Mock Christmas Carols to Welcome Christmas

Every family has a nickname, derived from silly blunders committed by the parents or grandparents. The children are called by that nicknames, sort of a mockery for mistakes they never committed.

Some of the nicknames are wet, egg, pot, potato, fox, wild cat, quail, water can, big bird, dice, etc. All the names have history of their own. Someone pissed in his pants in the past after getting too drunk, his grandchildren are called wet. A man once steals an egg, his children are called egg. Someone in the past got into potato business and ran into deep debt, his children are now called potato. Fox tail given to siblings of a guy who is cunning and a cheat.

Wild cat is a name given to the grandchildren of a person who hid a half roasted wild cat inside the blanket not willing to share the meat with the neighbors. A person steals a quail from his neighbor's bird trap, his children are called quail. Water can, a name given to the grandchildren of a person who once tried to cook sticky rice in a narrow neck aluminium water can. A young boy during the Second World War commented the bomber planes are birds having never seen a plane before; his grandchildren are called big bird. Every family thus have funny names. Dice is a name given to a freaky gambler and his children.

These names all come alive in the Christmas season. Well before Christmas day, the children of the village get together every night and have mock Christmas carols beating drums and singing Christmas hymns. The scheme is mischievous and the sole aim is just to have a nice time and a hearty laugh exploiting the funny names.

During the mock carols, the children halts at every doorstep, the leader shouts out the nickname of the family and reads out a list of mock donations made by the family for Christmas. When the leader stops, all the children booms, scream and have a hearty laugh. The mock donation list also would be something related to the nickname of the family.

Some of the funny mock donations are: "Fox and family is donating a fox tail, fox ears, fox meat and fox legs for Christmas." "Potato's family is gifting away a bag of rotten potato, roasted potato and potato seeds for Christmas." Needless to say that children from all the families in the village are in the group. As such, there is no intention of insulting each other among the children. However, the mock carol tradition didn't go so well with the elders. Only few often would come out and laugh along with the children. Maybe those are the people who understand only childhood has that real thing called 'fun.'


The mock carol processions continue till Christmas Day. After Christmas, the children then turn their attention to building wooden motor cycles to spoil their still new Christmas dresses.

The author once was the leader of that mock carol party who got replaced in the process of growing up.

Tarot your Boredom

What do you do when you are darn bored and are on the verge of exploding? Read a book? Go to sleep? Fart like farthead? 100 etc. etc. etc. If none of the things are good enough for you, go read your tarot card, which I just did. The card of mine made me feel so funny that the boredom vanished like a genie. Don't tell my boss that I tarot my boredom!

You are The Emperor

Stability, power, protection, realization; a great person.

The Emperor is the great authority figure of the Tarot, so it represents
fathers, father-figures and employers. There is a lot of aggression and violence
too.

The Emperor naturally follows the Empress. Like an infant, he is filled with enthusiasm, energy, aggression. He is direct, guileless and all too often irresistible. Unfortunately, like a baby he can also be a tyrant. Impatient, demanding, controlling. In the best of circumstances, he signifies the leader that everyone wants to follow, sitting on a throne that indicates the solid foundation of an Empire he created, loves and rules with intelligence and enthusiasm. But that throne can also be a trap, a responsibility that has the Emperor feeling restless, bored and discontent.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Sihai Khullen, Sihai Khunou and Sihai Kahaophung

Sihai is a general reference to a cluster of villages (Sihai Khullen, Sihai Khunou and Sihai Kahaophung) that lies in the north of Ukhrul District headquarter in Manipur state within the union of India. Sihai Khullen, the nearest village from Ukhrul is approximately 37 kilometers from Ukhrul town connected partially by National Highway 150 (Imphal-Kohima via Ukhrul and Jessami). A hamlet (Zero Point), 29 kilometers drive from Ukhrul on the Ukhrul-Jessami highway is where you have to take the right turn to reach Sihai Khullen. From here one has to walk or take a rather bumpy village road ride of about 7 miles to reach the village from the National Highway. Sihai Phangrei, a long hill range is sure to give a mesmerizing view to those who love gigantic natural landscape. The hill range also in many ways look like a natural fortress of Sihai. The villagers have to drive or walk through the meandering road cut out beneath the hill range to travel to the district headquarter and other places.

Origin of the Name

The name 'Sihai' is said to be a derivative of the word "Saan-Hee" the local word for 'Cow's Diamond/Jewel.' There is a myth behind the name, which the locals believe dates back to many centuries to the time of migration of their forefathers. According to the myth, a cow was slaughtered as a sacrifice to commemorate the occasion of the settlement. As was the practice in olden days, the sacrificial animal was defect-less in all aspects. The cow was slaughtered after performing proper sacrificial rites to ensure the settlers and the generation there after are blessed. When the villagers cut open the slaughtered animal, they found a diamond inside the bowel of the cow. The elders then decided that the name of the village should be Saan-Hee. However, due to mis-pronunciation by outsiders, the village became better known as Sihai. The name of the village as called even today by some of the neighboring villages in their local dialects do suggest that the name of the village indeed was and is Saan-Hee.

The jewel found inside the bowel of the cow was retained by the chief of the village. After a few generations, the jewel was given away as a marriage gift to the then chief's daughter who married the son of Phungcham village chief. Phungcham is a village about 30 kilometers north west from Ukhrul town. There is an unconfirmed theory that the jewel in the possession of Phungcham chief till date is the same jewel given away by Sihai chief to his daughter. The jewel is said to be bowl shaped and shiny. It is believed that the bowl was used as a means to know the the nature of rain and harvest the year will bring. The bowl being shiny indicates a good year and being moist suggest it is going to be a bad year. Moreover, there also is a myth that the bowl is non-transferable. The bowl is rumored to have been stolen many times in the past, but always finds it way back to the owner (Phungcham Chief) in mysterious ways.

The Present Sihai

With expansion of population, the village got bifurcated into two, Sihai Khullen and Sihai Khunou somewhere in the early 19th century. However, till date, the three villages are in theory still under one chief though administration is run individually. The new settlement came to be known as Sihai Khunou, which is about 6 kilometers from the original settlement beyond the river. Sihai Khunou further got bifurcated into Sihai Khunou and Sihai Kahaophung somewhere in the 20th century. One of the strongest reasons for bifurcation was to occupy more of the inherited land and to move closer to arable land on the other side of the river. The original place of settlement came to be called Sihai Khullen meaning 'old settlement.' At present Sihai Khullen is inhabited by about 150 families with some 10 percent of the domiciles residing in nearby towns and cities for work, business, education, etc. Sihai Khunou has equal population and Kahaophung has about 30 families. Immediate neighbors of Sihai are Mapum, Zingsui, Shirui, Lunghar, Longpi and Khamasom.

Places of Interest and Best Time to Visit

The rich species of flora and fauna in and around the village is one reason why nature lovers love to visit this village. The best time to visit this village is in the spring season. Rhododendrons of many varieties bloom in the month of April and May. One can see the whole stretch of stream beds in full bloom of white and red rhododendrons (locally called Ngayawon and Kokluiwon). This is the time when the young people of the village celebrate the spring festival to commemorate the beauty of nature and youth. The people are friendly and welcoming.

Hunting, fishing and hiking are things that will attract people those who love outdoor activities. The month of October offers a mesmerizing natural view of the surrounding. The view of ready to harvest paddy fields, the blooming of cosmos everywhere and other pre-winter flowers indeed are sights worth seeing. October, is a special month considered almost as the second spring of the year. This is the month when young people of the village keep aside a day to celebrate as Cosmos Day.

Sihai Phangrei, a long hill range is one of the favorite picnic spots in Ukhrul district. The ownership of the hill range was in dispute between Sihai and Lunghar village. The dispute which lasted for decades was finally resolved through Tangkhul Customary law. In olden days, disputes where none of the parties involve relents, the final and ultimate test were to eat a morsel of earth from the disputed land or for the disputing parties to immerse in water. In the first case, something untoward happens to the guilty one after eating the soil and in the latter case, the guilty one will float unable to go underwater. The customary water immersion trial for the dispute of Sihai Phangrei was done in October 2008 and Sihai village was declared the winner and the rightful owner of Phangrei.

Author's Note:....................................................To be added later

Manipur the Land with Too Many Demands with no Concrete Solutions

The first question people usually ask me on knowing I am from Manipur is 'is the place very beautiful?' The answer I normally give is 'yes,' an open ended response, which in many ways implies 'I don't want to talk about my home state.' In very rare cases there were interjections like 'oh Manipur is very famous in sports,' which once in a while make my face light up. For reasons best known to mainland Indians, even the educated lots don't know much about Manipur and other North Eastern States, which in many ways again make my life easier with lesser questions to answer about my trouble torn state. Militancy, kidnapping, bomblast, rampant corruption, frequent agitations, strikes, bandhs, etc, I feel are not positive things I can boast about to my friends and co-workers.

Is Manipur really going to the dogs? If yes, who is responsible for dragging us nearer and nearer to the dog's mouth? Everyone can make a long list excluding their own names. We all have become very good in blaming others. Every day is scary, every week and months are risky and every year in Manipur has become unpredictably uncertain. There is always someone or some group to be blamed; there apparently is no scarcity of scapegoats in Manipur. The latest blame game trend, moreover, have gained sort of a communal identity. The gap between the various communities living in Manipur seems to be widening every day. It would not be wrong to say that we unconsciously have adopted an attitude something like 'We are Meiteis, don't listen to what the Nagas are shouting,' 'We are Nagas, why should we care what others think or speak,' 'We are kukis, Meiteis and Nagas shouldn't interfere.' I have come across open and unrestrained lambasting between the people of the major communities of Manipur in many social networking sites.

What have we all molded Manipur into? There is nothing wrong with the land; it's we the people who are sympathetically making this 'Switzerland of the East' into 'Somalia of the North East.' Gun culture is fashion of the day. The common man has almost come to a frustrating conclusion that elected representatives are meant only for piling up public money and the militants are for dancing with their guns and looting both the have and have not. The word ‘peace’ has become nonexistent for people of this small state. The concept of ‘a small family a happy family’ at least is not applicable for Manipur although it works so well for smaller states and Union Territories in India. There are too many demands from every nook and corner of the state that have no feasible solutions in sight. Most of these demands have their root in discontentment with the system in place. All the governments that have ruled the state, on retrospect were and are only good in hiding the wound rather curing it. Attention is given only when the wounds get pestered and become hopelessly worst.

Blocking the National Highways have become a favorite sport for the people to address their woes; sort of a suiting tactic to wake a sleeping government I should say, though it won’t be legal in other states. However, everything seems to be legal in Manipur. We all shout for integration and end up working for disintegration. The art of listening to what others feel seems to have been buried long time back. People, groups and communities in this small state finally have mastered the art of imposing on others. We all know what can be the outcome of two people sitting together with each of them shouting to the other ‘you shut up and listen to me.’ This imposing attitude make the parties involve alienate further rather than make them think and speak alike. Sense of belongingness gets distorted when voices are muffled. Will I want to call home as home if my voice is not considered as a contributing factor in making and maintaining that home?

Why do Manipur have the largest number of militant groups in the country when it is such a small state? Why do we have militants at all? Why are people putting up seemingly unending demands? Well, I feel these ugly facts speak volumes of how united and happy we are. As a person not so much inclined to politics, I have no ready political theories to offer as solution to the pestering situation in Manipur. Maybe, it’s time for us to drive home the example of bigger states that are much peaceful in spite of being multi-ethnic and cultural like ours.

A Simple Farmer and a Brilliant Rat

No sane farmer will ever say good things about rodents that know only about eating away whatever they store in their barns and granaries. The following is a transcript of a conversation between the kindest farmer and a shameless rat.

Farmer: WTF, is this what you give me for giving shelter to you and your parents and forefathers? I am really pissed off!
Rat: What did I do to invoke this unwanted anger? Take that WTF back.
Farmer: Don’t tell me you are not the one who’d been shitting on top of my corn and grains in the barn.
Rat: Hold on! Where else do you expect me to shit? My parents did that and my forefathers for sure must have done that too. Wait, are you asking me to change something that is tradition?
Farmer: I don’t care. I am tired of sifting out shit before I cook. I’ll banish you from my barn if you don’t stop your disgusting relieving habit.
Rat: Try me!
Farmer: That’s it I’m bringing home a cat.
Rat: Oh yeah, cat shit for a change. Not bad!
Farmer: And why do you have to party every night on something that I worked so hard to get? And why do you fight with your friends every night while partying?
Rat: Don’t tell me you humans don’t fight after partying! Humans even kill each other after drinking; at least we rats don’t do that.
Farmer: Shut your mouth!!!! Are you also the one eating my clothes as if stealing food is not shameful enough?
Rat: Don’t be too mean. I too need a cozy bed to sleep. What is so wrong in taking some of those old cloths of yours, which you don’t even wear?
Farmer: You are so annoying at times.
Rat: C'mon, you look ugly when you are unpractical.
Farmer: What?? One more annoying habit of yours is sneaking into my room at night. Do I not deserve to have complete privacy with my wife? Have I ever intruded you like the way you do to me?
Rat: I am sorry about that OK. Hey wait, you've intruded into my privacy many times and you still do that.
Farmer: When and how?
Rat: You banging on the wall to scare my friends whenever we party. That itself amounts to mental torture, you know that right? You remember the shit in the barn? Those are dropped by my friends, some for being so scared and most as revenge whenever you bang on the wall.
Farmer: What? Angry for trying to dissuade you from stealing? Remember you don't have an iota of right to party on something that's rightfully mine.
Rat: Whatever. You can't make or change rules overnight. I am what I am.
Farmer: It's useless trying to reason with you. Stop shitting on my food grain and don't sneak into my room.
Rat: OK old man, you should also learn not to bang on the barn wall whenever I am with my friends.

iPhone 5, it would be too hard to resist you!

It's almost three years since I moved in with iPhone 3G. The initial days were like "no complain no demand" days. With the launch of iPhone 3Gs I was all jealous because of the new features that my iPhone 3G doesn't have. However, for the fact that it had given me memorable days and nights playing some of the amazing games like Super Monkey Ball, Real Soccer 2009, Cartoon Wars, Field Runners, etc made me hang on to you.

Boom! Came along iPhone 4, rebirth of the super child called super jealousy. Thanks to the late launch of iPhone 4 in India it made my jealousy die a slow and painless dead. I know you (my iPhone 3G) has become a complaining hag but the rumor of iPhone 5 launch beckon me to hang on with you rather than replace you with iPhone 4. I forgive you for being too complaining lately and for crashing too often when I am about to acheive new heights while gaming. You have become overtly annoying.

In my unsuccessful attempt to say adieu to Apple, I tried cool smartphones with physical keypads just to realize I am torturing my fingers for no sane reasons. Latest touchscreen smartphones that people say are superb don't perform better than my complaining iPhone 3G. Did Steve Jobs drugged me to get hooked to the i-Series? Should I sue Apple for making me a small i-eyed monster to add another lawsuit to the company's list?

Dear Apple the world possibly would have been a better place if you were just a fruit. Or say a company that don't spit out heart burning gadgets. The world is going crazy with people selling their virginity for iPhone 4, selling kidney for iPad and MacBooks.

I won't be surprised if people start selling their life for iPhone 5 to the devil. The end is near, I can see the devil in the corner with a basket full of iPhone 5 giving away the gadget to people in exchange for their souls.

iPhone 5 again sounds like it is coming to rule the smartphone world, like it or not. It would be super hard for me to resist this time!!! Hearing all the rumors make the wait even harder and painful.

Seeing the Ugly face of Dead in a Casualty Ward

I suffer a bit from syringe phobia and hate the smell of hospitals. This is one reason why I rarely visit hospitals until things sort of turn sour and extreme. The latest being my visit to Mythri Hospital to consult a physician for my persistent cold topped with fever, severe headache and vomiting spree.

For some unknown reasons, the receptionist at the hospital asked me to directly walk into the casualty ward. There was no time wasted as the young doctor on duty listened to the detail of my ailment. He scribbled some injections and asked one of the nurses to give me the injection and then come back to him after ten minutes of rest on one of the unoccupied beds.

One injection finds its way into my veins and the other swam to my system through my back, which I should admit was painful. About five minutes after I took the injection, something went wrong on one of the beds in the casualty ward. The man who had been lying on my left was losing breath. When this was discovered, all the doctors and nurses in the room rushed to the bed. The doctor who attended me started pressing on the chest of the half alive person to stop the man from going to the world of life after dead.

Within no time all medical equipments were up. Though I was screened away from the live scene now and then, I could hear the monitor beeping, the oxygen supply pipe hissing, the contraction and expansion of the suction bottle in the hands of a nurse and the whispering of the people everywhere. Everyone in the room was send out except those lying on the beds. I stayed on as I too was on a bed.

After about twenty minutes the screens were partially parted and I saw droplets of sweat running down the face of the doctor who attended me. The next thing I saw was the multiple wires attached to the chest of the patient and his faintly visible pumping heart. Looking at the face of the doctor, I was assured that the patient was going to be in this world for some more time. The only thought in my mind at that very moment was, when I will get out of this rather gloomy room, which by then looked more like a passageway between life and dead.

The doctor looked at me and asked me to stand up and sit in a chair. Maybe, he took a trip into my mind and saw how shocked I was or maybe he realized that I have waited for too long. I had to wait for another ten minutes for the doctor to come back to his desk to take home his final prescriptions, which appeared like eternity to me.

The doctor indeed came back and apologized for the delay and started scribbling down my name, age and other details in the doctor's note. However, my expectation of leaving that room was short-lived. Another half alive patient was pushed into the room before the doctor even wrote out one of the eight medicines that he is going to prescribed later.

All patients and attendants not on the beds were send out again; this time I was out too. Standing outside, I could clearly hear the monitor, oxygen pipe and other reviving equipments, which by then have become more fearful than the hissing sound of a poisonous snake. I was really tempted to leave the place then, but the thought of going through all the ordeals I have already been through in another place beckoned me to stay put.
The wait continued maybe for an hour or so. The door finally opened and the patient who was in coma was taken out to an ambulance which was waiting outside. I walked in praying that there be no extreme emergency until I get my prescriptions.

The young doctor apologized again for the delay. I just asked him, 'is today a normal day or a hectic day' to which he admitted that it indeed was a hectic day. I got my prescriptions, said thanks to the cheerful doctor and finally walked out of that gloomy room.

Coming back home I realized the fragile nature of life, the scary outbound flight of the so called spirit out of the body, the mysterious pumping heart of human beings and the ugly face of dead. Life indeed is mysterious and precious, worth to be lived in a cheerful mood like the confident young doctor who managed to smile and make others around him smile even when time and duty crushed him hard and tried to squeeze every ounce of smile out of him.

I ended up spending about four hours, to get a service that wouldn’t even take an hour if it were a normal day for the doctor on duty.