Insurgent faith

9

March 28, 2006 My friend called today. Today came after an infinite wait, for me and for him. After all he has gone through in the Intensive Care Unit of an Imphal nursing home, it was the vintage Ratan Luwang who spoke to me. Jokes, ground situation in Manipur with profanities thrown in between. And a few Bengali slangs I taught him. Ratan sounded back in form. Though I know he will physically remain unfit for a long time to come. He cannot strut around in his motorbike anymore, to collect news and take pictures with his hi-tech digital camera. But the Ratan I know would not die so easily. Not even after the bureau chief of Poknapham, Manipur's largest circulated vernacular daily, was shot. He would have died, 3 bullets were pumped into him (using a journo's jargon). Early in the morning, in February, while....