Letters From Cornell University
- Part 1 -
- The American Dream -

By Rajkumari Sunita Devi *

LETTER FROM CORNELL UNIVERSITY,
ITHACA, NEW YORK, USA.
Dated 15th August 2008

The American Dream, who doesn't dream of it when you are young. Those beautiful people, nice dresses, rock music.... what not (most of all, for people like me who want to achieve in the field of Science, an American Scholarship).

For it I would give up everything. But it was just a dream then, which I thought would never materialize when things become from bad to worst in my home-place. How I wished I could wear one of those sweatshirt with the logo "UCLA", "HARVARD" or any of the Ivy League.....

Now I am here, in one of the most prestigious university of the world, CORNELL, where it is an amalgamation of culture, people, religion and race, where there is harmony in academic and where you are a free mind.

A group Photo for the Humphrey Fellows for the year 2008 at Cornell

Though the road was long to reach here, it wasn't impossible, as Napoleon said "impossible is the word found in the dictionary of a fool". All you need was a little perseverance and lots of hard work. If people in mainland India need ten steps to reach here, we need hundred more.

But lets not play the blame game that it's 'the fault of the Indian Government'. Topographically we are born unlucky and is one of the most remote place. Some fault are pretty much ours too, why there is lack of development, why there is disparity in economy.

The rich will be very rich and the poor, super poor. Without wasting our energy in thinking what we don't have, its time we put our potential in achieving different goal. Being a woman, a Manipuri, a mother and with an intricate job going nowhere, it was all a struggle trying to reach here. But once you are here, oh boy! It's a different ball game.

Winning the Humphrey Fellowship, a Fulbright scholarship was the reason how I reach here. Thanks to USEFI, India, it happened. It is also indeed a great moment that a Manipuri women's photo will enter the Humphrey room in Cornell University for years and years to come.

Humphrey Fellowship is a Fulbright Exchange Program for leaders in their country's public service sector. The Fellowship includes ten months of graduate study on a university campus and resources to interact with professional counterparts within the U.S. Cornell University's Humphrey Fellowship Program is for people in the fields of agriculture, environmental/natural resource management, biotechnology, city and regional planning with the following mission:

• Update Professional Expertise and Leadership Skills - through coursework, seminars, professional visits, affiliation, and discussions with professionals in the U.S.
• Broaden understanding and knowledge of development issues - through special workshops, discussions with Humphrey colleagues, officials and experts, and participation in the Washington seminar
• Contribute to mutual understanding - through contacts with citizens of the United States and participation in community and professional activities
• Establish and enhance long-lasting productive partnerships and relationships with U.S. individuals and institutions and among Fellows and alumni from all over the world.

The fellowship covers the tution fees, living expenses like housing, books, computer, travels etc which otherwise the overall tuition fees of Cornell is very high. Not just that, the fellows are pretty respected in the campus and even in this small city of Ithaca, New York. There are eight of us here from eight different countries.

And surprisingly, every country pretty much have the same problem, maybe worst. Corruption, bureaucracy, unemployment, it's the same story everywhere. But the only thing which they are different from us is everyone is so hard working. They all love their country and want to do something about their country.

Coming to this point, I am the one who is confused all the time. I even had so little to show to them about other place of my country because I was so much besotted with Manipur. So much potential of our youth wasted in gun culture and drugs and disease.

There's a whole new world out here where it is not so difficult to achieve if you would only work hard, if you set a goal, if you would dream and try to get it. This is a place where everybody is someone, where people listen to you and your voice is heard, where the place is so green and the water clean. This is a place surrounded by lakes and lakes, waterfalls and nature...

My one and only goal during my professional development is to learn everything from this great country, how the system is so good, to learn about the strategy used to safeguard the environment, and to come back home and get my people to believe me, when I say each and everyone of you can be here too.

To work together towards a cleaner Manipur, a greener Manipur and for my one beloved lake ' LOKTAK'.

Read more on Sunita here.

• Catchments characterization of Loktak Lake
• Living with Rock 'n' Roll and my hus-band

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* Rajkumari Sunita Devi (Junior Scientist at Manipur Remote Sensing and Application Centre) is a regular contributor to e-pao.net. She is the recipient of Hubert Humphrey Fellow, 2008-08 at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. She was conferred the "Map Asia Award 2007" at Kuala Lampur. Read more on her here and here. This article was webcasted on August 23, 2008.

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