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Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Chp 217. Mizo Christmas in Mumbai



25th December 2008:
Mizo Christmas function @ Mizoram House, Mumbai.


Mizoram House, II Floor, Sun Tower,
GD Ambekar Marg, Bhoiwada Parel,
Near Tata Memorial Hospital,
Mumbai - 400 012




This was the third Christmas I’ve spent with my Mizo community at different locations outside Mizoram.

=> Bangalore, Delhi, and now Mumbai.

And each location had its own unique style and ambience.

Bangalore was more like a carefree group of lively people, with the majority consisting of students and Call executives. Delhi had a more matured outlook to the whole Christmassy spirit, due to the presence of a large number of Mizo families and officers. It was impossible to know even 30% of the people due to the large number of Mizos in Delhi.

Mumbai… I would say, is more like a very exclusive and small group of friendly and warm people

Not that I am biased just because I am now in Mumbai – the most memorable time I’ve spent with my community will always be those wild Bangalore days – Land of cheap rentals, party peeps, pub culture, fanoos rolls, no-sweat climate and drag racing. But with occupational responsibility and high cost of living here in Mumbai, I had to adjust accordingly.

And that is what I really admire about the Mizos here in Mumbai. Most of them are extremely matured and responsible even though they are just in junior colleges. I wouldn’t be surprised if our guys back in Mizoram started singing, "Mumbai a mi ngei, nupui min zawn ru." ("Please look for a wife for me, only from Mumbai" – a Mizo colloquial way of indicating that women from that particular area are well bred and good wife material types).

The Christmas function kick started around 3 weeks earlier, with the Mizo youth choir practicing and performing carols at various Churches around Mumbai.

They are led none other than the famous Mr. Maruata, sweetly known to everybody as "U Maruata" (the "U", pronounced "oooh", is used as a prefix when calling an elder brother/sister or somebody highly respected). He’s the guy who handles all these events. He’s the go-to guy, Mister altruistic, Mister always-ready-to-help, Mister Multi-tasking, Pu Mumbai Mizo Association-a.



He won the "Most Eligible Bachelor" Award, 20 years in a row.

However some of us fear he may lose that title to U James this year. Both tlangval U James and tlangval U Maruata are such a goldmine for the Mumbai Mizo community! God bless them.



Seriously, if it wasn’t for them huddling all the Mizos from various places around Mumbai together, the community functions would indeed be quite sad.

[Ps. All pictures in this post are from the orkut albums of Maruata and James. Please do not reproduce them without their permission.]

Here are some of the choir members with U Maruata at one of their practice sessions. We really do adore him, don’t we?



Here they are at one of their Choir performances at All Saint’s Church - December 20, 2008.



Here’s the choir after the service. Click on the image for a clearer resolution.



At the far right is my friend ST-a, who is not only a great singer but conducts the entire choir too. Somewhere in the choir is also a Mrs. ST-a but I am not saying who…

Here is them performing on 24th Christmas Eve, courtesy U James. Watch and be amazed at what these youngsters can do!

[ Van hnuai Khawvel ]


Click here to go to youtube and watch the other songs they performed that night:
          Upon a clear midnight
          Kumsul liam hnu


We also had an Advance Christmas function in Church on 14th December, where we had a gift exchange session. And like Bangalore and Delhi, the gift exchange was strictly a boy-girl thingie, but the difference in Mumbai is that girls clearly outnumber the boys here… (I can already hear my ex-roomie Amos hurriedly packing his bags and booking a direct flight from B’lore to Mumbai the moment he read this).

My gift exchange partner was Christina Chhakchhuak, and she gave me this lovely adorable Planner which had everything I wanted. It was the perfect gift! Thank you so much dear Christina Chhakchhuak.




Here are my good friends Matluangtea, Mapuia and Teseni singing "Oh Holy Night" – first half was sang conventionally and in the second half, Matt sang it in the styles of Dream Theater, and it was freaking awesome!




Now back to U Maruata

I just loveeeee this other choir picture in his orkut album. I took a print-screen immediately the moment I saw it. Tediki Chhakchhuak apparently tagged him in the pic, but she included the person sitting next to him too, so we are all left wondering if… ahemz ahemz???





-----------------------------------------

Krismas ruaitheh (Christmas Feast):

On 25th afternoon I arrived with my sis at the location, almost an hour early. Here’s a picture of some of the "fatu" members (volunteers who went early to prepare the food, arrange the hall etc, a selfless act which is an intrinsic part of our Mizo culture)



By 3:45pm the place was jam packed. The function was held at Mizoram House, where Mizo patients visiting Mumbai could stay at a cheap cost (plus Mizo meals and Mizo roomies). Since the place was quite small, the latecomers (all my usual friends) sat in the bedrooms, while the "church" service was held in the Hall.

After the procedural prayers, bible reading & responses, choir performances, a couple of special items and a GREAT sermon by U Maruata’s mom, we ended the service with the Lord’s Prayer.

I left my sis by herself for some time as I went to meet and socialize with my friends.




With Pu Ṭhuama, SBI Chief Manager. He’s a regular misual.com visitor! Next to him, Mapuia’s sleeping – Tarzan’s tired. Up above, somebody’s watching… urrrmmm… cartoons? On the lower bunk, we have a baby breast feeding in action. Trust me, one can’t feel more at home than this!

Here’s another snap that U Maruata & U James insisted I publish online.



The girl in yellow is Christina, an airhostess cum model, and even appeared as the Chinese girl in the American Express Ad featuring Abhishek Bachchan! Really cute… I mean, the Ad of course.



Here’s the Ad:




Mapuia purposely introduced me to everybody as just "Sandman", so as revenge here is a small public service advertisement.




Later I took a snap with U Maruata and my sis. I felt like the cutlet in a Mc Chicken Maharaja burger…




As night started setting in, our beloved Pilot Captain Michael too couldn’t keep his hands off his (much much) better-half.



Force of habit, I guess Anyway, he controlled himself so that we wouldn’t lose our appetite for the grand feast. Michael’s always high… errrr… I mean, he’s a Pilot, so that’s what he does… fly high

And of course, finally, the FEAST! Juicy yummy scrumptious oily pork boiled in perfect Mizo styled stew. Slurrrrrpppppppppp!!!



Apart from pork, we had chicken also. Fish was also there for those who couldn’t eat either pork or chicken. The Bai was amazing – kudos to Pu Ṭhuama and deputy Chief chef-in-charge U James! He’s such an amazing cook. Here he is, sacrificing his precious time and busy cooking in the kitchen just for us:




The food was so great we didn’t really care how much we ate…



And here is the last snap of that day – Some of those people who made this function a grand success. Click on the picture for higher resolution.




--------------------------------------------------

Now its time for some PS fun

Here is a collage of some of the people who came that day. Do excuse the amateurish work, as some hands and heads are not where they actually were…






The above picture gave me an idea!

Who do you think looks best with dear U Maruata? Ok, match making in progress!!! Here are your options:

Contestant number 1.


Contestant number 2.


Contestant number 3.


Contestant number 4.



Pick your winner! And once we have a winner, cupid’s arrows will pierce into both hearts, bringing eternal joy and unconditional love to them both. Halleluia!




24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice pictures - looks like you all had a lovely Christmas. Well done to all the organisers, getting everyone together is not easy, particularly someone like Didi! Good to see her picture, sucking in her stomach was slightly effective! I guess that's why she featured in only one picture. The food looks delicious too.

Any plans for welcoming the new year? Hope you have a good one. Happy New year!

U Mazami

luliana said...

hyuck hyuck hyuck!!! in va han intiduhdah deuh ve... :D

tlem lutuk a nuam lo, tam lutuk pawh a nuam chuang lo...Mumbai mizo ho chu inthurual tham vel tawk lek in nih dawn hi.hetiang hi a nuam duh zek...

happy new year!!

benjamin rualthanzauva said...

After Bangalore and Delhi, Sandman has conquered Mumbai :-)

Mizohican said...

@ U Mazami: hehehee... Dee looks cute like that, me thinks. Food was amazingggg. No plans so far for NY. Lets see... there's 24 more hours left, a lot can be planned within that time :-D

@ luliana: haha, ti duh dah hlawm vak a mi? :D lolz. Mapuia hmel ka hmu chak tawh a ni mai, a ni hian midang bawl/kah a hrat bawkah. :-) Nia, keini chu kan tlem bawka, kan "cozy" tawk chiaha... hehe... Happy new year to you too bro.

@ ben: lolz. No conquests here. Not even attempting to. Work has drained me of all energy to attempt any conquest. lolz.

Carey Suante said...

@illusionaire, no more conquests! You are truly losing it, man! :) You should try and loosen up a bit, bro! And, before I forget, what's with the "loose" thing! (in two places, bro!)

reverie said...

Seems like you had a helluva time together Kima. Way to go. We enjoyed worshiping with Mumbai Mizo community. Just wondering where you were when we visited Mumbai in May. We were there for a month and I even speak at the 'Mizo inkhawm' two times. Did you skip those two to avoid us....? :)

Vikram said...

Looks like you had a great time man !

Okay, I have a question, this website says "The authentic Mizo cuisine is a blend of Chinese and north Indian cuisines." Somehow, I dont think that this is true. How would you describe Mizo food ?

Sekibuhchhuak said...

Nawm hmel hle mai, nula pawh an chelo, chawhmeh a tui hmel, an zaithiam hmel :-)

Kum thar pawh nuam deuhin hmang dawn nia !

Pixie said...

LOL!!

Looks like you had a great Christmas!! :)

The pics, ofcourse have all been blocked out at work, so I will check them at home and come back and leave another comment about them! :-D
Of course, Bangalore has to be the best(est) place ever! (i.e. if you are leaving out Mysore from the contest!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR! :-)

Anonymous said...

Great read stuff Sandman, I must admit, your style of blogging is really good, presentation wise it was purfek... with lots of humour around the Us of Mumbai, it was fun to read the post. I hope "akil lama thuho" too will be highlighted in the next Christmas report.... just kidding...

Happy New Year!

DayDreamBeliever said...

Had a great time going thru this one. Well, I can tell it was merry, and I'm happy for you. I u te ho chu i ti duhdah hle mai hehe. Great pix, great write-up. Just one thing nit-picking me cannot resist pointing out :P it's "lose" not "loose"!

Mizohican said...

@ DayDream: Yup, thanx for the correction. I realized that now only. Wrote this post late last night before leaving office and didn't have time to proof-read it. (Dont have time to proof-read it today either) Carey too already corrected me regarding this :D Thanx! Yeah it surely was a merry one for us down here, although I would give anything to be at home on this occasion :-(

@ Samaw: hehehehe, of course I think I have featured all the "a kil lama thuho" too :-) The problem is, I am still pretty new here in Mumbai and I started going for the Mizo Church services only 2 months ago when my work load was finally reduced. Hence it feels a bit weird to highlight some of the people I don't know personally that well. But all these till change soon. hehehe.

@ Pixie: Dear, you MUST see the pics to really enjoy this post XD
And of course, Bangalore's THE best, no doubt about it, even better than Mysore :P Seriously, I went to party at Mysore and my friends took me to Mysore Palace. Next day I said lets go for a drink and they took me to Mysore Palace. The third day I wanted to shop and they took me to Mysore Palace. On my last day, I wanted to explore the entire city so they took me to Mysore Palace... :D errrmmm... any comments? :D

Mizohican said...

@ Seki: Nang pawh le, happy new year. Nula chhelo post ah hian i mit (leh i mouse) hi a rang ka ti :D Keini ai in i happy new year hmasa zawk dawn a ni maw zan in chu :)

@ Vikram: Man, I am sure that is wrong! But then, I am the wrong person to ask regarding this. But as far as I know, it is not so. Most Mizo dishes are bland but very very different from North Indian and Chinese cuisines! And when it comes to spices, we love a lot of chillies too, but not very fond of other masalas. Hence spicy Mizo dishes are chilly spicy unlike other Indian dishes which are masala (and chilly) spicy. How can we correct that website? Even the banana leaf part mentioned there is not practiced anymore!

@ incognito: I reached Mumbai in May. My sis met with a minor accident so I came down to Mumbai to be with her. Hence I didnt go out anywhere during that month. Would have loved to listen to your message. Then in June when she was well enough again, I was about to go back to Mizoram, when I suddenly felt like working in Mumbai. lolz. So I walked in to this office directly with my resume and no appointment, and got the job immediately!! lolzzz funny story indeed. Now my company is the no.1 in online advertisement and I thank the good Lord for making me walk in here at the right time!

@ Carey: Hahahahaha!!!! My bad! Thanx for letting me know. Changed it. hehehe. Now thats embarrassing! lolz. And of course, I will loosen up once I reach 60. I still have a long way to go. lolz! :)

Mariuca said...

May this New Year bring you more love, joy and success. HAPPY 2009! :)

Wishing on a Falling Star
Mariuca’s Perfume Gallery

wonderboy said...

Inhman nawm hmel hle tak mai a!
Happy new year vek ule.. :D

contestant 1 khi kan khaw lam atang hian hauhtu deuh an awm a nia! :D

Anonymous said...

Ku Mapuia chu va ngaihawm he haw ve,.. samantha te chhungkua pawh, Mary New Ear.. hehee

Vikram said...

I think this comments page might be a way to get in touch with the webmaster.

Anonymous said...

Matluangtea khi a dawng hlawk teh mai a nia !!

Anonymous said...

LK hi i copy riau mai...Christmas in Kolkata, Christmas in Dawrpui, Christmas in Mission Veng, Christmas in Delhi, Christmas in New Market, Christmas in Tongkolong, and now Christmas in Mumbai. Tun atanga 'kan style' i copy leh chuan adsense revenue hi i share a ngai tawh ang.

---
LK Legal Cell
*hic* Happy New Year!

Eveline said...

Looks like someone had a fancy Christmas. The picture that did get my attention the most... was the food! Yum! Pork! :)

And you're not wrong about that...B'lore's always known for it's wild parties...

Hope u have a fabulous New yr. ahead. Wishing you love, music and more blogging in '09.

Mizohican said...

@ BW: lolzzz Bradaaaaar! Happy hic New Year to you too. hehehe. So, you mean to say you own the copyright of every christmas that is celebrated by Mizos? Where's the patent license stating that any Mizo online activity is yours? lolz, you remind me of somebody... hehehe... hic!

psst psst.. I already blogged about Mizo Christmas in Bangalore in the year 2004 before lawrkhawm was born, so technically, you are copying MY style. hehe! :D

Adsense revennue chu ka rawn share ang i duh phawt chuan. i annual adsense revenue leh ka monthly adsense revenue a in zat thawkhat bawk sia, a pawilo mai. bwahahahah! :D

(sorry if the last para seemed a bit harsh, but what the heck, I havent taken your trip in ages! lolz)

@ Eveline: Yup the pork was the best part! I'll drink to that.

Well B'lore not as wild as it used to be, but nevertheless still wild. Miss those Farm rave parties... :(


@ Alexx: hehe, nia Mapuia te pawn an sawi thin a, i rawn zin lai te. hehehe... in lo bawn hlawm khawp mai :D Mapuia kah hi a nuam eeeee! hyuk hyuk hyuk!

Mizohican said...

@ marzie: Happy New Year to you too dear Marzie. *hugzzz* I am about to make my blog rounds soon visiting and wishing everybody, as soon as I finish some of these office work.

@ Vikram: Thanx a lot dude! I'll get in touch with them as soon as I am free. We really appreciate the time you've taken regarding this correction that needs to be made. Cheers and hope you had a great New Year!

@ wonderboy: hehe... in khaw lam hovin an lo thik em lovang chu tiraw contestant no.1 khi. Its all in good fun mate :) Happy new year to you too doc! :)

Almostunreal said...

chhas em2 lo hleom ni maww.. no wonder you prefer to be single...hehehe

tak2 in a nom hmel..in ruai poh a tui hmel khop mai

VaiVa said...

@1. U Maruata i kap nasa bik! Tin, Contestant No.4 nen khan an inhmeh vel rawl rawl ltk.

@2. Mapuia (Colgate faktupa) kha khawnge a to be better half? A hawsan em ni?

@3. Min hlep nasa bik hle mai!