For those who are not able to place Kokrajhar in the map - it is a medium sized town (population about 35000) in the North Eastern part of India. In fact Kokrajhar is the first major town when you enter into the North Eastern India through the Indian Railways.
The very name of Kokrajhar today evokes ethnic strife, insurgency, disturbance, bandhs etc. For past two decades the image of Kokrajhar has been transformed from obscurity to national headlines (and some times international) often for reasons which were not reflective of the qualities its denizens were known for. Though backward in terms of economic development and infrastructure - Kokrajhar was well known for communal harmony (where the majority inhabitants -the Bodos lived in complete harmony with other communities such as Rajbongshis, Bengalis, Kalitas, Deshi Muslims, Rabhas, Adivashis, Biharis, Bengalis), a temperate climate, low crime rate, abundance of flora and fauna, finest timbers, some finest picnic spots in the dooars (the foothills of Bhutan), football (my school Kokrajhar Government Higher Secondary had won the state championship for football multiple times and even the national championship - the Subrata Cup) and producing some finest soldiers who served the Indian Army since the colonial days (the NCC wing of Kokrajhar Government Higher Secondary had won the best team award in the annual NCC camp held at Narengi Army camp near Guwahati many times).
Government employees (mostly state government employees and teachers employed in the educational establishments of the town) - cherished their idyllic posting in Kokrajhar and many of them had purchased land and property to settle down in Kokrajhar town. In Kokrajhar you could find people from all over Assam, Bengal and Bihar who had settled down for the idyllic and peaceful environment it had to offer and started calling her their home.
Government apathy and some complex socio-economic dynamics have transformed the "abode of peace" into an area which has witnessed an undue share of political turmoil often coupled with "ethnic clashes, insurgency and human rights abuse".
The purpose of this "Kokrajhar Diaries" is not to get into a socio-economic-political discussion on what forces actually turned this "abode of peace" into what it is today - but to provide a glimpse of those "wonder years" which our generation had experienced growing up in Kokrajhar.
Those who were born in mid sixties and have spent their formative years in seventies and eighties in Kokrjhar, have witnessed the transformation of this nondescript idyllic town into a bustling town with brazen commercialization and corrupt nouveau rich flaunting their acquired riches - but at the same time pushing some of the intrinsic qualities of Kokrajhar into oblivion.
Flora and fauna of Kokrajhar area has depleted at an alarming rate. There are hardly any forests to support the trade of the finest quality of timber and wooden furniture Kokrajhar was well known for. Gone are the days when you would see parents allowing their children to explore the surroundings on their own to play and make friendship with other children solely based on their mental compatibility in complete disregard to their ethnic background. Gone are the days when murders and other major crimes were absolutely rare.
If I could relive my childhood -- it would only be in the idyllic town of Kokrajhar in the era we were fortunate to grow up.
In "Kokrajhar Diaries" I would attempt at creating fictions based on those "wonder years" of late sixties and seventies when it was a blessing to grow up in the once "abode of peace".
Please stay tuned for "Kokrajhar Diaries : The wonder years".
The very name of Kokrajhar today evokes ethnic strife, insurgency, disturbance, bandhs etc. For past two decades the image of Kokrajhar has been transformed from obscurity to national headlines (and some times international) often for reasons which were not reflective of the qualities its denizens were known for. Though backward in terms of economic development and infrastructure - Kokrajhar was well known for communal harmony (where the majority inhabitants -the Bodos lived in complete harmony with other communities such as Rajbongshis, Bengalis, Kalitas, Deshi Muslims, Rabhas, Adivashis, Biharis, Bengalis), a temperate climate, low crime rate, abundance of flora and fauna, finest timbers, some finest picnic spots in the dooars (the foothills of Bhutan), football (my school Kokrajhar Government Higher Secondary had won the state championship for football multiple times and even the national championship - the Subrata Cup) and producing some finest soldiers who served the Indian Army since the colonial days (the NCC wing of Kokrajhar Government Higher Secondary had won the best team award in the annual NCC camp held at Narengi Army camp near Guwahati many times).
Government employees (mostly state government employees and teachers employed in the educational establishments of the town) - cherished their idyllic posting in Kokrajhar and many of them had purchased land and property to settle down in Kokrajhar town. In Kokrajhar you could find people from all over Assam, Bengal and Bihar who had settled down for the idyllic and peaceful environment it had to offer and started calling her their home.
Government apathy and some complex socio-economic dynamics have transformed the "abode of peace" into an area which has witnessed an undue share of political turmoil often coupled with "ethnic clashes, insurgency and human rights abuse".
The purpose of this "Kokrajhar Diaries" is not to get into a socio-economic-political discussion on what forces actually turned this "abode of peace" into what it is today - but to provide a glimpse of those "wonder years" which our generation had experienced growing up in Kokrajhar.
Those who were born in mid sixties and have spent their formative years in seventies and eighties in Kokrjhar, have witnessed the transformation of this nondescript idyllic town into a bustling town with brazen commercialization and corrupt nouveau rich flaunting their acquired riches - but at the same time pushing some of the intrinsic qualities of Kokrajhar into oblivion.
Flora and fauna of Kokrajhar area has depleted at an alarming rate. There are hardly any forests to support the trade of the finest quality of timber and wooden furniture Kokrajhar was well known for. Gone are the days when you would see parents allowing their children to explore the surroundings on their own to play and make friendship with other children solely based on their mental compatibility in complete disregard to their ethnic background. Gone are the days when murders and other major crimes were absolutely rare.
If I could relive my childhood -- it would only be in the idyllic town of Kokrajhar in the era we were fortunate to grow up.
In "Kokrajhar Diaries" I would attempt at creating fictions based on those "wonder years" of late sixties and seventies when it was a blessing to grow up in the once "abode of peace".
Please stay tuned for "Kokrajhar Diaries : The wonder years".
