His warmth drew in everyone who met him. His gentle smile made nervous first time visitors forget they were in the presence of a great man. 'Uncle Ben' as he was affectionately known amongst Nagas and Northeasterners was devoted to his lord and to his family. Well into the last days of his life, he took care of his wife who died a little more than two weeks before him. Then with his spirit longing for his native Nagaland, he undertook a strenous journey home. I imagine prayers and wings of prayers lifting and carrying him to his beloved Nagaland where he breathed his last.
'Impur Chanu' is the first of Uncle Ben's autobiographical books. It means child of Impur and was translated into English by Dr Chubatola as 'The early years.' Impur has lost one of its most famous sons. He was Impur Chanu, the child of Impur, but Uncle Ben also belongs to the wider circle of the Nagas and even beyond Naga borders.
It is difficult to write a eulogy on Uncle Ben. There is so much that he had achieved in his life that it would require a whole book to record them. I shall leave that to others to chronicle. The man behind the achievements was unassuming and modest. Though he had traveled widely and seen much of the world, he clung to the uncomplicated wisdom that his godly parents had taught him in childhood.
The loss I feel at his passing is an all encompassing loss. Naga society is poorer today. We have lost a man whose life moved his peers at national and international levels to respect Naga wisdom and integrity. He spread a quiet gospel called peace. Always inspiring by example, he learned to use the computer at the age of seventy-five, whereupon he began to write many books including his autobiographical books. It was an especial joy to receive his emails regularly, constantly peppered with kind words and lightened with humour because Uncle Ben had his share of that rich blessing of his Ao heritage, a merry heart. Uncle Ben's love for his fellow creatures welled up in him effortlessly. His house was always open to visitors and they departed with a sense of having been tangibly blest.
A very fine spirit has departed from Naga shores on the 14th of June. With his going we see even more clearly an era passing away. These men of grace showed us a forgiving way to live: a mantle that a nation can inherit if it chooses to. Uncle Ben deserves due honour from the Nagas. One small way to do that would be to introduce chapters from his book into the school syllabus. Let young Nagas learn the joy that is to be found in a life simply lived. Let them learn to value the values that their forefathers did so well by.
He breathes the air of another clime now; his master welcoming him with the words we know so well but are so fitting to Uncle Ben's life: Welcome home, thou good and faithful servant.
- Easterine
