Umpling, where we belong!

Umpling

I decided to google the word and to my surprise a whole lot of results popped up including maps and weather. What perhaps will never come out is the history, the emotions and the hardships that made Umpling.

We have grown up seeing the changes to the name itself…from Umpling to U Tirot Singh Nagar to Rynjah to RR colony.  RR colony means Refugee Rehabilitation colony and this name was supposed to be linked to our identity.

Founded in 1958(those reading please correct me if I am wrong) this was one of the shelter colonies of people who had left behind their land as the country was getting divided. One of the prominent personalities, Shri Deepak Das, was one of the key founding members who among some others were the pillars of having established a home for the refugees. Another eminent personality was Dr Sudhanshu Das who had come to Shillong from Sylhet in 1950 and played a major part in the establishment of the colony.

This land was totally uninhabited then, surrounded by forests, without roads and building a simple house was a mighty task. I have heard stories from my grandmother and aunts how they had to cut through hilly land to make it suitable for a house to be built. Lack of transport, scarcity of water, no markets near by was only some of the hardships that I can write about. The Umpling Welfare Society was then formed somewhere around 1960 which still thrives although the name of the society might have undergone several changes. This society took the task of getting the basic amenities to the people and it wasn’t before the hard work and struggle of several men of courage that ultimately gave the shape to what today the place is. Yes, it is one of the most beautiful colonies of Shillong thriving with life. No where the joy, the beauty and the ecstasy can be felt during Durga Puja, the way it is in Umpling today. I read a FB caption of someone recently saying ‘Amra kara Umpling Para’. It means ‘Who are we? Umpling Colony’, yes that’s the camaraderie I hope lives on. It brought me tears; the memories are too tightly woven to be forgotten.

Surviving meant not only catering to the basic necessities and building on it but also meant to protect the self and the colony, ensuring free land was not getting occupied by unsocial elements. Temples were built, which have stood to be our protectors for all times. Many a times houses build which were considered unauthorized have been brought down bringing to people untold hardships and every day tension and insecurity.

What we see today is the modernization of Rynjah - vehicles plying through roads where we as young people would play, gossip and hang around; shopping centres being built and vegetable market almost entering the colony crossroads. Many people have sold their land and property which their forefathers had struggled to build, moving with children to distant lands for education and jobs. Some like us still can go back but for how long we do not know! We have grown up hearing and living the tribal-non tribal clashes and being told the only way out is to leave and make a living elsewhere. But now again we want to run back from the hustle and bustle of our city life to those quiet corners but do what?

The struggle still continues; whether to get Umpling/Rynjah under the Khasi local laws which would take away the independence of the colony and unnecessary adherence to laws that do not mean anything.

We do not know what the future holds but only wish life to flourish in Umpling as it always does!