Pathian Hmangaihna Famkim

Nikum khan tennis star, mi ṭhenkhatin tennis khawvela ropui ber anga an chhal hial Novak Djokovic an ama chanchin a ziahna Serve to Win (2013) ka chhiar a, a ngaihnawm ka tiin ka rilru a hneh em em mai a. Ama mimal chanchin te, an chhungkaw chanchin te, an ram Serbia-a indona avanga harsatna an tawh chi hrang hrang te a ziak a, chu'ng zawng aia ka rilru latu erawh chu infiammi a nih anga ei leh in (diet) leh taksa sawizawi (exercise) a ngaih pawimawh zia kha a ni. A diet a uluk avanga tun dinhmun thleng thei a nih thu a ziak a, chu chu ka rilruah hian a riak ve reng a, ka ei leh in uluk lehzual turin min cho hle a ni. Mi nawlpui chuan kan taksa tana ṭha leh ṭha lo hi engemaw chin chu kan hre deuh ṭhum awm e, hetiang a ni chung hian insum kan harsat tlan zia chu phat rual a ni lo. 

Keimah ngei pawhin ka thil ei duhzawngah te, ka in duhzawngah te ka duhthusama ka insum theih loh chu thuhran lo ni rih ta se, ka chhungte leh ka ṭhiante ka duhsak em em, ka hmangaih em em te ei leh in ka hlui ṭhin te ka ngaihtuah a, chuta ṭang chuan mihring hmangaihna famkim loh zia hi ka hmuchiang ta em em mai a. Chaw ei tura kan chhungte leh ṭhiante kan sawm ṭum a awm ṭhin a, kan phak tawka tuihnaihin chaw leh chawhmeh kan buatsaih a, kan hmangaih em em te ei atan an taksa mamawh aia tam chawhmeh mawm te, al te, thak te, thlum te kan siamsak ṭhin a. An tan a ṭha ber lem lo tih kan hriat loh vang a ni hauh lo, mahse nakin zela an hrisel zawk na tur ai chuan rei lo te chhunga an puar pui tur, tui an tih zawng eia, in tir kha kan thlang fo zawk a. An tana hrisel tur chin chauh lo hlui ni ta ila, chawhmeh a plain viau anga, an ei tui lovang tih kan hlau a, an ṭhatpui lem loh tur kha rei tak min dampui tura kan duh em em te kan chhawp ta ṭhin. Hei hi kan hmangaih loh vang leh an taksain tuar se kan tih vang a ni hauh lo, mihring atanga chhuak hmangaihna chuan a thlir zau tawk loh vang leh a famkim tawk loh vang a ni. 

Hetiang taka mihring hmangaihna a famkim loh avang hian Pathian hmangaihna famkim hi mihring tan hmuh fuh a, hriatthiam pawh a harsa em em ṭhin a lo ni a. Pathian chuan rei lo te nawmsakna leh hlimna ai chuan chatuan daih hlimna a dah pawimawh zawk a, chatuana nunna kan neih theih nan chuan khawvela kan tawrh te, kan nat te hi a phal em em mai a ni. Hei hi min hmangaih loh vang a ni loa, famkim taka min hmangaih zawk vang a lo ni. Hetiang taka ril leh thuk hmangaihna hi mihring tan chuan hriatthiam a har fo va, Pathian laka vui mai tepawh a awl. Kan hmuh fuh erawh chuan kan nun dan leh kan thil thlir dan thlak danglam dawrh thei thil a ni a, kan harsatna leh natna te lungawi loh pui mai lova, Pathian hnena lawmthu min hrilh tirtu a ni fo zawk thei. 

Yesterday, a stranger offered to pay for my coffee at the airport. I hesitated but he insisted, gently explaining "I have only 3 more years to live, there is no point in saving money anyway". A few minutes into our conversation, I learnt that he was in his late 30s and had been sick for the most part of his life. As I took in his words, I tried not to betray my emotions but how does one keep a straight face when there is a stranger telling you that both his parents had died before he even turned ten, and that he himself was now dying? 

His soft soothing voice could not hide how bitter he felt about his life. He told me that he could not bear to be in quiet places because then he cannot avoid contemplating on his life. He goes to sleep with the TV on, wakes up with the TV on, passes his days with the TV on. He does not particularly care what is on the TV as long as it distracts from thinking and being alone with his thoughts. 

"I have lost faith in the idea of a loving God", he continued, "because why would a god allow somebody to exist the way I do"? I did not respond, I did not know what to say and I knew in my heart that he was not looking for answers from me. He just needed somebody to listen to him. I realized he had nobody, in a world with more than 8 billion people.

Zirna leh Thiamthil Dangte

Kumin 2021-ah CYMA chuan kumpuan thupui atan “Zirna Uar Kum” a rawn thlang leh a, kan hnam hian zirnaa hmasawn kan duh zia a tilang hle awm e. Zirna kan tih hian Sap Missionary ten khawthlang lam leh khawvel zau zawk thiamna mil zirna (modern education) hi kan rilrua lang lian ber niin a hriat. Nu leh pate pawhin an fate zirna in ropui hrang hrang aṭanga degree sang tak tak hlawhchhuak turin an fuih a, chu’ng degree hmang chuan sorkar hna hmuh an beiseipui fo thin. Zirna hi a pawimawh viau reng a; mimalah hmasawnna a thlen a, retheihna aṭangin mi a khaichhuak fo a, chhungkua leh khawtlang tana mi ṭangkai a siam a, ram leh hnam tana mi chhenfakawm a chher ṭhin. Zirna  hlut zia hi sawi nep chi a ni hauh lo, hmasawn kan tumna tur pawimawh tak a ni. Amaherawhchu, he khawvel danglam zelin a ken tel zirna kan ngaihpawimawh ang hian, sikula kan zirchhuah ni lo, kan pi leh pute aṭanga thiamna chi hrang hrang kan inhlanchhawn te hi kan hlut zual zel a tul viau awm e. 

Hnam dangin min chim hmaa kan pi leh pute nundan kan mitthla thiam theuh anga, vawiina kan khawsak phung nen a danglamna tepawh kan hre ṭheuh awm e. Khang hun laia an nunphung entawn vek a rem tawh lo a, khawvel danglam zel mila kan insiamrem a tul fo. Chutih rualin kalsan mai loa vawn nun zel tur erawh thliar thiam a ṭul viau awm e. 

Kan hnam zia rang (culture) tilang thei thiamthil (indigenous skills) chi hrang hrang - puan tah, la deh, thiam hnang deh (em, thlangra, hawng, adt.), kan ram leilung, sik leh sa mila lo neih leh hnam lam chi hrang hrang te hi kan Mizona tichiangtu, kan identity kan phochhuah theihna hmanraw pawimawh a ni. Kan khawvel tawn mekin a zir loh avangin thiamthil kan sawi te hi tuna ṭhalai tam zawk leh ṭhang leh thar lo awm zel tur tam zawk chuan kan thiam ve dawn lo niin a lang.

Tun aṭanga kum sawmthum a vei leh hunah chuan Mizo zingah bachelor/master/doctorate degree nei sang tel kan pun belh ang; kan pi leh pute aṭanga thiamthil kan inhlanchhawn ve thung te hi mi engzatin nge la vawng nung zel ang? Puanchei tah thiam kan awm loh hun te, êm tah thiam kan awm loh hun te, cheraw kan thiam kan awm loh hun te, hla do chham thiam kan awm loh hun te, mut hmuna Liandova te unau thawnthu hmanga tu leh fate awi mu tur kan awm loh hun a thleng mai angem? Chu’ng hunah chuan Mizo kan nihna a bo ang kan ti lo a; khawi hmunah pawh awmin, eng thawmhnaw pawh hain, eng ṭawng pawh hmang ila Mizo kan nihna hi a bo thei lo, amaherawhchu kan Mizona, hnam dang laka kan danglamnate engtin nge kan lanchhuah tir tak ang?

Keini YMA member te hian degree sang tak tak nei, hna ropui tak tak thawkte kan ngaihsan ang hian thiamthil kan tarlan takte leh tarlan loh pawimawh dang vawng nung tlattu, kan khawtlanga nula leh tlangval kutthemthiam leh taima em em te hi kan chawimawi a, an thiamna kan hlut sak hi a pawimawhin kan tihmakmawh a ni. Chu chuan ṭhang leh thar lo awm zel turah ṭhahnemngaihna leh phurna a tuh anga, kan pi leh pute thlarau zahawm tak kha a nung reng dawn a ni.

“Kan pi kan pu mi huaite,

Dan ṭha kha mawi kan ti;

Ṭhian chhan thih an ngam fo ṭhin,

An hming a thang bawk si.

Keini’n chu dan chu zawmin,

Huai taka din kan tum;

Mizo kan ni kan hmel a ṭha,

Kan tum a sang bawk si.” - Rokunga

Note : Article ziah hi ka thiam lem lo nangin kan veng YMA chanchinbu enkawltute ṭhahnemngaihna zarah he thu tawi hi ka ziak ve a, min lo chhuak sak ve hlauh a ni ☺️

Review of Wild Hearts by Somte Ralte

 

WILD HEARTS

 

Somte Ralte

BlueRose Publishers (October 2019)

Soft Cover Rs. 149/- (78 pp)

ISBN 978-93-5347-782-0

 

Wild Hearts, a collection of 47 poems, takes us into the recesses of Somte Ralte’s mind as she explores the multifaceted world of a young girl growing up in Northeast India. Using language that is simple and “near to the real language” used in everyday life, she addresses issues that have bearings on the lives of youths desiring and struggling to add meanings to their lives. This collection is deeply rooted in the poet’s own experiences as she talks about religion, romance, friendship, society, mental health and herself. The first poem in the book, dedicated to the city of “eternal romance”, is a reminder of how places and lived experiences shape people and their worldviews. That Somte Ralte pays affectionate homage to the city that was home to her for almost a decade during her school and college days is no surprise as she compares it to a “fairy godmother” -

I am so much of you

Made by your caresses

Moulded by your touch

Softened by your sights.

It becomes rather apparent, as we turn the pages of this collection, that Somte Ralte feels deeply and is acutely aware of what transpires around her; she finds inspiration in what might be considered trivial and in   significant by some. She finds beauty in places where it is least expected, and solace in inconvenient spaces. And yet, where the rest flock to for redemption, she finds faults as is discernable in her poems like “Back, to Back”. For someone born into a community where Christianity is as much a way of life as it is a faith, to suggest that the church and its members may not be doing enough to follow in the footsteps of the “Master” demands courage and conviction. Somte Ralte seems to lack neither as she muses –

But pulpit -thumpings and gospel dances

Have not illuminated nor

Mended hearts that seek merely

acceptance and not judgments.

This poem echoes her fears that the gospel would be used as an instrument for exclusion – of the unlovable, the outcasts, the have-nots and the weary. Though in some of her writings she comes across as optimistic and even playful in her perception of the world, it is evident that she has questions that weigh heavily on her. Her poem “In This Part of Heaven” asks –

We talk unending, of education –

Its illumination and broadening of young minds

But why is it, my love

That they can’t stand an illuminated mind?

She takes no pain to conceal her frustration at the perceived lack of willingness to explore beyond restrictive conventions and traditional ideals. Perhaps it is because she realises how lonesome the world is, for those who find themselves on the periphery of the society, voiceless and unheard, that she tries to reach out to them through her art. Many of her poems are ripe with the intention to uplift and empower as she encourages the silenced to speak up and tell their stories. She promises to listen and stay, for as long as it takes. The poet seems to take on the role of a shoulder to cry on for her readers, as she constantly positions herself among those whose lives had been “broken and torn” but also “mended and repaired”. The importance of self love and self acceptance, and the cruciality of taking care of one’s mental health is a recurring theme in her poems.

Somte Ralte also explores the burdens that come with belonging to a minority community in a country with diverse cultures. In her poem “What’s in a Name Anyway?”, she explains why she chose to be “Somte” as a teenager studying outside her home state –

All you wanted was to fit in among

Peers who were prone to dismiss you.

....

Your name was prone to misspelling

“Sawmi” as “Swami” –

And each syllable of your name

Pronounced to bear different meanings:

“Laal” for the colour red

“Maal” for an article, but has sexual connotations

“Swami” for addressing the yogi or the husband.

Several of Somte Ralte’s poems are confessional; she bares her heart out and exposes herself as a hopeless romantic. Words, once they are uttered, hold special places in her heart and she cherishes them as much as she values memories of past relationships and encounters with people she keeps close to her heart. For her, perfection is easy to find. All her cares and worries vanish when she is in the company of people she adores, regardless of where they are –

It was perfect, just you and i

With no care in the world

There was that look in your eyes

That something only i could see

But alas, perfect afternoons do not always last! Like the “flighting sunset’, times spent with loved ones come to an end all too soon. But the poet remains hopeful that she will be remembered the same way she remembers –

...brevity does not

Necessarily curtail longevity;

And I hope from now on, in every sunset

You will have me in your heart.

To read Somte Ralte’s poems is to discover her and her idiosyncratic passion for life. Her poems usher us through varied moods and emotions. As her readers, we share her victories and happiness as well as her loss and her pain as she actively engages with us in her colloquial tone.  She writes the same way she chooses to live, refusing to be dictated by rules and duties. Her verses and her spirit are free – unabashed, unhindered, unafraid. She creates her own world wherein she resists normative expectations –

But I am a free spirit,

Too large to contain in a casket

Too heavy to carry by a calculative heart

Too light to weigh on a prejudiced scale.

 

ONE DAY

one day I will be ready to love a man

wholly and without any fear

and when that day comes

I will love him hard

like it doesn’t matter

where the sun rises

or sets at the end of the day

 

when that day comes

I will make sure that he knows

there is no one else

and that I will always be there

on his good days

and more importantly

on his bad days

 

when that day comes

I will look into his eyes

and hold him tight

and tell him I love him

more than I love sunsets

and that I long for him

more than the promises of the horizon

 

when that day comes

I will not try to be strong on my own

I will allow myself to be vulnerable

and cry when my heart is heavy

I will let him hold my hand

while my scars

and my bruises heal

 

when that day comes

I will remind myself everyday

that to truly love a man

is to love his Creator

more than anything else

for without Him, I am nothing

and I would not want to be nothing

for the man I love wholly and without any fear

From 2012 to 2013

I stumbled, and blundered; but also found my way through 2012. Interestingly, I started off the year 2012 alone. The night of 31st December 2011, I had gone to the Church of Epiphany with two dear friends William and Bhasker, and came back to where I rented a house after the night service was over around 10pm. They dropped me off to my place and left soon after. Then my landlady, with her daughter and her daughter’s fiance, invited me over for a late dinner. After dinner I watched a Star Plus Award show with them for a while, and left a little before the clock struck midnight, before the clock struck 2012. After a few New Year calls  and messages, I went to sleep.

Many changes in my life happened during the year 2012. I gave my final BA Exams and graduated at the beginning of the year, and therefore had to leave a place which had been my home for three challenging years. It was sad for me to leave Tezpur, a small but beautiful town where I had made many good friends. In the three years that I was there, I had grown to love and understand its people. I had a little difficulty adjusting to its ways at first, but once I got the hang of it, the place became as much of a home for me as Aizawl, my home city is. I loved the different churches that I used to go to, and the people I met in those churches. I loved having the freedom to be a part of all of them. I loved that I did not have to belong to just one denomination. All the churches that are built on Christ Jesus will be united, one day. 

A college student at the beginning of the year, I became a University student by August as I sought admission at Mizoram University. I was wholly excited about the University and the classes and teachers, and of course my class-mates to be. It was strange at first; to go from being the over-smart, confident and bossy final-year student at college to being the new and meek fresher at MZU. It also took me a while to get comfortable with my new teachers, and there were times, many times I missed my college teachers with whom I had a very relationship with me being a good student (LOL) and their being really really cool teachers. It was strange for me to sit in a class room without my two friends Priyanka and Sandeep by my side. It was strange not to be cracking jokes with Priyanka during classes as we often did at College, and to not be walking back home after classes with Sandeep all the while talking about just so many things. However, after a few weeks, I learnt to love and enjoy the classes of my new University teachers; and as I got to know my new class-mates better, I found they were really cool people. We now totally enjoy each other’s company and tend to laugh really hard and loud when we are together.

Besides my academic life, another ‘tremendous’ change which happened to me was my starting to live with my family again after three ‘glorious’ years of living independently (not financially, of course). During my college days, I was responsible for myself alone and did not have many rules to follow, except at the beginning when I lived in a hostel, and had not yet rented a home of my own. I got up when I wanted in the morning (usually very late), ate whatever I felt like eating (mostly junk food) and went out with friends as and when I liked. It was a good life, if I am to be honest. But, now I am back with my family, and life certainly is different; more household chores, and a proper time for almost everything, but I have to admit life is good this way too. 

During my college days, I was an active member of the Tezpur Inter Collegiate Evangelical Union. The other members had become my good friends, my family. We would have fellowships every Sunday afternoon. In spite of many difficulties, the faithfulness and loyalty of the members made those gatherings possible. We would share our testimonies, study the Bible, sing and pray together. Besides our weekly fellowships, we would have various other programmes together, and with the blessings of God, we always managed to get done whatever projects we set for ourselves. We were all just young people, mostly Higher Secondary and College students, but we were united by the same faith, by a love for the same God, and we loved each other as Christian brothers and sisters. It was an amazing experience, to have a family where members spoke in different languages, were of different backgrounds, followed different customs and traditions; but we share a hope that one day, we will all be together again where there will be no more sad farewells with our Jesus, the Christ by our side. 

 “In the sweet, by and by,

 We shall meet on that beautiful shore.”

Now, I am a part of the MZU EGF (Evangelical Graduate Fellowship) Prayer Cell, and though I miss the EU days, the EGF Prayer Cell has now become an important part of my life, and the weekly prayer meets every Wednesday after classes are the most precious one-hours of my life. Much like our EU Fellowships, we share testimonies and messages, sing and pray together in our meets. With the first semester over, I hope to be able to be a part of the Prayer Cell in the next three semesters to come as well.

Many other less significant changes have occurred; I made many mistakes, perhaps did a few things right as well, cried on a few occasions but also laughed a great deal, said goodbyes to some people but also welcomed many new people in my life. All in all, it was a good year, and the most important of all, my relationship with Jesus has remained intact. Now with 2013 beginning, I know it will be a good year if only I keep my eyes and heart on Jesus, and live as a Christian ought to, as best as I can. I will have my bad days, days I am a lesser Christian, perhaps; but I will also have my good days, days I can be a better Christian. I only have to learn to take it one day at a time, and count my blessings.

A tribute to the teachers of my department

It was in 2012 that I first got admission into the department of English as a student of the MA programme. God has been kind to me and the place has been my second home ever since, as an MA student, as a research scholar, as a guest teacher and then as a project fellow. I think everybody here will be able to imagine how huge a role the department has played in my life in the last seven years.

All of us gathered here today know our teachers well; they have different personalities, different methods of teaching and different approaches towards different situations in the classrooms. And needless to say, we have all benefitted from each teacher. I believe their different approaches have enriched our lives as human beings and as academics. Where one teacher might have a weakness, another teacher will make up for it. And like that, together, they make an amazing wholesome team. Whether it is Pi Maggie imparting precious knowledge to us with a passion and confidence that is unparalleled, or Pu Baral challenging us to take our intellectual exercise to a whole new level through his lectures, or MLP ma’am being the epitome of sincerity and efficiency and as my best friend Lydia puts it “the most efficient human being ever”, or Miss KC’s soothing collectedness that can calm even the most stressed of souls, or Miss Laltei’s eloquence and expertise as she explores the varied realms of literature, or Dhanajit Sir’s apparent enthusiasm to help us discover magic through words or Miss Kristina’s fresh and unconventional approach towards education and life itself, all our teachers are uniquely the best of teachers.

Now, you may wonder why I have not mentioned Pi Adiki, that is because I have been for saving her for the last and not at all because she is the least. Today, in 2019, more people are talking about the importance of mental health. But Pi Adiki did just that way back in 2012, when tremendous importance was not yet placed on a person’s mental well being. I remember vividly, as though it were yesterday, Pi Adiki telling us to take care of our mental health and that there should be no stigma attached to mental illness. Back then, we were not used to listening to anybody talk about such matters in such a way, and to this day, I remain grateful to Pi Adiki for telling us just what we needed as a group of young adults who still have so much to go through in life. And so, it is with all the confidence that I have ever felt that I proudly assert that all of us who have had the privilege to sit in the classrooms of our teachers are truly blessed.

Growing up in the Mizo community where the church and the YMA are dominant forces, I seldom saw women leaders in the public life. That we have had just about six women MLA in the last 47 years since Mizoram became a Union Territory strengthens the perception that women are usually not seen actively participating as leaders in public. But when I joined as a student in the department, I realised that women can be just as smart as men, and just as capable as leaders. But then I also realised that most of our teachers come from progressive families that did not try to clip the wings of their womenfolk. Alas! Not all women can say that of their families. But today, things are better and more and more women are pursuing their dreams and ambitions, and making significant contributions to the Mizo community.  And I believe our teachers are pioneers who have paved the way for us younger Mizo women.

With the world continuously moving towards creating more spaces and platforms for the sidelined and marginalised members of the world community, our teachers too have not failed in teaching us to be proud of our roots, our cultures and traditions and in doing that, they have given us the gift of pride, pride in our history and culture and that is something nobody can ever take away from us without our will. Through the critical perspectives they have lent us through their lectures, they have also taught us not to just accept things at face value. Whether it has to do with our culture or society or even the way we practise our belief system, our teachers have taught us that it is alright to question the status quo and engage in discourses and debates, and yes, even if we are women.

To conclude this little tribute, I wish to acknowledge God’s grace  and wisdom in placing me in the hands of people who have so much knowledge and wisdom to share. I know that it is not just my life that has been touched, but also the lives of many others as well. Thank you and God bless you.