with the Bishnupriya Manipuri people living there. No doubt, the primary reason of our visit was to invite them to Sadhu Baba uthsav, to be held on November 2, 2008. Something that had really swayed me was their urge and willingness to see our Bishnupriya Manipuri people grow. They are all concerned to the hilt. In their eyes, the dream to see the progress of the community was visible. But the same eyes, has a question - How to do this.

In the hour-long conversation with all these people, of course young and old, they have their own perception or say roadmap to the upliftment of the whole community, the community residing in Delhi and NCR, in particular.

Before we proceed further, we at first entered the room of Promod Sinha and Co.! While in conversation with him we come to know why it is Promod Sinha and Co, reason is - because he has brought all his gushti [there is no appropriate word than this], elder uncle's sons, younger uncle's son, ....to Delhi. Floors after floors are being occupied by his gushti.

Coming back, in the whole identification parade cum speaking of the mind session with our many hosts, where I was a mere silent spectator. In the proposed roadmap which came in the form of directions/ advises from them, I found that in generality it looks good and sound. But, it is to be remembered the thoughts and actions that had hold its importance in the past, have lost its sheen (to an extent) in the present time. Unfortunately all their wishes will fail to occupy a space here in the new world, with new generation.

You may blame it on the change in place in our dwelling; we are not living in our ancestral villages, but in Delhi. Like in other places, people's priorities have changed. Their perception about themselves, about the society has undergone a change. At nutshell, we are evolving, shedding many things and putting on many new things. Any model, any initiative for the growth of the community will not take off unless and until a practical, incorporating present day factors, values are not added. Challenges are many to talk on the inclusive growth of the community. If not, we will all end up, as it is there, complaining the Bishnupirya Manipuri people living in Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore….are not united…rest you add.

First, where there is an almost zero people-to-people interactions amongst ourselves. The question to talk about the comprehensive, equitable growth of the community doesn't arise. How will you help the other person, whom you don't know and haven't seen him before? You don’t know his/ her priorities? You need involvement of the people, in mass and volume. We need a “critical mass” of the people. Lest, if there is any growth that has taken place, it would be ghusti/ I-know peoples' growth, specific individual(s) growth. Unfortunately, a critical mass of the people is missing. But, of late here in Delhi it is forming, though slowly.

Second is leadership. Who is leading the mass? Who is the captain of the ship? History is full of leaders who have changed the course of time. And here, we are talking about a community, a small community. We need leaders who can guide the people, remembering that guiding a professional living in metro is a different game altogether. This time, in Delhi we have got Shashikant Sinha and Dr. Nirmalya Sinha. I am not writing more about them, let their work speak.

Third is the knowledge parameter. Gone are the days when an individual can claim to be all-know. You need specialists, consultants, experts to guide you. If we are really talking about the over all growth of the Bishnupriya Manipuri people: Create a "visible" knowledge pool.

Well, here I would like to say, readers please come up with the issues and of course with solutions - if we all wanted to see the Bishnupriya Manipuri community grow organic, people’s involvement in the metros increases. And it is percolated to the villages.



Comments

  1. Nobody can imagine how pleasurable it is to interact with our own people in metro cities where it is so tough to find time and bridge the distance. I wish if i were with 'Henry Sinha, Jishnu Sinha, Lakhikanta Sinha, Babu, Shashikant Sinha' while they visited different places in delhi to meet with married, unmarried, employed, unemployed, struggling, established, old, young Bishnupriya Manipuri people.It would be a great experience while generate a pull of ideas how to solve our problems and develop our community.A community concerned person can only realise the pleasure with it. I appreciate all these people for their efforts. Ideation without execution is nothing but delusion, so how much debate we do and generate ideas, if we do not take initiative to execute the ideas,its waste. These people are really executing their ideas as much as they can and for this i say them BRAVO. Lets be bold, strong and take the responsibility. If we dont take the responsibility on our own soulders, nobody will come for our upliftment. I wish everybody will put their effort as much as they can.

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  2. Shashikant had phoned me up yesterday that he would'nt be available at Radhakund on 25th October in oath taking ceremony of Management Committee of Radha Madhavjiu Mandir at Radha Kund,in his place Mr.Henry with his collegues would be attending the
    ceremony.What does this message means?Delhities are now becoming very much community concious which I have been longing for.
    Santosh has expressed his satisfation over Mr.Henry visiting
    door to door with his friends, interacting with various BM people in his own language.This is the positive sign.My five years of hard labour of making trips to various metro cities giving me fruits.Now I can expect results from Kolkata,Bagalore and Ahmedabad.Delhi has joined us (Mumbai and Pune).
    Santosh has observed that no one would come forward to take any initiative.We,ourselves, have to take responsibility of our own.I say, it is cent per cent orrect.

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