Mumbai, Jan. 13: Namper Lemcha from Darjeeling is among the thousands who will participate in the Mumbai International Marathon here on Sunday.
The 35-year-old has not seen much of the city yet but Mumbai too — like most of the country — does not know enough about his community, one reason for him and 22 others to join the “identity run” for the Gorkhas.
The validation for the run was quick to come. As Lemcha who arrived here yesterday walked along Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus near the starting point of Sunday’s marathon, a passer-by asked him: “Which country (are you from)? Nepal?”
Not many are aware of the distinction between the Nepalese and the Gorkhas, who are Indian citizens. The run by the group of 23 with white Tees embossed with “We are Gorkhas and proud to be Indians” is meant to assert the nationality and identity of the community. They will participate in the 21-km half marathon as well as the 6km “dream run”.
“When we tell others that our mother tongue is Nepali, they assume we are from Nepal,” says Rosni Rai, the brain behind the run. Rosni, an amateur marathon runner who has made Mumbai her home since 2004, said she does want not to live with the mistaken identity of being considered Nepalese by her fellow citizens.
Rohit Pradhan, the secretary of the Bharatiya Gorkha Ekta Sangh, a group for Gorkhas registered in Mumbai explains: “Mumbai alone would have over 5,000 Gorkha families living in the city for over a decade. People confuse us, Gorkhas born and brought up in India, with people coming from Nepal. While we are part of the same community, we are citizens of different countries. We have no right to claim anything in Nepal and shouldn’t be shunned here in India as Nepalese.”
Pradhan said his group organised cultural programmes in the city and is lobbying for a Gorkha Bhavan in Navi Mumbai for community members to put up when they arrive here for medical help or to study. Pradhan says he also wants to organise events so that the community in the city does not forget its culture and language. “The younger generation does not want to speak the language as they are termed Nepalese by their peers. My son is smart enough to speak English, Hindi and Marathi which are not his native language but he does not converse in Nepali among outsiders for fear of being teased,” Pradhan said.
Once his organisation and cause get recognition, Pradhan also wants to approach film associations to request them to stop the “caricature” of the community as watchmen and other stereotypes.
“Just to make a bunch of people laugh, the entire community cannot be made fun of,” said Pradhan.
Twenty-two participants will run for charity under the group registered as Run for Rosni. “We donated Rs 5,000 per runner for the participation. Over Rs 1 lakh was given to me by my runner friends across the country. I hope there is more clarity on who we are after the run,” said Rosni, who has an individual registration.
The other members of the Gorkha community from Mumbai who will be supporting the runners from the sidelines also hope the stereotyping will stop. “My father is a former defence man who served the nation. It’s a pinching reality that people express shock when we tell them that we are Indians,” says Poonam Lama, who has been living in the city for over two decades.(Telegraph)
0 comments:
Post a Comment