Connecting across Brahmaputra

During a safety briefing on a flight from Bengaluru to Delhi, the announcer informed us that the cabin staff spoke English, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi and Nagamese. My fellow passenger said with a smirk, “Who speaks this snake language?”

I let it pass, for I have been following a wonderful piece of advice from Gurbani—“Moorkh naal na lujhiye” (“Don’t argue with fools”). I wish I had started doing it a decade ago, when I was needlessly afflicted with the justification syndrome.

The flight attendant who served us a welcome drink looked to be Angami, probably from Kohima. Overcoming my inhibition, I surprised her with my opening salvo in Nagamese, “Kini ka ase? Kohima jaebo?” (“How are you? Are you planning to go to Kohima?”). She was thrilled, and we had a short conversation. Though I told her that my Nagamese was limited to about 20-odd sentences, I felt connected across the Brahmaputra to good old Nagaland.

The holiday resort near Bengaluru where I stayed recently had several staff members from the North-East (NE). Be it hotels, shopping malls or restaurants, youth from that region are showcasing their soft skills.

The trip brought back memories of 2012, when rumours had spread through SMSes and doctored images, triggering panic and a mass exodus of the North-East workforce from Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.

I remembered discussing the developments with my old friend, former Manipur DGP Yumnam Joykumar Singh. His reaction surprised me: “Yes, it is very unfortunate, but thank God it happened.” A few days after the exodus, employers realised that they could not do without these people. So, frantic calls were made, wages revised and security assurances given.

As per Joykumar, who later became Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur, “It’s time people of the mainland shunned their patronising attitude. India needs the North-East as much as the region needs India.”

What my co-passenger called the “snake language” is actually a simple, sweet derivative of Assamese. As we were deboarding, I told the girl, “Hope you will get a break to be with your family and folks during the Hornbill Festival and later for the Christmas festivities.”

So, the next time you plan a holiday to an exotic place, consider Nagaland, which hosts the Hornbill cultural extravaganza from December 1 to 10 every year.

As for now, you can greet people from the North-East whenever you meet them in malls, resorts or on flights, and wish them family time during Yuletide. We need to connect better across the Brahmaputra.