17th June, Friday.
Sangau
Listen did I, to the winds last night. But by morning, a storm blew. I cocooned myself under my blanket, not wanting to get up because of the cold. By the time I got up, my uncle told me that we were invited someplace else for brunch. Lazily my cousin and I changed and went. On our way, two motorbikes came to pick us up. Such gentlemen they were! They knew my uncle’s place was on the far end of the village so they volunteered to pick us up. I hesitated though. I am a very bad, alarmed and panicky pillion rider. And with the rain and storm, the roads are muddy and slippery which didn’t do any good for my edgy characteristics. I took a long hard look at the man on the bike. Lalfaka, a policeman (I later learnt) was a broad, huge and strapping young man. So I decided to put my trust in him and climbed behind him.
Call me anxious, but if you see the road at Sangau this morning, I know you won’t blame me. We reached our destination safely. But while getting down from the bike, my shoeslaces got tangled on the bike and I fell… no! Almost fell!! The bike slipped but somehow I caught hold of the guy’s jacket. He laughed, people on the road laughed. I fumed and walked off with pride which didn’t last after I slipped and fell… right then and there!
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| Sangau in Monsoon: Don't get me wrong, this is from the part of the village without the blacktop roads. Nonetheless, My cousin gave me a ride on his bike on roads worse than these. Ah! Courage! |
Only after reaching did I come to learn that one of my relatives welcomed by dad by killing a pig. There goes my high nose and my welcome wagon at Lawngtlai!! We had our morning meal at that place and stayed till noon.
It's been years since my dad visited Sangau. I agree that it is indeed unacceptable to some, provided that my dad is in politics. But standing on my Dad's defense, he has been battling hypertension for years. And after Ma passed away, it has gotten worse. And sometimes, I feel he stays away from his own hometown because the landscape and the people reminded him too much of my mother. My suspicion was confirmed on this trip with him. I saw how lonely he gets when he visits people, the look on his face when people remembered Ma. I made a mental note to myself that I'd accompany him to Sangau every single holiday I get.
Whenever my dad arrives at Sangau, he always made it a point to meet Grannies. So in the afternoon we decided to visit grannies. So we went to visit three Grannies.
The first Granny we met was 92 years old. She was one of the oldest grannies in Sangau. Yet she called my dad by name when we entered her room. When I introduced myself, the first thing she told me was that I looked like my mother. I smiled. I get that a lot, especially from older women. She then, leaned onto me and whispered that I should somehow force my dad to get married. I laughed. She then told me that the cold Sangau weather is killing her and when she tried to get out of bed she said that she smelt bad and took out a bottle of perfume from under her pillow and sprayed herself. I was surprised. How many old women would do that? I pray I still take care of myself and take other people into consideration if I ever reach her age.
The second granny that we met is my dad’s paternal aunt. She was 89 years old and very sick when we went to meet her. She recognized my dad but she was already partially deaf that we have to talk loudly to her. When I introduced myself, she told she missed my Ma terribly. Then she went on to tell me that, she was tired of living and that she asked God many times to take her; but He refused. I felt bad for her.
Finally, the third Granny I met, my dad’s maternal aunt was 90 years old and was praying when we entered her room. This Granny was partially blind and also partially deaf. She was the first granny who didn’t recognise my dad. After my dad introduced himself, her face lit up and she accused my dad of being as absconder for so long. Then she turned to me and talked to me in Lai just like the other Grannies. When I answered in Lai, she was taken aback and kept talking to me. Then she later said that she was proud of me and also told me that my mother didn’t speak Lai either when my parents first got married. She also encouraged me to learn it more. My dad had told me earlier that this granny had been very weak for almost a decade. Yet one morning, she woke up and told her family that God told her that He would bless her with long life. That was three years ago.
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| My crash course in Lai: Granny No. 3 and I |
In the evening, my neighbour killed my dad a goat. Ah! When it comes to the welcome wagon, my dad beat me mercilessly at Sangau. I admit defeat!
After dinner, I sat with my nephew and for the first time in two days, I spoke fluent Lai. Thanks to all the practice with the Grannies. My nephew stayed with his grandparents at Sangau while his younger siblings lived with the parents at Aizawl. We talked for hours and I told him about his younger siblings and we shared bicycle stories and showed each other our bicycle scars. Needless to say, his scars didn’t even stand up to a quarter the number of my scars.
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| Bonding time: I was so proud of my nephew who helped his Grandpa with all the household chores. I gave a report with flying colors to his parents when I reached Aizawl. |
During the two days we were in Sangau, the whole village was on a blackout. The storm destroyed a transformer and blew down trees which in turn destroyed the electric wires.We signed in early that night but the mosquitoes kept me up late that night.
(Notes: Apologies to the two month gap between the consecutive posts. I misplaced my field diary and left without it when I came back to Delhi. My Dad found it and brought it with him when he came to visit me last week!! )
