Clustered Cerebellum

Place: Tirthan Valley, Himachal Pradesh. Time of the year: may-June 2006 May 6th 2006, Old Delhi railway station: 9.P.M. A day before I was informed that I should be there at the station by 9.P.M. I was there at 8:45 and there was no sign of the people I was supposed to meet. Wait. After a while, a beeline of kids started to appear. Accompanied by their parents there were about 60 kids. They all were participants for the youreka kid’s summer camp in Tirthan Valley, Himachal Pradesh. For some it was the first trip while it was the second time for some. For me, it was the first time dealing with kids. At 9:20, I got to speak to one of the team member. “When are we starting?” I asked. “In about 10 minutes” he replied back. Nice, I was asked to be here at 9 and these guys turn up at 9:20, great, just great. Perfect Indian timing, I hate it. Big time. Anyways, a meeting was called for all the educators (that’s what I was known as, educator), everyone was assigned a job, it was simple, che...

Every evening if you walk down MG Road in Bangalore, you will see huge crowds in all the coffee shops on the road. Everyone comes there, but its kind of hard to figure out whether they come for coffee or for something else. Well, whatever the reason is Coffee is served, in whatever way you want, cold/hot/with cream/without cream and so on. Now among all these people are three weird guys. Weird? now thats an understatement, but for the time being they are just weird. They also form a part of the regular coffee drinkers on MG road. The weekend did not start in the regular way, ie start with a cup of coffee on MG road but it was a regular weekend drinking session, starting on saturday finishing on sunday morning. It was all usual until someone said I want to have a cup of coffee. What's the time? 3.30 in the morning. Hmm what do we do? one said, I know a place which is open 24 hours a day but thats too far, about 70 kms from Bangalore, another said, OK I will put the fuel in the car, ...

Everyone seems to be on orkut. Damn the crowd is huge. One connected to the rest of the world. For me, it started as a timepass to see how it works. Then I left it there just like that. Created a profile and never bothered to check what was happening. But today was different. I came to office and there was nothing to do except sit and surf the net. Now thats a better way to earn your money. Sit and do nothing but still get paid for doing that. How nice is that. So, with nothing to do after checking the office mail and the personal mails. I thought why not check out orkut? and there was a surprise in store. Now the magic search word "Manipur" and bang the result comes up. Oh I was searching the communities page. Not to my surprise there were lots of communities in there. One of them related to me, it was my school's name right there. The school I love. Manipur Public School. Fine, found the school, now lets see who all are there, specially my batch mates. I found about 7 o...

That's the only thing which is constant. CHANGE. Time, people, place, everything changes. Yet there are few things which do not change, like memory for example. When you think of someone or something, you will not see any changes, be it a place or person. Moving on is the only thing that mankind has learnt, improving on things, making life muc much easier. New innovations, new ideas to make anything better. It seems to be a race among countries and people to prove who has the best of the best living conditions. It's competition and it is good for mankind. Yet there are people who will protest about development. for example environment issues. That is understandable but how about protest saying that WE JUST DON'T WANT IT. It's not a full fledged out and out protest but it's a protest within people's attitude towards development. Yes, I am talking about my state Manipur. The so called "jewel of India" the so called "Paradise on Earth". The real...

From the moment you wake up till the time you sleep, its all about money. Don't you think so? Here, let's have a look. You wake up, head straight for the bathroom(well, most of us) take the toothpaste and the bursh to brush your teeth. Now, both those things costs something. The soap for bathing, the towel you use, it all requires money to get them. Now you come out. Breakfast time. Whatever you eat, you MUST buy them. Then you put on your clothes which also requires money to buy so that you can wear them. If you have your own vehicle then that must have cost you something, however if you use the city transport system, you need money to use them. Simple? following so far? you reach your workplace, lunch time, if your office provide lunch, don't think that it is free, something is cut from your salary for that food which is free. Then if you smoke, you need money buy your ciggarettes. Then you come back home, on the way you see all the advertisements, on the huge wall, askin...

So, today is the day, The so called Valentine’s Day. Isn’t it just like any other day? What’s so special about this day? Surely I will be sidelined for this question, But still I will wait for a suggestion. Whether to shut up or jump in, Can’t shut up since I don’t fit in. So, you express your deepest love on this day, What about the rest 364 days? It’s just a wave of commercialism, Which leads to increased consumerism. Red roses, Chocolates, gifts and so on, That’s where the money goes on and on. For me its just another day, May or may not know love one day. So, the question still remains, Like a dark cloud which never rains. What’s so special about this day? Why do people for this day? The relevance and the country do not fit in, Still the consumerism juggernaut keeps rolling. Because today is the day, The so called valentine’s day. © Khundrakpam Muhen.

Ever since I can remember, I have always thought that when you want to compare two things in life, you should first have them equal on some terms and then decide who is the best, otherwise its not a fair judgement. For example you cannot compare between a one rupee coin and a 10Rs note. They are not equal at the first place so therefore Rs 10 will always be higher in anything. However, people can't seem to stop comparing things that are not equal at the first place. Like parents comparing their children with other people's children. First thing that they dont know or rather dont want to know is that their kid is different then others'. They can't seem to understand that, they always wonder whether their kid is lacking from others' or not. Why worry? let them be what they are and let your kid be what he/she is. In a world where competition seems to be the second nature for survival, every kid is bound to be under pressure. Whether it is from their own parents or peer...

Damn..I hate to say this but " I have lost trust in being a good friend to anyone". Yeah I know I am wrong but there are somethings that people should know if you have been a friend to someone. For long I have always wondered whether a friendship stays the same way after a good friend gets married? well, it stays for some but it does not remain the same for a majority of it. There are talks about being the same people even after marriage and stuff like that but in reality it does not seem to work. I mean you can't barge into someone's house after he/she is married. Well understandable in that regards but to totally neglect someone or rather discontinue knowing is something that bothers me. Incidents are many to say that things have changed, but I can't relate all of those. But one incident I will remember is something that I will always laugh about. Recently I did a small 2 days halt in Delhi in my travelling schedule. I met a long lost friend of mine. We caught u...

Circa 1997..the year when I first came to Delhi for some work. My uncle was being treated at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. I was then a student of 2nd Year B.com, studying in a filthy city called Kanpur. At that time Delhi was all the hustle and bustle, way too crowded, polluting busses, cows and all sorts of animals on the road, potholed roads, uncanny auto drivers...it was pure madness. Zip to 2006, I am back to the city after almost 10 years. Honestly it was not surprising to see the present day Delhi but it was rather shocking. At first I did not believe that I was in Delhi. The swanky new Metro, CNG fuel for all busses, autorickshaws and taxis, Multiple flyovers, smooth (well smoother) traffic, a strict helmet rule. Delhi was no more the Delhi I knew. Its time I adjust myself to the pace of Delhi. The fastest moving city in India today. With the 2010 commonwealth games scheduled to be held in the city, Delhi is certainly going the right way to being a world city. Th...

Its been always said that the world is a small place and you never know when, where and how you are going to bump into someone you knew some years ago. The months of june and july 1996 were the months when I along with all my school friends were thinking of leaving our home town for further studies. At that time nobody knew where all we will land up one day. 2006, New Delhi- India. After 10 years of leaving school and becoming something on my own, I never thought I will meet Johnson, My good old friend, Mr. Ladoo as we call him. My tryst with Delhi started a week back when I migrated from Bangalore, a City where I spent 5 years of my life. It had become suffocating for me at the city. Delhi seemed exciting with sattelites cities of Gurgaon and Noida churning out BPOs after BPOs. Oh by the way, I work as a team leader with the world's number one customer contact center( well Used to). Now that I am here, I am planning to make the best use of the openings that is available here. Oh n...

India, visited by many from far and wide. A country so fascinated by the world. The so called land of the mystic and snake charmers. But is that what India is all about? Snake charmers, Sadhus, Kamasutra, is that it. Well it seems to me that most of the tourists who come to India for something new, end up getting the same old experience of being looted or being taken for a ride. Well some return with fond and good memories, some return with bitter memories. But this country has long neglected one part of its geography without which India is not complete in any sense. Its the north east India. Though of late the government of India has allowed entry to few states in the region for foreign tourists, some states are yet to get the ticket to open their doors to the outside world. One of the states which is yet to open its doors to foreingers is Manipur . The land which gave the game of polo to the world. Long neglected by the central government and right now in a state of chaos, this state...

I don't know what I will be, But I know what I have been. I don't know what I am doing, But I know what I have done. I don't know where I am going, But I know where I have been. I don't know what life holds, But I know what it has given. I can't see my tomorrows, But I can see my yesterdays. Dreams not realizing, But nightmares coming to life. What I had thought true, Is turning out to be untrue. What I had seen before, Is turning out to be brand new. The things I had done, I am learning to do it again. The things I had found, I am searching for it again. Memories, I had of you, Is fading away with time. But the thing I just can't find, Is my soul, lost without a trace. The thing I need now, Is just a peace of mind. The trust I seek in all, To be found in someone someday.

In its long history, the game of football has been an integral part of every manipuri. The game is in the blood of every manipuri. Just as Latin America is crazy about their football, we are not behind them when it comes to fan following and the love of the game. Every year the pologround in the heart of Imphal is jam packed on every day of the famous CC meet football tournament. Fans of both the teams and true lovers of the game converge to enjoy every match. The popularity of this game is so much that every locality has a football club. The amount of talent this tiny state possesses is enormous, so much so that half of the major Indian clubs are filled by players from the state. Sometimes the scouts go nuts on whom to select. But the recent controversy in the Santosh Trophy has left the people of Manipur feeling ill treated for the game that we love so much. The incident happened after Manipur's Tomba Singh scored Manipur's first goal from a beautiful free kick, the best free...

EDUCATION??? a true incident in Bangalore, India It was around 5.30am on the 26th of Feb 2003, I had just returned from work and was feeling exhausted, not really exhausted I guess, but it was the stress that was getting into my head from last night's work. I was pondering on my thoughts as to what to do at the moment, so I decided to make a cup of tea and wait for the morning newspaper. The wait seemed to last for ages and the frustration of waiting for something was getting in. Then I decided to take a walk to get some fresh air of a typical bangalore morning. The morning air was fresh as it can be, there were people of various ages, some jogging for health, some on their way to work, some doing the usual poojas in front of their houses, rag pickers, the municipality van, the milkman, the next door shopkeeper, everything was as normal as usually it was. But something caught my eyes in the distance. The sight immediately prompted me to go up to person and talk to him. The sight wa...

2 marriages, a tiring journey and finally home This is an account of 2 different marriages and a journey back home to Imphal. I was home after 5 years. That's a long time. I guess quite long. So, What would be the perfect culmination of true love?... Marriage?... Or something else? I guess its different perceptions and people have different ways of defining it. so here I was, ready with a back pack, at the railway station, on a waiting list, tensed of how much money the ticket collector is going to demand, the anticipation of seeing a close friend after 6 years, 2 marriages to attend, a 15 day long journey, confused about which coach to get into, the whistle blows, the train starts to chuck out of the Bangalore city railway station, hoped in one of the coach, still tensed. 30 minutes into the journey, the most dreaded man in a train comes, the ticket collector. Looks dangerous, but a smile worked, 100 bucks and I got a seat for the night. The smell of human excreta announces the ar...

How, when and why AIDS? It is something that we have been drooling about for sometime. Manipur is a state where AIDS education and awareness is much higher than anywhere in India, even the metro cities of India do not possess this rate of education. Here I am going to deal with the problem that we all seem to hide rather not talk about it. This problem is with people who were drug users at some point of time and who are now clean and back in the society. Now we all know that the amount of risk that these people carry of having the disease is much higher than anyone else. The problem here is the family. It has been seen that the families generally tend to get the person married to someone so that, you know, he/she lives a decent life. But no one thinks about the risk. All that matters for them is for the person to get married and lead a totally different life, which in the society we call it as a CLEAN life. The risk here is enormous because it involves the wife/husband of the person, w...

Imagine this: You are a bright young man/woman, who has got everything in life, money, esteem, security etc etc. Now you are ready to settle down in the bliss of a married life. You find someone or your parents find someone for you. You get married, you have the best time in your life, you have the best wife/husband in the world, and one day you find out that you have AIDS? What do you do? Cry out loud? Or fight for your right? Or just accept it as faith? I suggest you read on….. In a recent article published in the times of India, Delhi edition, it was brought to light how one can file a case if AIDS was transmitted by their spouse. We all seem to be quite ignorant about it when it comes to filling law suits. We live in a country where we are taught to accept everything as a result of faith or destiny. Now the times are changing and things are going the American way, least we can put that way. There is a law for everything in the US of A, India also has. The difference is that there p...

I wonder how was the world when there was absolute peace and no worries. The world before the industrial revolution, wars and the world before the race for supremacy. There must have been a time when men did not need to worry about the future or say about earning money. Needless to say that circumstances have changed and men are no more the same species. Cut throat competition, selfish and downright mean. In the present world if you have money, you are counted. If you don’t then you are useless. People can do anything to earn whatever extra they can. You ask them a reason for money, the answer is obvious; EVERYTHING. The situation seems a little out of hand as I see. The rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer. Today, buying that swanking new house is just a phone call away. In the same time there are people who don’t even get essential drinking water. Urbanization has gone a long way and there seems to be no thought for making the rural into urban. What am I writing? Dam...

Manipur, a beautiful state in the north eastern region of India. My home and my birthplace. ever since I can remember its been under trouble and issues. The subject of which ranges from small to big. The biggest question is about the merger of the state to India. Well thats not I am worried about because the state cannot live on its own, even if it gets the so called freedom from India. Questions are many starting from how did it happen to what is wrong now. Anybody can raise a question but nobody seems to act. There are so many manipuris living outside the state or the country, everyone has an opinion about what is going on in Imphal or the state. Everyone will come up with a solution well some prefere not to comment but the ending of any conversation will end with "its useless and its not going to work". The media seems to be not interested in the entire region of the north east unless its a sensational news. Everyday so many people die in the region but the news of it does...

Kind of interresting.