NOW A HUMAN ZOO.............................

BANGKOK: Thai provincial officials have allowed a new "human zoo" featuring "long-necked" or "giraffe" women to open in Sattahip near Bangkok despite mounting international criticism of the exploitative tourism practice, media reports said on Monday. The residents are part of an ethnic group whose women wear brass rings around their necks as status symbols and for beauty enhancements. They are called the Padung or long-necked Karen in Thailand, but they consider those terms denigrating and call themselves Kayan. Seven Kayan villages are already marketed as tourist attractions in Thailand's northern provinces of Mae Hong Son and Chiang Mai, where there is a sizeable population of Kayan, some of whom are refugees from neighbouring Myanmar. But for the first time, a new "village" of Kayans was recently opened in Sattahip in Chonburi province, 100 km south-east of Bangkok and a few kilometres from Pattaya beach resort, the Daily XPress newspaper said. It charges an entrance fee of 25 baht for Thai visitors and 250 baht for foreigners, the newspaper said. Sattahip district chief Narong Thirachantarangkoon brushed off accusations that he had allowed the establishment of a "human zoo" in his district. "I don't think so because the Karen are willingly living here," he said. "This is better than staying in their home region and starving." The rings worn by the Kayan women can weigh 10 kg or more, and over the years, the weight pushes down their collar bones and shoulders, making their necks appear longer and giving the women their nicknames of "long-necked" women. The women, who had originally come to Thailand as refugees, were reportedly lured to a border camp where Thai businessmen created a village to serve as a tourist attraction, or "human zoo". courtesy:the Times Of India
It is indeed very shameful that the Thai govt. has resorted to such gimmicks..It is very harmful to the self respect to these beautiful people..Imagine people paying to see you and peeking at you like you were a curio.Little wonder then , that the tribals all over the world are letting go of their customs and traditions and adopting the pseudo- culture of the so called ' civilised society'.

CHANGES .....ARE UNWELCOME SOMETIMES

Time heals, time also changes, not just people but places too.Change is inevitable but unwelcome sometimes too.Time and change have affected not just tribal Bastar but large cities like Bangalore too...and for the worse.In the process of these events it is always the local people who are affected, be it Bastar or Bangalore.
A recent visit to Bangalore brought back old memories of a friendly city.A city which is known for its hospitality towards outsiders.Ironically, probably this is what has led to the ruin of its original culture....The masala dosa and the idli vada joints have given way to numerous north indian' chat' and the 'paratha points'.Buttermilk and coconut sellers now have resorted to selling 'baraf golas' and 'nimbu paani'.Except for a few old well known eateries like goos old MTR and others have been able to withstand the change!Others have resorted to catering to the 'uttar bharatiya 'palate.
Talk to an auto driver or a shop keeper in Kannada and almost always you will hear a reply in Hindi, it took me a while to reconcile to the fact that Bangalore is being or has been tken over by the 'north indian 'wave.Who is to blame???The outsiders who are ruling the economy and therefor the city or the locals who have failed to uphold their traditions and language and have given in to the wave and foolishly consider it superior.
They come ,they stay and probably conquer the culture too.Above all they consider the locals inferior.....Its sad that the city has offered them so much and all they do is call anybody living below the Vindhyas a 'Madrasi"!

MORE GOOF UPS ON THE GOVT. WEB SITE

Just check out the following link
http://www.tourismofchhattisgarh.com/bastar-tribes-of-chhattisgarh/bisonhorn-maria.html
It says that marriages between blood relatives and even brothers and sisters are common.
The person who has compiled this has evidently no knowledge whatsoever of the Gond culture.The Koyatoor are divided into 750 gotras or families and marriages within the Gotras are strictly forbidden so where does the question of marriage between blood relatives arise?

What does one achieve by projecting such falsehood to the outside world? Providing untrue info about probably one of the worlds oldest cultures, on a govt. maintained website only speaks volumes about the callous attitude of the people in power towards its people..

WATCH YOUR WORDS..

Yesterday i.e. the 15th of April 2008, a leading Hindi daily of Chattisgarh, छत्तीसगढ़" carried a news item whose headlines read' थोक में आधा दर्जन' and no the writer was not referring to some

vegetable or fruits but to six children

born to a lady,Sunila Devi in Bihar.


What is shameful is ,this was the same

newspaper that lunged at Mr.Ajay Chandrakar when he made the offending

statement regarding children not being produced by the Govt. How different is this

headline from Mr.Chandarakar's comment?


It is said that childbirth is a second life for a woman.In the writers enthusiasm to

popularise the news item of a lady giving birth to six girls at one time, the very

essence of motherhood has been mocked at by publishing such an offending

headline.What does the writer mean by saying that the lady has given birth

'थोक में'? Is this the phrase to be used while referring to babies, who are yet to

understand the ways of this wicked world?

Now ,whom do we demand an apology from?Why is it so difficult to value

another humans sentiment? At the cost of selling hot stories, the humane side of

the media seems to be lost.

OFFICIAL ERRORS...GET FACTS RIGHT

Read through this to know what incorrect things people have to say about the

life and people of Bastar....


'The Gonds tribals of Bastar have their own 'Ghotul' system in which the un


married young mature boys and girls live together in seperately made huts and


copulate.During this time they enjoy themselves by participating in dancing ,

music , local story telling etc in a drunken mood. Inspite of these they gets


knowledge of different social activities.The members can get out of the ghotuls


to marry.This Ghotul system is mostly found among the Muria Gonds tribes and

the origin of this system is related with their goddess 'Lingopan'. '

This is an excerpt from the 'official' website of Bastar www.bastar.nic.in. It gives

a totally false picture of the centuries old social institution of 'Ghotul". Why do

people fail to realise that the Ghotul was a social institution where the young

learnt about their cultures and traditions and not just a system that allowed

free 'sexual relations' as the author of the website claims...

'Youngsters interacting in a drunken mood'....does it mean that drinking was a


prerequisite to interact in the Ghotul??? Another blaring mistake is the mention

of Lingopen as a Godess....Lingopen is a GOD of dance and music and the

presiding diety of the Ghotul.

Further the website also mentions that the Madias drink like animals from the

water.....Is this the picture being given to outsiders to promote tourism??

Time to wake up and do the cleaning act..Of wrong thoughts and of course the

website.

I think members of the community should demand an apology..for publishing

demeaning remarks and incorrect information ,thus hurting the sentiments of

the community involved

Loss of opportunity: Chenchu children whiling away their time instead of going to a school meant for them near Nagarjunasagar in Guntur district.
ETHIPOTHALA (Guntur dt.) :
Even while schools in other places face perennial scarcity of funds and poor infrastructure with classrooms filled to the brim, it is the other way round in the land of the primitive tribal group Chenchus.
To say there are more well-constructed ashram schools with staff quarters than the number of Chenchu children going into them is an understatement if takes their headcount in classrooms.
The upper primary residential school managed by the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) Srisailam, for the Chenchus here, is a typical example. The sanctioned strength of the school is 400 and the fund flow and staffing pattern is in tune with it. But the attendance on Tuesday was 180 and the number of Chenchus stood at a mere 39 spread across classes I to VII. No class had more than five Chenchus. Others who made up for "lack of strength" included advanced tribals like Lambadas and a few Dalits.
Same is the case in B.K.V. Palem residential primary school near Nagarjuna Sagar dam. Of the 44, only 20 attended on Tuesday and the Chenchus accounted for only four. The scene repeated in the schools at neighbouring Murikimalla, BMC Colony, Peddmanthanala in Prakasam district.
Like most other benefits that do not reach them, it is clear that the schools meant for a primitive tribal group fighting disease and deprivation are used and abused by others. No effort is made to counsel and motivate Chenchu parents. Headmasters and teachers in charge of this task play the blame game. "We persuade but they do not come," was the refrain of the teachers.
A sinister design looks apparent. Cement concrete residential school buildings are constructed without any homework, as every new project brings a lot of money that could be shared in terms of percentages. Once built, more funds come their way for the upkeep of buildings, food, uniforms and books for Chenchu children. So, wonderful buildings abound but there are not many Chenchus. The trick is simple ? blame the Chenchus' so-called disinclination to study, admit others in their place and fudge the attendance registers.
"Much like the Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) method used for big infrastructure projects, a system is in operation here. Buildings come up where there are no Chenchus. Where there are Chenchus there are no schools. And where there are schools there are no teachers. There is a mismatch and it serves the purpose of officials out to make money in the name of Chenchus. A thorough re-assessment is required," says Sambasiva Rao of Banjara Development Society, a NGO working among Chenchus.

Source:K.Venkateshwarulu, the Hindu

HERE TOO.............

A recent visit to Bastar and the shrine of Maa Danteshwari made me realise that faith knows no boundaries and so do money making schemes....
After paying obeisance at the shrine, a walk to the Bhairao Baba temple about half kilometre made me see reality.Just before the bridge is a small room, now converted into a 'mandir'.

So, what is different?

A young girl sings hymns of hare krishna ,walking in a trance like state around a tulsi brindavan.The moment she spots an audience she ushers them inside saying 'an akhand jyoti and paath ' programme is on.

What makes the whole thing appear fake is...the pujari in question was earlier a bus conductor and he even ran a dhaba later. A very popular figure....for the wrong reasons..

Two years ago he had only a shed here at the mandir premises. He now has acquired cows and lots of innocent audience.How is it that such a wrong person has turned into a pujari? Or should we give him the benefit of doubt and assume that he has had a spiritual awakening?

Is this a way to slowly gain control of the land there, or to earn money?????Or to impose the Hidutva factor in an otherwise tribal dominated area.I only hope the ancient traditions of the temple are preserved and not gradually influenced and changed under the spell of this con man.

Then I witnessed something that made me optimistic...there were around eight goats tied to trees just opposite the make shift temple ,all being readied for sacrifice by villagers........

So, tradition prevailed......but for how long?

At a shrine where even the royals accepted the traditions of the Koyas.....
how did this
man in question acquire land there? And how is he imposing a clearly alien tradition and'pratha' there?

Are the people of the Adivasi samaj in slumber?Where are the netas who so proudly call themselves tribals?...
Looks like Salwa Judum is keeping them occupied.....