claire

a disclosure

2013 half year recap

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Hey guys. It’s been a long time since I wrote, well, here I am! I finally left Guwahati, finally got the results I needed in my experiments. Once upon a time, I was this sad little girl, who was not getting positive results in her research, watching her friends submitting their thesis and hunting for jobs. And she was left there, trying and trying, sometimes tired of trying. Her parents are getting old, they had just spent their 46th wedding anniversary, her mom- a breast cancer survivor, medications to take for the rest of her life; her dad- who hardly gets out of the house, sciatica had done him no good; her old uncle and aunt living next door, who can barely take care of themselves, medicines to be given every day; her little nieces and nephew, growing up so fast. She needed to be there, she needed to go home! But she was helpless; she had to finish what she started. 

During all those times, I had to stay strong, and not lose hope. All the hopeful sayings I had to try to believe in- “Every cloud has a silver lining,” “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel” andddd blah blah, the list goes on. 

Then one fine day, I got it! I really got it! I could not believe my eyes. All my friends in the lab were happy for me. When they’re happy for someone, first thing that comes out from their mouth is “TREAT” :D. I called up my supervisor and he was like “Good, pack up your bags and come home”. Whaaaaat? That was when I realized, that I wasn't ready to go home yet. I have friends, how can I say goodbye to them so soon, without a warning? What about my friends in the lab? I can’t pull their legs any more, or make fun of them, or allow them to make fun of me, or drink coffee with Adree and the rest of them, or have chicken tandoori, or stay up so late at night in the lab, or call them up when I found myself locking a very important key inside with a very important experiment going on. Or what about my prayer group from hostel? The girls I used to share my prayer points with every day, the girls who know my happiness and sorrows, who had been praying for me every night. I wonder if Oni and Dari are still leading the prayer group. I guess new people must have joined by now, I hope they still get to pray together every day. And those wonderful people from Saraighat Community Church, and Blessy, that sweet little baby, she must be a year old by now. I hope the singing, the praise and worship, the sermon is still alive as it was when I left. I miss my Mizo friends too, especially my six brothers from IIT, the ones with whom I get to eat Mizo dish with when I was craving for one, the ones who were always there to support me in a way a Mizo supports their fellow Mizos. Three of them had come home too, done with their research work. I hope to have a good laugh again with them soon.

Yes, I miss you my friends. Saying goodbye is always hard. When I wanted so much to go home, I realized God gave me beautiful people in my life, and good experiences and moments to cherish. And every minute with a different person, was a blessing. I’m happy to have met such amazing people. 

Now I’m home where I wanted to be. I get to spend time with my nieces and nephew, gawd they are so cute, the words that comes out of their mouth always amuses me. The eldest two have asked me to buy a lock diary for them. My reaction: “A lock diary even before becoming a teenager???!” The world has evolved too fast I know! And then there’s the one kindergarten and the two preschool kids, the sweetest of the sweetest. Finally, there’s the youngest, our miracle baby, the one whom God saved. I get to be with mom and dad, the two luckiest people in the world to have each other. No sickness, no quarrel, no disagreement could separate them. They laugh, they love. I will never get tired of the sight of them watching Korean serials and Hindi serials and tennis and news and a whole lot more of these, together, in harmony. I feel that I’ve been talking and chatting more with my five brothers compared to yesterdays. Maybe they've finally considered me as a grown up :). My two sis in laws have  recently lost both their moms. I hope they will find happiness again one day. Living without a mom, I can’t imagine! As they say, life goes on. I've been trying my best to take care of my old aunt, bathe her, cut her nails, comb her hair, brew tea for her, and prepare something to eat. Looking at both my grey haired uncle and aunt makes me sad, I wish I could do more for them. 


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I've joined my department again in the University, writing my thesis, catching up with old friends. I usually stay in the hostel on weekdays. Right now, the road to my University is like h**.  That’s why it’s safer to stay then risk 45 + 45 minutes of our life every day on the muddy journey. And oh, I recently got a new scooter – Yamaha Ray Z, dayum it’s a beauty. Sold the old one. I still have a soft corner for it, but I’m glad we sold it to a good owner. I always see it clean like brand new. All thanks to my fifth brother for the negotiation, to my second brother for the financial help, and to my first brother for giving me the idea that I needed a new one. I’ve been having meetings with my high school friends, and it’s fun, it’s always fun to catch up with old friends. We are planning for a big reunion this December and that too on my birthday. I hope everything works out fine. Someone’s finally coming home next week. Weeeeeeeeeeeee! I am so excited! But I don’t want to act so excited...hah! Can’t wait,CANTTTTTTT WAITTTT!!!! :D

God worked in my life in a way that I could not understand before. It’s so clear now. I understand that God planned my life; He had been planning all along. When I wanted to go home so much, He made me stay. He made me meet great people. Every place I had been to had a purpose, now I know. Every mistake I've made, every good and bad thing I have done, they all had a purpose. Now I know.

“In Christ alone will I glory”

Mizo-te hi

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Graffiti by ka thianpa, Cyef-a, Parker-a. :D
“Mizo-te hi, kan tum a hniam, kan phunchiar, kan mawl, kan incheina a sang si, kan inti Kris etc etc” Ngaihthlak a hahthlak i ti ve thin em? Thahnemngaih lutuk na lamah hian kan hnam chanchin, a chhe lai, sawi vak vak mai hi kan ching a, tunlai chu ka rilru a luah khat tlat, ka’n ziak ve chhin dawn teh ang. Facebook te kan uar ta a,  status update/comment a kan rilru kan han sawi tak tak mai hi chu, mi rilru hriat a awl phah ngei mai. Kan hnam chanchin emaw, mizo hmeichhia/mizo mipa, a chhe zawng a sawi status ka hmuh hi chuan ka thin hi a lo rim et thin a. Ka ngaihdan ka sawi ve mai mai chak. Ngaihdan hi a inang vek lo ania, hei chu keima ngaihdan liau liau. Sap tawng takin, IMHO (In my humble opinion), ti tawlh tawlh teh ang :D

1.   Status ah sap tawng hmang reng mai | Inti sap tawng thiam | Mizo tawnga ziah ve mai tur hi a nia | Mizo ve si.
IMHO: Sap tawng te chu Universal language alawm. Dik vak lo pawn hman bawrh bawrh tur. Mahni tawng, Mizo tawng thiamloh hi a zahthlak thung a. Zirna/hnathawhna lamah hnam dang thian te kan lo nei a, hnam dang hian Mizo te hi eng ang mi nge kan nih an hre chak fo thin. Kan intih Mizo lutuk na lamah hian kan rilru hi a zau loh phah fo thin em, te ka ti mai mai a. Kei phei chu, ka friendlist ah hian ringlo mi hi an tam khawp mai a, Pathian thu hrilhna hun ka tia, Baibul chang, gospel hla te hi sap tawngin ka dah lui ngat zel. Tin, game khel hrat phei chu hnam dang friendist a neih teuh a awl, ringlo mi an nih chuan Pathian thu an lo hriat ve na chance ani mai, remchanna lei zel tur anih kha. Insawisel hi a tha lo em mai, tiraw? :-) aw Mizo, don’t be rilru small, be rilru zau, okhay? :D Awi, ka lo ti leh tawlh tawlh ta, trawlh trawlh :P

2.   Kan mizo hmeichhia te hi, inchei in uar lutuk | Sap/Korean angin in pian in a zir leh si lo, ti ve vak vak lo mai teh u | Kan hnam in ti mualpho. 
IMHO: Mizo hmeichhia te chauh loh pawh, Northeast hmeichhia hrim hrim, mipa pawh an tel ang chu, incheina (fashion) ah kan sang. Kan mit a lerh a, thil nalh pawh kan hria. Sap/Korean ho zingah pawh pian in zir lo tak tak an tam, t.v leh internet a kan hmuh bak hi inhmeh lo tak tak a inchei an tam ve fu. Mipa te hian hmeichhia te hi min duat ula, min nek chep lo ula, a mawilo uchuak, kekawrte lang tep tep khawp a inha te kan nih chuan min hau bawrh bawrh thung ta ula hnam dang hriat lohin, kan thlalak te a mawi lo lai chu internet ah dah lang vak vak lo ula, hnam dang pasal a nei pawh kan tlem phah mah na. 

3. Mizo mipa ho lah hi, phunchiar si, tum hniam si, neih tlak tak tak awm bawk si lo.
IMHO: Mizo mipa hi neih tlak an tam. Kan mizo mipa te chu ka fak bang dawn lo. 2009 a ka ziah hi lo chhiar la, hei hi ka ngaihdan ani, a la ni reng! A dik ti lo lo chu.. ih, aaa, a dik i ti ang, i ti tur a ni. :D
Hetah hian click la : 10 things I like about Mizo guys

4. Mizo te hi aw, kan incheina te hi a va sang tak em, thawhchhuah phak bakin kan inchei a.
IMHO: Mizo te chauh kan ni lo, hnam dang pawh an ni tho. Sawi tawh angin, incheina uar kan awm. Amaherawhchu mihring kan inanglo, kan pawisa hman duhna pawh a inang lo. A thenin ei turah an hman teuh laiin, a thenin lehkhabu ah te, a thenin computer thilah, a thenin zu :D. Chutiang bawkin inchei duh mi an awm, inchei na lamah pawisa an hmang ani ve mai a, an neihin tlin lo se an lei tawp nang.. tiraw..

5. Kan hnam lah hi aw, kan inti changkang si, kan changkang thei si lo, khua a va var lo tak em!
IMHO:  Kan hnam hi kan la naupang em a, “I pu in enge a thawh” an tih pawh a, “Lo a nei a” la ti chin generation kha kan nia, han changkanna hun em em hi a la awm lo ve alawm, a dika dik chuan :-) Khawvel changkanna hian min luhchilh hneh si a, khawvel a thang zut zut si, hetiangah hian in balance thiam kan zir zel, kan la thiam zel dawn bawk, thangthar te phei chuan an thiam tawh tawp! 

6. Mizo te hi kan tum a hniam, kan mawl, “aim in life” kan nei lo reng reng, kan tuina pawh kan hrelo.
IMHO: Sawi tawh angin hnam naupang kan nih naah, kan sikul zirtirtute pawh middle school/high school  pass ve mai kha an ni a (tu huat thu suh ah), chuvang chuan “career guidance” te kha ngaih pawimawh vak ala ni hman lo a. Kan zir tur ang ang kha kan zir tawp mai a, Science a tha an tih leh science kan la dual a, Commerce an tih leh kan la leh dual a, khatiang inkaihhruaina mumal em em lo karah kha chuan kan tuina hriat te kha a lo har em ani. Kan zirtirtute kha an fakawm ka tia. Amaherawhchu, hnam dang, hnam upa zawk na na na chu, an inkaihhruaina te a lo tha tawh a, kan tluk lo mai zawk ani. Ka ti mai mai thin a, tunah IITG ah experiment tih a ngaih avangin ka awm ve a, vai ho zingah hian, computer tak ngial pawh ON thiam lo, MS Office Word tak ngial pawh la hmang thiam lo, enge Apps (Application) tih awmzia pawh hre lo, software pawh install thiamlo, IIT a inziak tling ve thei tho si an awm teuh mai. Kan Mizo thalai te aiin an mawl daih, mahse, sawi tawh angin, guidance an lo nei tha a, school luh lai atangin, a tha tur kawng an zawh ta mai ani. Mizo te pawh hian heng Institution lian pui pui ah te hian entrance ziah hi tum ve sup sup teh ang u, hnam dang hi eng an ni bik miah lo a nia, a taka hmu tu ka nia, ka sawi ngam. Entrance test ziah te hi kan hlauh en ringawt a.. aw Mizo, i ti thei! Tang rawh. 

7. Chu pa/Chu nu chu a inti Kris tawp, engmah ni si lo
IMHO: Rinna kawngah hian tumah insawisel thei hi kan ni lo a, hei chu ka sawi duah dawn lo. Kan inkhawm pawhin, midang te en loin, Pathian enin, midang te hi lo judge lo ila, tichuan, kan hlim tlang zawk anga, kan Pathian biak dan pawh a fuh zawk ang. Hnam dang zingah pawh hian hetia ti hrat, mi rel hrat hi an tam mai, Mizo chauh kan ni lo ania, tih lai hi ka sawi lan ber duh zawk chu a ni. 

8. Facebook ah a tam rap mai, a awm reng aniang, a common tawp, Profile picture a thlak reng, a status a update reng..
IMHO: Ka nuih hi a za a (hihi), ka’n nui phawt :D (Ka tawn ngun tawh hmel em a..hehe).
Facebook a awm theuh theuh, thil post ngun ho hian TAM nih an hlawh a, ngawi reng a online reng te hi an awm ve bawk tak nangin. Facebook a mi an tam tih i sawi theih chuan nangmah kha i tam ve tihna ani mai lawmni? Mahni mawng i hlim der ania :-) Tak takah, mihring mize pakhat ve hi ania, midang sawisel hi chu. Mizo chauh lo, Vai pawhin an hrat ngang mai, “I va facebook peih ve” tih vel hi chu. Vai ho zinga ka nin deuh phei chu ka restrict vek! Ka public post chauh an hmu thei, restrict ve i duh em? :-)

Hemi piah lamah hian Mizo te zinga kan chin tha lo deuh deuh, kan ngaihsan vak loh Vai in an tih ve ngai miah loh, anmahni atanga zir tur sawi tul tih deuh deuh ka nei. Hei chu hmasawnna tur points ve thung. HSNT=Hma sawn na tur han ti vel teh ang. 

HSNT 1: Mi nuih suh. In nuih hi changkanlohna a ni.

A)Biakin/Khawlai/Puipunnaah mi an lo tlu thei, an lo inpal thei, an lo khuh puak palh thei, Mizo chu in nuih kan la ching tlat! Hei hi sim a tha. Vai zingah chuan a inthlahrunawm loh reng reng, kan tluk pawn, “A na em” an rawn ti seuh seuh zel. Mizo chu, nuih hi a lang hmasa tlat ta zel a. 

B)Sap tawng hmang diklo an awmin nuih suh. Technology a sang tak tak Japanese te hi, sap tawng an thiamloh zia chu! Research paper ziak tur pawhin sap tawng thiam an ruai thin. Tin, vai pawh, thiamlo tak an ni, Mizo te nen a tehkhin a zirna level inang ro ro ah pawh. Grammar phei chu, a ngaihna hrelo an tam lutuk. Sap tawnga tawngtai tur tih pawn diklo tawkin an tawngtai mai zel. Mizo chu a dik thlapa tih kan tum lutuk na lamah hma kan sawn loh phah thin. I tawng bawrh bawrh ngam ang u. Sap kan ngaihsan vangin kan sap tawng pawh kan uluk, a nalhlo/diklo pawh kan hria. Mahse in nuih lo in, a dik inhriattir ta mai zawk ila, hma kan sawn daih zawk ang, mi nunah inthlahrunna kan siam sak thei, ram leh hnam tan hlawkna a awmlo, tin, i tan hlawkna a awmlo.

C) Naupang te hi, an tet laiin kan han zai tir a, kan han nuih zui a, heti te chuan engtin nge an talent te an pho lan ngam ang? Hei vang hi a ni thei angem, classroom ah te hian naupang hi an interactive loh em em? Tet laia inenkawl dan dik loh vang? The Voice ah te Mizo naupang zaklothei taka a zai awr awr te hmuh in chak ve lo em ni? Mizo te hi zai ah te hian kan filawr tehreng nen.

HSNT 2: Mizo mipa tam tak hian nula bulah hian, “I va siniar tawh ve, pasal nei tawh rawh, I tar tawh” tih te hi in hrat reuh a. Thangthar hi chuan an ti tawh meuh lo, mahse 1990 hma lam chin a piang hian in la hrat zual tlat. Changkan lohna pakhat a ni. Sam kan han tan thar a, anih loh pawn, pawnfen kan han feng ve a “I in la young” min han ti ngeiah. Enge kan sawi khah? Hnam dang pasala kan neih in duh loh chuan nula te duat tur kan tih kha maw.. a duh vanga pasal la nei lo pawh ani ngawt nang, chhungkua a ngaihtuah vang te pawh ani thei a, a nun i hriatpui si lo. Nula tam takin Mizo mipa an sawiselna ani tlat. Keipawn ka thlawp. Kohhran, YMA thil tiha kalkhawmnaah te hian nula senior tiha han introduce talh te hi, a tul lo ve thlawt, branch committee member ni pha chin phei chu Mizo nula fel tak tih hriat sa reng an nia, a upat zia i sawi lan khan, i va chawimawi lo reng reng a nia.

HSNT 3: Bangah chinai tat tawh suh. Han sawi chhunzawm vak dan pawh ka hrelo. A thing em a, tat tawh suh, ani tawp mai :D

HSNT 4: Zuk leh hmuam hi, kan insum a ngai. Cancer vei kan tam zia te hi, zuk leh hmuam vang a ni. Inhrilh nawn mawlh mawlh ang. Kuhva ei sen sung te hi, a van mawi lo tak em. Sawi ang bawkin 1990 chin hma lama piang bawk hi, hetiang sim tur hi kan tam. Thangthar hi chu zuk leh hmuam ti lo ngam an tam tawh, kan lo changkang ve ta zel bawk nen. 

Huis.. A thui chiang. Lo sawi ve tawh ru lem. Sap tawnga ziah dawn chuan hnam dangin an hriatthiam ka hlau sia, he post hi chu Mizo tawngin ka’n ti ta mai ani e, ka mizo tawng ziah dan hi a diklo a awm anih chuan khawngaihin min ngaidam dawn nia.

Zoram tang fan fan :-)

My new boyfriend :)

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“Life is too short. You don’t know when you’ll breathe your last breath. It may be today, or tomorrow, or ten years later. So, if you need to say something, say it now”.  A little voice kept telling me this today.. and so I decided to blog about whats going on in my life.

Yes, this is definitely about my new boyfriend, but there’s more to that. I want to share about how God works in my life, and how I've come to learn that He is a living God,  Jesus Christ, is a living God and He listens to our prayers.
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Last year, our Pastor in Saraighat Community church preached about how we should search for our life partners. He gave us an example from the Bible, about Isaac and Rebekah. Pastor said, “Write down the qualities you want your life partner to have, and pray about it, pray about it everyday and Jesus will answer, He will answer one day”. I took it very seriously. Because many of my friends are now happily married. My best friend got married six years ago, God gave her a loving husband early, and she is now busy with three beautiful kids. For me, my education was more important than a husband those days. But this time, i'm serious about what Pastor said. So, after going back from church, I decided to write down the qualities I want in a guy. After writing, I stared at it for a really long time. I thought to myself  “This kind of guy will be very hard to find, and even if there is one, I don’t deserve him, I don’t deserve someone so good, when all my life I've not been good”. I sheepishly prayed about it, and kept the note safely in my drawer.

As I mentioned in my earlier posts, we have a prayer group here in our hostel. We gather every night and pray for each other. So praying about our life partners became a very important topic, we never miss out this prayer point. Thanks to my prayer group, I would have stopped praying about it a long time ago, but this fellowship with my Christian friends keeps me strong, even when I am weak by myself. I love you guys!

And so, the story starts :-) Last March, I went home for my brother’s marriage. I saw this familiar face at the airport. He was someone I knew in high school. We said Hi, and he was on his way home too. Though we were both in Guwahati, our paths never crossed. It was just a few minutes talk, and we parted our own way. I remember he sat with a lady just behind me in the aircraft, I was so tired that I slept almost the whole time, whenever I woke up, I could hear them talk and talk... and talk :D. After we landed, I took my luggage, excited to see my two nieces and brother, who were waiting for me. While exiting the airport, I saw him again, trying to book a cab. Since we had one more room in our car, I offered him a lift, and he happily accepted. 

After that, it was normal facebook photo/status comments. I remember once, he commented on my photo “You look like J.lo” (Jennifer Lopez). I laughed. For girls, we get lots of good compliments in our photos, its hard to figure out who really means it and who don't  So its easy to take compliments for granted. Didn't think I’d make any impression on him :-0 And moreover, I knew he was someone way out of my league.

So long story short, last winter, when I went home, he came and visited me once. Well, for Mizo’s, its a tradition that guys can go over to a girl’s house. But I really didn't want to have my hopes up. Then this year Feb, we had a fest in IITG. He was back in Guwahati to continue his research, so he came. But I still could not see a chemistry between us. It was March when it all began. One morning, out of the blue, I received a text from him saying he saw me in his dream, and it was a really romantic dream too. I laughed. After that, things started to go smooth. The more I came to know about him, the more I started to like him. But I still had this inferiority thing going inside of me. Still thought that I didn't deserve someone like him. One night, when on the phone, we decided to take the next step. He said whatever is important, starts from NOW. It was then, that I realized God has answered my prayers and blessed me with more than I deserve. We are now so in love :-)

One great thing about this relationship is that, in my previous relationships, love song was all I’ll ever listen. But this time, its all about gospel songs. I am so grateful to God for what He has done in my life, that all I want to do is praise Him. I want people to know that even when you think God is not listening to your prayers, He has been listening all along, and He’s just waiting for the right time. My new bf, he is so different. He’s all that I ever want in a guy. Last night, we had our first prayer together. He prayed for us, over the phone, letting God know our desires and asked for His blessings, that we may one day set an example and be a testimony for God’s glory. We will have our differences, we will face obstacles, Satan will attack us, through temptations or maybe through past lives, who knows, but I’m not afraid, for I know we have Jesus on our side. 


First I thought its a little too early for such a post. But then I thought, what the heck! I don’t know when i’ll die and I don’t know what the future holds. I want this love story of ours, to be a living testimony, and I want you to pray for us, so that whatever comes our way, we can face it with God. We may or may not end up tying knots, but whatever may happen, let it be for God’s glory alone. Our God is good and He answers prayers. Don’t forget that. And for my unmarried friends, try writing down the points like I did and pray. I dare you, that your prayers will be answered. If you're single, let me tell you, you are lucky. Why? Because you have more advantage than the committed ones. You don't have to compromise with some qualities you want, that your bf/gf don't have :-)

Photo of my humble prayer points, that I have been praying for one year now. 
God is good!

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And hey bf, you're the answer to my prayers. I'm glad you have all these qualities, and the rest of the good qualities you have, is a bonus from God :-). This thing that is happening to me now, is too good to be true. I have to pinch myself every once in a while to see if i'm dreaming. I love you.

 Edited: April 4th, 11:11pm. This post has been written not to merely show off about my lovelife and my new bf, but is dedicated to God for His glory alone. In a world where Atheists are increasing, this is a testimony to prove that there is a living God, and his name is Jesus. You call it coincidence? We call it a Planned coincidence, maybe coincidence by man, but a Plan by God. Amen :)


My million dollar smile

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There you have it (:D)

Watcha thinkin? Lemme guess.

"Oh noe, the teeth!"

Hah. Gotcha!! :P

So, this time, I will be ranting about my very beautiful (not) teeth. A smile that will definitely not make it to dental ads, or wait, maybe it will make it in a Before and After poster, with the Before caption below. (haha) 

Once upon a time, I was a very unhealthy little girl. I fell sick very often, and the main thing that bothered me was Asthma. I love sea food, especially crab, but I was allergic to it. It would bring out my asthma right away. I remember once, after eating fish, my breathing was blocked, and we had to run to the hospital. So, we used to visit a doctor, a very nice young lady, and she prescribed me tiny tablets to cure my asthma. All I could remember is, it was very small and very bitter. I don't know if that helped, but later, a kid, younger to me, eating the same pill lost all his teeth. His aunt called up my mom and told her to stop giving me those pills. They believed it was having some side effect. 

Maybe they were right, because ever since I was small, my visits to the dentist was regular than any other kids. And as a person, I am very impatient when it comes to scratching itches and bruises. I was always very impatient with a new tooth growing too, so I used to push with my tongue every-time, hence it led to the (now) beautiful teeth arrangement :-) It was too late when I realized that the big film stars and artists I looked up to were all having good teeth. Braces was out of the question coz it was too late when we realized the usefulness of braces. 

The only thing that looks odd now, is my canine tooth. Earlier, both canines on the left and right would merge out. I was teased a "Dracula" back then, mostly by my brothers, and I hated it. My only option was, to have it pulled out. But Mom's opinion on this is a NO NO. Whenever this topic comes up, she would narrate the whole story about a lady whose tooth was removed while mom was delivering my brother back in 1971. That lady was from a village, and she came all the way to city to have her tooth checked. She would visit my mom in her cabin. Later, mom came to learn that, that lady passed away due to too much blood loss while her tooth was removed. Sad. Ever since that incident, she is totally against removing of any un-loose tooth, no matter how great the knowledge and technology may be.

And so, I was left helpless with my Dracula teeth. Back then, if I smile, it will be without the teeth showing and I was always, always conscious. I was afraid to smile in pictures, afraid to talk with mouth wide open. Lately, I've come to observe that my right canine has aligned itself with the rest, and only the left canine is showing. So, I am now a half Dracula (haha). And its sad when my 2 year old niece would innocently ask "Anite, tinge i ha hi?" (Aunty, what has happened to your teeth?), I would reply with a sigh "A na a" (It's paining). On my wedding day (if there is any), the photographer would probably say "Smile" and I'd be like "Can't you see I'm smiling!!" with my mouth closed (:D)

I did a little searching, and guess what I found on a Facebook page.

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I'm happy that I share the same feelings with the others, but still, the in-confident me whispered "At-least they've got nice smiles and properly arranged teeth". Ok, gotta rub this dispirited feeling off. 

As I grow older, and I mean much OLDER (:P), I've come to learn to love myself and who I am. And in a world where uniqueness is treasured, I guess I can now proudly call it my asset. Its always good to be one of a kind, in some way. My very good friend Chhanga said, "Whenever I remember Mimi, I'll always picture her with her Dracula smile". That's the kind of uniqueness I'm talking about. Few days back, Adree's friend came to visit our lab, and she remarked "You have a beautiful smile", and Adree quickly added "Have you seen her Vampire teeth?". I proudly showed it to her :-) 

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So, there you have it, my million dollar smile, not worth a penny to most people, but worth a million dollars and more to me :D






My first love, my first ride

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Today, I came to realize that its been almost four years now since I owned a ride, yup, my faithful motorcycle. Looking back, there’s so many memories it brought to my life, fun times and painful moments, well mostly it was fun, good, awesome, ROTFL, LMAO times.  

I still remember the day we bought my motorcycle. Since its a one hour bumpy ride from my house to my University campus, dad hesitated for a long time on getting me one. He was afraid his only daughter would not be able to handle the rough long winding roads. After months of begging and pleading and convincing and crying and arguing and explaining, both in smiles and in tears (literally), one fine day in May 2009, he finally said yes. We set off to Hero Honda showroom, and my brothers asked me which colour I wanted. I exclaimed “Purple!”

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Learning how to balance and how to ride was tough. I was on the verge of giving up for so many times. Bro Sangtea and I would ride off to Ngaizel road for learning. I gained confidence only when he suggested that we start taking the streets of Aizawl in the night. But during that period of learning, not a single drop of Dettol was used (:D). I met with an accident only once while learning, that too in slow motion (lol). I slowly fell down, and he couldn't lift the motorcycle which was above me, because he kept laughing. But I was in no mood to laugh. It was not funny, at all. He told my 6 year old niece about it and she also started to tease me. Still, it was not funny for me (:P)

And so, I started to take my motorcycle to the campus. My second brother, bro Chhuanawma, would escort me all the way to campus, and back to home in the evening, him in his Bullet and me in my moped (haa.. it rhymes!). He’s the kind of person who likes to speed. I now wonder how he could control his patience back then, he had to wait for me on every curve and on every bus and lorries that I met. Big vehicles were my greatest enemies, I would not be able to breath properly until i’m sure that they wouldn't hit me. There are times when I wanted to avoid that particular pit, but I would just ride towards it! I kept the learner’s sign “L” for a long time,even after having a normal license. It was my ticket to gaining sympathy from other drivers, because they would let me through with a smile even in traffic jam saying “Mami, fimkhur deuhin aw..” (hihi)

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I slowly began to take control, and then started to love speeding. Any girl I see driving a similar kind of ride like mine – its a must I should overtake them. So many times that I drove past guys on motorcycles and I guess it hurted their pride, they would over take me back right away (lol). Then, I started to carry passengers. Helen (in the pic) was my first passenger, and  gawd she’s brave. I remember the night we drove from Tlangnuam to Bawngkawn, to see Prissy off, who was in her car destined to Durtlang. That night, I felt that my brakes were harder to control. So just when we reached Bawngkawn traffic point to take a U turn, I pressed the brakes too hard, she hit her forehead on to my helmet *CLONK*. We laughed so much that even the traffic police smiled and let us go.

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The fun had already begun! I won’t ever forget those times, when after lab, we would wait for each other and go home together. Our way to home was longer than one hour those days (hehe). Our guys were sweet. They would always watch over us and wait for us girls, mostly when the roads are slippery due to rain. We would make our first stop at RRK (Ramrikawn), collect our stuffs from our agents. Well, my agent was the tea stall owner where I would buy mostly boiled egg with a cup of tea, and sometimes jellebies. Our agents and our stuffs differed from person to person. And then we would move towards our second stop, a place we call “Our Spot” to consume the STUFFS that we got from our AGENTS (:D). Sometimes we would make a third stop and crash at one of our friend’s place, but most times we’d head home after the second stop. Hmmm.. ka lung a va leng eeeee...!
My ride has taken me to Girl’s Night Out too, and its fun sometimes without the male species around (:P)

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Accidents:  

No doubt, taking the responsibility of having a vehicle has brought the risk of facing accidents, and I was definitely not left out. I can remember my first small accident, when we went for dinner at Prissy’s place in 2010. It was raining cats and dogs, and very very foggy. My friend Pawpee also came with his scooter, so we decided to leave before it got late. He told me to follow him, and I did. The night was dark and stormy, and the wind blew right towards us controlling the rain in an almost horizontal direction. He could manage to avoid a deep pit, but I fell right into it, and I got stuck and started to fall down. I was a little scared. But my friend rushed and helped me up and lo! we were on our way again. No bruises.

The other accident was when I rushed home from the University to buy a birthday gift for my mom, I almost collided with a tripper at the curve of a road, but I managed to stop in time (phew). No bruises this time too.

The first harsh accident I met was in 2011, on my way to the University. It had drizzled previously, leaving the road just enough to slip. I was happily driving, with earphone on my left ear, and thinking of how good and economical my ride is, using just 5 litres of petrol for a week and... bam! I slipped, on the mud. It was like some one pushed me out from the seat, I fell face flat on the ground (hihi). Friends from behind helped me up and took me to a house nearby. Yes bruises! Dayum, my knee hurted, like, a lot! I wanted to take a look at it but was scared, my pants were torn, and my jumper too was torn on the arms. I told them that I was alright, then I went to lab. My lab-mates took me to the University clinic, and the nurse sprayed medicine on my knee, and applied ointments here and there. If I hadn't worn my helmet, I might be a nose-less person right now. Then I decided to go home, had my knee X-rayed, luckily nothing was serious. Told my dad about it, and he goes “You should've driven more carefully” while I was expecting “Are you hurt?”. So that made me a little sad. Mom was in Kolkata for checkup that time, and I missed her so bad.

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The last accident was last year. And dayum, that was funny. Me and my friend were on our way to our other friend’s house, with Ben10 Momo in our bags, and very much excited we were. The road was narrow and steep. We went down and down, when suddenly we had to meet a vehicle coming from the opposite. So I stopped. Since it was so steep, my feet couldn't reach the ground and I started to lose balance. And there we went, falling slowwwwly, my friend finally went into a ditch and his pants got all muddy. People gathered and asked “Are you hurt, are you ok?” while all I could do was laugh and laugh and laugh. Some parts of the glass on my watch broke, but still, it was so funny that I couldn't stop laughing. Gawd, that was fun. And I had to HAD TO take a picture of my friend’s dirty pants. (lol)


One of the best moments that I wont ever forget was when my Kungfu Panda drove home with me. We had to cross a really hilly area, and with his (urm) very light weight, he had to get down coz the scooty would not move. Then some vehicles came from the opposite side, and so, not to trigger their curiosity as to why he had to get down, he started to pretend like he’s taking pictures of the scenery with his mobile phone ( which did not have camera?) and I was LMAO-ing. Seriously hilarious!

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The brand new edition of Flyte scooter :-)
One day, I will have to part with my good old scooty. So, let this be a tribute, to all the good times and fond memories it has brought to my life. The love of my life, oh, I mean, the ride of my life. My first love, oh, I mean, my first ride :-)



Giver or Taker

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Giver or taker? A question that intrigued my mind when I was caught up in a two and half hour traffic jam trip to the city. In life, we come across occasions and celebrations, especially birthdays, where giving gifts becomes a part of it. Why do we give gifts? - To show someone that we care. Well, I guess I will need to rephrase this answer once I’m done writing out my thoughts.

ImageAm I a giver or a taker? The first respond that came was “Yes, definitely a giver!” I love giving gifts. I love doing things for others and making them happy. I love surprising friends with meaningful stuffs. From buying love birds to gold fish, giving Holy Bible to books like ‘Our daily Bread’, buying T-shirts for my brothers to writing compact discs of memorable songs, from surprising a boyfriend with a valentine gift when he was a thousand miles away. And there may be times when you are the one to cash for the contributed birthday cake for a friend, and you feel awkward to collect 50Rs each from the rest of the friends, so you’d rather  keep quiet about it. Or that time when you throw a birthday party with no one turning out with gifts, but you are still happy to be with them. And that time when you bought two buckets of KFC for the family, not to forget the trouble you went through while buying it and taking it to the hostel, and asking for permission to use the hostel refrigerator so that it wouldn't get spoiled and then to the airport which claims an extra hand baggage. But when it reached home, none of the family members really did relish it, but I was not unhappy about it. I thought I am pretty much qualified to be called a giver. 

But hey, not so fast. Think about what people have done for you but you hardly did anything for them. The first person that came to my mind was Prissy, my sis, my technical niece. We've been growing up together, she’s my best friend in the family, someone who has always been by my side. I can hardly remember what I bought for her, what pain I took to make her happy. The last I know was, I bought her ‘The Beatles’ T-shirt one year back, and, that's it. I don’t remember anything more. And I started to count all the stuffs she did for me, and bought for me. From iPod to dresses, shoes to jackets, Holy Bible to bracelets and chains and key chains, she was there when I cried my eyes out and when I laughed to tears. Shame on me! I had the plan of giving her a surprise birthday party year before last, got in touch with two of her besties Val and Eli, but the plan failed, coz she was out of town. Oh yes, now I know why the gifts from my side was less. Thank God I found a reason (hihi). She was never there on her birthday, or to be precise, we are always on different parts of the world on her birthday. She’s a traveler  She goes to the moon and back all the time. Last year, we had a picnic on her birthday - without her (:D). She got caught up with her work in Delhi, and so we had to name the album of the pictures “Prissy’s Picnic - without Prissy” (hehe).

And, there’s niece Amelia. Ever since I can remember, she’d always drop by on my birthday with gifts. Most of the time with chocolates and candies and chips, and sometimes with tiny mirrors and hair brushes :-). But I'm such a bad aunt that I sometimes forget to wish her on her birthday.

And then there’s my third brother, who has bought so many stuffs for me. But when I count the gifts I've given to each of my brothers, the fifth one wins. Its not that I love him more, and love the others less, I guess it just goes with the time and place and situations. And its not that I don’t care for Prissy and Amelia, I love them both to pieces, but the timing is not right sometimes, mostly due to location differences. 

And there are friends, my besties, that I would beg for to buy me stuffs. I remember one of my best buddy, my Kunfu Panda. I would suck the cash out of him to let him buy me something. Sometimes lunch would be my treat, and dinner his. I remember once on his birthday, he wanted a car toy. We entered a toy shop. He didn't want people to think that it was for him, coz he’s a bit huge to be playing with such toys (:P), so he told me, we should pretend like we’re buying it for a 2 year old birthday kid. And while looking at the toys, our conversation was, “Do you think the little boy will like this?” “No, I think this is too red for him, I think he’ll like the blue one” (lol). Gosh I miss him. Ever since he’s been so committed to his girlfriend, relationship status “single” for one day, “in-a-relationship” for another (if you know what I mean..hehe), we kinda lost touch. Big guy, if you’re reading this, I miss you, I miss our silly Whatsapp messages and silly talks on love-lives and lab-lives and NET and food and politics :-)

Well, coming to the point of this post, being a giver or a taker doesn't really define a relationship. Its about being happy with the people we love, with or without gifts. Your birthday may turn out to be boring, until your friends suddenly calls you out for an unplanned dinner, when one of them happened to walk into a swimming pool, and smells like roasted beef and you have to keep laughing every time you smell the roasted clothes (lol). Or that moment, after many failed attempts to visit one of Aizawl’s most beautifully decorated area, where you couldn't click even one photo coz it was too crowded and your birthday was just the night when you could click one, and that made it special. Its about being happy, doesn't have to do with gifts at all. So I will rephrase my answer on “Why do we give gifts?” – Its to show someone that we care, while not giving them doesn't mean that we don’t care either. An unconditional relationship gives without expecting. 

Am I a giver or a taker? I guess I am both.

Airtel and Me

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The past few months, I have been experiencing shocking, confusing, annoying, dragging, frustrating, waiting, happy moments, all at a stretch, because of Airtel. Hah. Funny eh? So let me start the story.

 (Warning: This may be a long and boring post, so you might wanna skip. But could be informative for those interested in phones and sim card bookings and internet connections) :-)
ImageIt all began when my 15 month old Sony Ericsson phone failed me. It was a fine day in the hostel, when I took 2 bucket full of clothes to the washroom, along with my phone for the music to keep me company. If you’re thinking what I’m thinking what you might be thinking- No, I did not drop the phone in water (hehe). I was done with my washing and entered my room with the music still on. And then I got a call from one of my friend. I tried sliding the call receiver but it was not happening! I tried again, and again, and she kept calling again, and again. So I did what I know best- take out the battery and place it back. But this time, I guess I ran out of luck. I tried so many methods, but I could not fix it.  

 I’ve been using Bsnl prepaid on my phone ever since I joined IITG, because its roaming free all over North east India. And my previous Airtel postpaid was placed inside my mom’s old phone, unused. I had in mind to disconnect it so many times, but the thought of Bsnl service not good at my place made me cling to it, and Airtel would be a better option once I get home. I had the thought of getting a dual sim phone as I was a little fed up of my old phone anyway, due to history reasons (hihi), and the perfect time came to keep that thought into action. But I didn't want to give up on my old phone that easily either, even though I could not use the updated version of Instagram no more, and many applications that I could not install due to its lower Android OS version. So I took it to a Sony Ericsson servicing center, but to my luck/unluck, it could not be fixed.
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After researching on all kinds of phone, I finally made up my mind on buying yet another Sony Ericsson phone – Xperia Tipo Dual. Its been almost two months now, and I have no regrets so far. Its cheaper compared to the same OS of Samsung, the battery’s lasting, internet is fast, its light and compact. There’s unavailability of torch, call blocker and sending contacts, but thanks to Android apps - Google Play, I could easily download and install them. I’m recommending it to anyone who asks me about my phone, even to my brother. Flipkart will be delivering his, within two days :-)

Having a new phone was fun, but that was when the trouble started. Placed both my sim cards into the new phone. Airtel automatically sent me the mobile internet settings, and Bsnl did not. I knew my Airtel is in roaming, but I never knew the price could be that high. There is no roaming charge as such for gprs, but the rate was 10 paise per 10 kb, that is 10000Rs per 1GB to be precise. Worst part is, I did not request for the internet pack, which is 98Rs per 1GB, because, I thought my Bsnl internet settings would be resolved soon. Don't ask me how shocked I was to see the unbilled amount of my airtel which came after 3 days. One word – OMG. Luckily, I convinced my brother no 3 to do the bill payment and I promised to repay him before forever (mehehe).

Finally I subscribed for the internet pack and its way way way faster than Bsnl. So now, Bsnl is for calls and messages, Airtel is for internet. That's the beauty of having a dual sim and that’s how I settled my problem. I thought that would be the end of it, but hello! more trouble more trouble..

 ImageI’ve been using Tata photon on my lappy, and I guess you all know that they've recently stopped their services in Northeast India. So my option was to use dongle from Reliance or yet again Airtel. Though I faced many problems with Airtel, I decided to go for it again. When I went home for winter vacation, I made a booking. They said the device would be available by the next day, but it was not. Days went on and I had to return to Guwahati. So I requested my friend A to enquire for me, and had it sent. After lots of poking and begging, my friend could manage to get the device and the sim card. Now all we have to do was wait for the sim to be activated. Seven days passed, and nothing happened. So I started calling them. They asked to call back. Called back the next day. And then, they found the problem. I made the booking with my Voter’s ID, and according to them, my Voter’s ID has already been used six times to book Airtel sim card, so it was rejected. My reaction – “Seriously??”. I wanted to find out all the numbers using my ID, I mean, is that even possible? I was so furious. They asked to call back the next day. I called back, AGAIN, the next day. And they asked me to send a xerox copy of my driving licence. They said they will try with that. Finally, I sent a scan copy, but then again they said, I have to attach four passport photos. I was like “What about the previous four that I’ve submitted?”. “We will have to do a fresh booking for a new sim card”. Huis. So my friend went again and asked If I could just buy an Assam sim card. They first said no, since I bought the dongle from them with a Tata photon device exchange offer. Then after reconsidering it, they finally said yes. Phew!

No, the trouble did not end there. Since it was risky to use my ID on Airtel with “What ifs” in my head, I had to request one of my friend, friend B to book one for me in his name. He filled up the form on a Saturday. He realized he made a mistake while filling. He filled up another on Monday. He made a mistake again while filling the address. He filled up another one on Tuesday (Dear Lord, please help him, free him from making mistakes! :P), and he did it! Yay! He gave me the sim card. Now we have to wait for the activation, yet again. I finally got a network on Thursday. But I had to go to my friend for identity proof. Any call I made was forwarded to a customer care for verification, so he had to do the talking. I walked half an hour to reach his hostel, he made the call, and verification was done. I was excited to try out my dongle, finally. But another trouble, shops were closed by then, and online recharge did not work. Aaaarghhhhh!! And so the next day, my friend A did a recharge for me from a shop. Finally, F-I-N-A-L-L-Y, I could use my Airtel dongle and as always, even though the process was hard, with hundreds of calls made to customer care, Airtel did not disappoint me in the end. Blogging now from Airtel 3G dongle with currently a download speed of 2.7 mbps, and the connection speed is set to 3 mbps with the TCP Optimizer. Not bad, not bad at all.
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Thanks to friends A and B for all the trouble that you've gone through, and to my brother no 3, for the bill payment, I promise to repay you guys before forever. *pinky promise* :P



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