May the tribe increase
- a 10th Anniversary collection -
By: Burning Voices *
The general conception of having a watchdog in our society, irrespective of how well we follow the approved norms of a governmental set up through electoral process or the very contradiction against any mandate, countering the presumably known facets of righteousness and perseverance, has long been declared dead. Our society has, indeed, inherited a trait so biased an understanding, as our moral has been cast on what we have done, so far! There are callous agendas on the killings and at the same time, we have these so called attributions on our self-professed moral indignation towards livelihood. The newspapers read damned, with each headline reading a killing or two or many, in the name of what: A, B and C, for a cause; for the correction or whatever we care to call. Our daily lives are preoccupied with the strikes and bandhs. Instead of engaging ourselves in constructive works, we are busy devising escape routes. Meanwhile we live on with the mistaken notion of having another day to live.
Then, arrived e-pao.net showcasing the achievements while reporting the ails of a society that is evolving through the daily dose of killings and protests. Despite the flurry of new domains with their slogans, it continues to survive as a sole medium giving us a space to think aloud through our words and actions, promoting peace and bridging the gaps left aghast after numerous occupations, both external and internal. This year, e-pao.net is celebrating the tenth year of service to our society not merely as an independent media of a group of like-minded people but providing that much needed platform to so many individuals and groups. What’s happening in Manipur and its neighbouring states may not interest the numerous media houses of this free to live, free to kill democratic country. What they care is the gloss that sells. Our stories of struggle for right to live and identity do not sell. May be we are too small for their appetite!
As a matter of fact, majority of Indians do not know why a lady called Sharmila is on fast for the last ten years. Call it a sheer coincidence, the e-pao.net is also completing tenth year of its existence. It might not have the best of the times, keeping the spirits of Manipuris alive but it has, in a way, able to demonstrate our collective angst and restlessness for a better society to the world. It was with this intention of venting out our restlessness, that we went on our own solitary journey of writing with a slim chance of meeting anyone with similar pursuits.
We were already aware of each other's writings poems posted in epao.net. Sporadic thoughts of staying connected did happen with the hope of building up on the theme of the angst of youth of our times, perhaps a running commentary or perhaps just a forum/group to vent out creatively. It was the tragedy of February 2009 and the aftermath events, where we worked together connecting the series of events in Delhi and elsewhere and building the momentum through epao.net in India and elsewhere. In a kind of irony, we could dare call, the gathering a success. it was however the theme of songs, poetries and plays of protest that lingered on in our minds. We decided to gather more frequently to pursue initially our love for poetry that got us together, in the first place. The group has expanded with more and more members coming in; bringing in a diverse and colourful range of pursuits ranging from poetry, songs, sketches, paintings, essays, plays. Thus sometime in April 2009 Burning Voices was formed in New Delhi. With a little immodesty... may our tribe increase!!!
Now we have our own site www.burningvoices.com.
Burning Voices wishes e-pao.net a great future to continue its existence as the platforms for many creative ventures and our indigenous roots and tradition that we often leave behind in daily turmoils.
* Burning Voices is a confluence of various poets/lyricists who often write in english. You can find many inspired poems often painting vivid picture of situations in Manipur at their site. Individually they also contribute to the poem section of e-pao, many of them commanding a poet's corner here at e-pao too.
* Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a complete Guideline on using comments on this website.