Triumphant North East
NE culture and sports are the winners this autumn.

It’s a pity that many people think only in terms of killings and unrest when they speak about North-East. But this picturesque region has much more to offer to the rest of the country. What the region needs today is encouragement from mainland people. .

Thus it is heartening to see that North-East has left an undeniable mark this festive season through its culture and sports. While the Shillong boys won the Subroto Cup Football Tournament, Mizo girls lost narrowly to Orissa School in the final of Nehru Cup Hockey tournament. And in the cultural field, mini Manipur created at a pandal in Kolkata during the Durga Puja celebrations drew maximum crowd. These achievements are not just a flash in the pan. Indeed, North-East is reach in sports and culture. But the fact is often overlooked. Rich cultural heritage of region or the enormous talent of the youths in sports do not get much attention of the mainland people.

It looked that the Shillong boys took the field in Subroto Cup final not only to defeat their opponents, but to answer the neglect they are often subjected to. That they were determined to answer all criticism was evident from their body language. The fact that their opponent had come to the tournament more prepared than any other teams, further strengthen their resolve. In the final, the Nepal boys were clear favourites. Not only they prepared well for the tournament, but also they performed well and beat fancied Chadigarh boys in the semi-final. Moreover, physically they were stronger than the  Shillong boys.

But to the credit of the Shillong boys, they were not unnecessarily perturbed about the reputation of the opponent team. They took the field with the aim of not losing the match without fight. Thus, what was billed to be a one-sided affair turned out to be the best match of the tournament. There was never a dull moment in the match as both the teams played attacking football. The strategy of the Shillong team was not to allow any free space to their opponents, especially to Nepal team’s game maker Ganesh Khadka.  Initially, Ganesh tried to avoid tight marking and managed to score once. But once he was effectively blocked, Shillong team took the control of the game and gave no chance to their opponents to make a come back.

But Shillong boys were unfortunate of not winning the match in regulation time. As their strikers missed one sitter after another, the match went to tie-breaker. In the tie-break, Shillong’s Goalkeeper Jayanta rose to the occasion and saved one spot kick. That was enough for the Shillong team to become the champion. For Shillong, Bebo Singh was clearly the player of the day. He had not only scored two beautiful goals, but also was the brain behind most of the attacks.

On the other hand, not very far away from the North-East, people thronged at the Suruchi Sangha pandal at south Kolkata during the Durga Puja festivals. Surchi Sangha, for the first time in its 52 years of existence, adopted Manipur as its Theme State for this year’s celebrations. It was also for the first time that the organisation looked towards North-East.

Goddess Durga was dressed in Manipuri clothes. Decorations were made according to Manipuri culture and tradition. The main pandal was named after Kangla. The interest of the people of Bengal in Manipur was evident from the fact that more than 15 lakh people visited the puja. To claim the Manipur became an instant hit in Kolkata is no exaggeration as Suruchi Sangha puja received both critical appreciations and popular support. The puja was adjudged the best by All India Radio (AIR). In a poll organised by the AIR, listeners revealed their choices through SMSs.

Talking to North East News Agency over phone from Kolkata, an elated Arup Biswas, president, Surichi Sangha, made no efforts to hide his satisfaction over the tremendous response his organisation received this year. Clarifying reasons behind selecting Manipur as Theme State, Mr. Biswas stressed on the age-old link between Bengal and Manipur. “As both the states are culturally very similar and have century-old links, we choose Manipur as our Theme State, said Mr. Biswas.

Being aware about the rich cultural heritage of Manipur, Mr. Biswas is pained over the fact that this picturesque North-Eastern state often hits the headlines for wrong reasons. “People have developed a negative feeling towards Manipur as they always heard about violence and bandhs in Manipur. This is our humble effort to inform the people that the State has much more to offer. Even if one person changes his opinion after seeing our puja regarding Manipur, we will   consider our effort successful,” said Mr. Biswas.

Mr. Biswas is full of praise about the support his organisation received from Manipur Government. Apart from donating Rs. 20,000 to the puja committee, the State Government also send 60 Manipuri girls for cultural programes. Along with the puja, the cultural programmes were also a great hit. Buoyed by the success, Suruchi Sangha may look towards North-East next year too. Already two North-Eastern states have approached the organisation, according to Mr. Biswas. Meanwhile, though they failed to clear the last hurdle, Mizo girls showcased their talent in the recently concluded Nehru Hockey Tournament for Women.

|  Headlines  |  Editorial   | From Other Publications  |
|  Travel Column   |   News Briefs  |
| OT Main Page | Nena  Home Page  |