“I add something special to Mannu life”
By: Hausienmuan
The day before the Easter Sunday 2009, I caught a bus to come to Lamka from Singngat. Since it was going to take around one and half hours to reach my destination. I had brought a book along to read on the way. I boarded the bus and sat down on my seat (Number 23) and next to me (Number 24) sit a man from my own village. After settling in, I began to read. The man who sat beside me was a middle aged man who cannot read or write, hailing from Behiang village and settling at Singngat for his childrens education. As soon as the bus moved he started talking with the man sitting behind us. Some ten minutes later, he was done and then for want of anything else to do, started peering into the book I was reading.
In between turning pages, I caught him looking at my book. I looked at him and before I could say anything, he asked me: “ Na laibu sim bang tangthu e?”. I told him tha book’s name and give him an outline of the plot. He seemed quite interested in getting to know the whole story. So, I told him the whole story again with some more details up till the point that I had read it. He seemed a little unhappy that I couldn’t tell him the entire story. He asked me if the same book will be found in Churachandpur. I told him it was possible. He said: “ Ka neulai apat Mahatma Gandhi tanchin kaza, aban kathei be ut hi”. I smiled and told him that even my grandfather do that. A little later, he turned to me with a piece of paper and asked me to write down the name of the book’s. I obliged, and write “ My experiment with truth an Autography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi”. And told him that it was written by Mahatma himself and told him that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was his full name.
Curious, I asked him why he wanted the book’s details. He told me that he had a daughter name “Mannu”, who was in Class-IX at St. Joseph School Singngat and that he wanted his daughter to read good books and become “Big” in the future. I told him I knew Mannu well and she is bright and told him to encourage her to read not only her school subject but also read from some out book. We reached our destination (Lamka) and went in our separate ways. But that illiterate man thrist for knowledge, make me wonder the whole day and I began hunting the book’s myself in every book store in Churachandpur but could not found it at all.
The day I pack my luggage for Delhi. I called Mannu to my house and present the book’s (My own book) to read for herself and to read it to her father. Forty days has passed since I reached Delhi and on June 14, 2009 evening I got one STD call from Home: “Na laibu simnop huai kasa mama hi,…, a English katheilou tam hileh jong ka phat tuampi hi..blah..blah.blah..!”. Mannu thanked me that day for my book and I knew my small contribution did bear fruits, its make Mannu happy and satisfied her father. And I smiled, and all sort of hometown memories haunt me and I began to miss my hometown.
Serving and loving the Zou (Our nation/ tribe) doesn’t only mean donating one Volleyball, football or donating money. Its also means helping its people, helping the Zou down-trodden people, its also means adding something special to someone’s life in our own small way. At times we needn’t do a lot to know all. All we need is a little patience and we might end up adding something special to someone’s life. I hope to run someday into Mannu again and tell her, under the moonlit night, the story of the new book I have read from beginning to end, “The Quest for freedom and dignity”.
Note: This articles was write up in respond to the call and sms received from 9990855126 on June 4, 2009, about the work I have done for the Zou’s people.
By: Hausienmuan
The day before the Easter Sunday 2009, I caught a bus to come to Lamka from Singngat. Since it was going to take around one and half hours to reach my destination. I had brought a book along to read on the way. I boarded the bus and sat down on my seat (Number 23) and next to me (Number 24) sit a man from my own village. After settling in, I began to read. The man who sat beside me was a middle aged man who cannot read or write, hailing from Behiang village and settling at Singngat for his childrens education. As soon as the bus moved he started talking with the man sitting behind us. Some ten minutes later, he was done and then for want of anything else to do, started peering into the book I was reading.
In between turning pages, I caught him looking at my book. I looked at him and before I could say anything, he asked me: “ Na laibu sim bang tangthu e?”. I told him tha book’s name and give him an outline of the plot. He seemed quite interested in getting to know the whole story. So, I told him the whole story again with some more details up till the point that I had read it. He seemed a little unhappy that I couldn’t tell him the entire story. He asked me if the same book will be found in Churachandpur. I told him it was possible. He said: “ Ka neulai apat Mahatma Gandhi tanchin kaza, aban kathei be ut hi”. I smiled and told him that even my grandfather do that. A little later, he turned to me with a piece of paper and asked me to write down the name of the book’s. I obliged, and write “ My experiment with truth an Autography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi”. And told him that it was written by Mahatma himself and told him that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was his full name.
Curious, I asked him why he wanted the book’s details. He told me that he had a daughter name “Mannu”, who was in Class-IX at St. Joseph School Singngat and that he wanted his daughter to read good books and become “Big” in the future. I told him I knew Mannu well and she is bright and told him to encourage her to read not only her school subject but also read from some out book. We reached our destination (Lamka) and went in our separate ways. But that illiterate man thrist for knowledge, make me wonder the whole day and I began hunting the book’s myself in every book store in Churachandpur but could not found it at all.
The day I pack my luggage for Delhi. I called Mannu to my house and present the book’s (My own book) to read for herself and to read it to her father. Forty days has passed since I reached Delhi and on June 14, 2009 evening I got one STD call from Home: “Na laibu simnop huai kasa mama hi,…, a English katheilou tam hileh jong ka phat tuampi hi..blah..blah.blah..!”. Mannu thanked me that day for my book and I knew my small contribution did bear fruits, its make Mannu happy and satisfied her father. And I smiled, and all sort of hometown memories haunt me and I began to miss my hometown.
Serving and loving the Zou (Our nation/ tribe) doesn’t only mean donating one Volleyball, football or donating money. Its also means helping its people, helping the Zou down-trodden people, its also means adding something special to someone’s life in our own small way. At times we needn’t do a lot to know all. All we need is a little patience and we might end up adding something special to someone’s life. I hope to run someday into Mannu again and tell her, under the moonlit night, the story of the new book I have read from beginning to end, “The Quest for freedom and dignity”.
Note: This articles was write up in respond to the call and sms received from 9990855126 on June 4, 2009, about the work I have done for the Zou’s people.
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