After successfully conducting sessions to combat violence against women with the youth from Pune, Kanpur, Purnea, Kolkatta, and Prayagraj, we reached the rural tribal belt of Assam, Boko on 6th September.
Shakti continues to be our guiding force, it was but natural for us to pay our obeisance to her in Kamakhya as soon as we landed in Guwahati. Being a Shakti (energy) devout, it was my long-standing desire to visit Kamakhya Devi which was fulfilled thanks to the sessions that are taking us across the remotest corners of the country.
Grateful for the opportunity to both JOSH TALKS and TVS Radar, for conducting these sessions. Vanshika (Interning with JOSH TALKS is a bright student of sociology and diligently manages all coordination for this project) and I are grasping the sights, sounds and cuisines of the beauty that our country holds across its length and breadth. The cherry on this particular trip was the view of the majestic Himalayan peak of Mount Everest on the flight!
Boko is a tribal belt in Assam, a couple of hours on road from Guwahati. The road winds through virgin forests, sparse native dwellings and paddy fields. The Brahmaputra flows in its full glory along these roads and our cab driver further entertained us with Assamese popular songs.
We were pleasantly greeted by a large banner announcing our session at the Jawaharlal Nehru college premises and were promptly escorted to the Dean, Mr Tapan Dutta’s office by the student coordinators. Here we also exchanged notes with the head of the Gender equity cell and the Vice Principal. While they shared the unique challenges of the state including witch hunting (!), I increasingly became aware of the different dialects and felt uncertain if the students would be able to grasp all that we had come to share. My apprehensions grew stronger as we were apprised that the majority of students were from the different tribes of the region including Rabha, Karbi, Garo, Hajhong, Bodo and Damaso just to name a few.
I was requested to go slow and speak predominantly in Hindi (am sure I breathed a sigh of relief at this point) as the students were well versed in Hindi, English and Assamese.
300 students from undergraduate and postgraduate courses attended with an equal number of attendees from both genders. The principal’s endeavour is to include other genders in the near future as well.
While the internet played truant so did the AV equipment but speaking from the heart didn’t require much beyond an honest intent to connect in spite of all stumbling blocks. The testimony to these sessions is the interaction of students. The faculty are often amazed at the honesty with which the students ask questions and share extremely personal anecdotes. So was the case that morning in Boko. We managed to create a safe space for students like Abantika to ask a question that had never been satisfactorily addressed by anyone in the past. Not even by her mother.
After a traditional Assamese thali in the canteen with the faculty, which comprised of the staple rice, Moong daal, and different vegetables (we had requested a vegetarian meal), it was time to head to the airport. Vanshika and I bid adieu to the college taking with us a host of gifts including the traditional Jappi, a headgear worn by farmers in the field, a stole woven by the Rabha tribe and Gamuchha with traditional motifs (similar to the one in Bihar). It was time for us to head home after another fulfilling session.
These sessions are a part of the marketing initiative of TVS Radar that JOSH TALKS is helping conduct through the help of their network with educational institutes across states that are the target segment for TVS.
If you would like to have us conduct this 90-minute session in your college or company just drop us a mail with the details of the institution and the prefered dates at suparnaa@simplysuparnaa.com.
Links for further study
To read about the Kanpur Chapter click here>>
To read about the Purnea, Bihar Chapter click here>>
To read about the Pune experience click here>>
To know more about the online session experience read here >>
PS: if you stand for what is right – team SABERA (Annual Awards and Summit by the Simply Suparnaa © Media Network) jury is looking for you Register here>>
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