A Luminous Life...

I remember writing a piece titled, "To drink or not to drink"  in 2010. Few years have flown by since. But my thoughts on the issue of Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) have more or less stayed the same. I believe nothing much has also changed as far as the issue is concerned. If anything, the illegal trade of liquor has probably thrived. People- young, old, teenagers, elderly-age no bar, have continued to drink, and get drunk even. Some of them in the trade have also gotten richer, right in front of our eyes. Many dingy, so called booze joints have been transformed to palatial buildings over the years.  We have seen the trade grow. We have also seen family, friends and people we know, turn to alcoholics. Some of them have even died of alcohol. Sad, but true! Well, they say, the increase in number is also because of the consumption of adulterated liquor. Many school children are already drinking, too! Why? Because there is no question of underage drinking in the ex...

To think of celebrating international women’s day after some unspeakable violence ensued, ironically, out of protest against a crime committed against women, actually feels odd. Rape, as many of us would agree, has destroyed the very fabric of our society. And as frustrating as it is that we are yet to find a solution to this social ill, we also know that no amount of punishment can ever compensate for the damage caused by rape, emotionally, mentally, and physically. And yet, what good does it do to a society, if a crime is paid with another crime? At the end of the day, I believe many of us, if not the majority, sat thinking and rethinking of the Dimapur incident that stole headlines all over the world. Not really because Nagaland was, in that instant, placed in a bad, dark, negative light but because, the brutality with which the entire episode was carried out, is totally unthinkable! I cannot begin to comprehend how many of them jubilantly continued to take photographs in such a...