Editor,
Last Sunday I had the pleasure of watching the Khasi film, Onaatah. I went with an open mind as I have never seen a Khasi film and know very little of the language. What I found was a moving, human story. Onaatah covers an astonishing number of serious social issues. In telling the story of a young woman who was brutally raped it took me on a journey which gently exposes the injustice of a culture of victim-blaming. The film explores the impact of the judicial process, societal pressures and the disparity between the punishment the perpetrators and victim receive. In a state with worryingly high rates of domestic violence and regular reports of horrific rape cases in the news, this non-judgmental film tells a story so often forgotten; the story of an innocent young woman so ostracised by friends, acquaintances and even her fiancée that she comes close to suicide. As if dealing with only one hard hitting issue wasn’t enough as the film moves to a rural setting we are faced with issues of disability, unintended pregnancy and alcoholism. The cliché of the idyllic problem- free simpler way of life is avoided and the story told is much richer for it. One particular character was so moving, so real that his story brought me to the verge of tears. A blind man who sees his village with such beautiful clarity and intensity through his senses that he challenged the way I view disability. What was even more impressive is that this is all achieved almost without the audience really realising it. The humour throughout had the packed cinema hall laughing out loud. My only criticism of Onaatah was that the director clearly and needlessly sped up the driving scenes, making them look strange and stilted. Also in some of the slow motion, the shots were jerky. However, on the whole Onaatah cleverly avoids the trap of trying to do special effects on a low budget and is all the better for it. I am genuinely impressed by how with the kind understanding and non-judgmental perspective the film takes on a number of really serious social issues. This is well worth seeing for anyone who cares about the issues facing Shillong, Meghalaya and the wider world. Or if you just want to laugh and cry during the same film.
Yours etc.,
Nick Bennett,
UK (Camp: Shillong)
No way to treat church elders!
Editor, The recent local news that drew our attention regarding the churches being caught while attempting to purchase plots of land for graveyards from the Syiem of Mylliem, Latho Manik Syiem was projected as the sin of the century. The sinner was the church making a deal with the devil. No one condoned the church action nor were even sympathetic, or otherwise, given that the church was only interested in preparing a final resting place for its adherents and thereby solving a huge problem which we know is lurking before each one of us at the threshold of our life on earth when death comes knocking at our door beckoning us to move out. Where was the wisdom of the Acting Syiem, Ricky Syiem, when he considered to take action on the illegal land deal executed by Latho Manik Syiem and the Myntris of Hima Mylliem? What was his real motive behind putting up such a rowdy, colourful drama of rounding up all the church leaders ? Do you think that acting like a tyrant by imitating Hitler who rounded up all the Jews during the holocaust will make him a great Syiem? The memory of the humiliation that this Acting Syiem inflicted on the church will live in the minds of the people for a long, long time. The aggressive action of the present Acting Syiem is totally unbefitting of a Chief/ Syiem who should have been more sympathetic to the church leaders at a time like this when they are being robbed in broad day light. Ricky Syiem did not even have the courtesy to give due respect to the church elders by separating the church from the actions of individuals. For all Christian believers, especially for the elderly, it was a direct attack on the church. An administrator is legally bound to provide justice therefore, the present Acting Syiem as an administrator should have used the yard stick of justice. Instead, he came down heavily on the church, whereas, inside the office of the Syiem of Mylliem, he simply swept the dust under the carpet and parked himself over there so where is the justice? He is on a war-path to clean Law Syiem of all the illegal occupations and for that reason he is erasing all the graveyard plots sold by the Dorbar to the various Churches of Shillong but what about the house of the former Syiem, Laborous Manik Syiem that is still standing there? And to make matters worse, the land was given free of cost and the house was built for free. When the sentiments of the people are hurt so deeply, there is no way that this Acting Syiem can win back the love and admiration of the people.
Yours etc.,
S. Kharkongor,
Via email .
Mainstream media’s ignorance of Northeast
Editor,
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is making history wherever he goes be it in the country or abroad. The recent visit to Shillong was no different. A leader is known by the followers he attracts and in Polo on May 27, if space had permitted then the whole of Meghalaya would have been there. That he is popular in the northeastern region could be gauged from the presence of people from Assam and other states at the Polo civic reception. I learnt that they have come to listen the PM – whom they have only heard and seen live on television. It was no doubt a magnetic pull but one wonders what will be the fate of the Congress in the next assembly election. The High Command must be jittery in the national capital. One has rightly commented in this column that Meghalaya CM, Mukul Sangma who was seen moving shoulder to shoulder with the PM during his visit could not have enjoyed the same proximity with the mother – son duo in New Delhi. There has been several occasions Congressmen from the state returned empty-handed after they were refused audience by the high command duo. This apart, media has a significant role to play, more so when this region is getting all the attention that it deserves from the incumbent Union Government, which it never got in the sixty year rule by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty after it took over from the British Raj. I notice that some mainland media houses reported that Modi went to a sacred jungle of the Khasi tribesmen and beat the drum with the junglee/adivasi people there. This amounts to ignorance of one’s geography, to say the least. One can understand the mainland people’s perspective of this region being some foreign land but the same cannot be expected from media houses. There is lot to be done by the Governments here and by the people of the North Eastto change this jungle and junglee image.
Yours etc.
PK Dwivedi
Shillong –