Langsyne Dimapur

As one of the small towns of North Eastern India, Dimapur’s location and geography makes it quite insignificant in the huge map of Indian subcontinent. Yet, for me this word itself brings nostalgia, reminds me my childhood and those people whom I have loved most in my life.

 Indeed, I have a great connection to this small town of North East, Not only me and my sister but even my mother was also born in Dimapur and later, I found my husband also to be born in Dimapur. That itself makes this place a very special one for my family.

 Further, my family’s contribution to its soil can’t be undermined by anyone; my father-in-law (Sri. S.R.Chakarabarty); who has served Nagaland Govt. all his life and worked as a very senior official in Nagaland State Transport (NST). My grandfather (Late Sri. Manik Bhattacharjee) has been one of the most famous social workers of Nagaland who was one of the founders of the first regional political party of Nagaland (NPC) in 70s and 80s, also he was the founder of many educational institutions in Dimapur. My Father (Sri. Niharendu Bhattacharjee) had his life’s first posting after joining SBI to Dimapur and served a crucial 10 years there; later, he served as a chairman of NRB (Nagaland Rural Bank) for 3 years. My maternal uncle (Sri. Manoj Bhattacharjee) an educationist who started his career as a lecturer of Zoology in Dimapur Science College. Currently, he is serving as the Principal of one of the most prominent Higher Secondary Schools of Dimapur (Pranab Vidyapith) which was founded by my grandfather in 1984. With his vast qualification he had lots of career opportunities in big cities outside Dimapur, but he chose to remain there and serve the people of his birth place. There are many other close relatives both from my family and my extended family who have worked all their lives in Dimapur. Therefore, my solid connection with Dimapur is unquestionable and makes me a Dimapurian by heart.

Growing up in Dimapur was very safe and therefore loads of fun unlike growing up in any big Indian metro city; which is increasingly unsafe especially for a girl. Growing up I have never heard of any cases of female Abduction, Molestation and Eve teasing, etc. I regularly accompanied my grandfather when he was visiting his Naga friends, colleagues and party workers. I clearly remember Mr. Vamojo, Mr. Chale KBchusa and Mr.Vijol Angami among many others who often visited my grandfather. Simplicity and True Christian values make Naga people very adorable for sure.

Eventually, I left Dimapur because of my Dad’s posting elsewhere and started hearing about the unwanted changes and prevailing disturbances in the society which was making lot of people to migrate. Obviously, this was a very disturbing scenario which made me very sad and concerned.

Currently, I live in a small town near Denver in USA with my husband and a 4 month old daughter and keep wondering how come this country is so developed. Where I live now is also a very small town like Dimapur but if I start telling the difference then the list will never end. Even Naga society is considerably western and follows Christianity like the American population here. Well, If Religion is making the difference then all the Christian states should have been most developed in India but sadly it’s the other way round most of the time. Therefore, we can safely conclude that it’s not the religion that matters, its humanity and the broader outlook towards life and society. Here, I would like to mention a small incident that has happened with me and my husband, here in America and this partially answers why this place is so developed.

It was the eve of Independence Day celebration on 4^th of July, only a couple of weeks after I delivered my baby. I wanted to go out to witness the one of its kind celebration near the Castle Rocks County in West of Denver. Left my baby at home with my mother, both I and my husband Sudarshan went out after a long time together wanting to spend some time with each other and enjoy the celebration. Everything was perfect that evening including the lovely climate and the wonderful fireworks for celebration.

Things suddenly went haywire when we heard a big bang from the road where we had parked the car. And to our surprise; it was OUR car which was hit by another SUV, completely smashing the cars bumper and the rear end. My husband did not know how to react, as we had never been to this situation and that too in a completely alien country. We were awestruck and our brains completely shut down; finally, it was the first time in both our lives when we bought an expensive car like Toyota Camry and we loved our car so much.

Immediately before we could call for any help, we saw many local people who came our way and told us that “we have seen the entire incident happening and it was purely a case of hit and run, and don’t hesitate to call us if you need any witness”. One very tall gentleman who was also enjoying the fireworks from the patio of his house from across the street came instantly and told us that he saw the SUV which hit our car and it was unethical to hit and run. He should have stopped and looked for any damages that were caused by the impact.

He took his cell phone out and called the police, informed about the accident and repeated the entire story. He waited till the police arrived and became our spokesperson. The Lady police officer apologized to us and in a very humble manner she spoke to my husband keeping in mind that we are foreigners in her nation and this incident certainly makes a wrong impression of her country and its people. She took an FIR and documented the statements given by the eye witnesses who noted the car number. She left the scene assuring us that Police would find out the culprit and that all the damages caused to us will be paid by the insurance company of the SUV driver. That tall gentle man stood by us till the entire procedure was over and gave us his phone number saying “please don’t hesitate to contact should you need any help”. He was with us on the street for around 3 hours till 11.30 at night until everything was over. I and my husband extended our thanks and gratitude towards him when he said…” Well I did not do it for you… Being a true Christian it’s my duty to help people in need and stand by the truth,,, which I did… It’s for my God!!!” His words were so refreshing and unbelievable. We were amazed at that man who stood by us and helped us when we were so much in need.

Subsequently, the very next morning we got a call from the police officer informing us the details of the driver’s insurance. Without any further follow ups from our end, within the next one week we got the entire price of our car in cash as the damages could not be fully recovered. Eventually, we bought a bigger and a much better car, which was a dream come true for us. This was because all the people and the department’s involved (Police department, Car Insurance Company, people who did the evaluation of our car) did their jobs on time and efficiently to make this possible for us. Can we imagine this in our own country?                                                                                                            

 SHASWATI