Stories that Matter

Living at the edge: Border and Barriers in Anarul’s Life Along with the whole country, Anarul Islam alias Babul, 47 years old small marginal farmer in landlocked border village Mahendraganj in South West Garo Hills in Meghalaya is finding it hard to cope up with the lockdown due to COVID 19. However his worries are different from the rest of the country. As a farmer his ‘lockdown’ will continue irrespective of the COVID 19 pandemic. His land situated outside the international border fencing restricting access to his land throughout the years. Each time Anarul goes to plough his land, he literally crosses an international border following a detail protocol and security check. India and Bangladesh share a 4,096 km-long international border, the fifth-longest land border in the world. The state of Meghalaya shares 443 km of this long border and out of this 329 km border is fenced with barbed wire and concrete, a process initiated in the 1980s. Fencings are bu...

Dulema’s dilemma amidst lockdown Today [27 April, 2020] I was approached by a female farmer named Dulena Khatun, 45 years, wife of Soriful Miah, Nayapara, Mahendraganj. She looked distressed and weak. Its been more than a month that she is not able to go to her land where she was growing vegetables and was looking forward to earn a handsome amount. Her husband is deeply worried for survival in future. ‘I am facing immense hardship and loss for not being able to pluck my vegetables in my land bordering Bangladesh’, she said. India and Bangladesh share a 4,096 km-long international border, the fifth-longest land border in the world . The state of Meghalaya shares 443 km of this long border and out of this 329 km border is fenced with iron wire and concrete. Fences are built anti-climb and has three layers of wire making it extremely difficult for people to break or cross over. Fencing of border was initiated in the 1980s. Over the years, borders are highly securitised and mili...

Nosumuddin at work Sweet and Sweat in Nosumuddin’s life Nosumuddin smiled, paused a few times holding tears. His small business of rasgollas [sweet] has abruptly come to a halt with the declaration of nationwide lockdown due to COVID 19 on March 24, 2020. Life was sweet despite being full of sweats. Nosumuddin was confident to afford two meals a day. That confidence is fading fast. A deep fear and uncertainty of economic condition keeps hurting him. Its been eight years now, Nosumuddin Sheikh, 40 years, along with his family staying in my parent’s old house as tenant. Lean, average built man with salt and pepper hair never forgets to wear a smile. My interaction with him is limited to my occasional visit to Mahendraganj, South West Garo Hills, Meghalaya, my home, my village. Nosumuddin is helpful to my parents and often looks after our kitchen garden. One day I asked him if he ever went to school. He smiled and nodded in negation. ‘Humiliating, ...

Me and two friends went to Chitwan, Nepal in 2016 and we were exploring rural areas. Found an old, blind man making small crafts with dry corn leaves to earn for himself. He doesnt remember his age but will definitely be an octogenarian. I couldnt know his name too. I bought few products to support him. He made me think 'dignity matters' Life without dignity is nothing...... November 2, 2016. Chitwan, Nepal. I remembered a Bangla story after meeting this amazing man. Brief translation of the story: Dignity and Labour One short story touched my heart. It’s a Bengali short story written by Banaphool titled, ‘Chotolok’. “Chotolok’ means the subaltern working class here in the story. The story is only few pages long and talks about two men : one passerby and a manual rikshaw puller. Raghab is a enlightened man with knowledge of labour exploitation and subaltern studies, believes that manual rikshaw pulling is worst kind of discrimination and labour exploitation h...

My Travel Stories: Heart and Souls. Part II: The lone lady in the market                     I have special respect for people who struggle through unexpected odd events of life and fight for survival and show immense resilience. Their work motivation during troubled times and turmoil of life are definitely encouraging for others.  Story of a female vegetable vendor, Monowara Begum, sitting at road side in Sixmile, Guwahati is something worth inspiring. She is the lone woman vendor in that part of the market and belongs to Muslim community, carrying out her business with all male colleagues around. What brought you to this place?, I asked. She smiled. Probably felt shy to answer me. ‘My husband met a heavy loss in the business ten years back. I took over and running successfully till now’. She smiled again, visibly with no expectation of praise from me.  A lone ...