Part 9
Fiction series: Chap 6 -- When the door opened....
Link of part 8
'Do not Edit Your Soul'
Finally. The decision for winter tour destinations for both the teams were finalized.
The Women team reached Nagaland capital Kohima. - the time was celebratory in the pre-dominant Christian state. The local tourism bonanza was called Hornbill Festival named after the wild flying creature once found in abundance in the wilds.
Christmas not far off and so...the mood of the natives was also religious. To a large extent the three Bengali Hindu women found the atmosphere pious.
No meeting, no tea party and no dinner session would begin without a prayer. "Amra to emon noe" - we are not like this," said Shampa.
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| Snap: Ajay Khape Jadhav |
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| Story teller and Nagas |
Parul nodded her head. Eldest bahu Geetanjali also echoed the same sentiment and said, "I cannot agree more".
First few days of their holidays gave a fascinating experience. The cottage they stayed was owned by an Assamese gentleman from nearby place called Jorhat. Porimol Barua was married to an Angami Naga and so he had decided to settle down here in Kohima.
The house wife was the real owner of the house on the paper as well and the cottage but she maintained a low profile.
"NAGAS are known for being a Male chauvinistic society. Angamis are more. So I had grown up like that....always happy to play second fiddle to Mr Barua. He served in a government department and we met and the love was instant on my part. He gives me so much indulgence," the wife of Barua - Vitono told them.
She told them breakfast and lunch were complimentary. The three guests were certainly overwhelmed, never anticipated this generosity. Shampa even called up her husband Moloy to inform him about the arrangements at the 'Khonoma Cottage'.
Vitono once told them - "After my son was born, Mr Barua said he would settle down in Kohima with me...A Naga boy of a Naga mother should grow up in Nagaland-- he told me and had already made up his mind".
She also said many of her relatives and even Barua's brothers in Assam feel ...."I forced him to stay in Kohima. I did not".
She said, "I studied Hotel management in Pune briefly...I wanted to settle down outside Nagaland. But Mr Barua and my fate had other plans".
Between the three sisters in law, Parul once said - "This Naga woman's story has an irony...don't you both see..she does not like to be staying on in Nagaland, ...I fail to understand".
Geetanjali said - "That's because Nagaland saw a lot of disturbance and killings once. No mother would like children to grow up amid violence".
Shampa said - ".....but she is opening up before us..at times I get a feeling that she is trying to do some kind of 'Prayaschit'...repentance".
"Why she has to feel guilty about it," Parul was curious - perhaps she had already sensed a deeper and interesting story plot.
"In fact, she told me ...Repentance is essential feature of Naga Christians," said Shampa.
"May be so," remarked Parul perhaps casually. "...we hardly know of Christian cultures and Naga traditions. In Bengal we were so much lost about our own culture, life, problems and gossips."
"True" - retorted Geetanjali...and added, "So much of a different world outside... Kupa-manduka...frogs in the well is a permanent syndrome with Bengalis".
All three laughed together.
"Our husbands must be experiencing a different world in Allahabad... religious...so much of Hindu rituals...and of course evening drinks along Ganga Ghat," said Parul.
Again three of them laughed out. Geetanjali sounded politically correct and said, "Oh ya, but Allahabad is Prayag !"
At times Barua would also sit with them and chit chat. He was specially excited to know that Parul also writes. Journalism and writing always fascinated him, he said.
Barua said he had landed in the Nagaland Government's information and public relations department chiefly for writing works. Then he moved to the state assembly and took interests in reading and writing about Nagaland legislative history...enacting of laws...preparing Speakers and other Assembly officials and members and various committees for conferences and international seminars.
"I also traveled a bit specially a few SAARC countries and twice to Thailand and the Philippines," he told them.
Barua and his wife Vitoto were like "a different window" to the ladies from West Bengal about the Naga life.
"Nagas are wonderful community but like all human races and communities, they have serious fault-lines too...they are fighters as a group but often individually and emotionally weak," Barua said.
As the guests would grill him further, he would say - "When the Naga insurgency against India and seeking independence was at its peak ...they also wanted the Government of India to fight their battle if there was a battle at all".
"They would expect a lot of funding from the centre, they would require jobs both in the central government and in the state and pretty good jobs," he said.
Parul would ask most questions and often take notes diligently.
Barua also said, "For long there was a psychic tug of war. Even within families there were divisions...some Naga youths would join IAS civil service and even Indian army...others would join militant organisatoms and call themselves 'brave underground and freedom fighters'."
Perhaps they were not so pragmatic like Mizos as rebel leader Laldenga had led his Lushai and Mizo community to end insurgency once and for all in 1986.
The Nagas continued their battle, sometime against Indian forces, sometime against state politicians and also against one tribe against the other.
Rajiv Gandhi was Indian prime minister when Mizo Accord was signed, Barua has been an admirer of Rajiv, the last Congress Prime minister he admired.
He disliked Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh, he openly confessed. "I don't know why...perhaps I could sense these two leaders would fail and bring a long term damage to the Congress party".
Nagas also have serious differences among themselves ---- the fact that a major combative community of Nagas was "in Manipur state" made things more complex in 1990s and later. Nagas are also in Assam, Barua's wife Vitono told them.
"If north east of India is Mini India, Nagaland is mini north east ...very complex...," she said once.
Barua would also explain to them - "All Nagas are not quick tempered...nor all Nagas are dog eaters".
They are allowed to take beef as Christians and as Naga tribal natives, but Nagas have a craze for pork instead.
Laughingly he said, "I also love pork and specially if it is prepared by my wife in Angami Naga style with lots of ginger leaves and pieces of pork fats around your plates. She controls me by her cooking talent".
All of them would laugh out loud at the dining table.
Parul and two others Shampa and Geetanjali had pork for the first time in the Khonoma Cottage only; and and each one of them later confessed to each other - the experience was 'good'.
"Bolte parish ei gulo mangesher dalna...(You can say this is a little variety of a Bengali dish too)," Geetanjali told both of her sisters-in-law.
Both Barua and Vitono told them a lot about Khonoma village and about the villagers, their history.
The doyen of Naga freedom movement of 1940s A Zapu Phizo was from Khonoma village.
On hearing this, Parul said "We must visit the village".
"Yes, Yes; we will take you there," Barua was too keen to assure them.
Next Sunday was planned for the trip to Khonoma.
The journey was planned for a quick but leisurely drive for about an hour from Kohima town.
"Because it is Sunday traffic will not be a problem," Barua's wife told them.
On the way yet again Barua was doing most of the talking while his wife and others did the patient hearing.
In between Parul asked his wife, "...why don't you also share some of your thoughts?"
Vitono smiled joyfully. Slowly, Parul realised - Vitono was yet again opening up.
"There is a deliberate and peculiar schizophrenia among Nagas...an outsider may not appreciate this. But we are really the conformists lot among the human race," she said.
Barua agreed readily and said -- "Within family and village social structures there is not much of rebellion. Nagas grow up and learn to follow and abide by family and social norms. Respecting elders is good, but sometime they seem to be defending even people who are absolutely wrong".
"Yes...", said his wife and hastened to add, "we can divide our private lives and public lives very smoothly. An outsider can mistake it to be opportunism. It is not".
"We can easily conform to the surroundings and community and respective Khel demands when it comes to public life. We can play the roles as expected by the community and tribe, and which may be wrong even from an individual point of view".
Barua also said -- "If may add, even at times 'silence' is a kind of eloquent speaking....I am surprised at times when even my wife will sit down in silence and allow her relatives to attack my Assamese people or the Indian government.." - he smiled in between.
Parul says, "My husband also keeps complaining like that...all men will be men...".
Barua continued - ".....privately she would tell me latched in a very affectionate voice ...." you know our Naga people my dear...and I am floored".
They all laugh mildly for a brief period.
His wife seemed to agree ...and said " Once I was surprised when a road accident in far off Tuensang district in the hills, two army officers and their wives and children died...and some of my relatives said -- it served them as right as the two army officers had tortured Nagas".
This was in reference to a court of inquiry report that found two officials guilty of torturing two innocent coal mine workers just because they told the officials that they could speak the ethnic local language of ethnic communities in Myanmar.
Barua's wife Vitono said -- actually the way Nagas grow up they acquire a unique sense of propriety -- what is wrong and what is right.
Parul was recording some of their conversation with the permission of Barua and his wife. She assured them repeatedly that their names will never come out. Se will write fiction....so that will be harmless. But at the same time all these can tell some fascinating things about Naga people.
to be continued ..... /-
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| Story teller and 'Angami' friend |
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