Another Ningol Chakkouba Without Eche Sharmila

By Ahanthem Anita Devi *

Ningol Chakkouba is around the corner. Food, festivity, gifts and love scatter in the air. Markets are overcrowded. Inspite of the many cloudy traffic rules and unreachable petrol prices, flashy vehicles with people in bright clothes are everywhere.

Yet, it's another story that there will be still tit-a-tat and sit-in-protest due to unpaid salaries. That is the perk of being a lucky few among the flood of unemployed people.

Ningol Chakkouba is surprisingly all about sharing. Brothers and sisters bond and share a special and happy day together. It is not always about how much flashy or luxurious the sister arrives at her parental home. Similarly, it is not about giving TV sets, fridge or branded items. Instead it is more about remembering with nostalgia the beautiful moments they have shared as siblings. It is also a way to introduce the younger generation to the invaluable beauty of our cultural heritage.

Among all these mist, I can remember a neglected but smiling Eche. She will be without her family on Ningol Chakkouba. It is not that she has no brother or family. In fact, she has got 5 brothers. It has been a decade since she has tasted her last meal.

However, it is not that she is dead or in vegetative state. Rather strangely she has refused to eat. Can you imagine living without all the delicious and mouth-watering dishes? I do not know about others; but I cannot even imagine going on a diet.

However, please do not start asking me the reason behind her fasting. India is a democratic country. And she must be enjoying one of her Fundamental Rights secured by the Constitution of India. Anyways, there is a slightly high possibility that many highly honourable people around us may find the term "decade" more or less confusing. So, with much regret I want to clarify and remind that it means "10 years".

And apart from the few confusingly overlooked facts, I extend my sincere apology to those clearly confused honorable people if I have confused them more. Sometimes back a very powerful maiden who is leading a political party went on a fast for merely a few days in West Bengal. Everything turned upside-down there.

Likewise a lady too who is serving a life-term for assassinating a famous national neta too tried fasting. She was demanding an early release. In fact, there were hardly any national paper or news channel without their news. Even here also some people tried fasting with certain unclear political agenda. But again, unsurprisingly they seem rather too ready to get arrested or admitted to hospitals.

They all involve fasting. The reasons also differ. But the days become insignificant and almost invisible when compared with years. So, it comes down to basic knowledge of calculation. Has the value of Eche's 365 days become equivalent to 1 day of a neta?

Even if I may sound like a slow-leamer, I still can't grasp how this new biased calculation works. How does an impersonal interest becomes less valuable than some propaganda?!

Gwangju Peace Prize awarded by South Korea to Eche was a genuine humane gesture of recognition shown towards her significant cause. However, it is also a hard slap on the face of a cold Nation. Lately, more awards and recognition followed. Yet, it hurts most when the coldest shoulder is given by some of her own people. Their blood seem to have frozen till the marrows. In fact, their hearts have stopped beating. May their departed souls rest in peace instead of haunting us!

Eche's aged grandmother could not see her final wish getting fulfilled. She had to leave this world with an aching heart. It was a very simple wish. Her only and final wish was to see her youngest grandchild eat again! Anyone can feed Eche, but the question is who is going to be the One?

Even if all these pleas - spoken or felt - is of no concern for any of the heartless apparitions flying around us, do you think the autumn winds of truth will cease easily to spread like some wildfire! Lo! It is time to celebrate a never dying spirit of truth and faith that a holy soul has gifted us.

And so, Eche's words from "The Road To Peace" (translated by Tayenjam Bijoy-kumar Singh) continues to echo from heart to heart :
"... I'll spread the fragrance of peace
From Kanglei, my birthplace
In the ages to come
It will spread all over the world."