By Dominick Dauni Roising Rymbai
The year 1999. A new millennium would turn. World over, concerns on the Y2K bug was making headlines and occupied prime-time in talk shops. The government of our Union of States was a BJP-led coalition under the leadership of the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, truly a Bharat Ratna. The 3-months long Kargil War happened in our country’s extreme north. Who would forget the tens of thousands that turned up at Madan Iewrynghep, Laitumkhrah, for the state funeral of our local war hero and martyr, Captain K. Clifford Nongrum, MVC. In the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, the secessionist movement was making inroads. Encounters, threats, forceful charitable donation or unofficial non-budgetary taxation (in short extortion) and mindless killings occurred. Night curfews were imposed. Popular community fairs or shnong fetes, with their live music, in Shillong were gradually stopped. The fetes did and still do take place in Jaintia Hills. Jowai and the adjoining coal belt had a drugs problem (bam powdar, muaid wym sma). Operation Kyllang (Storm), by the once feared Saw Dak, of public punishment of rapists and sexual offenders had popular support, particularly of the urban middle-middle and lower class and the rural poor.
In 1998, to commemorate its 20th anniversary, the influential Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) released the popular patriotic Khasi music album Na Ki Thwei Ka Dohnud, (From The Very Depths of The Heart). The KSU initiated the Ksan Rngiew movement of ethnic identity and protection. Around the same time, recurring thefts happened in Shillong city. The Dorbar Shnong(s) organised young volunteers for night patrolling and vigilance.
Was it 1999? With addictive scrolling and brainrot, memories can get blurry. Colleges still had their 10+2 (formerly PU or Pre-University Course) sections under MBOSE; uniforms were not required. An inter-college rock music competition was held. There was sparse sound infrastructure in the venue. Generally, it was all about who sound best like a perfect clone, with an original sometimes thrown in the allotted time. One band stood out. Then, they had a different vocalist and guitarist. Also, in 1998, an original English album of post-grunge alternative rock, Scary Truth, was released by a mysterious band of youngsters The Ceremony; it was well-written with real world lyrics and degrees of melancholy.
Fast forward to 2005. Barely a year ago, in our Republic of India or Bharat ki Swatantrata, a peaceful handover of power had taken place from a “right-wing” led coalition to a “centre-left” coalition. What stood out? A President from a minority community sworn in a government-led by a prime minister from another minority community to govern a country of an absolute majority community of 80% of our country’s population. The promise of the RTI Act and MGNREGA kept.
In our ancient hills we called home, insurgency continued, paused with surrenders and rehabilitation packages, and a ‘real tough guy’ Home Minister in the (Late) RG Lyngdoh. That time, local tribal businesses and tribal coal traders from the Jaintia Hills and West Khasi Hills were also targeted for donation. Ethnic tensions loomed, with the MBOSE agitation led by the powerful KSU, and the pushback reaction from our fellow A’chik tribal comrade-in-arms in the non-violent struggle and achievement of statehood. All in all, what’s the worst that can happen? Violence begets more violence and, collaterally innocent lives lost and injured!
In music, audio cassettes were battling Compact Discs (CDs) for relevance. For the ‘haves’ with PCs, Laptops and BSNL broadband connection, Limewire was ‘in’ with ‘free’ mp3 songs. For the majority, Internet meant atleast 20 Rupees an hour at a cyber café and additional costs for downloads. Oh yes, first Petra then Firehouse, live in Shillong, in 2004. The kind of music and video Applications’ software available today on a smartphone was not even a dream then. There were influencers then; they were (still are) called opinion leaders – people who were (or are) been there, done that and occupied (still occupies) certain ‘positions’ in society. Generally, and rarely would they promote the rebellious devils’ music called rockin’ roll, or say, any medium that channelled the relentless energy of a misunderstood (or is it misguided?) youth.
ALSO WATCH RELATED VIDEO IN KHASI
Then in 2005, being a young adult who can vote and legally (not societal morally) drink & get married too; seething with anger and energy, dazed and confused, with purpose undefined. It’s said, the mass of men and women live lives of quiet desperation. The times, it just wasn’t quiet. In the intervening six years, one can just imagine the struggle and frustration – financial and otherwise, the grit and passion, the discipline of hours and hours of practice and fine tuning, to bring out an original album. The hard rock fusion album, U Rangdajied: ka khana ha ki sur jingrwai or The Chosen One: a story narrated through songs, in Khasi language and rooted in cultural influences, was produced and released by Snow White. It was accompanied by a video of the single, Mawlynnai (diamond), played majorly in local Cable TV networks. Kudos to the original line-up of Bah Timmy Kharhujon (vocals), Bah Donboklang Ryntathiang (bass), Bah Manfulson Lyngdoh (guitar) and Bah Jimmy Massar (drums), the latter two sadly no more with us (bam kwai ha dwar U Blei).
The concept album U Rangdajied features 8 tracks that follow the protagonist’s journey from childhood to manhood. It needs to be listened in its entirety. The music starts off calmly, then gets heavy with distortive guitar-work and, has reflective elements. And one is certain to connect emotionally with the Khasi beats and rhythm of the traditional drums Ka Ksing and Ka Bom and, the traditional soothing string instrument Ka Duitara. The lyrics are metaphorical, hard-hitting, aggressive and reflective too. They show the extensive homework (with open eyes, brain and heart) for inspiration from our ancient common-good past to create relevance in the modern individualistic materialistic world. The album does hold a mirror to the Jaidbynriew.
The album opens with a beautiful jugalbandi of the duitara and Western instruments in Ha iing i Pa (in my father’s presence). Lyrically it is heart-breaking, with a child’s longing for his father (ha syndah ka dur kpa, u shna la pyrthei). The first few lines reminds one of the Thiah Chloor (or Night Visit) system in the Jaintia Hills. There are many songs for the mother and the motherland & its people. The few on the father that comes to mind are Ka Ïingshetja (The Kitchen) by Badaplang Sohkhlet, Kamram Mi Pa (A father’s duty) by Gracyl Ropmay, and Pa Wa Maya (Loving Father) by the Passah brothers (Adious and Kyntu) of Jowai.
In our matrilineal society, mothers are very important but fathers do play equally important roles. The importance of yong ki pa, ki meñ ki woh, ki ñia ki kongkha (the paternal side of the family) is impressed upon a child. Children do need father figures, biological or not. There were and still are always U Kni, U Ma U Woh (uncles) to look up to and get (whacked and) lectured too. Today with the all-importance of status and/or wealth, decadal population growth of 27.95% (2011 Census) and migration for livelihoods, the uncle has become more of a symbolic figure.
Teenage pregnancy coupled with single motherhood are serious issues. How acute they are, only proper survey will tell. And extrapolation of data for/by vested interests will certainly not help any resolution, at all. Prevention is definitely better than cure. To leave it to the state government alone to do the needful would be unfair. There are other institutions – the family, the Kpoh (direct descendants of a certain ancestress) members, the Dorbar Kur (Clan Council), the Church, Seng Khasi and Sein Raij, the Dorbar Shnong(s) and the District Councils (laws on marriage’s customs).
(to be continued)
(Disclaimer: The piece reflects only the personal opinion of the writer from the Jaintia Hills and is subjected to constructive criticisms and some tolerable trolling. He can be reached at dauni.roising@gmail.com)
