A Luminous Life...

SEPTEMBER 3. It is late Thursday afternoon. The chairs are empty and the hills are quiet. I like this familiar space I had once lived in- breathing words to life, one day at a time.  He sits across me today. On this warm afternoon. We are meeting for the first time. In a room lit by sunlight. Traces of a working day still visible. And his energy for life, infectious.  I instantly think of happiness. It seeps into my being. Like the sweetness of Autumn flowers that fill the season. The blossoms may fade- like everything else- but they always live their time, leaving a lasting impact. It's odd that I am sitting her e with you , thinking of life as the most precious thing. And in between words that sum up our pasts, it feels like home - just as they say, home is people, not a place.   I relish the tea, the talks, the laughter- this very moment, sparking with inspiration.  Then I knew I have met my Muse . The one, who opened up a whole new wor...

The familiar sight of years gone by struck me with a deep sense of nostalgia as I revisited the City of Joy. The place where poetry was born in me. And to find that home is never too far away when you encounter people who are driven by the same passion as yours. It was my love for books that brought me back to the city, thanks to the Bastar Solidarity Network (BSN)! And it is with profound memories of the two day  PEOPLE'S LITERARY FESTIVAL that I return back to the hills, stronger in my resolve to keep the rich stories of my land alive.  I just read somewhere that there are as many as 67 lit fests in a year in India- which I thought is really incredible.  But what's different about the People's Literary Festival Kolkata is the cause behind it. It celebrates people as much as it does literature. It celebrates humanity and talks about real things. About life at its best and at its worst. It talks about the truth.The stark reality of things. And that's what I...

As a child, I remember being happy and content just sitting around the kitchen hearth, listening to my grandparents narrate stories of yore. Little did I know then, that many years later, this fond memory would find me yearning for such heartwarming days. Stories have continued to fascinate me over the years. My much loved grandparents have lived their time and left us behind with the best of everything- stories, good times, happy childhoods, values to live by- and just about everything that is nice, warm, happy and beautiful.  With Grandmom at 100 something I’ve also had the good fortune of listening to more stories from the elderly in villages other than my own. These were special times often accompanied with so much love and affection. I think of these stories that have, in many ways, shaped my thoughts and my understanding about my roots, and I wonder, what history or culture we would have without them. And so, each time, something to do with storytelling takes pl...

I remember writing a piece titled, "To drink or not to drink"  in 2010. Few years have flown by since. But my thoughts on the issue of Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) have more or less stayed the same. I believe nothing much has also changed as far as the issue is concerned. If anything, the illegal trade of liquor has probably thrived. People- young, old, teenagers, elderly-age no bar, have continued to drink, and get drunk even. Some of them in the trade have also gotten richer, right in front of our eyes. Many dingy, so called booze joints have been transformed to palatial buildings over the years.  We have seen the trade grow. We have also seen family, friends and people we know, turn to alcoholics. Some of them have even died of alcohol. Sad, but true! Well, they say, the increase in number is also because of the consumption of adulterated liquor. Many school children are already drinking, too! Why? Because there is no question of underage drinking in the ex...

To think of celebrating international women’s day after some unspeakable violence ensued, ironically, out of protest against a crime committed against women, actually feels odd. Rape, as many of us would agree, has destroyed the very fabric of our society. And as frustrating as it is that we are yet to find a solution to this social ill, we also know that no amount of punishment can ever compensate for the damage caused by rape, emotionally, mentally, and physically. And yet, what good does it do to a society, if a crime is paid with another crime? At the end of the day, I believe many of us, if not the majority, sat thinking and rethinking of the Dimapur incident that stole headlines all over the world. Not really because Nagaland was, in that instant, placed in a bad, dark, negative light but because, the brutality with which the entire episode was carried out, is totally unthinkable! I cannot begin to comprehend how many of them jubilantly continued to take photographs in such a...

Working Mothers have changed the dynamics of family, today. The tradition of women who naturally become housewives after marriage is now, a story of the past. With more and more educated and career-driven women emerging, the modern society is witness to supermoms who are equally capable professionals in their areas of expertise. But this new look of the modern day mother, hasn’t changed one bit, the special qualities that naturally seem to run in mothers since time immemorial. Mothers, we know have overwhelmed us with their patience, devotion, affection, endurance and extraordinary love. In addition to that, in today’s context, they are one of the bread-earners (or sometimes, the sole bread-earner) in the family. But make no mistake, it only means that the modern day, working mothers have more roles to play. On Mother’s Day, we picked some of the working supermoms, whose greatest joys do not necessarily come from what they have achieved in their careers, as one may also assume, b...

To randomly pick a few clothes, pack them in a light travel bag, and hop into a car at the break of a new dawn and it was just 3 days before a new year takes over. The wanderlust in me is insatiable. To leave home only to discover a new place, to experience a new joy, to blend in a new culture, to acquaint myself with a few new faces, to taste a different kind of freedom, just to be out there somewhere I’ve never been gives me indescribable happiness. And so, the road took me to the wilds. A village almost forgotten by the outside world. One can spot only a few scattered houses but it’s easy to see this place is immensely blessed with very fertile lands. Fields are far and wide. It stretches so far you can’t see the end. And such an afternoon is rare where sunshine lavishly falls and the wind plays a new song. Photo by Jabu Krocha Photo by Jabu Krocha Yet, you can never stay in a place long enough when you are just visiting. So you hit the roads again. Unlike the dusty wi...

When it's not enough to give, not just a piece of your heart, but everything it ever carried- hopes, dreams and aspirations. When it's just not enough, to be there when twilight falls, sometimes, until midnight; and you wonder if it's worth the walk. When you've laid in your sleep, thinking, maybe this is it, maybe, this is where the good life is, where the sun glows and you keep walking, just giving your heart, mind and soul, and suddenly the hope disappears, the curtains are drawn, your chapter is closed, everything has changed. You still sit, wondering.... when is it ever enough?

The year 2012 ended on a very grim note for India as a whole. There is grief that still engulfs the entire nation. That too at a time when we are to retrospect, think, resolve, thank or change if need be. The frightening story of the gang-rape on the 23-year-old woman at Delhi has left any sane citizen of the country, scared, disturbed and confused. It is not like rape has never happened before, or that crime against women is anything new. But the severity with which the story surfaced has left us all shaken. There has been an outcry on the issue like never before. We know for sure that the majority of us have been deeply affected by the incident. What kind of human really inflicts so much cruelty and terror on another human being? The gang-rape story has left us all baffled. What has gone so wrong with our upbringing and our system of education, at home, at school or at the social level? Is it because our parents, our teachers, our social and religious leaders, our politicians, ...

Some of you might have come across the tipping story of the world’s richest man who astonished a waiter with his reply. It is said that when Bill Gates tipped the waiter who served him in a restaurant with a 5$, the waiter had a strange feeling in his face. After Gates realized and asked what happened, the Waiter said, “I'm just amazed because on the same table your son gave a tip Of 500$, and you his father, the richest man in the world gave only 5$.” Gate’s reply to this, which goes, "He is the son of the world's richest man, but I am the son of a wood cutter. Never forget your past!" forms the essence of roots that I wish to talk about. I found this story inspirational. It is hard to remain grounded after we become somebody. When a little achievement, some wealth and fame greet you, it is easy to leave behind your roots as though it has nothing to do with your life. Not to talk of becoming very powerful, extraordinary people, but even in our ordinary circums...

Sometimes you question life but the answers never come. It is simple when you are a child. Full of life, full of dreams, and you’re content...really happy too! Scraped knees hurt only for a while…You hurt but you forget, and you’re back to smiling, back to living….you seize life effortlessly, and you just get on with it. Childhood’s so precious don’t you think? But we never realize. When we are small we never realize that life is too short and every moment counts…everything feels like an illusion, a magical world but it’s only because we just know how to live it to the full when we are children… SOMEDAY, everything changes. You are older and the picture is different. You are happy and you are sad! Happiness fleets and the pain lingers… The past never changes, and each time you resolve to make every minute count, something happens that you don’t understand. You lose people. People, you thought would be around all your life…those, you joked with, talked with...

Many of us dream to travel the world when we grow up. To see what life looks like beyond the figments of our imagination. To see a new place, explore and experience. Practically speaking, it is impossible to go around the world in a lifetime. For most of us, this dream remains only a dream because as we grow older, we also find that our priorities change. The little of the world we have seen beyond our homes remain only the few places we have ventured out to, for studies, work, or health care and hardly leisure. Afterwards, travelling becomes a luxury that only rich people with time can afford. We could be fond of travelling, but even that becomes a not-good-enough-reason to pick a suitcase and go somewhere just like that. We are battling against time and money, priorities and families- the process which is likely to go on till we age and are no longer eager to see that new place anymore. This, however, does not necessarily mean that we cannot travel anymore in the positions we...