claire

This is an excerpt from "My Gratitude Journal" which I have written on 9th Sept 2007.

1. They don't mock-tease girls (including the non-mizo's residing in Mizoram)
2. They know music
3. They drive well ( maybe the advantage of growing up in a hilly region)
4. They have the courtesy to offer their seat to the fairer sex or to elders in buses and public places.. I need to say more about this. During my 3 years of stay in Chennai, i used to take buses and trains many times. And never had i been offered a seat, nor had i seen a guy getting up to offer his seat to a lady or to an elder. Instead the men sit on the reserved ladies seat, and would never get up until the bus conductor force them to. Such is the condition out there, whereas here at home, it's just the opposite, and it makes me glad.
5. They don't stare at you if you wear sleeveless
6. In Mizoram, a girl need not safeguard her body from being disturbed by uninvited hands even in the most crowded places
7. They can take jokes
8. They are helpful. One can always feel safe within Mizoram, even to have a car break-down coz a mizo guy is always willing to offer a helping hand
   
9. They give importance to cleanliness ( even to their feet..hehe)
10. They smell gooooood :-)

Judgement is purely based on the guy's i've known and seen (from the richest to the poorest), in and outside Mizoram.

Yes, there will always be a few exceptions

Hail ye Mizo Guys!

You make us proud, and you make ME proud to be a Mizo :-)

I came home after a stressful day last week, when my three nieces all came and ran towards me, and gave me a tight group hug (our hug – which ill explain later). All stress seemed to vanish. That was when I thought “I have to write something about these little darlings”.

I am blessed with 5 brothers, and i was the cry baby of the family, the pampered and not spoilt (mind it) little brat :-). I always dreamt of having a real sister and would innocently ask my mom to have another baby soon. But from the past 6 years, three special princesses happened in my life. My 3 little nieces Felfeli, Dindini and Puipuii. And I want to dedicate this post to them. They are my beautiful angels.


Felfeli (age 6):
My first niece, daughter of my second brother. Looking at her today, she reminds me so much of me! She’s my mom’s baby, and has been sleeping with my parents since she was 2. She gets shy for no reason, and laughs as much as me. She finds almost everything funny. She’s a good story teller, and could make up stories, narrate it without any sign of it being made up. Lately, she’s been speaking to herself in English a lot, we think she’s imitating her teacher at school. Dad used to read her stories before she sleeps (again, just like me :-)). She can hum to almost all the songs I play. She’s very responsible, and takes care of her two lil sisters pretty well. Although she fights with dindini at times, well, ain’t that one of the best part of childhood? She wants to be a nurse or doctor or teacher when she grows up (I always wanted to be a doctor or teacher). But the last time I asked her, she said she wants to be a millionaire! She prays a lot, and unlike most other kids, she believes in her prayers. I know she’s going to become someone great someday.


Dindini (age 4):
She’s feli’s younger sister. The unconquerable, Miss Independent and The Entertainer! This one.. you’ll fall in love with her. Tell her to dance, tell her to sing, tell her to do anything.. she’ll do it, but on one condition – DON’T LAUGH. She’s an early bird, and very enthusiastic. She can dance really well, she can imitate almost all the dances she sees on T.V. And she has her own set of vocabularies. I will jot down whatever I can remember here, coz I think its too precious to be forgotten.

1. When she finishes using the loo, and wants someone to go wash for her, she’ll shout “anu/api/anite/apa KA EK KA KHAM TOHHH!”

2. Khuavangchhinchhiah – vangkhuachhinchhiah

3. kutchuk – chukchu (a u in a hnungah chukchu a nei)

4. lassi – sihal (anu sihal ka in chak ee)

5. picnic – toothpick ( anite keini chu kan in toothpick don bik ah)

6. sangha ruh – a perek (a perek a om!)

7. phurthak – meithak (anu meithak ka kai ania- this happened today actually - 31st May 2009)

8. Once I scolded her for touching my makeup stuffs, she stared at me for a moment and said “anite-i chu I thinthat lai kha ka ngai e” then she walked off..lol. (must be opposite of thinchhia)

9. Her fav singer is “Mimi Varte”.. we don’t know which one she means, Mimi Renthlei or Mami Varte.

Today I asked her what she wants to become when she grows up, first she smiled and said ‘Mimi-i’. Then Feli explained the meaning to her, then she said ‘e e e.. I want to become a nurse’. But I think she’s just repeating what her sister said. This one will be resourceful and dependable in everything she does.


Puipuii (age 1 and half):
This little one.. the most adorable baby! Dad calls her the 'JOKER' of the family. My third brother’s daughter. The sweet, naughty and playful one. She’s bold and bald (she takes up my brothers). Her mom tries her best to dress her as girly as possible, with pink dress and pink shoes. But there’s always one, foolish enough to ask “why are you dressing your son as a girl”? haha.. and her mom would be furious. She can dance to all sounds of beat. You should hear the way she says things, soooo cute!

Love you – laaaa huuuu,
gud nite – nu niiiite,
ih mo – nih mooo,
ngai che – nai teee
If she hears a fart sound, she’ll point at you and say ‘BOOM’..lol.

She calls me “lai meme” (lalmimi) and calls her mom “lai baybe” (lal baby).. I taught her *evil grin* . And I am teaching her now how to say ‘alo nih tak chu’, but she cant get the words right yet. I cant wait for her to learn! I take her to church on Sundays, and she would fall asleep in my arms (the part I like the most). She’s the boldest amongst the three! And she can take care of herself. She falls sick lot of times and has been admitted to the hospital more than 5 times since she was born. I pray that she would soon come out of this situation.

OUR HUG: We name it “HUG HUG HUG”.
For this, we have to stand atleast 5 feet away from each other. And we have to run to each other (like in Hindi movies), and they (the kids) should jump up to me, and we should give each other 4-5 times pat on the back, concluded with a kiss. Puipuii’s also learning this.

Its so much fun to be with them, and watch them play, though they get a little irritating at times, but they are kids. And I often regret scolding them sometimes. They brought such joy to our lives, and I love them so much! Thank You Lord, for my beautiful angels.

Written by : Robert Charles Guidry (Bobby Charles) in 1977

Made famous by : Rita Coolidge

This was one of the first song that I ever liked, even before knowing what it meant. My cousin’s used to sing it so many times that the tune’s embedded in my brain! And after I came to know that it was Rita Coolidge who sang this, seems she also sang ‘words’, ‘I don’t want to talk about it’, 'we've got tonight', 'crazy love', which are also my all time fav songs. I've actually just downloaded these (rita's version).. lurve 'em!!

Lyrics of The jealous kind
Dont be angry, if i seem rude
Each time we meet
Someone that you once knew
That you say used to be so close to you
It's just that I'm so afraid
Someone might steal you away
I'd lose my mind
I can't help myself, the way I feel sometimes
I'm a jealous kind

It was alright when I first met you
I didn't mind
But now things have changed
I'm just not the same and now I find
I want you all to myself
I don't want to share you with nobody else
You must forgive me, for the way I act sometimes
I'm a jealous kind

If you only knew how much it hurts to hear you say
How you can't forget
That before we met, those were the good old days
Why must you hurt me so
I can't take it no more
And I'm really tryin'
And I can't help myself, the way I act sometimes
I'm a jealous kind

I found this cover in youtube, I totally like the way he sings it, a little John Mayer but country..

Have you ever been in love?
Yes?
No?
Not sure?
Don’t know?

Think about this song, I’m sure in every relationship we all feel this way. You start a relationship, you become close, you share your feelings, and then start to talk about your past relationships. Yeah, in the beginning it seems quite alright, like everything’s cool. And then this stupid feeling called “J” comes along, which makes most of us go weak on the knees! Do you ever get that “I wanna know 'bout your past, but I don’t wanna know” feeling? Aarrghh.. I hate this feeling! And this is why I sometimes think its better not to know everything, leave it behind, stay true to each other and live the moment. Sometimes you're so sure that you're in love, but then again you doubt yourself. Coz the good Book tells us that “Love is not jealous”.

Now tell me again, Have You ever been in love? :-)

6. Forever and for always – Shania Twain

Shania has always been my favourite artist. Right from “you’re still the one” to “from this moment on” to “when” to “man! I feel like a woman” to ‘ka ching” to this:).

This brought tears to my eyes coz the lyrics synched with the video so perfectly! And seeing the couple looking so happy together..sigh! What more could you ask for than to grow old with the love of your life….?

7. Lover's moon - Glenn Frey

Oh well, this was a long time ago. It was a long distance relationship. So.. i cried, so..Its obvious..:). It didn’t work out anyways. He is now happily married with an adorable son, and I am now happily single with three beautiful neices.I know what you’re thinking! I accept both cash and credit cards. No coins please! :)

Here’s the lyrics.

There's lover's moon tonight

As I look back over my shoulder
All the stars are shining bright
Just like the nights when I used to hold her
She's out there somewhere under the lover's moon

Lover's moon, won't you shine on me?
I'm dancing with a memory
I wish I may, I wish I might
Have one last chance to hold her tight
Waiting, I know she's waiting
I know she waits for me under the lover's moon.

There's a lover's moon tonight
Shining down on half of this world
So many souls are in it's light
But for me there is just one girl

And she's waiting, I know she's waiting
I know she waits for me under the lover's moon

8. Jesus take the wheel – Carrie Underwood

The old couple in this video..they are so cute together! It gives me goose-bumps when the wrinkled hand of the granny touched the wrinkled hand of the grandpa, and when he kissed her? sniff sniff sniff..:)

And the lyrics.. so inspiring!

9. Amneris Letter – Shania Twain

Have you ever felt that you’re not perfect enough no matter how hard you try? Ever felt that you should have said something, but you’re pride pulls you back from saying it? Ever said something that you regret? This song has got it all. Short and sweet, but very meaningful. One of my friend sent this song to me 2 years back, coz he liked it so much. And I love it till today! The music is by Elton John, Lyrics by Tim Rice.

here's the lyrics:

I'm sorry for everything I've said
And for anything I forgot to say too
When things get so complicated
I stumble, at best, muddle through
I wish that our lives could be simple
I don't want the world, only you
I wish I could tell you this face to face
But there's never the time, never the place
So this letter will have to do
I love you

10. Someone’s watching over me – Hillary Duff

An OST of the movie “Raise Your Voice”. I still remember watching this. It was a hot “Summer of 07” in Chennai. It seemed to be hotter when some of our friends/friend having long hair joined us all the way from bangalore ;-) I had to stay back coz of my studies, and most of my friends went home for the holiday.

Burma bazaar was one the places we visited the most, coz we were so jobless. It’s a place where they sell pirated stuffs. And oh, I googled burma bazaar and this is what I found.

“Chennai is one of the important trade centers of south India and is a good place to shop for a large variety of things. One of the famous shopping places is Burma Bazaar, where one can find all sorts of imported goods ranging from electronic gadgets to readymade and perfumes. Trading in almost all kinds of goods from plastic goods to textiles and stationery, and from ready-made garments to household items can be had here for reasonable prices. There are many new shopping complexes that offer a large range of shopping to be done under a single roof, have come all over the Burma Bazaar. This is shoppers' paradise”.

A shopper’s paradise indeed!:-)

Anyways, getting back to my story… I have this one friend..uhmm.. “King of Burma Bazaar” (he’s so gonna kill me when he reads this..hahaha). He’s good in bargaining, he buys and sells things, and he makes friends with the salesmen :). It’s his talent. LOL. Well we went and bought lots of dvd’s to watch. And this one came along with a collection of movies of Hillary duff. And we watched it with a few of our other friends, I cried.. a lot. Thank God the light was switched off. hehe.. and I love this song since then. An assurance that some one’s watching over me from up above..

I love music, and I don’t know what I’d do without it. It keeps me going on, especially through hard and trying times. I listen to songs of all kinds. And the kind depends on my mood and the life I’m going through at that moment. If I like a song, I really really really like it! I’ll have it on the repeat for a long time, and by doing so I usually make my family and friends apparently hate the song :). The other day, mom ironically suggested that I should start earning by singing (coz she got fed up of my loud music). And I quickly added “you should have sent me to music school!” and we both laughed. I would like music to accompany me everywhere, yes.. everywhere! Right from morning when I wake up till night before going to sleep.

Have you ever cried while listening to a song? Well, I do.. lot of times! Music always connects me to some place beyond my reach. Here are some songs that I want to share, which I’ve cried with. The reason for the tears – sometimes because of the lyrics, sometimes the tune, sometimes because of someone, sometimes because of the movie it has been featured in and sometimes because of the music video.

1. Nothing’s gonna stop us now – Starship

This song is a soundtrack of the movie Mannequin. I was in 6^th standard. The movie came on t.v., and I liked it so much. But it ended too soon, and I wanted more. But all I could see was the list of names of the actors and producers etc sliding up on the t.v screen with this song playing in the background. And I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed! Too bad we couldn’t download and playback as much as we wanted back then.

2. How you live – Point of grace

My recent favourite!

I haven’t lived my life the way I have planned. I have made mistakes and stumbled along. But this song gave me a new mind set. It gives me courage and hope, it tells me how to live my life, and that it’s not too late to live the right way. It has brought a change in me, for which I will forever be grateful!

Here are the lyrics -

Wake up to the sunlight,With your windows open

Don't hold in your anger or leave things unspoken
Wear your red dress,Use your good dishes
Make a big mess and make lots of wishes
Have what you want, But want what you have
And don't spend your life lookin' back

Chorus:
Turn up the music
Turn it up loud
Take a few chances
Let it all out
You won't regret it
Lookin' back from where you have been
Cuz it's not who you knew
And it's not what you did
It's how you live

So go to the ballgames, And go to the ballet
And go see your folks more than just on the holidays
Kiss all your children, Dance with your wife
Tell your husband you love him every night
Don't run from the truth,'Cause you can't get away
Just face it and you'll be okay

Oh wherever you are and wherever you've been
Now is the time to begin

So give to the needy, And pray for the grieving
E'en when you don't think that you can
'Cause all that you do is bound to come back to you
So think of your fellow man,Make peace with God and make peace with yourself
'Cause in the end there's nobody else

3. Unbreakable – Westlife

I sometimes imagine losing someone dear to me, and this music video depicted some part of my imagination.

4. Maahi Ve - From the movie Kal ho naa ho

To be honest, I hardly like hindi songs. But this one.. is special.

My college days in Mysore was one of the best days of my life. Final year was a busy year. Being a part of the Student’s Council member, and with heavy work load regarding my studies, completing practical record books, plus great expectations from lecturers and my parents, life was hectic. Every thing drifted so fast, and the year ended before I knew! The best part about TC (Teresian College) was the Hostel. I have left countless memories. Every year we have a college fest. And we have couple of friends who dance really well. They danced on this song during the fest. The movie was a hit that time. And we used to watch them practice several times in the hostel. Somehow this song lingered on my mind. After I came home, I saw this song played on t.v. Good old memories came flashing back. I just sat there… with tears in my eyes.

PS: I came to know the meaning only after seeing this video :D

5. I dare you to move – Switchfoot

I’m sure you have watched “A walk to remember”. This is one of the OST of the movie.

Check out the lyrics.

Welcome to the planet

Welcome to existence

Everyone's here

Everyone's here

Everybody's watching you now

Everybody waits for you now

What happens next?

What happens next?

I dare you to move

I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

Like today never happened

Today never happened before

Welcome to the fallout

Welcome to resistance

The tension is here

The tension is here

Between who you are and who you could be

Between how it is and how it should be

Maybe redemption has stories to tell

Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell

Where can you run to escape from yourself?

Where you gonna go?

Where you gonna go?

Salvation is here

The lyrics, the tune, the movie, the story… they all have every reason to make me cry.

Oh my.. now that ive started, im starting to recollect many more songs. I guess I’ll have to break it into parts. This is it for now.