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Journalism of Courage
A poets records
Paulose V D,who teaches at the Nabin Chandra College in Badarpur in southern Assam,has found a place in the Limca Book of Records for penning a poem that not only runs into 600 lines but also comprises 4,866 monosyllabic words. He has been writing poems for about two decades now. The Kerala-born teachers poems have been translated into Chinese,French,German,Greek,Italian,Spanish,Japanese and Bengali. Yet another achievement of the poet: The Oxford University Press has accepted his corrections in its dictionary a couple of years ago.
A Nagaland village discovers Netaji link
Chesezu,a village in Phek district of Nagaland,has discovered something that it hopes might turn it into a tourist spot in the years to come. It was in this village about 65 km east of Kohima,the state capital,that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose had stayed as he passed through the Northeast during World War II. The local MLA,Yitachu,who also happens to be a Parliamentary Secretary for tourism,said that the state tourism department will soon draw up a strategy to propagate the importance of Chesezu. The place has a peak named after Netaji,and there are also a few oldtimers who claim that Netaji had addressed a public meeting here in Hindi.
The other manipur story: Oranges and tourism
Manipur is not only about insurgency,bandhs,violence and highway blockades. This winter,like the past several years,the state has organised the annual Orange Festival at Tamenglong,150 km west of the state capital,Imphal. The festival that is currently on has been able to draw attention of buyers from across the country with the state government aiming at twin benefits to enhance income of the orange-growers and attract tourists. Last year,Manipur produced nearly 40,000 tonnes of oranges with Tamenglong district alone accounting for about 17,000 tonnes of the fruit. The Orange Festival has a beauty contest and a music concert as part of its schedule,adding to the attraction.
An arunachal alliance to Save the red panda
Residents of five villages in Tawang,Arunachal Pradesh,located in the snowy heights of the eastern Himalayas, have formed an alliance which they cite as the first of its kind in the world to protect the highly endangered red panda (Ailurus fulgens). Supported by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust,the recently formed Pangchen Red Panda Conservation Alliance comprises all the residents of Socktsen,Muchat,Kelengteng,Kharman and Lumpo,spread over an area of about 200 sq km. While a detailed action plan is yet to be drawn up,the villagers have already taken the first step a ban on hunting or capturing of red panda.
