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In this remote Manipur village, lockdown brought the gift of education for the elderly

Snippets from the vibrant Northeast that capture politics, culture, society and more in the eight states.

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New Delhi: For elders in the remote Chatric Khullen village of Manipur, the recent spell of the Covid-19 lockdown has brought the gift of education and helped them combat loneliness.

Chatric Khullen, with over 100 households, is located along the Indo-Myanmar border, about 40 km from the Kamjong district headquarters in Manipur. The initiative of teaching the elderly was started earlier this month by NGO Gemson Haorei Trust. Many of the senior citizens attending the classes had never been to school prior to this.

Sorinthan Haorei, who started the trust in 2019 in memory of his father, told EastMojo, “Learning is never too late. Most of the elders live alone or most of the time in solitude, so these classes create a friendly and fun environment as well as give mental and social well-being.”

Ringaila, a 79-year-old student, has been quoted as saying, “Before joining the class, I was completely unknown to such letters and numbers. Now, I can comfortably count 1 to 500 in numbers and have learned A,B,C as well.”

Langzarphy Wuidui, 66, another student, said: “I had never thought that we would get such an opportunity to learn the alphabetical letters and numeric.”


Also read: Nagaland’s beloved ‘Longleng’ creates ‘world record’, clocks 1,50,000 km in 4 years


Arunachal’s Tashi Yangjom is first Indian woman to summit Everest this year

Tashi Yangjom from Arunachal Pradesh has become the first Indian woman to summit Mount Everest this year. Yangjom is the ninth climber from the National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports in West Kameng district’s Dirang village to reach the top of the world’s highest peak.

The 37-year-old mountaineer had reached the Everest Summit on 11 May. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu also took to Twitter to congratulate Yangjom on her feat.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also congratulated Yangjom for successfully scaling Everest.

Yangjom’s achievement came days after reports had emerged about fears of a Covid outbreak at the Mount Everest base camp in Nepal.

71-yr-old Covid-positive Mizoram minister mops hospital floor, wins hearts

R. Lalzirliana, the 71-year-old power and electricity minister of Mizoram, has been captured in a video where is seen mopping floors of the Zoram Medical College and Hospital (ZMCH). The minister, along with his wife and son, has been undergoing treatment for Covid-19 at the facility.

Talking to the IANS, Lalzirliana said, “My intention to clean the floor of my hospital ward was not to embarrass the doctors, nurses and other health workers. I want to inspire others by performing our responsibility.”

The Mizo National Front leader also said the hospital’s sweeping staff did not come last week and since he was recovering from the illness he decided to mop the floor himself.

“I believe that during my stay at the hospital, I dirtied the hospital ward. There is a shortage of sufficient workers compared to the huge requirement of staff at this pandemic period. That’s why I have tried to reduce some workload of our Covid warriors,” Lalzirliana added.

This 58-year-old ‘doll maker’ is keeping a 100-year-old Manipuri tradition alive

Konsam Ibomcha Singh has been keeping alive a 100-year-old art of doll making in Manipur.

Called Laiphadibi or Laidhibi, these dolls were traditionally made out of waste cloth for children. In the Manipuri language of Meitei, ‘lai’ means God, ‘phadi’ means old rags and ‘bi’ is attributed to the feminine gender.

“My father tweaked the way traditional dolls were made in the state. Today, I am the only person in our region to make this style of dolls,” 58-year-old Singh told The Better India.

He explained that rags have been replaced with dried grass for making the dolls, which are then shaped using thin wires and finally glued with cloth. A Manipur State Award winner, Singh charges upwards of Rs 1,000 for each doll. One of the costliest dolls he has sold so far is a 4-foot-tall Radha-Krishna pair for Rs 50,000.


Also read: From Guwahati to Dimapur, Facebook post drives a ‘movement’ to help people during Covid


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