Entry 24: Against the system

I'm sure all of us have a time in our lives when we feel that we are either against the system or the system is against us Tonight I feel like both.

I feel I've just 'wasted' another semester waiting for an interview that hopefully will happen next month. I've been ready for around 6 months for it! And that's why I feel the system is against me! :(

Here is just another frustrated researcher punching her well worn keyboard!

Entry 23: The Wait

I'm curling up in the wait.

That time when you wait for your supervisor to send you feedback of your write-up. Sometimes it takes a couple of days, sometimes a few, sometimes even a week depending on how busy your supervisor is. I'm lucky I have a super efficient supervisor. I remembered when close to M.Phil submissions, the wait would take only a few hours, while some of my friends wait for two weeks and more. But here I am with a supervisor who would give me a break, allow me to slide when I have health problems or some family matters that needs attention. I couldn't ask for a better one.

So what do you do during the wait?

Everything under the sun. You relax, cook in your room, learn a new song, write a couple of articles for some Students' Union magazine, go for a movie and even flea market shopping. You even have time to miss home and feel terribly homesick, have a sitcom marathon and sleep early.

Of course, the wait is only temporary.

Until you receive that e-mail or text on the date for your next meeting. And realize you have to gear up for the next set of re-writes and drafts all over again.

Until the date for the meeting comes, I shamelessly bask in the wait!

Entry 22: Biting off too much??

Sometimes I feel like I'm biting off much more than I can chew! Somehow I feel I'm not the only one. 

The main purpose behind this hardly-read blog is to give me a space to vent and escape when it all seems to much to take. By 'it' I mean language research. So here I am in an escape mode once again!

Lately, my stress-related health problems are peaking prominently after my latest stint with viral fever. 

These days, I complain once more of shoulder pains. Yes, I'll definitely reach destination Frozen Shoulders by the time I am 40. I might even make it there a decade early. Engkima, my friend/ foe/ honorary brother/ hostel mate/ jogging companion/ mess mate/ shrink/ massage therapist, will have another hard week ahead. I admire his endurance while 'de-freezing my shoulders'. I'll whimper, squeal, scream and I even kicked him once!! I know, I need to get more serious about my shoulder exercises.

My sinusitis flares up terribly these days. And winter hasn't even taken a peek in our beloved Delhi yet! 

It's a blue Monday today. And I have been here sitting on my massively cluttered work desk for the past 6 hours while pain shoots up between my shoulder blades. I hope to finish this draft by evening, read a couple of papers and finish framing a questionnaire before I can go for a lovely walk in campus.

There's a funeral I have to attend this evening. Of course, social life can't take a back seat!

I can't even remember the last time I've been out with the boyfriend! Funny how these things take the back seat once you get too comfortable with it!

I'm not a pro at juggling priorities, but I feel I've become pretty good over the years. After all, the thing I fear most after getting into research is to be an intellectual who doesn't contribute to the society. 

But sometimes, just sometimes, I feel I bite off much more than I can chew! 

It could be the Blue Monday talking, or the  painful shoulder blades!But nonetheless, I can't switch off the escape mode just yet!

I know, I need extra shelves! But if you see the size of my room, you'd tell me this is just fine! :)

Yep... I read Lai bible to get me better acquainted with the language!

Entry 21: Field: Day 12: The long road home

21st June, Tuesday

Lawngtlau- Lunglei- Aizawl

We left Lawngtlai at 7:30 AM in a drizzly foggy morning! We were supposed to arrive an hour before lunch at Lunglei. But our car had a flat tyre and we ran out of spare tyres. We were still a good 10 kms away from the nearest service station. So my dad called up my cousin and we couldn't do anything but wait for relief.

The smile lasted for 30 minutes approx. It was all frowns for the rest of the wait!

I got bored after half an hour and roamed around for something to click!

When relief came after two hours, we were cold and hungry. So we were more than happy to go ahead to Lunglei to have lunch while waiting for our tyre to be fixed. At Lunglei, I met my newborn niece for the first time. I thought I was hungry but I was more engrossed with the tiny little human rather than the lunch. I made a few phone calls to a few friends apologizing. I had promised some friends a meet-up but then I couldn't make it due to the unavoidable delay. A couple of them were surely not happy with me. Who can blame them? I wasn't happy with me and my schedules either.

The little human. The teacup human! :D

We left Lunglei at around 2:00 PM. We expected to have dinner at Aizawl. Lunglei was only five hours from Aizawl. Or so we thought. 

I fell asleep in the car. I woke up just in time to see a snake crossed the road just as we entered Mausen village!! I screamed as we ran over the snake. We didn't want to but the snake 'threw' itself right before our wheels. My dad then talked about the bad things that are bound to follow when you ran over a snake while on a long run. "Flat tyre" he specified. I laughed. We already had a flat tyre in the morning and our tyres were all checked and the flat one replaced with a brand new tyre.  There's no way that we should have a flat tyre.

Not so.

We were 10 kms from Aibawk when we got another puncture. But I find it strange that the new tyre we just replaced was the one with the puncture. Luckily we had a spare tyre and we changed it and headed on.

The second puncture in a day! I blame it on the snake!

The culprit! We dug this out at a service station in Aibawk.

 It was getting dark and raining when we reached Aibawk. We drove slowly looking for a service station. We found one which was run by a woman. Oh yeah! You should see this woman fixing the tyre. Sometimes she'd hit the tyre, sometimes sit on the crowbar when she realized it won't budge with her arms. She fixed and change the tyre all on her own. All we did was sit and watch.  And I had never admired a woman so much when it comes to mechanics. If I ever drive by Aibawk, I should remember to go say 'hi' to that woman. I'm such a big fan!!

The wonder-woman with tyres.

Driving away from Aibawk, we thought we're done with the road problems. But then again, there was a landslide at Muallungthu, a few hours away from Aizawl. Unbelievable isn't it?? And we were stuck there for a couple more hours while we wait for the roads to get cleared. By that time, I was so frustrated, tired and sore that I just wanted to cry.

When we reached home, it was well pass 10:00 PM.  It takes 9 hours approx. to reached Aizawl from Lawngtlai. But we took well over 14 hours. The long road home indeed!!

Sometimes I wish I could go back to Mausen and run over that snake again and again and again.

It's just a wish though!

And the dutiful girlfriend always makes it a point to tell her exact location while on the road! :D

Entry 20: Field: Day 11: Meeting last contact.

20th June, Monday

Lawngtlai.

Today, I surprised myself and woke up early enough to help my aunt cook brunch. My appointment to meet my last contact was shifted to 11:00 AM so I spend the morning bathing the kids and teaching the eldest a nursery rhyme.

Finally, at 10:30 AM I left my aunt's place and headed towards the LADC office to meet Mr. Hmun Hre. I would sheepishly admit that I entered the wrong building! But then I met a friend of my cousin who guided me towards the new building. The office staffs were pleasant and helpful and put me right through for the meeting. How I wish the same staff would be in JNU during scholarship renewal season! Sigh! 

I couldn't express my gratitude enough when Pu Hmun Hre gave me an uninterrupted two whole hours for my interview. He told his staff to lock his office from outside during the interview. A busy man holding the post of  Vice Chairman, Planning and Commission in the Lai Autonomous District Council, two hours is a lot for him. After the interview, we switched numbers and he told me he'll contact me when he visits Delhi. (Which he did. He called me yesterday and told me he'll reach Delhi in a week's time and told me to be ready with my new batch of questionnaires! Ah! Lucky me! )

Pu Hmun Hre at his office in LADC office, Lawngtlai

I've already written excerpts of my interview with Pu Hmun Hre when it comes to colors in my other blog. (Click here to go to the post) Though he failed miserably in the names of colors, he is one person to ask about the history and all other general information about the Lai people and the Lai language.

After leaving the LADC office, I went to the Guesthouse where my dad was staying. According to our schedule, we were supposed to leave Lawngtlai in the afternoon and spend a night at Lunglei. But when I reached the guesthouse, my dad was sick so we had to replan and stay one more night at Lawngtlai. 

My one night stay at the guesthouse was one fitful night. It's so far, perched on a hilltop and maintenance was well neglected. Though I know I'd miss Lawngtlai terribly, I couldn't wait to leave the guesthouse and be on the road back to Aizawl.

Entry 19: Field: Day 10: Lazy Sunday at Lawngtlai.

19th June, Sunday

Lawngtlai.

I woke up late today. I must have been tired from all the adventures on the road yesterday. When I got up, the morning meal was all prepared and my uncle and my aunt were just waiting for me to get up! Imagine my embarrassment! 

As we were getting ready for church, my aunt was concerned about what I was wearing to church. I brought exaclty one pair of formal wear for my travel because I know I was going to spend two Sundays on the road. However, I also knew I would attend two different churches (maybe in a different village) so I packed my green top and a matching puan. My aunt kept on telling me that my top was to old and my puan too 'tunlai lo'. Don't get me wrong, whenever I come home for holidays, I always made sure I pack my best clothes. But  somehow, they always end up looking old or out-of -date when I reach Aizawl after just a matter of hours. The case was the same even here in Lawngtlai. My aunt kept rummaging through her well -ironed Sunday wear as she kept telling me "Hei hi i duh em? Nge hei zawk hi? Nula nih chuan nalh deuha in chei tur!"  I ended up with her black top and her tunlai puan and felt awkward in the new gear.

 I went to church but I hardly listened to the sermon as I spend most of the time running after my hyperactive cousins. By afternoon, I was so tired that I napped with my infant cousin for a few hours. I woke up to a ruckus. I have no words for it. You just have to watch the video!

I know! I am being mean! But my cousins will thank me one day when they grow up!

We had a relatively quiet dinner and I babysat my three cousins while the parents went for an evening service. Staying for a few days with my aunt made me admire stay at home moms and helpful daddies much more than I previously had. It would be wrong to say that there's no adventure today because attempting to keep peace between three kids all under the age of 4 is one heck of a job.

When the evening service got over, I was more than happy to sign the kids over to the parents. We retired early for the night as I had an early appointment at the LADC office to meet another informant the next day.

Entry 18: Field: Day 9: The road back to Lawngtlai from Sangau

18^th June, Saturday

Sangau to Lawngtlai.

We woke up early. We have a long road from Sangau to Lawngtlai. All our phones had died down because there was no electricity for the last three days. We couldn’t contact any other villages so we just started out blindly. As we were about to leave, an uncle (Forgive me. But I'm blessed with lots of uncles. Especially in Sangau.) ran after our car. When we stopped he gave me a book written in Lai. It turns out that when he was told I was doing a language research which has something to do with Lai, he spend the night digging into his book collection. It warms me to know that there are people who care for me and my research. I made a mental vow not to fail those people.

My reminder on why I should give my research my best: Ka Zahpi lo - Hrang Nawl.

Just an hour onto the road, our car got stuck in the steep muddy road near Ceu Lui at the foothills of Phawngpui. My dad and I got down and pushed it. I have had a lot of practice pushing vehicles for a running start during my days back in Shillong. But I tell you, there ain’t no fun pushing a car stuck uphill. A truck came by and some of its passengers helped us push it out of the slippery mud. The car just got out of the mud when it died down again. We checked it and realized that the water dried up. Luckily there was a BRTF camp nearby and we took water from there and cooled the radiators.

Staring at Phawngpui a.k.a Blue Mountains from Ceu Lui. I didn't make an effort to climb it this time.  I am no fan of the Phawngpui Leeches!

Car Trouble : Look at the face of the one who who forgot to 'water' the car. Ha!! 

We were just about to start out when a family friend, U Sawmtea and his friend showed from nowhere. The truck that helped us push the car out of the mud, went to the next village and told them that our car broke down. Ah! How I love the hospitality and the self-sacrificial spirit in this part of the world. But with our car problem solved,  U Sawmtea invited us to visit his dad’s farm. My dad hesitated a bit, but we ‘seduced’ him with the mini-tuibur factory at the farm. I must add, it’s safe to say that Tuibur is one vice that my dad can’t get rid of.

Tuibur Factory at Pu Thathrina's farm.

Pu Thathrina Thlam: The inside of the farmshed.

We spend around an hour at Pu Thathrina’s farm. The little farm had a fish pond right in the mid-slopes. The view was breath-taking with the magnificient Phawngpui looming and shadowing the farm. I took a walk uphill the farm and enjoyed myself picking fresh vegetables and taking pictures of the 100% organic farm. But my walk was interrupted by a morning shower. So I headed back to the little farmshed.

After the short walk

We had brunch at Ceural village at a house which I noticed had a nice little fruit orchard just attached to the kitchen garden. This is one of the things I love about this village - fruit orchard and also the hardworking nature of the people who hailed from this village. I shared a quick beauty tip on how to use ripe avocado fruit as a mask with the lady of the house before we left. Avocado is aplenty in this village. Sigh!! And it's so pricey back in good old Delhi.

We made quick stops at the usual villages as on our way to Sangau. When we reached Saiha, it was getting dark. We had a quick dinner at Saiha and left for Lawngtlai soon after. I would have loved to stay in Saiha for the night but my dad had people to meet at Lawngtlai on Monday. And it was against my dad's ethics to travel on a Sunday. Though I don't share his ethics, it is not quite acceptable to travel on a Sunday when you're in Mizoram. 

It was nearing midnight when we reached Lawngtlai. My dad checked into the GuestHouse while I choose to stay at my aunt's place. 

By midnight I was safely in bed in the balmy heat of Lawngtlai, missing the cold winds of Sangau!!