Monday, January 17, 2011

Bag Packing in Zodawn

                                                                                                               By:- Hausienmuan Munluo

In the first week of March 2009. We began our Youth Gospel tour deep into the zodawn hills. Our first destination was Phaibem Village. It was my first tour, so i am preparing well. When we reached Phaibem village after traveling 45 Minutes by the afternoon Bus. Two young girls was waiting to receive us at the village entrance. I was wonder struck by their beauty, hospitality and their confidence in speech. The welcome was so disarming, their manner so friendly and radiant, that my nervousness evaporated before I could say a word. Here, I learnt that it is important not to measure high standard of living (Changkangna) and well being throught material possessions, education, the way we dress and in place where we live.


In the evening the two girls Chingboi and Ngangai led us near khugadam (khuga river) for our bath, they showed us different kind of insect and plant. Calling most by their scientific names and asking me in our own dialect, I was amazed at how much they know. They knew exactly when the plant bloom and what part of the plant is edible. They showed us how to row a boat. I become painfully aware of my own ignorance and relished meaningful learning is not only from good school and colleges in town and cities, but possible only when the emotion and the intellect are integrated.

At every village we conduct night worship services, presenting a very special song with our goog and mellifluous voices with my cousin Khupboi, everywhere we were appreciated. And after the church service, some cosy chat by the fireside other are flattering and long in the moonlit night, I can hear my cousin playing guitar and singing together with those young girls, song like " Solha hingtang ngai aw lungzuan lai ah na e...etc.." It makes me feel lonesome and the song " Nunlui ngailou a um lou e.." echoes in my ears. I would daydream about falling in Love with one of these beautiful girls. Unfortunately for me, these young girls ignored the leengkul and i never got the chance to flatter with them. Yet the act unlocked my imagination. imaginations is everything. If we can imagine a future, we can creat it That is the way of success.


The morning in kullian was exasperated. I want to spent my free time rowing boat on the Khuga River (Khugadam). The girls was exact opposite. They wanted to rehearse song for the choir. our pastor and youth chairman ask me to invite the Kullian girls to join us in our tour. My day begin with quarrelling for the day routine. From here, I learnt the power of disagreement, of dialogue and the essence of living with diversity in thinking. One cannot be dogmatic in matters of taste.


Our tour last for 13 days, but it make me learned what Delhi cannot taught me for the past 4 years. These zodawn people, who we usually called "Mawls" or "singtangte's"- was showing me the value of love, teaching me the meaning of success and real education of learning. Once Chingboi and Ngangai talks with their old friends from school in one village, about drugs addiction, their conversation was such that they would not talk to each other anymore, i then remind Chingboi, not to uselessly urge with those people that she would never succeed him to lead a normal life. Chingboi answer me that " Success is not what we creat for our self, it is what we give and left behind for other". The bond that was created between us was not romantic in nature. It is about the bond of Love and affection, bond of trust and caring. When in Delhi, once I narrated the whole story to one of my Lamka’n friends he commented that it was very foolish of me. Well I have been a fool all my life so what the hell. I was actually quite thrilled about my experience and that experience was perhaps was my highlight in Zoudawn. I can still see the faces of those smiling Zoudawn girls even after three months in Delhi and the love for Zoudawn become my inspiration in my struggling students life.

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