By Our Special Correspondent
SHILLONG, Aug 17: Nongrim Hills Dorbar Shnong, on Friday, organised a special Independence Day function which started with the hoisting of the Tricolour and a marathon, culminating in a public function where the winners of various games and sports organised by the Shnong were felicitated. The winners – young residents of the locality were seen enthusiastically lining up to pick up their trophies. In this was visible the idea of a syncretic culture where children of different communities co-existed in complete harmony — something that’s rarely seen.
The North Eastern Council, which is located in Nongrim Hills, has a large role to play in assisting the Dorbar Shnong with its activities which are all aimed at better grassroots governance and a digitalised system of record keeping which enables the Shnong to provide information on a range of issues.
Nongrim Hills has a diverse population comprising the indigenous Khasi-Jaintia community but also includes the Mizo, Naga, Bihari, Assamese, Bengali etc. Most Dorbar Shnong exclude other communities from having any say in the affairs of the Dorbar. In Nongrim Hills, all residents are called to uphold a culture of cleanliness. When the streamlet in a part of the locality were clogged, members of the Dorbar Shnong were seen wading in the slushy, dirty water to clean up the garbage to allow the free flow of water.
Rangbah Shnong Bantyli Narry leads from the front to build solidarity among the community. Now into his 9th year of being the Rangbah Shnong, he has been able to get the Seng Longkmie and Seng Samla of Nongrim Hills to work in a collaborative spirit.
Present at the Independence Day observance as the chief guest was M Iboyaima Meitei, Advisor, (Horticulture) in the North Eastern Council (NEC). He lauded the efforts of the Dorbar Shnong to work towards improving civic governance and in enthusing the youth in games and sports in a spirit of cooperation. Meitei also assured continued support and assistance of the NEC towards programmes aimed at strengthening the human capital in the locality.
Citations and awards were given out to past Rangbah Shnong and Rangbah Dong of Nongrim, some posthumously. Awards were also given to different individuals for their contribution to society.
Jiwat Vaswani of Jiva group of hotels was awarded for his dedicated services towards keeping Shillong clean and green through his social wing called Jiva Cares. The group is responsible for the upkeep of the roundabout at Police Bazar and adjoining areas.
Speaking at the award function, Vaswani urged all citizens to give their time and effort towards keeping their surroundings clean. “If each one of us make a commitment to manage our garbage responsibly and care for the environment, the same environment will take care of our children – the future generation.
An excellent cultural programme which included Khasi, Naga and Mizo dances enthralled the audience but the highlight of the evening was a guitar recital from Dr Chhuana and a well-scripted fashion which was professionally choreographed.