India lives in the village, we all know. Just day before yesterday I had one more opportunity to live in the village for sometime. After previous day's of scorching weather the day began on a cloudy note and while passing through Khumulwng, Belbari rural ambience rain dridr welcomed us. I was happy that my car had a natural shower on the way.
The journey upto Khumulwng was smooth with good roads, but soon after bumping and jumping offered a different experience altogether, thanks to Bibhuti for his well-maneuvered driving. Khumulwng, for those who are alien to our state, is the headquarters of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTADC). Dominated by local tribes Khumulwng has its own administrative set-up, a beautiful park frequented by tourists and locals alike often, a college, some schools, a rich library focusing on tribal art and culture and amazing natural setting to boast of.
Our destination was Jampuijala RD block in Sepahijala district. By the time we reached the Jampuijala village, a local tribal house to be particular, some women had gathered there, some more came after our arrival. Under the aegis of Youth for Integration this gathering was arranged to give away the certificates to the beneficiaries who had undergone a training on bee-keeping few days ago. Training was offered by Khadi and Village Industries Commission with a view to making the rural people self-reliant. And Youth for Integration played the catalyst to set this linkage between them.
On this occasion a representative of KVIC and a representative of Labour Department from Manipur were present; they had good interaction with the beneficiaries mostly women. Suddenly Bibhuti pushed me to have a session with the women on women's empowerment. Although this opportunity came to me as a blow as I was unprepared, I liked the session, giving me an opportunity to interact with them. I banked upon the experiences of my daily life as well as some technical know-how gathered from some workshops.
Apart from this an interaction with a local Christian was very enriching since I was looking for such inputs, worthmentioning that my PhD is on religious transformation. Jampuijala is dominated by the tribe called Debbarma. Traditionally they are Hindus by religion. But in the recent past many of them have converted to Christianity. I came to know that 10-20 percent of the population of the area is Christian now. This transition from Hinduism to Christianity has brought along mixed or varied developments in different areas. Marriage system has been influenced in particular, as in the case of Chakmas in the recent past due to the new religious wave in the wake of emergence of Sadhanananda Mahadthavir or popularly called Bana Bhante and Nandapal Mahasthavir. This issue has been in mind for quite sometime now, given a chance I would like to explore it further in the coming days. I feel that these decaying threads of culture of the tribes need to be documented, otherwise these will be just a forgotten past some day.
Meanwhile rural people and their life will keep ruling in my mind. Hope we could make a change in their life for a better and brighter future in any aspect of life.
Some pictures of Khumulwng and this trip:
The journey upto Khumulwng was smooth with good roads, but soon after bumping and jumping offered a different experience altogether, thanks to Bibhuti for his well-maneuvered driving. Khumulwng, for those who are alien to our state, is the headquarters of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTADC). Dominated by local tribes Khumulwng has its own administrative set-up, a beautiful park frequented by tourists and locals alike often, a college, some schools, a rich library focusing on tribal art and culture and amazing natural setting to boast of.
Our destination was Jampuijala RD block in Sepahijala district. By the time we reached the Jampuijala village, a local tribal house to be particular, some women had gathered there, some more came after our arrival. Under the aegis of Youth for Integration this gathering was arranged to give away the certificates to the beneficiaries who had undergone a training on bee-keeping few days ago. Training was offered by Khadi and Village Industries Commission with a view to making the rural people self-reliant. And Youth for Integration played the catalyst to set this linkage between them.
On this occasion a representative of KVIC and a representative of Labour Department from Manipur were present; they had good interaction with the beneficiaries mostly women. Suddenly Bibhuti pushed me to have a session with the women on women's empowerment. Although this opportunity came to me as a blow as I was unprepared, I liked the session, giving me an opportunity to interact with them. I banked upon the experiences of my daily life as well as some technical know-how gathered from some workshops.
Apart from this an interaction with a local Christian was very enriching since I was looking for such inputs, worthmentioning that my PhD is on religious transformation. Jampuijala is dominated by the tribe called Debbarma. Traditionally they are Hindus by religion. But in the recent past many of them have converted to Christianity. I came to know that 10-20 percent of the population of the area is Christian now. This transition from Hinduism to Christianity has brought along mixed or varied developments in different areas. Marriage system has been influenced in particular, as in the case of Chakmas in the recent past due to the new religious wave in the wake of emergence of Sadhanananda Mahadthavir or popularly called Bana Bhante and Nandapal Mahasthavir. This issue has been in mind for quite sometime now, given a chance I would like to explore it further in the coming days. I feel that these decaying threads of culture of the tribes need to be documented, otherwise these will be just a forgotten past some day.
Meanwhile rural people and their life will keep ruling in my mind. Hope we could make a change in their life for a better and brighter future in any aspect of life.
Some pictures of Khumulwng and this trip:
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