Chp 367. Of Mizoram weather & dad’s condition

One week in Aizawl now, and it had been blistering hot, humid, sweaty, rainy, windy, misty, wet, damp and freaking cold. Yeah if you wanna experience what “extremes of climate” feels like, Delhi is nothing. Come to Mizoram! Lolz.

At least in Delhi, the change happens gradually. Over here, things go from “Hell, it’s hottt!” to “Fackk it’s colddd” overnight. The first two nights I was here, I couldn’t even sleep due to the heat. And since I lost all privileges to the master bedroom downstairs (which my sis had taken over from me), I am now sleeping in dad’s old study room. It’s either that, or sleeping upstairs comfortably in my dad’s bedroom, mom’s bedroom or my nieces’ bedroom, but that means I can’t come home late (8pm is late by Mizoram’s standard) as they’re already sleeping by then, or smell of booze in front of my nieces (not that I will be drinking because Mizoram is a dry state and alcohol is strictly prohibited. Haha.)

Also, mom doesn’t allow me to smoke upstairs because she finally managed to make dad quit smoking due to his medical condition (whenever I meet people in my locality, the first question they ask me is, “When did you come home?”, second question: “How’s your dad?” and third question: “Is he really still NOT smoking? Wow!”) and mom’s afraid dad will feel like smoking again if he sees me smoking.

By the way, I mentioned earlier that dad and mom sleep in different bedrooms. That’s not because of any marital issues, lolz. Dad sleeps in my old bedroom upstairs due to his medical condition, like the loo is closer and higher (taller) in the attached bathroom etc. and the view from the balcony of that room is awesome. He’s kinda bedridden for almost two years now and was admitted to a hospital a month ago, and he’s the main reason why I took this long vacation from work. He’s pushing 80, and sometimes need assistance with his daily chores. But his great sense of humor is still intact.

He watches TV from his bed the entire day (when he’s not sleeping), and guess what he likes watching? Korean movies dubbed in Mizo. Lolzzzz! There’s nothing cuter and sweeter than watching my Old Man deeply engrossed in a Korean chick flick. I fear to ask him if he even knows what’s going on, but the expression of satisfaction and contentment on his face reassures me that he’s truly enjoying what he’s watching.

After two nights of sweat and humidity, the next three days had been extremely cold. Mizoram is no stranger to bits and pieces of cyclonic winds lashing it mercilessly, with no warning in advance, and I was right in the middle of it.

When it rains heavily in Mumbai, we complain about waterlogged roads and vehicles splashing water on us. Hehe, come to Mizoram if you wanna face the real hardships of heavy rains. Rain is always accompanied by landslides over here. Since the entire state is located on mountains and gorges, every house is precariously built on mountain slopes and hillsides. That is why in our Mizo vocabulary, we have two words for neighbor – “Kawmchhak” is the neighbor who lives above you on the slope, and “Kawmthlang” is the neighbor below you on the slope. And during landslides, sometimes entire houses get washed down the slope. There had been rare occasions when such houses were still intact after such a near-death ordeal, and people would joke about how their kawmchhak friend is now their kawmthlang friend. Lolz.

Apart from the landslides, there is the mist that accompanies the rain. Yeah, if you go to Ooty, Kodaikanal, Munnar etc. for a weekend vacation, I know how much you appreciate the scenic mist-covered mountains and valleys. Such serene and tranquil beauty inspires countless number of amateur poets and bloggers, and it is the ideal destination for a romantic getaway.

From Thursday to Saturday, visibility in Aizawl was reduced to around 10 metres because of the perpetual mist. All we could see everywhere were just white translucent mists, as if one was trapped inside a cotton-candy machine. And because of that, everything inside the house was damp – the curtains, my leather boots, the sofa, everything. Trust me, mist is not that romantic!

Yesterday being a Sunday, suddenly everything was clear again! Neither rain nor mist played a spoilsport to the beautiful day. The chimes of church bells from every locality resonated throughout the silent valley in great unison, reminding me again that this was the Mizoram I had always missed.

Some of my childhood friends from my locality came over after morning Church session to pay a visit to my dad. Then my online friends from misual.com, a popular Mizo site I co-host, came in a large group and paid a visit to dad. After that, my old school mates from St. Thomas, Cal, came and paid a visit to dad too.

Basically, that’s what Sundays are for in Mizoram – Going to Church during Church time and visiting sick friends or sick family member of friends during Church breaks (There’s a morning, noon and night service on Sundays that most people attend).

I felt a bit helpless bombarding dad with all my friends because he kinda preferred to be left alone, but he was still as cordial as ever and greeted all my friends with the utmost courtesy. Then he asked them who their parents were and immediately told them about how he knew their father/mother and what they used to do when they were young etc. He spent a really good time with my friends.

And of course since at least 80% of my friends are married with kids, dad and my friends continuously made fun of me about still being single and that they should put out an advertisement on every local newspaper with the message: “Marry him and get a Bolero FREE!”

Grrrrr…

But then, this is what every 30-something Mizo working outside Mizoram who’s too career focused to think of anything else (like marriage) face whenever they go home - the dreaded “When the hell are you planning to get married?” question. So at least I know I am not alone in this. Haha. Cheers for now. Laterz.