Previous posts -
DAY 3.
Day three of our classmates’ visit to Mizoram was here, and I was already exhausted, lolz. And the main event hadn’t even started yet. God have mercy on me.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I stayed the night at Regency Hotel in Thomas’ double room. We stayed up talking like it was a teenage sleepover again, reminiscing about the good ol’ days, hostel stories, college memories, and all the nonsense in between.
The next morning, I woke everybody up early, as we had a long day planned. Groggily, everybody washed up, and we proceeded downstairs to have breakfast.
The complimentary breakfast buffet was nice. Bread, choice of eggs, Poha, and "Mizo Paratha" with bhaji.
Once we were done, everybody checked out of the hotel because we were going to stay the night at Reiek. While we were waiting in the lobby, Vasu spotted a cute chick and immediately opened his laptop and acted like he was Elon Musk, speaking to an imaginary person, "Yes, sell. Sell. Buy. Sell." :P
Tlawmlova’s vehicle was the first to arrive that morning. The plan was simple - we would first head to the Living Museum at Falkawn, then return to Aizawl, and then to Reiek.
Azuala and Hminga had work commitments and said they would join us once we returned to Aizawl from Falkawn. That meant, for the first leg of the journey, we only had Tlawmlova’s and Stephen’s cars, which would have been a little too cramped for comfort.
So Tlawmlova told his driver to drive Hminga’s car instead, while he drove his own. Just like that, we had three cars and everyone could travel comfortably.
With that sorted, we set off toward Falkawn.
Our guests were glued to the windows the entire drive. The winding roads, layered hills, and scattered houses perched on slopes were a refreshing change from the flat cities they were used to. Every few minutes someone would say, “Yooo, look at that view mannn.”
And soon enough, we reached the Living Museum at Falkawn.
It’s basically a miniature Mizo village brought to life. The moment we arrived, the artists were already in character, moving about as if we had stepped straight into another era. They performed various dances right in front of us. Their energy was infectious, and you could tell they took pride in every step.
We walked through the traditional houses - the widow’s hut, the blacksmith's hut, the chief’s hut, the zawlbuk (the warriors’ dormitory), and several others, while the performers demonstrated daily village life along the way. For a brief moment, it genuinely felt like the old days had returned.
Inside the chieftain's hut, our boys posed for a photo with the "Lalnu", the wife of the village chief.
...as well as with the village elders and war council.
Thomas and Eshwar even tried out the suk and sum (watch the hilarious video below for their expert performance).
One thing I’ve got to point out - it was genuinely thoughtful of the organisers to have attendants who could speak Hindi and explain the activities along the way in Hindi. Small problem though… all our friends are from the South and don’t speak Hindi. :D
But hey, it’s the thought that counts. And honestly, that was a really nice touch.
We were treated to an extremely educational demonstration of different indigenous musical instruments by a professional artist, and he even asked us to try out some of them. Our friends also tried walking on our traditional wooden stilts, and the result was hilarious.
Here’s a short video I edited using InShot that captures some of those magical moments.
Of course, no cultural immersion is complete without trying the local brew. They sampled our traditionally brewed rice beer - zufang, zupui, rakzu, and boldly declared them better than Goa’s Fenny.
High praise indeed.
We wrapped up the visit with a group photo alongside the Falkawn cultural troupe.
A huge thank you to the Living Museum team and the organisers for giving our guests such an educational and immersive experience. And honestly, thank you for giving me the opportunity to visit as well! I probably wouldn’t have explored this wonderful place if my friends hadn’t come to Mizoram.
By afternoon, it was time to leave if we wanted to catch the sunset at Reiek hilltop. On the way, we stopped at a thingpui dawr for snacks and made them try our traditional Sanpiau [you can click this link to read how to make it]. They loved it.
We drove back to Aizawl, where Hminga and Azuala joined us. The drive to Reiek felt long, but the scenery made it worth it. Soon we arrived at our destination, and we stopped at the main gate for tea before entering.
Then we drove all the way up to the hilltop. The drive itself was beautiful with narrow, winding roads, cool air, and that feeling of gradually rising above everything.
Our friends loved it, taking many photos along the way.
When we reached the peak, a group of Pachhunga University College (PUC) students were there, doing rappelling exercises. Our classmates were amazed by the discipline the students showed. What impressed them even more was when the students were about to leave, they carefully collected the litter (and I mean all the litter lying around, not just theirs) and disposed of it properly, leaving the peak completely spotless.
Acts like this we Mizos often take for granted, but to outsiders, it’s something genuinely refreshing to witness.
The view from the peak was just breathtaking.
And then the sunset happened.
The sky slowly shifted from pale gold to deep orange, then into soft shades of pink and purple. The hills stretched endlessly into the horizon, layered like folded fabric. The wind was gentle. For a few minutes, everyone just stood there quietly, while others sat precariously on the edge, soaking it all in. Mesmerised.
As darkness crept in, we headed back down to the Reiek base.
Tlawmlova had arranged rooms for all of us at the Tourist Lodge. After freshening up, we gathered in the open space where tables were set up for dinner.
Tlawmlova had even hired a cultural troupe to perform for our visitors, but unfortunately they had to cancel because the Class 10 and 12 board exams were approaching.
However, the singers he arranged still came and sang many songs for us. Our classmates enthusiastically requested their favourites, and it slowly turned into another mini reunion night.
We eventually had dinner, and in my rare moment of not thinking like a blogger, I didn’t take a single photo of the food. I was too busy enjoying myself.
By the end of it all, we were completely exhausted. One by one, we headed back to our respective rooms and called it a night.
What a day.
Phew.
Day 4.
The next morning, I was the first one up. Occupational hazard. Farmers don’t sleep in.
Thalavai had an early flight back to Chennai because doctors are always busy, so I woke him up. We had a quiet cup of coffee together before Tlawmlova’s driver woke up and dropped him off at the airport.
I roamed around the place alone, taking photos of the cute cottages.
Vasu was the next person up. He said he needed to exercise and must compulsorily burn so and so amount of calories every day or else he can't have an erection or something like that, and he went off to hike all the way up to the hilltop by himself!
He sent this photo from the peak to prove he actually reached it.
Meanwhile, back at the base, I was bored AF.
Nobody else was awake, so I started video calling our WhatsApp group just to irritate them. One by one, they slowly crawled out of bed and came down for breakfast.
The staff even made traditional chhangban, which our friends absolutely loved.
Everybody was still dazed from the previous night's party, lolz.
Once we were properly stuffed, we got ready to head back to Aizawl.
The original plan was to stop by Murray’s picnic spot on the way back and continue the fun there. But exhaustion won. We were in noooo state to do anything else, and so we collectively decided to skip it.
Lolz. We are such a bunch of old farts.
We drove back to Aizawl, where Hminga’s wife welcomed us with some kind of magical refreshing concoction that instantly revived us. After that, the visiting guys checked back into their rooms at Regency.
Azuala dropped me home, where I finally got to see my own family again, lolz.
Meanwhile, Stephen took the boys to the tennis grounds where they played tennis!!!
Seriously… how do they still have that much stamina?
I spent some time at home with my family before heading to Azuala’s place for our final dinner together.
Tlawmlova had cooked a beautiful beef dish and a paneer dish, while Azuala and his wife prepared pork and several other dishes. It was one of those meals where nobody is really eating quietly - everyone’s talking over each other, interrupting, laughing, correcting old stories.
We caught up properly one last time and finally sat down to eat the delicious meal.
And then… it was time.
Time to say goodbye.
I hugged each of them, got into my cab, and headed back to the farm. The others were dropped back at their hotel.
The moment I reached my farmhouse, I collapsed onto my bed and passed out.
What a wonderful and exhausting four days.
The next morning, they all left Mizoram and flew out safely. Just like that, the noise disappeared. The hills returned to their usual quiet. The group chat, of course, did not.
There’s something special about showing people your home. Especially people who knew you when you were just a skinny boarding school kid with no idea what life would become. For four days, my worlds collided - school corridors and hilltop sunsets, hostel memories and Mizo traditional stuff. And somehow, it all fit.
I don’t know when the next reunion will be. But this one… this one will be hard to top.
Cheers!
(I wanted to write these posts much sooner. But unfortunately, Tlawmlova’s beloved wife, Rinpuii, passed away on the 7th of this month, and it didn’t feel right to rush into publishing cheerful reunion stories during that time.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Tlawmlova and his family. Life has a way of reminding us how fragile and unpredictable it can be. Which makes moments like these - the laughter, the sunsets, and the shared meals even more precious.
I’ll always remember that night at Reiek when Tlawmlova video-called Rinpuii, and we all waved and excitedly cheered at her in our loud, silly merriment while she laughed at us from the other side of the screen. That will be the lasting memory of Rinpuii I will hold on to.
Rest in peace, Rinpuii.)
