A Welcome To Bir Tikndrajit Flyover

By: Bobo Khuraijam

Development is where the heart is. The heart is where it chokes, it fumes, it cripples, and it makes noise. Some of the leipung members bumped into one of the grand symbol of the all round and round development- THE FLYOVER. The symbol captures the attention of everyone. Like any other issue that smells bad, it invites the controversial nose of every citizentry. Some said it smells rotten, some said it smells fishy, some said it smells pungent, some said it smells good.

Would it not be stimulating if we here it from the horse mouth? Here it is; ‘hello everyone! My name is Bir Tikendrajit flyover. One might wonder why I did not get my name from Congress dynasty. Keep wondering. Some called me leikang Thong and some called me an over bridge. I am happy with the name “flyover”. Cynics called me as nothing but a big speed breaker. What a ruthless an unmerciful name that is? Who they are? Huh!! They must know that I do not break any kind of sped. As a matter of fact, I boost speed to the motorist.

Just think how would they climb on my back without accelerating the engine? They must also check their speedometer when they descend down. They will be too busy caressing the break. Shameful creatures indeed. Ask them how many times they rode on my back up and down on the opening day. They left only when they were interrupted by the dutiful police commandoes. They should keep in mind that I am the first born child. The first born has the right to be pampered. I know- I know there are so many of my cousins at so many places. You will find them mostly in the metros and the capital city. You know it is a BIG sign of over development.

It is also true that hundreds of my cousins were born when I was still in the womb. They are longer, bigger and weightier than me. They crisscross each other like a fine tapestry in a woven cloth. Please do not blame me for my late delivery. I had to be removed by a cesarean surgery. My placenta was coiling around my neck. I was suffocating inside. The doctors who read the ultra-sonography report told me. A normal delivery was not at all possible. Mother had physical complication. Father had both mental and physical complication. So I had to be operated out.

Do I look malnourished? Do I look unhealthy? Please, I am fine with myself. I think I am happy with the proportion of my body. Do you know that it gives me a shiver down my spine when I recalled the days of my germination. I was just a microscopic cell then, invisible to the eyes. People made so much noise. They fought over my name. There was serious divide between some of the folks. So much for the name, I should say. It must be all out of love for me. But as I grew up, I here rumours. They had nothing to do with my name. They are madly in love with a script of whatever that is to be written on my body. If that is true, I think they should leave me alone.

Whichever groups with whatsoever designs should not write anything on my body.I have nothing against their affairs. I hope they will not pollute the beauty of the Imphal skyline with their romance. They should also give some space for other lovers as well. I wonder why some people did not come out to defend. I am referring to those people who have benefited handsomely from my early period of existence to my day of birth. Some of them have pocketed a good some of money. It must be of few lakhs only. Tell me what can one do with a few lakhs of rupees? But they should at least pay their gratitude if they have benefited from me. I know they will deny on this matter. Mirror, mirror on the wall, please tell them that I am not lying.

Dear god, please send them SMS that I am telling the truth. Even a missed call will do. I know pedestrian as well as motorist cursed me for the mess around. I cry the whole night. Yet, their awe full gaze the next day gives me a solace. I find peace sleeping on the lap of keithel lairembi. Deep of the night, I here the whisper of the Numbul and the Naga river. I here them say that I am a monster who have come to show its strength to the weak. I am just a spoiled bred who seeks undue attention from other younger siblings. Most of them are in a terrible state. They are of the view that I have been given utmost attention by my parents. Calling me monster and a spoil bred will do harm to themselves only.

But I will not hesitate to pay my humble apology to maharaj Bheigachandra and his elephant. I know, I have diminished the profundity of their existence. His highness’ statue has been the very land mark of Khwairamband. With all respect, I lay my penitence for obstructing the view of the gods in Kangal. I know my back would be too high for the lord to see the distant vista. It also pains me to see how the toiling people in the keithel are harassed every now and then. They have been the softest target of the municipal authorities and the law enforcing agencies. Hundreds of people toiled under my belly. Now they are being driven out on my birthday. I am sure, I have no idea of what would they think of me.

Let me share a secret. I have nightmare that I will be deprived one day of all the attention I get. I can anticipate some more of my younger cousins are coming up in the future. That would be the worst day of my life. I take no sorrow in exhibiting my narcissism since I am the only child now. If they want to blame, my parents should be held responsible for my place of birth. It does not mean that I do not respect them. I do love them. But have you heard of a dialogue which says “your failure as a son is also my failure as a father”? It sometimes keeps echoing in my ears. Forget it. Everything melts into the serene sound of the vehicles and the keithel. These are all going to be part of my life. I cannot run away from it. I wish I could share more things with you. Do visit me whenever you wish. I have lots more to share. THANKS FOR YOUR VISIT”.

LEIPUNG NINGTHOU has nothing to say today. He was given unknown calls by someone from a satellite phone. The guy in the other end of the wave told him to be careful of his wangang –sangang.

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Make friend with your child

By Oinam Anand

The recent happening in one of the premier private girls’ school of the state will be a lesson for all parents. A girl student of Class-X tied her hands and legs, gagged her mouth and laid concealed herself in the toilet thereby deliberately absented herself from the mathematics paper of the day’s examination. Later on she herself confessed it was a drama that had been staged by herself to show the inner reality of her mind when she came to know she could not fulfil her parents’ aspiration to get high marks in the examination.

It is good that the girl student did not take extreme steps like suicides but tried her best to toll the bell of alarm and reach it to the ears of her parents. This has given out a message to all of us that we should learn first to know accordingly in a proper and right direction.

On bringing up of a children ancient Meitei wisdom says “Chahi manga phaoba Nungshi Matumni Echadi, Mangadagi Mahei tam- hanllu, tardagi cheksinna warak-watemmu, tara- ta-ruktagi nangi marup oi-yu” (Be very loving till the child is five, sent him/her to school from five onwards, be a strict disciplinarian to them from ten onwards and when your child is sixteen treat him/her like a friend).

On the contrary, many parents feel that treating their sons and daughters as a friend often does not get them respect from their children that is due as a parent. At the other end, when the child attains the adolescent period, they have got their own law un-to themselves. They want their voices to be heard by the world. They feel they have come out from their cocoon and dried their wings to fly in the open field. The parents want their children to follow their own laid laws and rules without creating unnecessary conflicts. Then, where is the balance?

Very often we see that parents aim high and always try to provide their children shoes which are too big for them. Then those children unable to go in the way that has been made by their parents fall on the sideways before they reach the goal. It happens most in the High School and Higher Secondary stage of education. Most of the parents hope that their children will be able to cross any hurdle if they are forced to study any stream or any branch of knowledge that fetch money and fame even if they know that their children lack the talent and merit to pursue that line of study. Parents even ignore to see that their children have got talents in music, painting and try to dissuade their children from such branch of studies and force them to study Medicine, Engineering etc. and that brings no good either to the parents or the students.

Usually by default they don’t get into medicine, so they study computer science. At other times the parents’ desire was for their wards to study engineering, so the children are doing that. Nor did the children get the opportunity to confide his or her wants in life and the difficulty in venturing in the field which the they cannot put their head and heart.

When the parents perceive certain degree of drawbacks and timidity in their children, they take it as a fault of the schools and institutions in which their children are going formally during school hours. What does the parents do then? They rush for private tutors. However this mad chase leaves the tutors richer, student poorer having lost at the cross-road unable to choose the right way and the parents become poorest in terms of their exaggerated hopes which remains unrealised and unfulfilled.

When the parents put all the blames to their children, then the children become low in self-esteem. At this crucial juncture they can be easily overwhelmed by stress or are generally pessimistic and appear to be vulnerable to any symptoms of illness what doctors name it as depression. When children at the adolescent period of life make themselves susceptible to depression it often leads them to take extreme steps in life. And experts say girls are twice more prone to depression than boys.

Basically, we are all parents. The first and foremost duty of parents is to look after their children in the best possible way, to take interest in their welfare and to see them pro-gress. For this, parents give their children the best possible education. But the question surfaced here is how far parents know progress of their children. Parents seldom visit the school where their children is reading. It is most common to the parents who have admitted their children to Govt schools. They are forced to visit the school on two occasions only - once at the time of admission and later when the child fail to get promoted in the next class.

So the end-point here is that there is no fixed formula or rule on how to bring up a child and how much of what a parent need to do. But role-playing by becoming the parents a role-model is what needs to be done. Every teenager is in a hurry to be an adult in their age. At the same time, in the most contradictory manner he/she still wants to be cuddled and loved like a five-year old. Then the parents have to find the balance with their children. It is an indispensable part for the parents to use the under-standings of the children and at the same time to be ready to give fresh insights into their problems. The children will feel it and appreciate their parents’ treatment. It is the toughest and loveliest job on the earth and none but the parents can do it.


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