ALTHOUGH THE STAR IS SILENT

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This February, I was requested by NSU Kolkata to write an article on racial prejudices mended out on people from Northeast India, thanks to Yuimi Vashum for narrowing the six degrees of separation and loads of appreciation received through this article. With the limited knowledge I have, I contributed to the magazine, where is the blog version of it. I am not a master to give a substantial argument on this issue, however, it does not stop me to acknowledge the power of humanism over racism. 

              Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

Shining up above the world so high,

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

Why is my Teddy so brown?

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

Why is the mango on the plate so yellow?

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

Why is my mama’s lipstick so red?

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

Why are my daddy’s shoes so black?

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

Why is my granny’s hair so white?

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

Shining up above the world so high.

You are out of your mind if you think the twinkling little star is going to answer this young girl’s inquisitive queries. Her parents/guardian will be the star who is going to ease her burdened mind. The answers will not stop her from wondering more and more, her answers will not lie in mere words but in actions. And that is when my essay’s argument begins, no one is born with hatred in heart, racism is taught so be careful of what is being taught to you and whom you are teaching. I am totally with Alex Haley when he says and I quote, “Racism is taught in our society... it is not automatic. It is learned behavior toward persons with dissimilar physical characteristics.” Furthermore “Racism isn’t born, folks. It’s taught. I have a 2-year-old son. Know what he hates? Naps. End of list.” I cannot disagree with Denis Leary. 

In Harper Lee’s How to Kill a Mocking Bird, a classic dwelling in the theme of racial injustice and destruction of innocence. For six years old Scout Finch her father Atticus Finch is an ordinary man as she has not seen him doing something worth remarkable, however as the story progresses and incidences happen along the way, she looks upon him as a hero. One of the most amazing lines in the book is eloquently laid down by Atticus for his children to hear, it is marked by tolerance, bravery, wisdom:

“If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." How lucky are the kids who have parents/guardians like him. Teaching kids to be humble enough to understand things not from one’s egoistic self but from the viewpoint of others, least we end up judging someone according to our convenience.

Now, I want to pose the question- How to best educate the younger ones? The answer will be according to the experiences we had. Most of us teach our younger ones to prepare them to survive in this world. But, in the process do we ourselves realise that we are growing along with them? Why do we fail to understand that we indeed love so little and hate so much? Staring at the clear night sky filled with stars we cannot blame our elders for not answering our questions in the way it should have been, for they were just perplexed by the gravity of the words which could have unmasked their ignorance. Now, in their shoes we find, we are no less than them. So many memories they carry with them, some bitter, some sweet, we do the same; we spend

half our lifetime in either filtering or synthesizing it.

But, in all these we sometimes forget the basic essence of humanism, we find ourselves imitating the actions which were once disgusting to us. There are seasons when we cry in the hollow walls for the same reasons that cause silver tails to fall from other’s check too. Yes, I am knocking at the letters of the sentence which run, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” 

Back home i.e., Nagaland, how to we treat the people from mainland India? Not all of us look to them with love and respect. I have witnessed how local boys beat up the thin poor rickshawalas over the fare charges. The phenomena of ‘a mouse is a lion in its own territory’ is visible is such cases. We preach about love, tolerance and essence of humanity, but it is sheer hypocrisy if in our personal lives we fail to accommodate such virtues which we fight for when we find ourselves away from our nest. The degree of intolerance might be different but the kind is same, hatred towards fellow human beings. 

In the year 2012, the tragic incident of Richard Loitam shocked the people of Northeast, India. It was condemned from all fronts. For many this was a rare case of regionalism, however, there were certain groups of intellectuals springing out from academia who through their speeches and writings branded it as a pure case of racism. Arguments were exchanged as certain people were not comfortable to even think that we live in a racist society. Incidences happened along the way, then there came the worse case of racism in this country on January 29, 2014, we lost Nido Tania. Finally, everyone was ready to accept at least to some level that it was a case of racism. See, how foolish we are as a human being to wait for the wrong time to understand the right cause. I cannot guarantee, neither can you about the future, we hope that things will change but at the same time, we are sceptical about hope itself. If so then we are left with two options, (a) to unite and fight against racism, (b) to practice what we are preaching, or else it will weaken the cause for which we are fighting for. And in all these let us remind ourselves that young eyes are watching us, young ears can hear us, we can be a hero or a villain for them; it is for them to judge. The best thing we can do is not to repeat the wrongs our elders did, hating so lamely and loving so conditionally.

We are someone’s star…we can’t be foolishly silent.

22- TYPES- OF- AWESOME GALS –WE- WILL –FIND- IN- EVERY GIRLS HOSTEL

1.    The Girl who wears Mr. India’s watch: Her hostel mates saw her only twice, a) on the day of hostel admission and, b) on the day when she vacates her room. No one knows a thing about her, and no one seems to be interested in cracking the mystery.

2. The Diet Keeper: Whether she loses her weight or not she is always on a diet. More than the names of her classmates she knows the calorie content of soft drinks. Waka, waka!

3.  The Brother among the Sisters:  In other words the tomboy, she dresses like a boy, she walks like a boy, she acts like a boy, she talks like a boy. Nevertheless, she is not superficial and is real fun to be with.

4.  The Feminist: She knows her theory, she does not hate men but she is often misunderstood. She raises the question for the better hood of women but her voice is often neglected by her own species.

5.  The Business Executive: She is always selling something or the other, ranging from chips to lipsticks, clothes to scandals, she is sweet but rude when bargaining. Be good to her, someday Forbes list might just put her up as the most successful business woman in the world. We never know.

6.   The Religious Mentor: Don’t know why we are using the word ‘religious’ here, for she is more of a moral science teacher. She has high moral principles, works fine if she is not a hypocrite. Some girls will love and follow her, some will discard her for being a high-level moralist. Some might think there is an aura which fills her, but for some, it is just another ‘get real girl’ moment.

7.  The Five-Year Planner: She is always like, ‘Next year I am planning to do this and that, and in the next to next year this and that.’ She is a planner with lots of plans, wish her the very best. 

8.  The Fatal Female: She is a blooming enchantress, her one look is enough to erect a man’s queue near the hostel gate. She is a deadly atom, often girls consider her as a threat, and for guys, she is a fantasy. However, if she is a venom then she has her antidote too.

9.  The Librarian: Have we heard of a hostel mate whose favourite hangout place is the library? Yes, we have. Well, she need not to be in nerdy reading glasses to know the library like Jack Sparrow knows the sea. It is a blessing to have a roommate like her, for she is always out of the room.

10. The Singer: She sings pretty well in a bathroom, but when she is requested to sing in gatherings, she is all shy. Sometimes, out of nowhere we will hear her voice, her off-tune might sound a bit scary but she is the guarantee that we are not the only odd one in the hostel.

11. The Patient: ‘How are you?’ and the reply we get is, ‘I am having a headache,’ the next day, ‘How are you?’ and the reply is, ‘I am having a toothache.’ Our question may be same but her answers will be different. After knowing her, we will realize why the saying, ‘health is wealth,’ makes sense.

12. The Social Worker: She is going for a big deal like winning a Nobel Peace Prize. She keeps an eye on the workings of the hostel whether it be the dirty plates on the mess floor or the smelly toilets or the staircase or garden or the gate or the colours of the curtain or the hole in the television set. Salute!

13. The Girl with Issues: She has a problem with everything and everyone. She is terribly rude to everyone, her face says the tale of a girl who have never seen a rainbow. It is difficult to adjust with her, she has hardly or no friends. Does it cost us anything if we are nice to her? Nope, so let’s tolerate her.

14. The Sports Champion: She might not be a champion but yeah she engages in sports of various kind. Her athletic figure is enviable, but the smell of her socks are not too delightful for her roommates’ nostrils.

15. The Drama Queen: How can a hostel be a hostel without a drama queen, she is the beat that gives harmony to the haunted land.  She creates a mountain out of a molehill, her cries can be heard from the staircase,  her laughter can be heard at strange hours, she screams, yells, shouts, creates scenes but everything about her is entertaining.

16. The Die Hard Romantic: Girls like her is the reason why romance fills the air and sells well in the market. Open her closet and one will find more M&B novels than clothes. She loves Karan Johar, it is easy to select birthday gifts for her, meaning? Simply pick up one of the DVDs which has Katherine Heigl in it.

17. The Bride in Waiting: As a young girl, she might have played house-house where she was the bride ready to grab all the attention, then she grew up, the role remained the same but her idea of wedding got bigger and so was the discussion about her wedding. She might bore her fellow hostel mates but her ideas are phenomenal.

18. The serial ‘My Heart Got Broken’ Victim: It is not a disease, it is a condition, and she suffers from that condition. She is always the victim of bad romance, at first, we might console her, but when it happens for the 23^rd time we are left with nothing rather than to say, ‘Tell us something new.’

19.  Messy-Lazy-Busy-Missy: Her room reminds us of Aamir Khan’s room in Ghajini. The dusty floor, the cobweb flying on the ceilings, the scattered clothes, books and shoes here and there, looks like a tsunami has hit the room. This lady is messy may be/ because she is lazy or busy.

20. The Serial/Movie Addict: Not a day goes without watching the movie or serial she plans to. If there is a television hall in the hostel then she has the best attendance. The same plot by Ekta Kapoor manages to fool her over and over again. And when it comes to the movie, it is either first-day first show or she finds refuge in her 2000 GB external hard disk.

21. The Gossip Queen: The most interesting character in the hostel. She is better than Reuter, she knows all the happenings and not so happenings in the campus. It does not mean that she does not have anything better to do, it means she knows what exactly she is doing. Her mouth is more powerful than the nuclear power. Be careful of her.

22. The Fashion Diva: Matching x nail polish, lipsticks, shoes, hairbands, carries bags which are in vogue, everyone admires her sense of style. Her dresses are sometimes hers, sometimes borrowed from others.  She is the map to the shop which has off season sale. She has stocked more fashion magazines under her bed than her academic books. By the way, if there is Fashion Quiz in the university then she is the best partner to make us win the competition.