[I actually wrote this post on Jan 1st, but got tied up with a lot of other stuff and didn’t get to finish it. So, I’m publishing this post with the date set as January 1st, though its 15th Feb today]
Happy New Year, everyone! Welcome to 2026.
Hope you all had a blast with your family and loved ones. I, on the other hand, had the absolute worst New Year’s experience of my entire life.
I currently live at our farm by myself, with my beloved doggos. They are the light of my life and keep me entertained in my otherwise secluded existence.
I know my dogs well, and they are terrified of loud noises from crackers and rockets. And who can blame them? They have ridiculously sensitive super-hearing ears. They can recognise footsteps long before anyone even appears on my farm gate’s CCTV.
That’s an insane level of hearing power.
The downside is that loud explosions and even distant thunder terrify them. The crackle of crackers, or the boom of rockets bursting in the sky on New Year’s night.
Now, even though bursting crackers at midnight is prohibited in Mizoram, it is perhaps one of the most anticipated crimes in our community. Everyone knows people will break that law. After all, it’s just a once-a-year, 5 to10 minutes thrill that we never otherwise get to experience.
The noise here at Sihphir Neihbawi isn’t as intense as in the heart of Aizawl, but it’s still loud enough to send our furry babies scurrying in panic. That’s why I decided to stay at the farm on the 31st night to be with them.
The evening actually started off beautifully. As every year, my farm neighbours and nearby Neihbawi peeps came up to my hilltop to bid the year’s final sunset goodbye.
My niece and her friends came too.
Sanga also came with his entourage.
We laughed, chatted, and watched the last sunset of the year slowly melt into the distant horizon. Just like that, another year had passed… and yet I am still single and unmarried. Damn.
My niece and her friends soon left, while Sanga and his crew stayed back. We lit a bonfire and reminisced about the year that had gone by.
Heavenly view indeed!
Later, we went down to my farmhouse as it started getting really cold. I served special virgin Bloody Marys, and everybody loved them.
We karaoked the heck out for a few more hours, after which they left around 10PM to be home with their families for the New Year moment.
And just like that, I was alone at my farm with my six kids. Which was fine because that was the plan anyway.
I played a few rounds of Anno 1800 while waiting for midnight.
At around 11:50PM, I locked my dogs inside the farmhouse so they wouldn’t panic and bolt outside when the rockets started. I grabbed a torchlight and walked to the edge of my farm to watch the fireworks.
It was beautiful.
Boom boom boom.
Flower-like sparkles burst across the dark sky, their echoes bouncing between the hills of Sihphir. Smoke hung low in the cold air. From the distant horizon, I could see Aizawl lighting up like a Diwali party, tiny flashes flickering across the hills.
I stood there for a few minutes, taking it all in.
Around 12:10AM, I walked back to the farmhouse, knowing my dogs would be panicking from the noise.
And boy… did I underestimate their fear!
As I opened the door and stepped inside, I froze.
My entire PC system, along with all my external hard drives, was strewn across the bloody floor! For context, I am talking about this.
In their panic, they had knocked everything down.
My heart stopped.
I rushed over and started picking up the PC and the drives. I had recently spent a small fortune upgrading my setup, and the thought of it being destroyed was horrifying.
With extreme trepidation, I switched on the PC.
It powered up.
Thank God.
I connected my first 18TB external drive. It was detected.
Phew!
Then I connected my second 18TB drive.
Nothing.
Not detected.
Just... Krrrr krrrr krrr sound!
Aaaargh!!!!
That drive held my entire collection of movies and TV shows, all neatly catalogued season by season, which I had been collecting for... I dunno... 20 years? It also had many other important and treasured files that I honestly don’t even want to think about right now.
I stayed up until 2 or 3AM researching data recovery services. If I was lucky, and that’s a big IF, the repair alone could cost around 50K. Then I’d need another 50K for a new 18TB drive to store the recovered data.
And that’s assuming recovery was even possible.
I couldn’t sleep after that. The entire first day of 2026, I was just… down.
I looked at my kids and couldn’t even blame them. I should have stayed inside the farmhouse with them when the rockets started. I kept replaying the moment in my head, asking myself why I didn’t bloody disconnect the hard disks and keep them safely inside my suitcase.
Yes, I was going through the five stages of grief on the very first day of the year.
I feel better now. I try not to think about it too much.
Hard drives can be replaced. Dogs cannot.
Still… 2026 could have started with a little less drama. :(
Hope your New Year’s was a lot calmer than mine.
