Way to Go, SSPP FC

It seems that the soccer gods have finally smiled upon the SSPP FC players and its fans. Skeptics may have already written them off, naysayers may have already predicted their downfall and sounded their death knell even before their first match. But the tables may just have turned this time, just maybe.

It’s that time of the year again when the whole Northeast community in Delhi is gripped by the soccer fever. With the World Cup 2010 falling in the same calendar year, the 4th edition of the Northeast Tamchon Memorial Tournament, organized by the Tangkhul Naga Society, Delhi began on the 4th December, 2010. It has again generated much heat and excitement. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that football or soccer is synonymous with the Northeast people. Whenever there is a football match in the capital city, whether national or international matches, the Northeast youths thronged the matches.

Among the teams participating in the Tamchon Memorial Tournament, the team that has the largest number of fans is the Siamsinpawlpi Football Club (SSPP FC), under the Siamsinpawlpi, Joint Headquarters, Delhi. Its fans outnumbered even that of the organizers, the Wung United (Tangkhuls). They turned out in huge numbers-young and old, students and working professionals; and cheered their team. They were loud and noisy in a harmless way. Whenever SSPP FC plays the crowd is so huge that it looks like the final match of the tournament is being played.

But unfortunately, the SSPP FC which has no dearth of talent in its ranks, has never made it to the knockout stages of the tournament in its previous three editions. But that hasn’t dampened the moods of the majority of its fans. They turned out in huge numbers, as usual, on the 4th December, 2010, to watch and cheer their team in the opening match of the 4th Tamchon Memorial Tournament at Ambedkar Stadium. A little bit of fear, skepticism and apprehension were writ large on their faces but they turned out in huge numbers nonetheless. That is the beauty of being an SSPP FC fan. You cheer for your team. No matter what. You win. You lose. You are there for your team.

When the SSPP anthem was played, the crowd rose in unison and sang along. Sadly though, the song was not played in full. The opening match between the defending champions of last year’s edition, the Wung United and SSPP FC started at around 4.40 pm. As one looked around, it wasn’t hard to miss the mood of the SSPP FC fans. It was a mixture of fear, or rather apprehension, and hope. Fear that they might return home disappointed again, though the team never lack in skills, creativity and talent. Somehow, somewhere, something seemed to have gone wrong and they just couldn’t come up with a win. There was also a glimmer of hope that somehow they will find the magic formula this time. But fear and apprehension was palpable. That’s excusable when you are playing the defending champions and when lady luck seemed to have dumped you in all your previous matches.

At half-time, the scoreboard read 0-0. The match was keenly and evenly contested. The defence, which was the weakest link last year, did a very good job this time. But it seems that the midfield, considered to be the team’s strength, is in a disarray. They hardly controlled the game, and created very few chances. In the second half, more chances were created by both the sides. The game became more physical and the crowd became more noisy and loud. Night fell and the lights shone in the Ambedkar Stadium. But still there were no goals. As the referee blew the final whistle, the score line still read 0-0. All in all, the defending champions seemd to be the better team. They had more possession and created more chances. For the SSPP FC team, it was the goalkeeper and the defence that saved the day for them. The saves and timely interventions by the goalkeeper, Thuamkhanmang, was really commendable and he deserved to be declared man of the match. For the SSPP FC fans, he was their hero. The players didn’t disappoint their fans this time. They played with confidence. With Conviction. And with enthusiasm till the final whistle. That’s a delightful watch. In the past, the fans were always overconfident and the players nervous. But this time it’s the other way round. The players played confidently but it’s the fans who, in their earnestness to see their team win, were getting jittery.

Though the match was a goalless draw, for the SSPP FC fans, it’s no less than winning. They had equalized with the defending champions. That gave them hope. They went in droves to congratulate the team and the managers. And the apprehension and skepticism before and during the match were replaced by smiles and hope. They went back with satisfaction .

The next day, the 5th December, 2010 the SSPP FC fans began trickling into the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium before noon. To cheer for their team. Again. Though it was a Sunday, a day of rest and worship, the crowd was huge. Towards the start of the match. one can see many elders and families, who are conspicuous by their absence the day before. Maybe they were busy or maybe they couldn’t bear to see their team lose and didn’t come the day before. But today, they came in droves. Maybe excited by the results of the first match.

The match between SSPP FC and Sikkim FC, which was supposed to start at 2:30 pm, was delayed and started only at around 4:30 pm. It was SSPP FC who drew first blood through their captain, David Ngaihte in the third minute. Right from starting whistle, it was SSPP FC all the way. It seemed that the Sikkim players were chasing shadows. The defence was rock solid, the midfield controlled the game and possession and the strikers were fast and agile. Two more goals within a span of ten minutes and the SSPP FC players and fans knew that this was going to be their day. The crowd was roaring in delight. The drums got louder and the humming of vuvuzelas can be heard. It reminded one of the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa. The score line at half time was 4-0. The SSPP FC drilled three more goals into their opponent’s net in the second half. David Ngaihte scored five goals and Pausiam Valte and Michael Chongthu scored a goal each. The man of the match was clearly David Ngaihte. The Sikkim defence didn’t know how to deal with the raging striker as he scored goal after goal. The players and fans went back happy and contented.

As the match ended the delightful fans could be seen beating the drum and singing the SSPP Anthem at the top of their voices. A group of fans were heard shouting near/to the players “Aw khatvei bek second round ah”. Will the SSPP FC players be able to fulfill the wish of their fans this time? Definitely. They could even do better, if they continue playing with the same spirit, confidence and team work. But only time will tell.

Cheers to the team, the managers and the fans.

Go, SSPP FC, Go.

EDUCATIONAL REFORMS IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS OF LAMKA

It goes without saying that the condition of government schools in Zodawn is deplorable. That the government schools are in dire straits and in need of urgent reforms is an undeniable fact. Much have been said and countless efforts have been made in the past for the reform of these schools in Zodawn. But all efforts towards that end prove to be futile and a solution to the problem is still illusive. I don’t have a panacea for it either. So my current discourse will be about the private schools in Lamka and the need for reforms in the teaching methodology of these institutions.

Urbanisation is the trend everywhere in the world today and we, too, are not left far behind. The “well-to-do” or “better-off” (for lack of another word) from the Zodawn villages, migrated to Lamka in search of greener pastures. One of the contributing factors is the availability of good private schools in Lamka. Because all parents, from the illiterates to the most educated, strive to give their children the best education that they can afford. The mass migration from villages to Lamka town and the deplorable condition of the government schools have led to the mushrooming of a plethora of private schools in and around Lamka town. These private schools are doing a commendable job and have also become a source of employment for many people. Before offering my critique on these schools, I would like to clarify that I have great respect for them and I, too, am a product of the private school system. Whatever I have become today, I owe it to the private schools that I had attended.

My first point of criticism is that private schools in Lamka promote and glorify the system of rote learning or spoon-feeding. During my days at St.Paul’s Institute, one of the best schools in Lamka, this system of rote learning was highly prevalent. It would have been the same in all other schools and I believe this system is continued even now. Notes were given even in Class X and we were made to “learn by-heart” these notes. During exams, high scores were assured if one can reproduce these notes verbatim. It is my firm believe that learning by rote or mugging up of facts just before the exams should be shown the door immediately. A teacher should never encourage learning by rote. Spoon feeding is not in the best interests of the students in the long run. In fact, I believe that notes should not be given to the students, at least from Class-IX. Students should be made to prepare their own notes and the teacher’s role in note making should confine to checking the notes prepared by the students and suggesting improvisations.
Secondly, students are not encouraged to raise queries and there is little or no interaction between the teachers and students during classes. Teaching is usually a one-sided affair, the teacher doing all the talking and the role of the students confined to mere listening. Students who ask too many questions were ridiculed, made fun of and not appreciated, let alone encouraged by most teachers. Education should make you more humane, inculcate a spirit of enquiry and a thirst/hunger for knowledge. A teacher’s job is to try to inculcate a spirit of enquiry, curiosity and interest in the subject so that the student is motivated to explore the subject further. Once you arouse curiosity and interest of a student in a particular subject, the rest is as good as done.

Thirdly, a school should have a library where students can read and explore books beyond the prescribed school text books. There is so much emphasis on school text books and scoring high marks in exams. Reading newspapers, magazines and other books of general interest should be encouraged and inculcated from a very young age. Wide reading broadens your horizons. Focusing only on school textbooks narrows your outlook and stands in the way of the full development of the personality. Mastering only your subject will do you no good unless you want to become a researcher or a lecturer/teacher. In today’s competitive world, one has to be master of one (master of two if you want to go through civil services) and jack of all trades. Most of us study to get a job, and especially in competitive exams, learning by rote or mastering only one subject will never be of much help. You have to be aware of what happens around you and have opinions on all important current issues. That can be gained only by reading newspapers and magazines, and that too more time should be given to editorials and opinion columns. A school can play a role towards this end by having a library with a good collection of newspapers, magazines and books of general interest. I firmly belive that one of the reasons why in today’s competitive world, we are lacking behind others is our emphasis on learning by rote and our focus only on school textbooks.

Fourthly, there is little emphasis on extra-curricular actitivties. Extra-curricular activities, whether fine arts, sports, debates, quizzes, etc should be given more emphasis. These type of activities prepare a students for the real work-life and helps in the development of the whole personality of the students. Also, every school should have a career counselor or simply a counsellor who will attend to the queries of the students regarding their careers, aims and aspirations. If this is not feasible, at least one or twice a year, career seminars should be held and career counsellors and experts/eminent personalities or alumni who have made a mark in various fields should be invited to present papers and answer the queries of the students. Also, it would be very good if schools have classes for social, environmental and political awareness classes so that our students would turn out to be more caring towards the society and make better contribution for the good of the society.

My last point I sincerely wish that private school in Lamka will also introduce the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) introduced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Evaluation of students should be a continous and year-long affair. I have always found it ridiculous that the fate of a student is judged by one year-end examination. What if a very bright student suddenly fall ill or because of tragedies in his family, could not attend the year-end examination? Should all the hard work, time and money spent by that student be allowed to go waste because of circumstances beyond his control? I was on the verge of suffering from the same fate when I was in Class XII at Rayburn College. During the selection examination for the Council Exams, I fell ill and could not appear for all the papers. I was dejected, thinking that one year of my life had gone down the drain, just because I had the misfortune of falling ill at that “opportune moment”. But fortunately for me, I could sit for the Council exams despite not having appeared in all the papers. Every test and every exam should be counted for the final evaluation so that a student should not ignore any test or exam. This will make the student master his subjects very well.

These suggestions does not need much financial investment. Even for the library thing, I believe that there will be people, especially the alumni, who will be very much willing to contribute money, text books and gift magazine/newspaper subscriptions,etc. Let’s hope that these suggestions are given heed by the management of our private schools, for the future of our students, for our better tomorrow and for our society. All it needs is a change in the way of our thinking, a change in our mindset.

To Sir, With Love

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. ~William Arthur Ward

He is a teacher par excellence. The best teacher I could have asked for and I consider myself as really lucky to have had him as a teacher during my schooling days.

On this Teacher’s Day, I have the pleasure of introducing you to my favourite teacher, Sir Zampi, the genius who teaches English at my alma mater, St.Paul’s Institute, New Lamka. He is not your typical teacher who teaches as if the whole teaching exercise is a chore. He teaches with passion and his enthusiasm for the subject is infectious/contagious. He is, in my view, the best teacher that St.Paul’s has ever had.

My mind is often transported back to my schooling days when I used to listen attentively, trying to absorb each and every word he spoke. His erudite expositions of such poems as “On His Blindness” by John Milton, “To Daffodils” by Robert Herrick and Sonnet No.116 (Let me not to the marriage of true minds) by William Shakespeare still ring in my ears till today. I have a strong belief that the formation of “The Pearls”, a society of the Class-X students of St.Paul’s Institute (1997-98 batch) is inspired by his explanation of “After Twenty Years” by O.Henry. Like the two friends in the story, Bob and Jimmy, who promised to meet again exactly after twenty years no matter what their conditions might be or from what distance they might have to come, the class of 1997 had planned to meet again after ten years in Lamka. Well, it’s another story that our plans don’t materialize.

It is he, who has spurred on my interest in English literature. If I had an English teacher half as good as him in Class-XII, I definitely would have taken up English literature in graduation. I, sometimes, still regret not having done that.

Lazy bunches that we were, he used to give us notes. His notes were very much sufficient to guarantee us good marks in the Class-X Board exams. Interested, as I was, more in novels and magazines than my school textbooks, listening to his lectures and quickly going through his notes at the time of examinations usually more than suffice. And the great thing is that unlike some teacher, he never penalized us for not reproducing exact replicas of his notes. Instead, he always encouraged writing answers in our own words.

I firmly believe that learning by rote or mugging up just before the exams is no learning at all. Education does not entail mugging up of facts. Education should make you more humane, inculcate a spirit of enquiry and a thirst/hunger for knowledge. A teacher should never encourage learning by rote. He should try to inculcate a spirit of enquiry, curiosity and interest in the subject so that the student is motivated to explore the subject further by himself. That is exactly what Sir Zampi does. Some teachers just gave us notes and consider their job done. They even penalized us and gave lesser marks if we cannot reproduce their notes in the examination though the contents of the answers may be the same. Spoon feeding is not in the best interests of the students in the long run. In fact, I believe that notes should not be given to the students, at least from Class-IX. Students should be made to prepare their own notes and the teacher’s role in note making should confine to checking the notes prepared by the students and suggesting improvisations.

He taught us how to write answers. That we should answer a question in the same tense as the question. This simple, yet very important fact was never told to us by other teachers. He taught us the nuances of grammar and explained to us very clearly the meaning of words, especially difficult words, the difference in degree in the meaning of words like anger, rage and fury, etc, the difference between compared to and compared with and so many things which cannot be reproduced in this short piece.

I know that many of my classmates and his former students share the same thoughts about him. It’s just that nobody ever took the initiative to write about him.

He is my hero. May his tribe increase.

(Dear Sir, I salute you, once again, for all the dedication and passion with which you teach your students. I thought of writing this piece a long time ago but could never do so earlier. And I hope that I am not too late. This is the only thing that I can do to repay you for all the things that you have taught me. On this Teacher’s Day, as always, my thoughts and prayers are with you.)

Mainstream and alienation

It was a hot, sultry, summer day in 2000. The memory of that day is still firmly implanted in my mind's eye (not because I have a photographic memory but because I wrote it down in my diary).

2000-it was the year I first came to Delhi. I was standing in front of SGTB Khalsa College in North Campus waiting for my friend there. A smart lady probably in her early thirties approached me and asked, "Do you know any PCOs near this place?" (In those days mobile phones were not as common as they were today).

"I'm sorry I don't know", came my reply.

"It's okay. By the way which country are you from?" she asked as she was leaving, curiosity getting the better of her.

"I'm from India, from the northeastern state of Manipur" came my quick reply, slightly annoyed yet amused that she mistook me for a foreigner.

I wasn't prepared for what was coming my way next. She said, "Is Manipur a part of India?".

I was getting really annoyed by now. So I retorted back in anger, "Manipur is very much a part of India, it is on the border with Myanmar."

After she left me, several thoughts came to my mind. This lady spoke impeccable English, and from her looks was probably from an upper class family and she doesn't even know that Manipur is a part of India. And she mistook me for a foreigner because I didn't "look Indian". (If ever there was an "Indian look", and if people from a particular country were supposed to have certain physical features). Anyways, I thought, maybe Geography was never her forte at school (that's how I comforted myself).

This is not a one-off or isolated incident. Most people from Northeast must have had experience of a similar nature at some point of their lives. This incident highlighted the fact that Northeast India remains a neglected region and not seen by many as a part of mainstream India. Who is to blame for this? Both the government and the press are equally to blame for this. Offical apathy and neglect has resulted in underdevelopment, large-scale unemployment and stunted growth of the region. This has led to growing resentment and frustration towards the powers that be which often finds manifestation in drug abuse and insurgency - the two main problems facing the Northeastern youths.

The mainstream media, in most cases, fail to report on news and issues concerning the Northeast region and on the few occasions when they do cover northeast issues, the news reports are often inacurate and distorted. Morever they never make it to the front page of any mainstream newspaper and were hidden away in some dingy corner of the papers. This hostile attitude towards the Northeast is also evident in the school curricula. The history of the Northeast has hardly found space in the school curricula and the geography of the region never given much importance. This attitude is best summed up by Rahul Bedi's (of Jane's Defence Weekly) words "Kashmir is a lot more sexier than the Northeast". The problems facing this region was never given much space in the media. Should we remain a silent spectator to all these? Is there something we can do about this? Isn't it time that we shed our narrow mindsets and parochialism and work towards our common interests. What do we gain by always pulling down each other?

For the sake of an update: Pics

Haven't updated my blog in a long, long time. Been really busy at work. And with no internet connection, let alone a computer at home, haven't really had the time to update. And by the time I went home I am really exhausted. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Puducherry and Chennai on official work. So for the sake of an update, I'll just post some pics I had taken at that time. These are pics taken in and around Ashok Beach Resort, Puducherry.

Cottage, Ashok Beach Resort

Cottage, Ashok Beach Resort