Editorial: All’s Not Well

There is nothing new in what follows, so if you are tired of comments on suicides in Sikkim, stop reading further and switch to some other story. However, if the continuing spate of suicides worries, stay with us.

A 15-year-old committing suicide should be an aberration. It should never happen, and if it does, it should be a rarity. Unfortunately, it is not so anymore for Sikkim. Too many teenagers are succumbing to suicide, a problem which grips all age groups and social strata and location in the State. Suicides are a worry, and even more so in the case of lives so young. The phenomenon is now so ingrained that it is not rare anymore to learn of more than one suicide in the same family. In the suicide of a teenager reported in today’s edition, it is disturbing to learn that the victim’s mother had also been lost to suicide some years back. It is obvious that depression is a common ailment among suicide victims, but what cannot escape notice is the fact that one does not even associate such problems as depression and stress with the teen years [at least not of an intensity that would lead to suicide]. Yet, a disturbing number of Sikkim’s young have taken their own lives. There might be even more who have survived a suicide attempt. While one can theorise endlessly on why the present day youth is so troubled, it is urgent to start caring for them. It is understood that the splitting of the joint-family system into its nuclear slivers has taken away the support system that acted as a salve for the fragility of younger years. This is not to state that the nuclear families don’t care for the child enough, but they could inadvertently lack the tenderness which a child needs. Urban pressures, peer pressures, hormonal pressures, academic pressure – these are only some of the tensions which one goes through growing up. Until newspapers started reporting incidents of suicides and the police started document such unnatural deaths more diligently, Sikkim lived in an idyll believing that this could not happen in the relaxed environs of the hill state. That idyll now stands shattered and it is for this reason that experts should start sensitising teachers and community groups on recognising and handling such psychiatric symptoms as stress, depression and trauma in school-going children. Since no concerted effort has yet been launched to address suicides, an initiative should now begin with cushions for the young.

While psychiatry might be an iffy science for most, it has been proven that if symptoms are recognised in time there is a cure for every psychiatric ailment. This comment does not even try to raise a red herring that every Sikkimese child is getting suicidal. All that is being attempted is to recognise the fact that the younger generation is growing in conditions much different from earlier times. They need special care and understanding. A new academic session will begin soon, and it would be advisable for the Health and Human Resource Development Departments to collaborate and put together a refresher course focussed on depression and suicides among the young for teachers. On our part, as teachers, parents and elders, we have to change our approach towards addressing juvenile issues. Why do people, especially such young people, commit suicide? Several thousand articles and books have been written about the cause and prevention of suicide, but the problem is not so simplistic as to lend itself to cut-and-paste solutions. Sikkim will have to engage more closely to identify the triggers, address them and save more lives, save younger lives. It also becomes everyone’s duty to recognise suicidal tendencies and address the issue and if need be seek professional help. Given the present times, changing the situations [triggering suicidal thoughts] is not always possible, but if we know the problem, then we can at least work on a solution. Sikkim, of course, will have to start feeling before it starts resolving…

via NorthEast Calling - NorthEast India | India's No1 online News Magazine http://www.necalling.com/editorial-alls-not-well/

Decades on, still a place to relax

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The Cavern Resort and Spa is set in in a secluded valley high in the foothills of the northern Drakensberg.

Durban – Most of us dream of taking a relaxing holiday in a beautiful place where we can unwind with a good book, or take a bit of exercise, or share time with our loved ones.

Family holidays are among the most treasured memories held by many.

The reality, however, is that all too often they can be incredibly difficult to plan and stressful – and you arrive home exhausted and in need of a break.

The Cavern Resort and Spa, in a secluded valley high in the foothills of the northern Drakensberg, has been providing holidays to remember for decades. I have wonderful boyhood memories of the place and while a lot has changed over the decades, the essential things have remained constant.

Location is one key factor. The Cavern is on 3 000ha of private reserve adjacent to the Royal Natal National Park Amphitheatre beneath sandstone cliffs with views stretching hundreds of kilometres.

Ruth and Bill Carte were employed as managers in 1941. Then they bought the farm and the family has been running it ever since.

The superior rooms have magnificent views of the mountains.

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As a youngster I was taken with the relaxed, convivial atmosphere and even then had the impression that nothing was too much trouble.

Now I appreciate how superbly efficient their operation is, especially seeing that the Cavern offers a seemingly endless list of activities for the whole family to enjoy, a spa for parents to unwind in and a play room which will entertain children for hours, especially during summer afternoon thunderstorms.

The resort is a lovely place to simply relax. If the idyllic setting and tranquillity are not enough, the Forest Retreat Spa on the edge of a lovely fern forest will surely take any edge off.

There is tennis, lawn bowls, fly-fishing and kids of all ages can canoe on the dam. There are pony rides or horse trails and a vulture colony to visit.

The Cavern has an extensive annual list of activities ranging from sporting events, nature, art and photographic courses through to stargazing weekends, Christmas in July and more.

There are daily guided hikes to some of the most beautiful places in the Drakensberg, including Bushman paintings, the infamous Cannibal Cavern from which the resort got its name, Echo Cave and Sungubala. The Cavern will even take you to Tugela Gorge and the top of the Amphitheatre. There’s also mountain biking and nearby bungee jumping, canopy tours and quad biking.

The Cavern is not only relaxing for adults it’s a great place for children to make new friends and participate in numerous activities

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The Cavern offers two types of thatched accommodation. The en suite standard accommodation is set in gardens with a vibrant mix of indigenous plants, filled with the sounds of birdlife. Superior rooms and suites have magnificent views of the surrounding mountains with the sounds of waterfalls and streams through indigenous forests.

And then there’s the hearty grub, with children below seven years old well looked after in their own dining room. Full board and fresh air seem to pique the appetite and parmesan and almond crusted kingklip with a lemon cream sauce, double chocolate mousse tower were just two menu choices that helped increase my waistline.

* Rates with full board are from just R880 a night a person sharing.

* Call 036 438 6270, or visit www.cavern.co.za.

via NorthEast Calling - NorthEast India | India's No1 online News Magazine http://www.necalling.com/decades-on-still-a-place-to-relax/

MHCBA Manipur High Court Bar Association

Source:

Imphal, January 31 2013: A total of 159 practising Advocates have floated the Manipur High Court Bar Association with six office bearers and two executive members.

Rarry Mangsatabam, Meihoubam Rakesh and Koijam Modhusudon Singh have been the president, vice-president and secretary respectively of the MHCBA while Kh Tarunkumar and Serto T Kom were the joint secretaries, according to a statement.

Laimayum Sevananda Sharma has been the treasurer while Amarjit Naorem and S Rajeetchandra were the executive members.

via NorthEast Calling - NorthEast India | India's No1 online News Magazine http://www.necalling.com/mhcba-manipur-high-court-bar-association/

The beguiling charm of Oman

sixsenses.com/SixSensesZighyBay

The Six Senses Zighy Bay resort on Omans Musandam peninsula (website screenshot).

We’re heading by taxi at midnight from the bright lights of Dubai airport to our seaside hotel in Oman.

Suddenly, the driver turns off the main road and starts up a dusty mountain track.

The car slows at the entrance to a compound. A white-robed guard speaks softly to the driver before waving usthrough.

‘Please check your seat belts are fastened,’ says the driver. The reason is immediately apparent. The unmade track veers upwards at an alarming angle. The 4×4 transmission screams as he throws the vehicle around zig-zag bends.

Suddenly, we are at the top of the pass and bouncing down the far side. The Moon has risen and we can make out the mile-long shoreline of private beach below and the muted lights of our destination, the Six Senses Zighy Bay resort on Oman’s Musandam peninsula.

What an introduction. And in daylight you can arrive by taxi paraglider, landing on the beach just in front of the hotel.

This isolated and tranquil corner of Oman seems a million miles away from its neighbour, Dubai. The resort is laid out in a series of villas along the lines of an Omani village with narrow lanes.

To reach the spa or one of the restaurants, simply hop on a bike or golf buggy.

The 82 villas vary in size from one to four bedrooms, and each has its own infinity pool and traditional Arab summerhouse.

Musandam is a wild and wonderful strip of land that stretches into the Strait of Hormuz opposite Iran with the Gulf of Oman on one side and the Persian Gulf on the other. The mountains rise 6,500 ft, sweeping dramatically down to the sea with a series of fjords that have earned the peninsula the nickname of the Norway of the Middle East.

However, topography and security makes travel tricky. The fjords are a four-hour boat ride from Zighy Bay. There is a winding single track mountain road and, apart from a few fishing villages and the local capital of Khasab, much of the peninsula is devoid of people. The hotel has its own marina and the area is popular with divers. We settled for a 45-minute trip up the coast to picnic and snorkel in the clear turquoise water in a remote bay beneath limestone cliffs.

Absolute Adventure (adventure.ae) provides outdoor activities from trekking and climbing to mountain biking and kayaking.

In a three-hour, 4×4 safari high up in the mountains, we encounter just one other vehicle. Our guide is from Nepal and the terrain attracts climbers from all over the world.

We explore a half-abandoned village of 15 houses tucked away in a cleft in the rocks.

In a country that forms part of the Empty Quarter – one of the least populated places on earth – the Musandam is the hors d’oeuvre.

Back at the resort, the Omanis have a relaxed attitude towards alcohol consumption on private premises and the emphasis on local cuisine is well rewarded.

Our breakfast favourite is manakish, a delicious cheese and honey pancake, while in the evening we dine on succulent lamb cooked in a traditional underground oven.

Zighy Bay has a de-salination plant and has created an oasis with hundreds of palms, fig trees and pomegranate as well as growing its own vegetables.

One of the three main restaurants is at the top of the pass. A 4×4 takes you up to Sense Of The Edge, which specialises in fusion cuisine.

The approach is lit by flaming torches and dining outside on the triple-tiered terrace with moonlit views of the bay far below is about as romantic as it gets.

Six Senses Zighy Bay opened in 2008 and has wasted no time in becoming an alternative to the Caribbean in offering succour from British winters. – Daily Mail

TRAVEL FACTS

ITC Classics (itcclassics.co.uk) has prices from £1,725pp based on two adults sharing a pool villa for five nights including breakfast, three-day Sense Oman Wellness package, return economy class flights with Emirates from London Gatwick and transfers. Valid for travel completed by October 31, 2013.

via NorthEast Calling - NorthEast India | India's No1 online News Magazine http://www.necalling.com/the-beguiling-charm-of-oman/

Swu, Muivah censure cadres’ conduct

Source: / Newmai News Network

Dimapur, January 31 2013: NSCN-IM leaders Isak Chisi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah today expressed sadness over the way the outfit’s cadres are behaving.

“God will never be happy with NSCN if its members keep on doing their own pleasure of works without doing the will of God,” said NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah while the outfit’s chairman Isak Chsi Swu said, “If we do not do the will of God, we will be doomed, and the NSCN will be responsible for it.

Because this is the era of NSCN.

NSCN’s name sells both at home and abroad.

We cannot afford to fail this time.

We don’t have to blame heaven and earth if we fail.

History says the Romans themselves brought about the downfall of the Roman Empire.

NSCN will also be pulled down by the NSCN themselves.

NSCN will fall when the spirit of ‘NSCN-ism’ runs out in its members; it will fall when it is not political; it will fall when the policy of its leadership is not people-based; it will fall when its approach to the world is not objective; it will fall when its members are rebellious; it will fall when there is moral degeneration in the set-up.

Above all, it will fall when its members flee from the Lord” .

The two NSCN leaders

Swu and Muivah were delivering speeches at the ’34th NSCN Day’ celebration at Hebron, off Dimapur today.

NSCN was formed on this day in 1980 after spitting from Naga National Council (NNC) .

During the course of his speech today, Thuingaleng Muivah became exortation while reminding the cadres that God will never be happy with NSCN-IM if its members keep on doing their own pleasure of works without doing the will of God.

“He made a direct reference to the present situation where it demands the members to take the right decision in order to save the Naga nation,” said the press comunique issued by the NSCN-IM this evening.

“The world has not stopped, it keeps changing.

But when the people fail to understand the process of change they will be lost because they fail to take the right decision.

NSCN should not fail,” Muivah pointedly asked the members to realise where they stand.

The NSCN-IM general secretary then fervently appeals to all the members to take the right decision before God�to forgive their waywardness and mistakes and take steps to save the ‘Naga nation’.

“We have to change by taking the right decision to ask God for forgiveness, and there is no other way to save the nation”, Muivah stated.

Meanwhile, NSCN-IM chairman Isak Chisi Swu recalled the sequences that led to the formation of the NSCN.

He said after the failure of NNC, the NSCN was formed in the national workers’ meeting at Nokpa, where the historic decision to uphold the national principle of divine right to self determination was taken.

It was finally, approved by the ‘national assembly’ held at Tonu on this day, the 31st January 1980 .

According to Swu, the NSCN put up an undaunted resistance against the aggression of the colossal forces of the enemies who adopted ruthless means to crush the Nagas.

“Guided by their avowed neo-colonial policy, they used one Naga to fight another Naga.

Instigated one group to fight another group and incited communalism between the Nagas and others with a view to keeping the Nagas divided and suppressed perpetually.

But that could not dampen the spirit of the Nagas.

In fact, the Naga people under the banner of NSCN stood the ground in the face of those horrible situations,” Isal Swu stated.

But sadly, some of us have run away and joined forces with the enemies to fight against their own people.

The preacher says, ‘They killed God, the Son in the name of God” .

Likewise, those traitors killed their people in the name of people and pulled back the wheels of history in the name of revolution.

They are still working unceasingly to abort negotiations in the sweet name of unity.

These are bitter realities, the NSCN-IM chairman further stated.

“At long last, the Indian leaders of both military and politics admitted that military solution is not possible.

A political problem calls for a political solution.

The official recognition of the unique history of the Nagas by the government of India is a bold step toward solution, which should be appreciated.

The government of India should also appreciate the steps taken by the Nagas.

In course of the political negotiations, both the parties have taken positive step,” Swu said.

via NorthEast Calling - NorthEast India | India's No1 online News Magazine http://www.necalling.com/swu-muivah-censure-cadres-conduct/

This is your pilot snoring

Reuters

A Transavia.com passenger jet prepares to take off at Orly Airport near Paris.

London – A pilot fell asleep while in sole charge of a passenger plane thousands of feet up in the air.

The first officer was left in charge after two and a half hours of a Dutch Boeing 737 flight to Crete when the captain went to the toilet.

When he tried to get back in from the flight deck using the intercom, he got no reply.

When he finally managed to get back into the cockpit, he was shocked to discover his colleague was asleep.

A probe has been launched by budget Dutch airline Transavia into what happened.

Although in the incident happened in September, it was only made public on Thursday by the Dutch safety board (OVV) in a report published on its website.

‘After two and a half hours in the air the captain of the Dutch-registered plane left the cockpit to go to the toilet,’ the OVV said.

‘A little later he wanted to return to the cockpit. When he used the intercom to call the first officer to open the door he got no reaction.

‘When he managed to get into the cockpit, he found the first officer asleep.’

In September pilots’ groups raised concerns that new flying hours imposed by the EU could lead to precisely this problem.

Under the new rules, pilots could be landing commercial jets after 22 hours awake – including 11 hours flying, plus stand-by time and travel to the airport.

MPs had warned in their original report that 22 hours of wakefulness was ‘an extraordinary figure’ – particularly for night flying – that raised levels of fatigue equivalent to being ‘drunk.’

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin was accused of ‘rolling over to Brussels’ after his department approved the rules despite the concerns raised in a report by the respected Commons’ Transport Select committee.

UK pilots can currently go up to 18 hours without sleep – but more than four out of ten pilots already report nodding off in-flight, of whom a third awoke to find their co-pilot also asleep.

The new rules are expected to be adopted into EU law after mid-2013 and fully implemented by the end of 2015. – Daily Maiil

via NorthEast Calling - NorthEast India | India's No1 online News Magazine http://www.necalling.com/this-is-your-pilot-snoring/

RIMS workshop

Source:

Imphal, January 31 2013: A three-day workshop on methodology and clinical epidemiology for North East region was inaugurated today at RIMS Jubilee Hall by RIMS Director Prof S Sekharjit.

Apart from guides and post graduate students of RIMS, six resource persons from AIIMS, Maulana Azad Medical College, Seva Gram Institute of Medical Sciences namely Pawan Sharma, Subodh Gupta, S Ramji, Suresh Ughade, Manoj Das and Nalin Mehta are participating in the workshop.

The main objective of the workshop is to familiarise the research methodology among the post graduate, MD/MS students, said a press release issued by the RIMS media advisor.

Due to the ongoing inspection by the Medical Council of India, representatives from Sikkim and Guwahati, however, could not make it to the workshop, it added.

via NorthEast Calling - NorthEast India | India's No1 online News Magazine http://www.necalling.com/rims-workshop/