SKATEPARK PROJECT

Well, I don’t think I’d need to shout out from the rooftop, or cry out about this again and again, that we, the youth of Manipur, are not given the life we richly deserve. With guns booming, and violence rocking in every street corner, and the guardians of the state looking the other way round comfortably, we are left in the lurch. Literally and figuratively speaking, we are forced to confine ourselves within the four walls. It makes me cringe and wince, whenever I ponder over life and its different stages of various hues – each stage earmarked for specific set of purposes. Well, everybody, say the elders, tell you that youth is the brightest stage in one’s life, a crucial juncture ripe with dreams, filled with vigor and overflowing with energy, and a never-say die spirit and attitude. Now, let’s pose ourselves this million dollar question - Are we getting our fair share of opportunities that we richly deserve? Are our youthful energy and dynamism channelized in the right direction? No commas here, we need to apply a FULL STOP to our reckless & aimless itinerant nomadic lives to answer them. Of course the answer is a big “NO.”We got no space to channelize our energy. We got no place to enjoy our lives. There is an utter lack of opportunities to expose and showcase our hidden and latent talents, lying dormant. Hey who knows we can turn out to be sleeping giants? It is always possible. It seems the youths of Manipur have no way to run. Having reached a dead-end, with blank walls staring back ghastly at them every lane and avenue they have set their nimble, adroit, agile and dexterous foot on, their youthful lives – acutely inquisitive and full of curiosity – start getting wayward, corrupted and very often off the mark - the lure and temptations of easy pleasure and fun pulling them all the way to their graves. Drugs are alluring, they easily entice the frustrated youths, entangling these lost souls in an intricate web of intoxication, substance abuse and addiction. Drugs gradually gnaw into their soul – their young lives blemished and tarnished beyond repair. Whose fault is it anyway? Are the youths to be blamed for everything? Oh yes, everyone - from the parents and teachers to the family and society – have this uncanny habit of blaming these poor lost souls. After all youths seem to be easy scapegoat for the moment, it’s easy blaming them for everything – drugs, violence, sex etcetera, etcetera. Well, déjà vu. Thanks but no thanks. But why us? Why are we at the reaching fag end of all the wrongs happening around us? Has anyone ever cared to approach these problems with an open mind to provide a fitting answer to the question of drugs and violence? We the youths merit and warrant a straightforward answer. The truth is stark and naked. We are not given enough opportunities to channelize our energies. With our parents often forcing us to studies – the only well trodden path to success and glory in life (according to their old ways of thinking).Well, no offence, and no puns intended, but not every one of us are scientist or doctor material. Some of us are made up of even more sterner stuff more attuned to their own field of interest and liking. Well dudes, let’s not make the same old mistake of giving lame excuses (I’d rather say damn excuses) of blaming everything for not getting the things we want. It’s high time we all give up the nasty habit of making EXCUSES N MORE EXCUSES, for tings not turning out the way we want it to be. We have to make a start somewhere; we’ve got to make and find our own way and channelize our full potential and energy towards the right direction. I, for one have found a source, where I devote all my potential and energy with great zeal with a dynamic bunch of chums - The Skatepark Project, with the formation of Association. So far, Skatepark has been a source of diversion of our energies. This sport works wonders man. For the record, our physical requirements and mental needs are aptly met till date. It’s been great going guys. So why don’t you give it a try for once? Keep reading.