[Assam] Letter to the President of India - story completed
Himendra Thakur
hthakur at comcast.net
Mon Mar 6 22:31:21 PST 2006
Dear Alpana,
I am very happy that you liked the story. Those four years in Nagaland gave me a very rewarding time in of my life! Do you think I should write more?
With love to everybody,
Himendra
----- Original Message -----
From: Alpana B. Sarangapani
To: hthakur at comcast.net ; dasmk2k at gmail.com ; ankur_bora2000 at yahoo.com ; barua25 at hotmail.com ; cmahanta at charter.net
Cc: jugalkalita at yahoo.com ; assam at assamnet.org
Sent: Sunday, March 05, 2006 7:05 PM
Subject: RE: Letter to the President of India - story completed
what a beautiful (true) story, Himendra-da. It brightened my day. thanks to all the netters who asked Himenda to complete the story here.
Thank you. - Alpana.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Himendra Thakur" <hthakur at comcast.net>
To: "Manoj Das" <dasmk2k at gmail.com>,"Ankur Bora" <ankur_bora2000 at yahoo.com>,"Alpana B. Sarangapani" <absarangapani at hotmail.com>,"Barua25" <barua25 at hotmail.com>,"Chan Mahanta" <cmahanta at charter.net>
CC: "J Kalita" <jugalkalita at yahoo.com>,<assam at assamnet.org>
Subject: Letter to the President of India - story completed
Date: Sun, 5 Mar 2006 12:35:46 -0500
>Dear Netters,
>
>
>
>I am now "under orders" (for which I really thank everybody!) to complete
>my story which I left half-done day-before-yesterday! I am repeating the
>beginning part to give the link:
>
>
>
>When I was in Nagaland, posted in Mokakchung, a young, educated,
>"first-generation Christian" Ao lady fell in love with an Assamese Hindu
>young man. They disclosed their quandary to my wife, Juthika, who told me
>that I must help them. The bride told me that she had a very powerful aunt
>in the underground, might be next to Phizo in the Ao area.
>
>
>
>"What did your aunt say?" I asked the bride.
>
>"My Aunt asked for two tablets of Novalgin."
>
>
>
>Novalgin was a kind of a powerful head-ache medicine in those days! If a
>powerful underground lady wanted two tablets of a very powerful headache
>medicine, the problem must be very hard for an "Asomiya Naga" like me!!
>
>
>
>However, I did not give up. "Did you tell your father?" was my next
>question.
>
>"Yes, I did."
>
>"What did he say?"
>
>"He asked me "What will happen to your religion?""
>
>
>
>Now this was an interesting turning point. Holding my breadth, I asked,
>"What did you say?"
>
>"I told him that I would go back to my grandfather's religion", the bride
>replied.
>
>
>
>Sensing some danger, I blurted out my next question: "What did he say?"
>
>"He did not say anything. Instead, he gave me a such a slap that I fell down
>three feet away" was her sad reply.
>
>
>
>I could now see the gravity of the problem. It took me overnight thinking to
>find the solution. Next day, I called the groom privately to my room and
>told him that we would write a letter to the President of India.
>
>
>
>"What ???" the groom almost jumped off his chair.
>
>
>
>"Yes. The President of India. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. I'll draft the
>letter on your behalf and get it typed. You just sign it and mail it to him.
>It is his job, not mine---" was my cool answer.
>
>
>
>My draft of the letter from the groom to the President of India ran like
>something this: "Respected Dr. Radhakrishnan, .. My mother passed away many
>years ago, my father died last year, I am an orphan now, and I don't have
>anybody to advice me what to do. You are the Father of the Nation, I beg you
>to show me the path ." so on.
>
>
>
>It was just a one-page letter from the groom, wondering how he and his bride
>could get married, seeking the advice from Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan,
>President of India from 1962 to 1967 ---- 40 odd years ago!!
>
>
>
>We waited, waited and waited. Reply did not come from the President. The
>groom, who was skeptical right from the beginning, started to lose faith in
>this last straw of hope. In the mean time, the bride had to leave Mokukchung
>and go back to her University in Guwahati where she was studying for her MA
>degree.
>
>
>
>At this time, a friend of the groom, a young attorney from Sivasagar, came
>to Mokukchung in my jeep. [ That journey also was very critical. For the
>first time, I had to drive through bonjui (wild-fire) about which I wrote an
>article later. This article was never published. If I find it, I plan to
>send it to Jugal with a request to publish it in his journal.]
>
>
>
>When his attorney friend came to know about this letter (the groom told me
>privately), he burst out laughing! "Letter to the President? Letter to the
>President?? Are you crazy? Do you think the President of the country will
>have time for such a mundane matter??"
>
>
>
>I found the groom very depressed. Inside, I was also losing the confidence
>slowly, but I did not show it to him. I'd find some other way out, I told
>him, but I just did not know what to do.
>
>
>
>After a few days, his attorney friend left. The groom had received very
>abusive letters from his uncles and brothers who were convinced that he was
>deflating the entire family by planning to marry a Naga girl.
>
>
>
>My wife Juthika helped the situation in her own way: invite the groom for
>dinner daily so that we could take away his dejection and encourage him. He
>would come for dinner, play with our baby daughter Upa and would try to
>forget his woes.
>
>
>
>One day, the entire picture turned 180 degrees opposite. He arrived at our
>home with a full laughter and joy with a letter in his hand: "President's
>letter! President's letter!" he was in a state of ecstasy --- and we all
>zoomed down to see what he had in his hand.
>
>
>
>Yes, it was a letter from New Delhi --- in the gorgeous Raj Bhavan
>Letterhead --- from the desk of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, President of
>India, one of India's top philosopher, author of 45 books ---
>
>
>
>Wedding of a couple in the distant Nagaland was NOT a mundane matter for Dr.
>Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan --- I don't remember the exact words, but the
>letter was full of blessing and love to the bride and the groom, I think
>there was an advice how they should be polite to their elders so as not to
>hurt their feelings too much, there was also a suggestion how their elders
>should reciprocate by understanding their feelings, and so on.
>
>
>
>As for their marriage, his advice was unambiguous (I remember this piece
>clearly) --- contact the local Arya Samaj and get married.
>
>
>
>"If you can't talk to her by telephone (telephone trunk-calls were terrible
>in those days), go to Guwahati immediately and tell your bride to get ready
>for marriage," I told him. "Meet the Arya Samaj in Guwahati and show them
>the letter from the President."
>
>
>
>"What about my uncles and my brothers?"
>
>
>
>"First you organize the marriage in Guwahati with the help from Arya Samaj,"
>I told him emphatically, "then go to Tezpur to talk to your uncles and
>brothers. If they blame you, you put all the blame on me."
>
>
>
>Telephone contact did not happen. I told my driver to ready the jeep. My
>wife Juthika hurriedly took out the bridal dress of mekhela-riha-chadar that
>she was saving as a surprise and gave it to the groom. Next morning, my
>driver took him to Jorhat to catch the bus to Guwahati.
>
>
>
>I could not go to the wedding that took place in Guwahati after a few weeks,
>but there were a number of exchanges of telegraphs. Telephones still did not
>work. Young people today with cell phones & webcom cameras may find it
>difficult to believe!
>
>
>
>Afterwards, I met them in Shillong and got a complete report. Arya Samaj was
>great. The wedding took place very smoothly. A few dignitaries, who saw the
>President's letter, attended their marriage and blessed the couple.
>
>
>
>"You should have been there to give the bride away," the bride told me.
>
>
>
>"What about your uncles and your brothers?" It was now my turn to ask the
>groom with some concern.
>
>
>
>"Oh, that was easy!" the groom sailed through the narration like an evening
>breeze, "You know my uncle LC who was very tough! I first allowed him to
>complete his roaring speech, and then I showed him the President's letter."
>
>
>
>"What happened?"
>
>
>
>"He read the letter, and became completely quiet. The same thing happened to
>others. I cooled down uncle after uncle, brother after brother, with this,"
>he jerked the President's letter that he was holding in his hand.
>
>
>
>Years ago, the then Chief Minister of Nagaland, the late Shilu Ao, was
>addressing a meeting of Executive Engineers where I was present. "In India,
>we have wonderful leaders like Dr. Radhakrishnan, we have the memory of
>Mahatma Gandhi, but we the Nagas never get to see them. We only see Army
>officers, vicious bureaucrats, soldiers and police who are so cruel to our
>people. I hope you engineers will make a difference .." Shilu Ao's voice
>choked when he completed his speech.
>
>
>
>In Nagaland, I met some Army Officers who were wonderful. I remember
>Brigadier Kane who was such a pious man! We must not generalize just because
>some army officers were mean --- I had fights with many of them. Same thing
>applies to bureaucrats. We do not have to remember their names --- or their
>atrocities --- that's my advice to Ankur who asked a related question. We
>should go forward to the future, with love, understanding, mutual respect,
>honour, and build a wonderful country.
>
>
>
>With love to everybody,
>
>Himendra
>
>
>
>PS: By the way, what happened to me in Mokokchung in the aftermath of the
>controversial marriage? Well, people are very forgiving by nature, you
>know! The sisters of the bride helped me to cool down the
>father-of-the-bride with whom I had a discussion in my home. Pointing to a
>picture of Jesus in my living room, I told him about forgiveness for his
>daughter and son-in-law, without telling him that I was the prime candidate
>for his forgiveness! Everything ended well. The bride and the groom lived
>happily ever after! I am now trying to find out their telephone numbers so
>that I may ask their permission to divulge their names!!
>
>
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