The kings of Nagaland

A farcical situation is currently ongoing in Nagaland. And who should be at the centre of it all? The politicians, of course. No big surprise there.

The ridiculousness of the entire situation is underlined by the daily reports appearing in the local newspapers. In yesterday’s edition, the front page of all the papers had the Congress party, or whatever’s left of it, desperately trying to make itself heard as it criticised the ruling DAN government for what it called ’12 years of rule and ruin’. Turn the page and there you have two reports of two happy Congress MLAs attending department functions as part and parcel of the DAN government.

Please don’t touch my walker

I still can’t quite believe what happened to me today. I reached my office and was getting ready to get down from the car when I saw someone come and stop close to my door. I looked up thinking that it was a friend or an acquaintance stopping by to say hello. It wasn’t anyone I knew but a complete stranger and he was just standing there staring at me. I wondered what he wanted, but since he did not say anything I too did not talk to him and just got on with my business of getting down from the car, which involves quite a bit of shifting and lifting and turning. Being gawked at by all and sundry is nothing new!

Then, as my assistant got my walker out and was unfolding it, the man grabbed it and started adjusting the locks. The folding walker that I use has locks that can either be put in or not according to the user’s convenience. I don’t use the locks because that way it is possible to twist and turn the walker through narrow passages and doorways and the like. Given the absolutely unfriendly environment everywhere, this makes negotiating around easier for me.

Dear NSF

Dear Naga Students Federation,

Firstly, allow me to congratulate you on successfully holding your 2015 General Conference. From all I’ve heard, it was a grand affair worthy of a premier student body such as yours.

Towards a Just Society – what a great theme and one that is so right for a student body to shine the spotlight on. Who better than the youth to take up the cudgels for the oppressed, to speak up for those who face injustice and to fight and work towards a world that is just and equal!

But I am curious to know whether this just society that you speak of includes fellow citizens with disabilities? From the information I’ve gathered, there was no effort at all to make the conference venue accessible for all citizens. Months of planning must have gone into making sure that the event was a success. In all the meetings, all the discussions held over arrangements to be made, I wonder if there was even a single mention on the need to make it possible for all, including those with disabilities, to attend the conference. Was there even any awareness in this regard?

‘Amicably settling’ our way to hell

There is a report in The Morung Express today about a murder case in Bhandari and the controversy that has cropped up over a ‘compromise letter’ whereby the accused murderers who had been arrested have been set free. Stupefying, isn't it? This can happen only in Nagaland!

If you read the news report you’ll find so many things that are just so wrong with the entire murder investigation, if you can call it that. But this is not about that particular case per se. It just brings to the fore all the ‘compromising’ and ‘forgiving and forgetting’ that we Nagas have become so dangerously fond of.

I’m not a person, I am my disability

I recently met an acquaintance whom I haven’t seen for quite a while. Her reaction was typical – awkward and unsure of what to say, then came the commiserating noises and comments of how difficult it must be for me and how I must be suffering.

Most people are very uncomfortable around disabled people. They don’t know what to say or how to behave and therefore become very awkward and nervous and ultimately end up saying and doing all the wrong things. Many times they simply avoid them because then they don’t have to deal with such a ‘situation’. When they dare to acknowledge and talk, they make pitying remarks or ask silly and sometimes offensive prying questions.

Little Things

“Enjoy the little things in life because one day you’ll look back and realise they were the big things,” said Robert Brault………or was it Kurt Vonnegut? There seems to be some confusion over whom to credit these words of wisdom to…..rbrault.blogspot.in

But no matter who said it first (though of course it does matter to the one who actually said it first :-)), the point is that this wisdom rings so true. The big moments, the extraordinary experiences, the dramatic stuff in our lives – these get all the attention, as of course they should too, but when it comes down to it, it is the little moments, those seemingly insignificant experiences and the little pleasures that bring so much joy and add so much more meaning to your life.

A spinal injury in a car wreck a few years ago has meant that I have had to make major lifestyle adjustments as I am now unable to perform many everyday functions and activities that I never gave a second thought to earlier. And no, I don’t sit around wallowing in misery and crying over the things I can no longer do - that’s such a waste of time, don’t you think? But if I do miss anything at any point it is never the big things considered ‘very important’, rather it is the little things I would never have imagined mattered that much at all.

The Cupcake

Recently my sister returned from a wedding reception and gave me a pretty little wedding cake favour box that guests had received. I opened it in anticipation and to my utter disappointment found an ordinary plain cupcake sitting flat inside.

Now, I’m told that cupcakes have become quite the trend at our weddings. I’m really not in a position to attend too many of these crowded events these days, so I’m a little out of touch with trending flavours and have to go by the information I get from others.