New Delhi: A tiny village in Assam’s Goalpara district has set an example of cleanliness and community participation.
The villagers of Ransapara have been conducting cleanliness drives for the past 20 years. While there is a small penalty of Rs 30 for men and Rs 20 for women, the locals have never failed to participate in this community service in the last two decades. The cleanliness drive is conducted twice a week — men participate on Wednesdays and women on Saturdays.
Ransapara, with 92 households, was declared the ‘cleanest village of Assam’ in 2016-17 by the state government and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh was awarded to its residents.
Village headman Robert John Momin told EastMojo, “We never intended to be the cleanest village but keeping our courtyards and the village clean was a part of our daily activity. Meanwhile, the youths also worked for beautification of the village … we never got a chance to penalise anyone because everyone happily takes part in the drives.”
Young team of artists on mission to beautify this Manipuri town
A team of artists under the name SALIS (‘salt’ in Latin) has been on a mission to beautify the hilly town of Ukhrul in Manipur. The artists have been creating attractive murals at various spots across the town.
Sorinthan Haorei, who leads the team, said, “The idea of SALIS is to promote the young artists and also contribute to the town and community through their talent and skills. This I hope will instill them the responsibility of taking care of one’s own town.”
Their first project was at the Viewland Baptist Church, featuring angel-winged art. The second project, at a bus stand, was aimed at promoting and preserving one’s cultural identity.
Former Ukhrul autonomous district council (ADC) chairman, Yaronsho Ngalung, who has extended financial support to the team, said, “ADC would always need cooperation from the public … ADC extended financial help to the town cleaning and beautification initiative.”
Tripura’s tiny Portuguese settlement prepares for quiet Christmas
Tripura’s first Catholic church in Mariamnagar and the only Portuguese settlement around it has been preparing for a quiet Christmas this year, with a small gathering and minimal decor.
A group of around 60 households from the Portuguese community is said to have landed in Tripura in the 1530s in what was then a kingdom ruled by the Manikyas.
The Mariamnagar Catholic Church, which is also the oldest church in the state, usually organises a large fair and cultural programmes to mark Christmas every year. This time, however, the fair has been cancelled and only 50 people will be allowed inside the church at a time. Strict security arrangements have also been put in place to help people maintain social distancing.
Manipur martial art form Thang-Ta to feature at Khelo India
The indigenous martial arts game of Manipur, Thang-Ta, will be part of the Khelo India Youth Games to be held in Haryana next year.
Thang-Ta, which means ‘sword and spear’, has been practiced by the Meiteis in Manipur for thousands of years. It involves an elaborate system of physical movements, breathing methods, meditations, and rituals. Athletes need to have physical control and soft movements that are coordinated with the rhythm of breathing.
Earlier this week, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh took to Twitter to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju for inclusion of the state’s indigenous game.
Also read: Culinary competition to bring ‘lost & forgotten cuisines’ of Sikkim to five-star menus