free

PlusW

e have led blood-thirsty but intriguing lives. This was our way of life and I respect it. Coming in contact with these skulls had a profound effect on me…to imagine that it could have been my great-great grandfather who speared this person whose skull is now in a glass case,

all polished and decorated for display to the world.This is a window into an unexplored, unremembered past...trans-

porting me to a part of my life lived in another dimension. Others have tons of record spanning thousands of years, books, manuscripts, golden slippers, combs, mummified cats, pots and pans, family trees tracing back 100 generations and 3000-year old artefacts, I’ve only had access to oral history and I practically know little of where I come from.

In many ways this is a personal quest for me to find out who I am. I am on a personal fact-finding mission about my ancestors. A spiritual journey of sorts to reconstruct meaning for my life and what makes me who I am, the environment I am in now and why our society is what it is today.

Some call it an obsession with the past, some call it a hobby… a label can always be stamped to anything we do… but this is more than that. We cannot fully understand the world unless we understand ourselves first and though it is a life-long journey of ‘knowing yourself’ when certain things enlighten you on the way, you find more joy in living every day.

How we lived is almost fading into oblivion, our material culture disappearing and so I clutch on to these things scattered here and there collected by those who thought it might prove useful to some after their life-times. What a way to share your thoughts and passions across time and space and to preserve things for posterity that people like me might find meaning in.

Experiencingthe Naga Skulls

mirror

EastErn Mirror wEEkEnd supplEMEntEvEry saturday junE 16, 2012

photo speak

A farmer is seen spending some quality time with his children outside his rural home in one of the villages under Phek district.

(Photo by Rose Rekha Dukru)

AbokAli Jimomi

I started spending nearly five hours everyday applying for

jobs in Singapore. In the month

of March and April alone I have

applied for more than 4,000 jobs

completing online forms and profiles, and tailoring CVs and

covering letters. But still, the silence is just deafening.

“Diasporic Perpectives” I fear this is how it will end. Its heart wrenching and my

outlook in life is starting to take a negative turn. I used to be

jovial and emotionally stable. As I am writing this article my

heart is heavy. Almost every conversation that I have with

my family and friends is centered on my constant job search

efforts going futile.

I have researched the job market and set up appoint-

ments with some of the bigger recruitment agencies. I was

sure that this was a worthwhile effort and a surefire route to

getting employed. These guys have great links to hiring man-

agers and actual jobs to fill, plus they are paid to fill those

roles. It’s a win-win situation for everyone. Right? The agents

that I met, however were fairly downbeat about the current

job market and kept suggesting I put myself forward for jobs

that clearly didn’t match my skill set. Despite chasing and ha-

rassing these recruiters, there just doesn’t seem to be many

vacancies around at the moment even through this channel.

Since that did not work, I thought of applying directly for

roles that I know I am more than qualified for. Maybe I’m being impatient. Maybe I’ll hear something

further down the line. Maybe I won’t. I try to remain positive

however my expenses are going too high here to stay and

the waiting game is just a pain. Waiting day after day to get a

response from companies for an affirmative email or a call.

However, this never happens. Soon, your patience begins to

wear off and you just feel tired and frustrated. Maybe even

a little angry that you did not find the right place, which you

really deserve. There is no denying that I’ve badly timed my arrival into

the job market. Stock markets saw massive swings and

financial institutions are feeling jittery. Banks are battening

down the hatches, letting contractors go and closing off open

vacancies. This certainly won’t be helping my hunt for work.

Many of my friends coming from Nagaland, Arunachal and

Assam returned home failing to secure a job and I share the

same fear. I have been talking to jobseekers like me and it

does seem to take time, even upto a year to secure a job in

Singapore and every day of my unemployed life it feels like

I’m drifting further and further off my career path. Or maybe, things will take a u-turn and I might finally

land my dream job. To stay positive in such times is easier

said than done. But I guess there could be worse things in

life, so for now I just have to wait. Wait, wait and wait and

maybe I might just give that fortune teller a call.

Nana Rio is from Kohima.

She did her MBA in business administration from James Cook University, Singapore

There is very little in life more discouraging than spending thousands and thousands of dollars on an

education only to find that no one is willing to give

you a job and a chance. At a time in your life when

your excitement to get your life “started” is at its

peak, there really is nothing more crushing. Passing exams

is easy; just memorize the key points, read past exam

papers etcetera etcetera. We have turned it into a mean-

ingless art form. Good grades on your mark sheet does

not necessarily guarantee one a good job or that you’ll be good at it.

Flashback to March 2012. I was ex-cited and eager to start my job search, I thought I would have no trouble finding work in Singapore(Very naive thought on hindsight). I was confident of my abilities. After all, I thought, I have a degree. In a place like Singapore, there was surely someone who would want to employ me or at the very least, be willing to give me an interview. So far the answer has been a resounding ‘no’ to both questions. NO with a caps lock.

Seeking employment in a foreign land is more than just sending off a CV and hoping for the best. You’ll need to do some serious homework to be pre-pared for issues you may not have even crossed your mind. Different workplace cultures and ethics, different application procedures, salary expectations... the list is just endless. The toughest part is the emotional disarray that one has to go through. I sometimes ponder why life has to be this way and at times

Home girl NaNa Rio gives us the real deal on how difficult it is for an outsider to secure employment in the Lion city aka Singapore

Yachumi Skull taken by Satami

Skull of a chief (Ang)decorated with his

individual tattoo design. Konyak, Chi, Naga

Hills. (Hutton, 1929)

Woman's Skull: The head was taken in a raid on Yachumi Village by Sema Nagas of Satami, Naga Hills. Presented by J.H.Hutton, 191

All photographs by Abokali JimomiThe Naga Skulls are being kept in glass cases at Pitt rivers museum, oxford.

The write-up is a result of the author’s personal encounter with the skulls at the museum in the UK.

Mirror Plus2 Eastern Mirror | dimapursaturday | june 16 | 2012

The little man in last week’s Reality Check woke up with a start to find his domineering wife shouting at him to get up and go look for a gas cylinder.

He woke up all groggy and still feeling drowsy, mumbled something incoherent and went back to his slumber and snoring. He had a very peculiar way of snoring. It went something like “Pheeeww! Pheeeww! Pheeeww!” Not unlike a child blowing a high frequency dog whistle. Anyway, thus whistling through his nose, he went back to his dream again and the voice

continued…The voice: What just happened? Where did you vanish? Can’t you be at-tentive even for a few minutes?little man: I, I… I am sorry. It was just my wife. She could be a nui-sance you know?The voice: No, I don’t! Now listen carefully, I won’t repeat myself again.The voice: I er…what was I saying when you took off?little man: You were saying “one more thing…”The voice: Oh yes, yes. Now I remember. Your disrespectful exit made me forget.The voice: Are you a punctual person?little man: What is punctual?The voice: (“There he goes again”, murmurs the voice) you don’t even know what “punctual” is and you want to become a politician? A punctual person is one who is always in time.little man: Oh that! That is one of my strong points. I always…The voice: Stop there. Don’t say a word. Throw your punctuality away now.little man: But why?The voice: Because you cannot be a politician and be punctual at the same time. They are like the same poles of a magnet. Punctuality and a politician repel each other. Why, have you ever seen a politician coming in time to a reception or any function for that matter?little man: But punctuality is a virtue.The voice: Don’t be stupid. If you’re punctual then people will think you are not important. You see, the more important you are the less punctual you become. You see, it works this way. Politician + unpunctuality= Important, distinguished, popular etc. To be popular, it is important for you to be the last one to arrive at any function. The secret here is, when you arrive late, all the people, big and small, rich and poor will be waiting for you. That’s when you make your entry with the siren wailing away and the security guards jostling with each other to protect you. Mind you, even if there is no threat to your life they must look like they are protecting you. Then when you get out of the big black bullet proof car, you strut like a peacock, with your black sun glasses, cowboy hat and white suit towards the crowd with your broadest smile. You must also wear a matching pair of white shoes. Don’t forget to keep smiling as long as you are with them, especially when you shake hands with them.little man: If they don’t need to be punctual, then why do they drive so fast everywhere they go?The voice: That’s an unexpectedly sensible question from a moron like you. Anyway, there are two very good reasons why they drive so fast. Firstly, they want to be just late enough so that all the people are gath-ered and waiting by the time they arrive, for the various reasons I told you about. But not too late either, otherwise, there won’t be anybody to receive them if they are too late and that’s why they drive as if their tail is on fire. Secondly, the drivers are so hungry they want to get fast to the next place so that they’ll get something to eat, hopefully. That’s why they drive so fast.The voice: By the way, when you become a politician, try to obtain the top security arrangement for yourself. You must…little man: What do I need security for? I have no enemies and I don’t…..The voice: Can’t you listen quietly for a moment, you bonehead? If you want to be an important politician, you have to have high security. Having enemies or not is not important. How will people know that you are very important if you don’t have high security with security forces crawling all over you? The highest level of security is the z-category. Only notorious and top politicians get that kind of security.little man: What about ü-category?The voice: What do you mean by ü-category?little man: In our alphabet “ü” is higher than “z”. It comes after Z.The voice: Only feather-brained thickheaded idiots like you get that kind of security. By the way, are you good at building and construction?little man: No. And I don’t plan to do any construction works when I become a politician. I plan to exercise power and enjoy life to its fullest.The voice: Who told you to do construction works, you pygmy? Don’t you want to be in the good books of the people? Politicians have to be popular with the people. Here is the secret. Always keep a bible on your table where everybody can see and every now and then use words like “ By God’s grace” or “ It is a blessing from God” etc. Be generous and build churches anywhere. As many as possible. The more, the better. Above all else, make big donations to prayer centers. But be careful to choose only the ones with nil sex abuse record. The bigger the donation the more they will pray for you. If you can, hire Seers to pray and prophesy for you. That way you don’t have to go anywhere or do anything if the omens are bad. Moreover, if you really want to know your future in advance, which is very useful in politics, buy Boleros for them. And if you want to get their fullest blessing with good prophesies at all times, build big houses and give them.The voice: By the way, since we are talking about churches, do you give tithes?little man: You mean the 10 percent?The voice: What 10 percent, you nerd? That kind of percent you can take only when you become an MLA or a minister or the Chief Minister. And if you become one at all, then you can take 30% or even 40%.little man: But how can I take 30% to 40% when even God takes only 10 %?The voice: Who told you God takes 10 %, you childish wimp? You don’t know even a childish thing like that and you call yourself a Christian? You give only a tenth to God and that is known as tithes. Only ministers and MLAs take the percentage. It is also possible for big government officials.little man: But why take so much? Is it not wrong to do that?The voice: No, not at all. It is the privilege of being an elected repre-sentative. What, with their paltry salary and no extra income, it’s their only source of revenue. It’s the only thing they can earn honestly. One last secret. The only sure and foolproof security for elected members is to buy land. Buy it anywhere and everywhere. In Nagaland, Assam, India, anywhere. Buy for your children and your grand children, for your great grand children and great great great grand children for that matter. The cars, the houses, the gold and silver, everything will perish. But not land. It will be yours forever and it’ll remain forever. You were made out of dust and you will return to dust. So buy dust and invest in dust. That’s the way to go.

(Rev Dr Toshi Langu is an Associate Pastor at Ao Baptist Church, Kohima and has an inherent interest in illuminating the intrigues and foible of the versatility of human life through writ-

ing. The writer can be contacted at - langutoshi@yahoo.co.in)

He finally passed his HSLC examination in third division and out of joy, his father, a senior accountant in one of the state’s de-

partments, bought him a white Chevro-let from the bribes he received.

The next day, he wore his Ray Ben shades and put on his best Sunday clothes, sat on his gleaming car, turned on a loud dead metal music and drove his way out of home. With no doubt about Kohima traffic, he spent an hour and a half from NSF Martyrs Park to Phool Bari which provoked his anger as she was waiting for him at Razhü Point and was as usual sounding impatient.

He muttered some explicates at the snail traffic because the fate of a pleas-ant day depended on the mood of his girl whose patience was running out every passing minute.

The tone of her voice over the phone clearly said so.

A big blue mini-bus was in front and an Alto at the rear. As the traffic jam finally found its way out of the bustling mess, the vehicles started gaining more speed and so did his car to make up for lost time.

It was outside Hotel Rendezvous when this middle-aged man in bath-room slippers standing next to the bus conductor in the running mini-bus sud-denly shouted “side! side korebe!” and when the driver didn’t listen, jumped off from the bus which horrified everyone. The alarmed bus driver abruptly hit the brake.

At that moment, though unlawful but commonly practiced in Nagaland, he was taking another call on the wheels to convince her that he has almost reached Razhü Point. And in his utter unawareness he heard a big bang. For a moment his mind went blank.

Returning to his senses, he realized that during the process of convincing her over the phone he had pressed the accelerator too hard and God knows how, but he did not see the bus in the middle of the road and straightaway rammed into it.

A Naga trend that is, people imme-

As discussions and confusions float-ed around, the traffic cop flitted about thoughtfully looking at the smashed bumper of the new Chevrolet vehicle while calculating on his mind how much the vehicle cost.

He was wishing the two parties would come to an early compromise. Particularly for reason that his friends were waiting for him at a zutho house below the Traffic Control room, and he was on a winning spree at a card game when the call to duty had interrupted his game play.

As fortunate as it could get for the boy, few of his tribes who had gathered at the accident scene started to converse with him. After a short while, a huge-built man in leather jacket from among the group who claimed to be a distant relative of the boy came forward and spoke to the traffic cop and apologized. Clearing his throat, he exhorted the public saying that everyone makes mis-takes and the boy deserves forgiveness.

Saying that except for dramatization some few passengers in the bus which he regretted, by God’s grace there was no injury; except for a minor dent on the vehicle, the man concluded his speech and literally declared the case closed.

With the fleeting excitement of the mishap gone, the crowd dispersed, back to their own world. The cop hurried back to the card game and his zutho mug.

Meanwhile, the daring man in bath-room slippers who jumped off the bus regained his consciousness from the road side and went his way, but not be-fore people had taken several pictures of him from their mobile phones while he lay dazed, obviously for social network-ing purposes.

Inviting short story writers. Through this page, Eastern Mirror aims to pro-vide a platform for Naga writers to ex-

hibit as well as hone their writing skills. Let the readers be provoked through

your art of story telling. Interested writers can send

their materials to – easternmirrorplus@gmail.com

diately gathered at the scene and gawked and listened quietly to what both the drivers had to say to each other. The bus driver who was already infuriated by one of his passengers strode forward and gave the boy a hard blow.

This made the accident a police case.

As usual, the Traffic police gypsy reached the spot after half an hour later though the distance from Rendezvous hotel to traffic control room was just a ten minute ride even during congestion.

The traffic cop who got down from the vehicle was dark and had a little goatee. His lips were reddish and some pieces of betel nut leaves were stuck on his front teeth. He brought out his old government equipments and started spot investigation after giving an impatient hearing to the whole story.

After completing the official procedure of checking the bumper of the vehicles and road alignments, the cop demanded the boy to see his driving license. He replied he did not have one.

The crowd gathered around was least amazed because it was common for many Naga teenagers to drive expensive cars even without attaining the legal age to do so. The crowd in customary banter started quizzing among themselves as to what tribe the boy might belong to.

When the tribe’s name was told, people started exchanging comments on how that tribe is born just to cause trouble; they are hot-blooded by birth and etc etc…

Then after learning the designation of his father, people gasped and there again started murmuring that nowadays even to get a pen-sion paper done, the bribe demanded by such government officials were way too exorbitant to be afforded and the accident was designed by God to teach the senior accountant that easy-money leads to nowhere and so on.

POLITICIANDROME-II

LasT Week’s ansWersaCrOss: 1. Gabriel 3. Son Of God 5. Micah 6. Bethlehem 7. Highest 8. Quirinius 10. Priest 15. Magi 16. Favor 19. Nazareth 23. Herod 24. Augustus 25. Sacrifice 27. Myrrh 28. ZechariahDOWn: 2. Egypt 3. Simeon 4. Dream 5. Manger 9. Star 11. Shepherds 12. Eight 13. Jacob 14. John 17. Immanuel 18. David 20. Elizabeth 21. Holy Spirit 22. Jesus 26. Anna

aCrOss2. Home town of Mary, Martha

and Lazarus5. City where Jesus made his

triumphal entry7. Paul was imprisoned in this

important city8. In Revelation, the church in

this city was admonished not to be lukewarm

9. The “Place of a Skull,” where Jesus was hung on the cross

10. City where the centurion’s servant was healed from a distance

13. Dorcas, the kind and gener-ous seamstress, was healed here

14. Paul and Silas were miracu-lously freed from a prison in this city

19. Samaritan city where Jesus met a woman at the well

21. Saul was on his way to this city when he was blinded

23. Peter healed a paralytic in this town

24. Jesus prayed in this garden shortly before his crucifixion

26. Island home of the Apostle John when he wrote Revela-tion

28. Jesus was baptized in this river

29. The pool at Jerusalem where a man lay for 38 years

30. City built by Herod the Great, home of Cornelius

31. Saul’s home town, mentioned in Acts

DOWn1. Where Jesus performed his

first miracle3. Paul’s letter to the church in

this city includes a passage about the full armor of God

4. Believers were first called Christians in this town

6. City where Jesus was born

10. Barnabus and Paul first sailed from Seleucia to this island

11. Country where Joseph and Mary fled with Baby Jesus to escape Herod

12. Paul wrote 2 letters to this church; one contains “the love chapter”

15. Paul healed a man had been lame from birth in this city

16. “Woe to Chorazin! Woe to ____!”

17. Jesus first met Peter and Andrew fishing in this Sea

18. Philip met an Ethiopian eunuch on this road

20. Where Jesus lived as a child22. Region between Judea and

Galilee where Jesus traveled25. Village to which two disciples

were walking when the met the risen Christ

27. Region containing Jerusalem and Bethlehem

Answer in next issue of mirror Plus

Answer in next issue of mirror Plus

Locations in the new testamentFor each clue, write the name of the city or region mentioned in the New Testament

STory Teller

A collision - Medonguno Chase (St Joseph College)

- rev Dr Toshi langu

Reality CheCk

un

iver

saL

uCL

iCk

by

Stah

ler

...always feeling appreciated

comic fun

1 2 3 4

5 6

7

8

9

10 11

12

13

14 15 16

17

18 19

20 21 22 23

24 25

27

28

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31

26

BUZZWORD # 2

The shaded R and the six letters surrounding it spell WRITTEN, which matches one of the clues below. Find 7-letter words for the remaining clues. Shade the center letter of each word.1. Noted on paper written-R2. A crease or fold _____3. Woman greeter _____4. Emergency phone link ____5. Dissenting minority _____6. Understand ______7. Distinct part _____

now unscramble all 7 of the center letters to spell today’s BuZZWOrD.

Where earth meets sky: _ _ _ _ _ _ _

mirror Time pASS

Mirror Plus

In modern busy life cats can be good companions to humans like dogs but their nature is different from dogs. Cats are very intelligent and have good senses of

smell, sight and touch. Cats are independent and self-sufficient in nature. They need little or no training and require very less care and management than dogs. These are best suit-able for elder people and families which do not have enough time to take care of the pet.

The cat should be trained according to its future requirement i.e. whether a cat has to stay at home or is to come and go. For this, a routine has to be fixed i.e. feeding time and other activities for indoor cats. This is important to take them into confi-dence and give them a sense of security. Normally, the cats are clean and it’s rare that they spoil the house, until and unless all the doors are closed and there is urgency

and no litter tray is available.A cat which is free for outdoor ac-

tivities will have enough exercise itself and will come into the house for indoor activities like for food and sleep, while a cat which has to be indoors only doesn’t have enough opportunity to exercise and cannot express it’s need to climb, run or jump. So, it may result into either frustration or acquiring some bad habits. Solution to this problem is to provide playtime to the cat so that it can be kept busy with some toys or balls.

Cats enjoy climbing over the trees and scratching their claws. Hence, a scratching post is necessary otherwise cats will use furniture or other objects, which are rough in texture to sharpen their claws. To prevent this damage, cats should be provided with the scratch post as they will trim their claws and will leave their marks from scent glands in pads to mark their territory. Natural bark is best but old carpet can also be used as a covering. Height should be adjusted so that the cat can stretch up to full length and can scratch it’s front paws in downward direction.

• bed- A cat needs a separate area, which should be warm. It may be a basket, plastic bed or a box. Thus, they should have an isolated place free from disturbance.

• litter box- The best litter trays are the plastic trays as they can be washed and disinfected regularly and thoroughly. Sand, sawdust or ash can be used as litter.

• feeding bowl- A cat needs two bowls, one for solid food and other for water. Bowls should be kept clean and free from old food.

• Grooming- Daily grooming is necessary for the long haired breeds. If they are neglected and uncombed, it will result into mat-ting of hair.

• ears- These should be examined for excess wax, dirt, mites or inflammation. The wax should be cleaned with a pad or bud of cot-ton wool moistened with water or baby oil.

• claws- Outdoor cats and indoor cats getting adequate scratching facilities rarely need to have their claws clipped, but they should be checked while grooming to ensure that the nails are not over grown.

• bathing- Normally a cat should be bathed. But, sometimes there is no alternative except bathing a cat if it’s coat is soiled with paint or tar. For bathing, care should be taken to complete it quickly and efficiently, just to avoid unneces-sary stress. Cat shampoo or baby shampoo can be used but never use a dog or other shampoo as it cause skin reaction.

feedingKittens and cats need a higher percent-age of protein than dogs, i.e. about two times more and they also require more fat. Best source of protein are meat, eggs, fish and milk. Milk is a good source of calcium while egg yolk and cooked egg is good source of protein, fat and vitamins. But excessive feeding may result in adverse effect.

Pet food industry have developed very well in the last few years. Re-searches have been done to develop the demand of an animal’s body.

mainly three types of food are avail-able in the market.

1. Dry food.2. Canned food.3. Semi-moist food.

cat and Human HealthThere is a relation of human health and animal diseases. This subject needs to be looked at in different aspects as the persons who handle the animals and who are in contact with animals are in constant danger of getting different diseases. Children and expectant moth-ers can pick up toxocara infection from kittens. So, it is advisable to avoid any direct contact with a cat’s litter tray and always use different bowls for cat, dry and store them separately. The cat can also be a carrier of toxoplasmosis which could cause miscarriage or any type of deformities in an unborn infant.

Thus a sensible pet owner should treat their animals against worms when the kitten is between six to eight weeks old, but should be only under the super-vision of a vet.VaccinationKittens should be immunised only after four weeks as the maternal antibod-ies will interfere in the process. So, there should be a gap between weaning and inoculation. For endemic diseases like rabies, vaccines should be given at three months old. Vet should be consulted for other vaccines and other inoculations.

(Dr Micheal can be contacted for pet and animal care related

queries and concerns at mikeimchen@yahoo.co.in.

Mobile-09436072892)

AnimAl cAre

with Dr Micheal Imchen

Dr micHeAl imTi imcHenb.V.Sc & A.H, m.Sc.A.p.m,c.uSG & r.

Veterinary SurgeonAnimal concern, circular road.

YOUTHNET-RTI

care and management of cATS

Y NYouthNet

YouthNet has been instrumental in in-troducing the Right to Information (RTI) in Nagaland. The Right to Information Campaign has been taken up with the objective to challenge young people to

use it as a tool to check corruption. When RTI came into being in 2005 in India, YouthNet intro-duced it in Nagaland and conducted its first ever RTI workshop with the Government of Nagaland which was attended by the Chief Secretary, Ad-ministrative Heads of Department and Heads of Department at the Administrative Training Insti-tute in Kohima. Since then, YouthNet haS conduct-ed over 70 workshops and seminars in colleges, schools, NGOs, government departments, church-es, student unions, local clubs etc. affecting over 10,000 people directly.

Realizing that workshops and awareness pro-grams are not enough, YouthNet also started the process of social auditing and public hearing so that people can learn how to use the RTI in a more effective manner and also understand the impact of social auditing and public hearing through RTI. The first Public Hearing was held in Suruhuto on the 17th of Oct. 2008, then Pfutsero, Pughoboto, Kiphire, Kohima and Zunheboto.

Apart from workshops and seminars, a cam-paign under the theme “Youth for transparency and good governance” was launched on the 14th of October 2011. The campaign was an initiation of the Government of India, jointly organized by Administrative Training Institute (ATI), Kohima, Government of Nagaland, in partnership with YouthNet under the direction of the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India. The main purpose of the RTI campaign was to em-power youth/students to become active members in the society towards checking corruption; and to assist the government in bringing transparency, accountability and good governance. Throughout the campaign, some of the best questions were published in local dailies for public awareness and also to remind government departments to be more proactive in disclosing information.

YouthNet has got a very strong team for RTI call “YouthNet Young Ambassadors” consisting of college students and young graduates. They have been very active in creating awareness on RTI among their college friends, peer groups. Youth-Net Young Ambassadors are even active in doing practical works regarding RTI like identifying the PIOs in government departments and submit-ting RTI applications, follow – up of the applica-tions etc. The YouthNet Young Ambassadors are capacitated to educate other young leaders and the public at large on how to use RTI effectively to protect individual rights and for the larger good of the society.

Over the years it is encouraging that RTI ap-plications in the Government departments have increased drastically through the concerned sensible citizens, including those who have been part of the sensitization programs organized by YouthNet. We are also however apprehensive that some may use it for selfish and personal gain for which we have been stressing on the purpose of RTI which is not to be misused.

In the beginning, YouthNet went all-out with the firm belief that with the help of RTI we would revolutionise the corrupt system and would pro-duce the result of change within no time! We have however learnt over the years that the system of corruption has become so chronic with people from all strata of the society contributing to it consciously or unknowingly. Everywhere we go for sensitization programs we have learnt that people talk about corruption and want the system to be cleansed, but nobody or hardly anyone wants to invite the responsibility upon oneself as citizens! The common approach toward YouthNet is; “You go and bell the cat”! Most have failed to realise that our role as an Organization is to sensitize and educate the people to carry out their “fundamen-tal duties”. After our seminars & workshops and social auditing & public hearings, we would be given list of “to-dos”!! The pertinent question that always come to us is; ‘when will our people learn to carry out their fundamental duties’?

It is difficult propagating RTI in a community based society like Nagaland where everyone is a relative or connected in one way or the other. There have been instances where RTI application has been taken as personal target. There are ap-preciations as well as criticisms for propagating RTI, but the ultimate question is whether rooting up of corruption will help the Naga society; the answer at the back of everyone’s mind is ‘YES’. YouthNet is aware of the fact that change of mind-set is required to bring down corruption. The pro-cess which has begun may take years or decades, but we are of the firm belief that if the present generation youth are made to understand the dan-gers of corruption, the future is bright. YouthNet takes pride in stating that we have at least started the process.

YOUTHNET’S TRYST WITH THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT: UPS AND DOWNS

Dear inquisitive, animated young collegians. We dedicate this space for you, young minds to share thoughts and outlook on life on campus. Be it about your education, studies, love, life, sports, about teachers, your angst, heartbeats or even a poem or a footnote you scribbled during a boring lecture in the classroom…share. Also get to know what your friends in different colleges across the State experience and create a vibe. Or simply dedicate your fond thoughts of that someone, somewhere through this page! E-mail us at easternmirrorplus@gmail.com

THiS Week on cAmpuS beAT:

Why students go out of Nagaland to pursue education…Every year, thousands of students venture out to seek admission in prestigious colleges and universities across the country. For some, it is peer pressure, circumstances, or lack of choice due to non-availability of subjects and courses in the state. Still, for others, it is sheer academic pursuits, for excellence, as they say, owing to observations that the quality of higher education in Nagaland is still yet to catch up with the rest of the world.

Whether it is the pursuit of knowledge for a certain subject matter, learning a new culture, mingling with the outside world, or in search of greener pastures, here’s what some of the Naga students studying outside the state have to say about the choices they have made. Why do they really go out to pursue higher studies?

cAmpuS beAT 3Eastern Mirror | dimapur

saturday | june 16 | 2012

kenny rio, Nagpur Priyadarshini Institute of Architecture and Design Studies, Nagpur

I am studying here because there is no architecture college in Nagaland. But even otherwise, I’d still choose outside Nagaland for my higher studies because I think the quality of education is better outside, you also get to mingle with different kinds of people. At home, we are confined only to the Naga culture, but when you set out, you learn new cultures, you become smarter, develop your personality, you get to know what is life actually. Staying outside without your parents, you learn how to live.

noknebemlA3rd B.A History, St. Stephen’s College Delhi

Basically it’s exposure and facilities being provided in the city. The level of education is much better and Delhi being the capital of India, there are people not only from North India, but is diverse. However, one of the main reasons why I opted for further studies outside the state is because it is academically much stronger, the competition is good at the national level and it definitely encour-ages people to do better.

ArinunGbA imcHenB.A Bangalore

When people go out, it is the lack of facilities in the state. It is also usually the want of freedom for many students since Nagas have the tendency of leading a very high life. But on the other hand, is Nagaland University a reputed university? I don’t think it is as reputed as Osmania University or Hyderabad University. Our state curriculum may have quality but providers do not have quality. Come to think of it, we do learn to be more responsible in managing money, get more exposure, there are better extra cur-ricular activities. If we have the means, why shouldn’t we go, earn a degree from Delhi University, NEHU, etc.

kekHrielezo STepHen meDomM.A (Fine Arts) College of Art, Delhi University

I chose fine arts and there is no institution providing this course in Nagaland. But I also think that a B.A degree from Nagaland does not match up to a B.A in Delhi or elsewhere. The system of teaching is also not on the same level and I feel that students should think about pursuing their graduation outside the state.

neSHü nAncyM.A History, Madras University

I chose to study outside because I feel they provide better educa-tion outside, but also because I get the exposure and get to learn more about other people’s culture.

keTHolenuoPh.D Modern History, JNU Delhi

I did my B.A in Nagaland, M.A, M.phil and Phd from JNU. Our colleges need a lot of improvement in terms of teaching, and other facilities. I’ve seen how the B.A colleges perform in Nagaland. Out here, they have so many clubs, free to explore their talents and opportunities. Teachers here are so updated so they are able to teach students on an international standard. Back home, we are so stuck with ourselves, especially with the marking, I don’t know what is wrong with our marking system. To get 50-60% of marks in Nagaland is a huge thing for us, whereas you come out and it’s nothing here. That way, people already have the pre-conceived idea about our education. But you see that when we compete with students from all over the country here, we are also equally at par with them. We have to move out, there is no enough opportunities in Nagaland.

Arien JAmir2nd Year LLB, University of Delhi

I studied in Chennai previously because the college (Loyola College) I studied in is supposed to be the best in the Country during that time, it is still one of the best colleges in the country. Everybody says education in the state is not good and everyone is aware of it, there are better opportunities outside, even in terms of marks and percentage. Nagaland’s best colleges are not at par with outside’s best colleges. State education may be good but outside’s always better because you get the exposure, you grow a broader mindset. A Delhi University first class will always carry more weight than a Nagaland University first class. It cannot be absolutely said that studying in the state is better than studying outside in a bad institution because what you get in 3 years is not just a degree but more importantly, tons of experience and to discover yourself and the world.

Sadly, most of the other states are not dry states and students get freedom which is desired by every person out of school. In that mix, many lose track of their priorities. In fact I think that is one reason why kids with bad marks are not sent to study outside. And in our case, bad marks mean bad/naughty students who will allegedly (many say defi-nitely) become worse and academic excellence is never expected out of them. Academic excellence is important but not everything. We need more good people, not merely more lawyers, doctors, officers etc.

Mirror wEEk-Ent

PassiOnaTe sTraWBerrY PasTrY1. Whisk sugar, eggs and cake gel until

pale and fluffy.2. Add water, baking powder and straw-

berry essence. Whisk it well.3. Add flour and whisk with less pres-

sure, preferably mix by hand.4. Lastly add refined oil.5. Put into round greased mould and

bake at 180’C for 25 to 30 minutes.

Assembling:1. Whisks whip cream until soft peak,

mix with pink colour. Set in the fridge.

2. Slice strawberry sponge in three lay-ers.

3. Sprinkle sugar syrup and spread a portion of whipped cream on the bottom layer.

4. Spread strawberry crush and chopped fresh strawberry on the cream.

5. Repeat the same procedure for the alternate layer.

6. Cover the whole cake with whipped cream and strawberry crush. Garnish with scooped mango and mint leaves.

STRAWBERRY SPONGESugar 300gmsEggs 12nosCake gel 20gms Water 30mlBaking Pd 10gmsFlour 500gmsStrawberry essence few dropsPink colour few dropsRefined oil 50mlStrawberry crushes 200gmsWhipped cream 200mlMango 1noMint leaves for garnishing.

* Chef Shangreiwon, Exotic School of Cooking

email: easternmirrorplus@gmail.com

em news network

Come June 21, Rattle and Hum Music Society Nagaland will stage an interna-tional event at Cantara Grand Hotel, Bangkok on the occasion of World Music Day, taking forward its musical quest to a higher level. All set for a grand event at Thailand with a sit down dinner set for one thousand people, the Nagaland team of Artists to Bangkok including Tetseo Sisters, OFF Band, Zowe Madrigal, Kenei Chale, Zeliang Dance Troupe, Sümi Dance Troupe, Avancer Band and Grammy Award Winner, Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt will represent many facets of the Naga society with the display of its unique culture in varied hues.

The ‘Ordinary’ is getting old, people want something different. Perhaps a mix of two or more “ordinaries” would result in something extraordinary, astonishing, bizzare, weird, anything, yet different. Similarly, these guys, “BLEND”, a Dimapur based band, are trying out a new mixture of their own. Except, these guys aren’t mixing just anything, they’re mixing different genres of music.

Ready for the Big Handshake at Bangkok!

The first debut concert abroad, as noted by Rattle & Hum Music Presi-

dent, Theja Meru is a dream come true for the musicians, which, he hopes would also kick-start many more such opportunities for our local artistes. The one-hour performance, which will be produced and coordinated by TV Producer Ate Kevichüsa at the international venue will engross audi-ence in a wide range of all that is Naga- with a blend of folk and fusion, modern contemporary music, and traditional dances, with vignettes on Nagaland, on Hand-shake Concert, Horn-bill Festival stealing glimpses of the show in between.

The Handshake Concert 2012 Team is definitely a pick of Na-galand’s best!

“A very eclectic mix no doubt and we feel honoured to be a part of the team and the team is representative of the many genres of music and will be a bird’s eye view of Nagaland’s cul-ture and musical talent”, the Tetseo Sisters ex-pressed while rehears-ing for the big event at the Heritage on Thurs-day evening. The Sisters will be doing their best to showcase “Li” even as they try to show the Naga versatility and the very vibrant colours of Nagaland in their jewel-lery and costumes.

The concert really is an outcome of support and funds provided by the Government of Na-galand and a host of well wishes, including chief patrons Vilelie Khamo and Khriehu Liezietsu.

The team of artistes will be accompanied by Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ku-zholuzo Nienu (who will also speak on the occa-sion), MLA and Chair-man, NKVIB, Dr Nicky Kire, Commissioner and Secretary for Health and Family Welfare Menukhol John, and Press Secre-tary to the Chief Min-ister of Nagaland, Abu Metha.

The Sümi Dance Troupe is actually an ad-

ditional team of artistes with a request from the Government of Thailand and will be totally spon-sored by the Music Task Force. With all arrange-ments set for the show, the Rattle and Hum Music Society is grateful to Chief Minister Neiphiu

Rio for his patronage, the State government for giving all the support and monetary help, Na-tional Rural Health Mis-sion (NRHM), also the Ministry of Commerce, Government of Thai-land, and in particular, Tharadol Thongruang,

for their commitment and support to make the dream a reality.

The Handshake Team leaves on 19th of June with Jet Airways as its Official Carrier to stage Nagaland for a global audience on 21st June, 2012.

These odd four members of the band (they even look miles apart in height and face), Moa-kum Imsong (vocalist), Laimen Ozukum (Guitarist), Bendang

Longkumer (Bassist) and Bendangtoshi Longkumer (drummer), all four are heavily committed professionals, recog-nised around Nagaland and beyond as artistes at top of their individual trees.

The band Blend came into being dur-ing mid-October 2011. The band was initially started by Laimen Ozukum the guitarist and bassist Bendang Long-kumer who were high school buddies. They still are.

“…And one fine day, we decided to bring back the good old days by starting up a band…just like that,” Liamen and Bendang drawled.

Not very long and they caught hold of the drummer, Bendangtoshi Long-kumer, who was at that time playing for another band but decided to experiment on something new. They began experi-menting on jazz, R&B and soul music.

Just a three piece band then, the trio played their first gig on Dec 31 where they opened for Incipit. Later came in the vocalist, Moakum Imsong. Since then, it’s no turning back. They’ve performed in cafés like Jumping Bean, Mojo’s, and Black and White in Kohima.

Blend is solely jazz oriented but includes a mixture of funk, progressive-ness, sometimes slightly heavy, some-times soft but nonetheless revolving around Jazz notes. Okay, it sounds like

a new sub-genre of Jazz altogeth-er…..Cocktail Jazz??

Talking about talent, music is produced and recorded by Laimen Ozukum in his house itself.

Anyway, the band admits that coming up with a song isn’t a piece of cake. 70% of the song has to be edited first, to be perfect. It’s like making 7 different songs and mixing them all up to get one great song, that’s jazz for you,” said Laimen

But that don’t bother them. “We know how tough this genre of music is and what it takes to master that profession,” Bendang articulated.

In spite of the prejudice and challenges the Jazz genre faces, there are always, fortunately, those

who support the creation of experi-mental music.

“Be adventurous, there are a lot of other cool genres of music our people haven’t tried as yet. Get out of your comfort zone, experi-ment new genres, improvise, add a few of your flavour to it, it might not sound great initially, but you’ll get the hang of it. After that, it’s all fun!” is what Blend has to tell the music lovers. People should start supporting these bands and en-courage them to keep up the good work, the band further adds.

To listen to Blend, visit their page on facebook: “blendna-galand”.

Now what is anticipation? An-swer: Blend is planning to come out with its first Album very soon.

4 Eastern Mirror | dimapursaturday | june 16 | 2012

Chef Shangreiwon’sk i t c h e n

BLENDAmazing

of mu ic!

BLenD: a PrOfiLe moAkum imSonG: Interest in music since high school and interests lie mostly on progressive and melodic rock music, then again, he is open to different genres too as he believes every genre to have its own message and speciality. He’s played in bands like, Regeneration Brothers, Native Colours, Fist, Footprints, X’s high, Suf-fering Soul, and Forsaken. At present, he’s the vocalist for “Blend”.lAimen ozukum: Began strumming strings at 14. A big fan of progressive music and Rock and ultimately buddied up with Funk and Jazz. His inspirations are Greg Howe, Lt. Shawn Lane, and John Petrucci. His earlier bands were, Wild Fire (Mokochung based band), Truth Inc., Awake, Ember, Jade, Mirage, and at present he’s the guitarist for “Blend”, and also for Phoenix Anthology (side project).benDAnGlibA lkr: Started playing from class XI with fellow classmate and guitarist Laimen in school. Joined Alobo and formed Nice N’ Ugly and played a stint. When in Kolkata, played for Velocity, a blues band and won an award or two in college fests. Finally formed Blend after 7 years and is the Bassist.benDAnGToSHi lkr: Began drumming since college. Grew up listening to CCR, Dire Straits and was greatly influenced by Funk and Rock n’ Roll. Played with bands like Hyrax, Hailstorm, Unhindered, Sunep Ensemble Band and is currently the drummer for Blend.

Avancer

OFF

Zeliang Dance Troupe

Tetseo Sisters

kunoto chishi | emn