Chp 801. Day 4: The People's Lockdown

Today is Day 4 of the Total Lockdown in India, and Day 7 of a Lockdown in Mizoram.

Last night, a funny thing happened.

After seven days of lockdown here in Mizoram, the Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate of Aizawl issued an order last night that people can finally come out of their homes on Saturday between 7 AM and 5 PM to buy things that are essential, like groceries and medical supplies.

I was like, "Woohooo finally!"

The rest of India may have been in lockdown for 3 days, but we have been like this since Saturday night, so it was something I was really looking forward to. I wanted to stretch my legs again on the country roads of Chaltlang, take a deep breath and inhale the pure natural air of the fresh hillside (while wearing a mask of course). Pretty much like how Tom Keifer of the glam rock band "Cinderella" crooned, "Don't know what you got… till it's go-onnnee…" I had never missed the outside world that much before.

But then, people were up in arms against this order! WhatsApp groups were suddenly flooded with messages from various doctors and concerned citizens, protesting this move. Their concerns were genuine.

The gist of their outrage was mainly - "If the rules are relaxed for a few hours now, then what is the point of having a Lockdown all this time when the incubation period for CoVid-19 is not even over. This will just bring all of us back to the same situation as before."

And then suddenly, when the medical professionals stated all their valid points, I realized how much of a fool I had been. These selfless hardworking people had been battling the virus for us and risking their own lives, I was definitely not going to disobey them. If they say do this or do that, just bloody do it. Don't ask why.

Ours not to reason why, ours but to do or die. Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Charge of the Light Brigade. If a doctor who spent years studying medicine tells me we shouldn't do something, I will believe him straight up, no questions asked. Likewise, if a doctor tells you there’s this cute single guy who blogs called Kima and you should date him, you should do that too, no questions asked :P :D

The Local Task Force members weren't happy either. It would be a logistical nightmare to manage people and see that everybody maintains proper distancing if they are all out on the streets. And so an emergency meeting was called at midnight at the DC office, and at around 2 in the morning today, the DC issued a new order squashing the previous order.

By then, most of us had already slept, but it was really refreshing to wake up to the news of the order being rescinded.

It was truly a people's mandate. I name today a "people's lockdown". And of course jokes were doing the round immediately, like when the DC calls for a curfew, people want to come out, and when he cancels a curfew, people want to remain indoors, lolz. But jokes aside, this shows how serious Mizos are about the lockdown.

Compare this to other places in India and if the images and videos we saw were genuine, then those places have a lot to learn from us. People were out on the streets celebrating and dancing, while others were beating up the police who were merely trying to enforce the lockdown. In fact my next post will be about this, about how Mizoram can set an example for other Indian states. Do read it tomorrow.

I know some of you may have questions like, "It's well and good that the lockdown is in effect, but what about those people who really need to go outside to buy food and medicines?" Don't worry about that, all that is taken care of by the Local Task Force of each locality, which I will write about in my next upcoming post.

And so here is to the people of Mizoram for being responsible enough to know what is good for us, even if it means being confined inside for a few more days. Let's keep fighting this together, and always obey what people from the medical profession are telling us to do. Bye for now, cheers.

Chp 800. Lockdown Day 3: Donating for Mizoram

Today is the third day of the 21 days Total Lockdown, as ordered by our PM Narendra Modi to contain the exponential infection of CoVid-19 virus, and as I have mentioned in my previous post, our State Mizoram just had its first CoVid-19 positive case.

While my cousin Dr. Mahruaii along with a team of other brave doctors and nurses are now camped in isolation at State Referral Hospital Falkawn (ZMC) to combat this threat and treat other patients infected with the virus, the rest of us remained indoors.

Every place is shut and nobody is allowed to go out on the streets, even to buy basic necessities (the Local Task Force of each locality will help those in dire need), and here in my locality Chaltlang, a medical unit came yesterday and sprayed the entire place from roads and railings to gates and fences with disinfectants. It kinda felt like that HBO mini-series "Chernobyl".

Right now, the best thing to do is stay inside our house and pray, pray for our courageous medical staff who are risking their lives to fight this battle for us at the frontline. Apart from praying, there is another thing we can all do to help, without leaving the confines of our house - Donate to a volunteer's group

Yesterday I came across this initiative in Mizoram undertaken by a group of volunteers called "PPE Donation Campaign" at our Mizo Bloggers WhatsApp group. Our member Jacqueline is a member of that group, and she told us about how there are currently shortages of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for medical staff and police personnel in Mizoram. And so a couple of altruistic tailors and designers got together and volunteered to stitch the PPEs for them, and a charitable group was created to collect money for the material.



The group was initially meant for something else and consisted of a group of friends like Betheli, Jenny, Kimkimi, Lri, Hriati etc., who designed clothes and purchased retail materials, but when they heard about the shortages of PPE's in Mizoram, they realized it was something they could do. Soon, other volunteers stepped in, and currently at the time of writing this post, there are well over 300 tailors and designers across Mizoram ready to stitch PPE's for free!

Ruby Ngente, another founding member of the group and currently a medical intern in Nashik, Maharashtra, told me that they'll be supplying the PPE's to not just medical staff across different hospitals and police personnel across Mizoram, but even to the Local Task Force members, especially those who are responsible for checking incoming passengers at different check-gates.

Now don't ask me questions like why do WE have to pay for it from our pocket and not the state government etc. Politics is not my forte and I stay away from it. Maybe our state government is unprepared for this pandemic, just like how our country is, just like how Western super-powers like USA, Italy, Spain, Germany etc., are.

There's no time to point fingers, this is a race against time, and humanity is at stake. In fact just last night, our honorable Minister of Health & Family Welfare Dr. R Lalthangliana posted a message that a cargo plane will be landing at Lengpui airport today carrying PPE's and other critical medical equipment for the people of Mizoram. Great news indeed!







But according to reliable sources, the amount of PPE's will still not be enough for all those working in high-risk environment, especially if the contagion spreads further within Mizoram. Even ZMC hospital had tied up with Women's Polytechnic, Durtlang, and they will be stitching new PPE's for the medical staff of ZMC.

Now there are a lot of technical details involved in stitching a proper PPE, like the method of stitching needs to follow a specific protocol, along with the type of material used, etc,. However two doctors, Dr. Zorengi of ZMC and Dr. Doris of Synod Hospital are supervising these designers and tailors on how to stitch the PPE's.

So, in case you want to play your part for our Mizo community and help in this cause, you can donate money for the materials and logistics. Here are the details:

Account holder: Ruby Malsawmtluangi
Account number: 30695501933
IFSC: SBIN0007497

You can also transfer money to her via Gpay, Phonepe and PayTM on her number - 7262016458, rubytluangi@oksbi.

Just a warning though, if you are transferring money to her through Gpay, her Gpay account name is "Suga Sue it", lolzzz. Yeah even I initially thought something was wrong and I had to send a screenshot to my friends Jacqueline and Josie to ask if it was a legit account.



But yes, that is indeed a legit account :D

So when they were creating the group and deciding how to set up accounts for money transfer, Ruby said they could use her Gpay account. She forgot that she had saved her name in Gpay as "Suga Sue it". Apparently she is a huge fan of the Kpop band BTS, and hence the name "Suga Sue". Yeah it looks unprofessional, but at the same time extremely funny too. She's super embarrassed about it, but we need such laughter during these hard times.

So there is a WhatsApp group created for this, called VOLUNTEERS, and you can contact Betheli (8794807386) or Ruby (7262016458) on WhatsApp if you want to join the group. The group quickly reached its maximum limit in less than a day, so there are now different sub-groups based on different districts in Mizoram.

This volunteer group is completely transparent, and all financials are shared with every group member. This is a list of people who had donated so far till this morning. I have censored their phone numbers and amount donated.











At of the time of writing this post (0600 hours GMT), the total amount of money donated so far had crossed one Lakh rupees! Awesome!

Likewise, any expenditure made is also shared with everyone in the group.



The group not only consists of many designers and tailors who had selflessly volunteered to stitch the PPE's but there are many reputed doctors in the group as well. Even the Chief Secretary of our state is aware of this voluntary group and appreciates the action undertaken, according to founder Betheli. I thought I'll just mention that in case you have any doubt about the authenticity of the group.

All the materials sent and received are also updated to the group.







And the work of stitching the PPE's started this morning. Here are some of the volunteers from Aizawl, Kolasib, Lunglei, Champhai etc. in action. I feel so proud of them!

















Aizawl cutting crew on their way to cut the materials.



And so that is currently how things are right now. Absolutely great work from all these wonderful souls and special thanks to Ruby and Betheli for feeding me information for my blog. Please feel free to donate for the cause.

Like I said, the group is just a day old, and so you might not have heard of it before. But the work they are doing is exemplary and it would help a lot if you can also share this post or tell your friends who may be able to help.

Keep the spirit up Mizoram, the fact that normal people are rising up to fight this virus in any way that they can, shows that we have already won half the battle. God bless everyone!

Chp 799. Day 1 of 21 days Lockdown

I'm sure by now all of you know about the 21 days Lockdown order given by our PM Narendra Modi to combat the highly contagious CoVid-19.

[pic source: pexels.com]

Today is day 1 of the nation-wide lockdown, though technically it is day 4 for those of us in Mizoram as our State Government had already declared a lockdown since Monday, and Sunday was a "Janata Curfew". Think of the past three days' lockdowns as a rehearsal to the real deal that started today.

I have never seen some of the WhatsApp groups THIS active before. I guess most people are just bored at home with nothing to do except socialize online. I check my friend's WhatsApp status every 5 minutes or so now, and there is always a new update every time.

I never check Facebook Stories or post a "story" though, because to be honest, not all Facebook friends are real friends or people I know personally. But when it comes to WhatsApp status, if I have saved your number and you have saved mine, it means I know you pretty well and am comfortable about sharing my status with you, a few exceptions being the gas delivery agency number etc. :D :P

In fact, I have un-muted many of the status I have muted before (if you spam me with 20+ status updates and most of them aren't even that funny, or if you're a guy who keeps posting your selfies, then you go straight to the mute section). I un-muted most people because I was bored. And I'm sure people did the same with me as well, because I usually get around 150-200 views on my WhatsApp status updates, but these past few days, they easily crossed 300 views, lolz!

My sisters and I along with my nieces video-call each other every day too to while away the time.

With Day 1 of the 21 days about to get over, I have decided to spend the next few days doing something useful and worthwhile (more details coming up in my next post) and I'm also trying to blog every day for these upcoming 20 more days.

But the one thing I'm planning NOT to do or refrain from doing, is to forward CoVid-19 related news to the WhatsApp groups I'm in, especially news about infections in Mizoram. Why? Simply because we are already surrounded by enough depressing news. We don't need to keep going further down that dark path.

Take today for example. Mizoram got its first CoVid-19 positive case, and every single WhatsApp group was busy sending out information, most of them contradicting information. People were not only forwarding the names and locality of the person (extremely unethical and illegal), but were also forwarding wrong names!

I decided not to get involved anymore because, frankly speaking, there's nothing you and I can do about it. Doctors and people from the medical staff have told us what to do, and that is to stay indoors and wash our hands all the time, and THAT is what we should be doing. It doesn't matter if there are 100 new patients in Mizoram tomorrow (God forbids that happens), as long as we do as we're told, things will turn out right. Spreading such information is only going to make us more depressed and cause unnecessary panic.

Meanwhile the people who CAN do something about this are the doctors, nurses, lab assistants, technicians, every single medical staff right down to the ambulance driver, the hospital sweeper and gate chowkidar, they're the ones who are fighting this battle for us. The real HEROES in the frontline.

Today, my dear cousin and neighbor Dr. Mahruaii packed up her bags and she along with her colleague Dr. Lalremruata left for State Referral Hospital Falkawn (ZMC) to look after the new CoVid-19 patient. She along with a few selected medical team will be posted in the hospital indefinitely to handle anyone who is CoVid-19 positive. They're not allowed to come home even to take a long nice hot shower.

They're the ones we should be praying for, that they remain safe from the dreaded virus and that they're able to perform their duties properly. It especially pains us a lot knowing she is working at such a high risk environment. This message from my uncle, Dr. Mahruaii's father really brought tears to my eyes.

Apart from these doctors, let's all give a big round of applause to all the nurses and support staff at ZMC too, and keep remembering them all in our prayers.

[Pics source: Ramteii]

By the way, the above photo has been circulating among our Mizo community as my cousin Dr. Mahruaii and her colleague Dr. Lalremruata. Many of my friends are using it in their WhatsApp status too. It really feels good to know that our entire community is supporting them, but actually... those two in the picture above are not them, lolz. The two people above are the nurses who are assisting them, and their names are Muansanga and Angela. Remember those two names too. Remember them in our prayers.

And because of them, their bravery and sacrifice, all is good, so far.

With this, I'll end my post for today, and see you tomorrow for my Day 2 update. Like I said, I got a lot interesting posts coming up. This is also a challenge to all my Mizo blogger friends out there to get back in front of the screen and start blogging again, now that we don't have any excuse to give for not blogging.

Stay safe everyone. God bless.

Chp 798. The Importance of Quarantine

Four days ago, my niece came back to Mizoram from her hostel in Assam.

As the Government of Mizoram has issued a mandatory 14 days self-quarantine rule for anybody entering Mizoram, we followed the protocol immediately. Even though my niece came from Assam and there had been no positive cases of CoVid-19 in the North East so far, due to its long incubation period, nobody should take any risk.



Initially, I just posted about this on my WhatsApp status, about how we were doing self-quarantine for my niece, and I wasn't even planning to post it on Facebook. But then, so many of my friends responded to my WA status, and my doctor friends like Dr. Seni, Dr. John and Dr. Hluii told me to write about it on my blog so that it can have a wider reach to the Mizo masses. My cousin Dr. Mahruaii even sent me a list of steps to take during self-quarantine.

First of all, why do we need to do this, and what is the difference between Quarantine and Isolation?

I have seen a lot of people mix up the two, even at official Press Releases. The difference is subtle, and in English, they seem to mean the same thing, but in terms of Medical terminology, they are a tad different. Quarantine is when you isolate a person suspected of coming in contact with a contagious disease. That person NEED NOT be infected, and it is merely done to keep healthy people from becoming infected in case that person carried the virus. Isolation on the other hand is applied to people who are ALREADY infected, and they are kept in isolation for the same reason as above.

To prevent the spread of CoVid-19 that has already infected more than 270,000 people and caused the death of more than 11,000 people at the time of writing this article (21st March 16:00 GMT) it is of utmost importance to quarantine oneself if you have just recently travelled. The good thing is, voluntary quarantine, also known as self-quarantine, can be done at your house.

By the way, all these actions like voluntary quarantine, social distancing, self isolation, curfew, lockdown etc., are all methods to FLATTEN THE CURVE. Mind you, these are not methods to protect you from the virus, it MAY protect you but it is not a guarantee. However it will ensure that the exponential outbreak slows down gradually so that there will be enough medical facilities available to look after those who are currently affected.

In Mizoram, the main hospital that will treat CoVid-19 patients here in Mizoram is the State Referral Hospital, Falkawn (ZMC). The hospital has only seven beds for CoVid-19 patients admitted in the ICU. That number can change, can be 10 or 20, but for now, let us just assume that it is seven. So imagine if there is an outbreak and for example, 21 people get infected in one day! The hospital will definitely not be able to handle them all at once, leading to many unfortunate fatalities. But if we flatten the curve and the same 21 people get infected BUT over a period of time, say 7 new infections every 2-3 weeks, then yes, the hospital can treat everybody.

Coming back to self-quarantine, does my niece want to be self-quarantined? Of course not. But it is something every responsible citizen should do. Sure it had made our regular life a bit more difficult, but compared to the amount of sacrifices people in the medical field are making to combat this virus, this is something ALL of us should be doing with no hesitation. So, here is what we have gone through so far.

At the airport, the medical staff posted there not only screened all the passengers but instructed all of us (both passengers and recipients) on what to do, how to observe self-quarantine, what are the practices to follow while doing so, and what are the emergency numbers to contact in case they started experiencing symptoms of CoVid-19.

First and foremost, the subject should be completely isolated in a separate room within the house. He or she should also have his/her own bathroom that should not be shared by any other family members. And so I moved into my niece's bedroom because she didn't have an attached bathroom and she moved into my bedroom.

Food should also be served to the person in the room itself, and once the empty plates and cutleries are collected, they should be thoroughly sanitized along with your hands.



Entering the room where the self-quarantined person is staying is also discouraged unless it is absolutely necessary. I entered her room (technically my room) only once, and it was because my sister from Malaysia wanted to video-call with her while she was having dinner.



Awww, poor little thing right?

Now we’re on day 4 of her self-quarantine.

Luckily for us, electricity and internet is good, so my niece is not THAT bored staying locked up in that room. Since most kids today are used to socializing with friends online anyway, she didn't have to make much drastic changes to her existing lifestyle. Every morning she would shout from the room reminding us how many days are remaining for her self-quarantine to be over, lolz.

Also this was a good opportunity for her to study and prepare for her upcoming exams. Here is me taking a picture of her studying from outside the window, I had to climb up the terrace from downstairs just to click these pictures, lolz.





And so, that is basically us. Other than that, life is still the same for us, and we too have avoided going outside the house as well.

To be honest though, we are fortunate enough to have a separate room for my niece to self-quarantine. There are other families out there who do not have the luxury of having a spare room for self-quarantine. In such cases, the state government has created centers for self-quarantine, like Tourist Lodges, Govt schools, Tourist Complex Beraw Tlang, etc., (Contact the Aizawl District Task Force for complete details).

Meanwhile, other people are also trying their best to self-quarantine, like my friend Hmaii. They didn't have a room to spare in their house for her sisters who were returning home to Mizoram, and so they placed two beds in their empty "basement" downstairs and made them sleep there.





No furniture, no decorations, no wallpapers or tiles, just bare cement walls and pillars with two beds. But that is how serious people are taking this. That will be their world for the next few days. 

So this is my blog update for now. I hope I was able to shine some light into how this whole self-quarantine experience feels like. There's a lot more updates coming up, especially since we don't have anything much to do at home now. Just remember to stay safe, stay at home, keep sanitizing your hands, and pray for all the wonderful medical staff out there who are battling this for us. Cheers for now everyone.

Chp 797. MC Shop Owner's Meet

It's been 3 months now since I've come home to Mizoram permanently. I'm still getting used to living back here now, which is quite in contrast to living in the metros (especially when you've left Mizoram at the tender age of 10), and I have a lot of funny experiences to share with you all, but for now, I'll just mention this one incident.

Earlier this week, we received a letter from the "Millennium Centre Shop Owner's Association" inviting us to take part in their General Body Meeting. We own one tiny shop at Millennium Centre, better known as "MC" here, and it is one of the grander and more upscale shopping center in Aizawl.

Now, as I have mentioned, I've been away from Mizoram since I was small, and I don't really know anybody back here. But being the youngest and only son, it was time for me to take up various family businesses. Even though I knew we owned a shop at MC, I had no idea who the tenants were!

And so my mom told me to go for the meeting!

I was hesitant as hell, because apart from not knowing anyone, I am an introvert as well. I called up my friend and classmate from Montfort Hminga who owns a restaurant there, hoping I could go with him, but he was in Bangalore. I really didn't want to go right then. But then mom gave me this long lecture on how it was high time I started acting mature and suck it up blah blah blah, and so… I went to the meeting alone.

I reached the venue: Dawrpui Multipurpose Committee Hall, 15 minutes early because I really didn't want to be late. All the current office bearers were already there.

They gave me a very warm welcome and since they had never seen me before, I had to introduce myself. They asked me the name of the Shop Owner, and I told them my late father's name. They searched the entire list and dad's name wasn't in it! I started to panic. Then they asked me the name of the tenants, and I had no idea who they were! Sweat was breaking profusely from my forehead and my knees were starting to feel weak. I could feel their glaring gazes and imagined what they were thinking, who the hell is this imposter and what is he doing here!?

Finally they asked me the Shop's number and I had written that down in a piece of paper. They looked up the number in their list and it was there! And guess what, the name of the Shop Owner was in my name, that's why they couldn't find my dad's name in it! Mannnn, that was SUCH a relief for me.

And so, I went and sat down. I felt light-headed indeed right then, lolz.

Like I said, I went early, so I was the only member who reached before 11 AM.

Soon, members of the Shop Owner's Association started arriving one by one. I just sat there alone in my little corner. Everybody seemed to know each other, they hugged, they shook hands, they laughed, they high-fived etc., while I just sat there alone like a spider on the side of a wall. In fact, everybody sat with each other while I was the only person sitting alone in my entire row :(

Finally, this gentleman arrived and saw me sitting alone so he came and sat next to me :) We didn't speak much, but I learnt later that his name is Pu John Chhangte. Thank you for that, Pu John.

The meeting started at 11:30 AM and a lot of agendas were mentioned. I just sat and listened to everything. Soon, the meeting was over and it was time for the General Body election. The current office bearers left the stage and sat with us, while members of the MIMA (Mizoram Merchant Association) entered the hall to conduct the election.

They came and distributed the ballot papers and we voted for the new office bearers one by one. I just voted whoever Pu John was voting for since I didn't know anybody. He caught me peeping into his ballot paper and just laughed :D

We had snacks served during the election, and it was this delicious egg roll and gulab jamun.

Finally, the election was over. I had to mark the names of all those who were earlier voted because they couldn't be voted again.

So here is the new office bearer list of the Millennium Centre Shop Owner's Association 2020-21:

President:  Pu H.Lalnunsiama

Vice-President: Pu Laldawngliana

Secretary: Pi RMS Dawngkimi

Asst. Secretary: Pu Fakawma

Treasurer: Pu C.Lalbiakthanga

Financial Secretary: Pi Laldinpuii

The MIMA officials congratulated the newly elected MCSOA officials.

And soon we ended the meeting by saying the Lord's Prayer.

I must say, I'm glad I went and participated. Though I don't know anybody yet, I'm sure in good time I will get to know others soon, it's just a matter of time. A lot of important topics were discussed during the meeting but I don't think I'm allowed to reveal them here, so I'll leave it at that.

So that was it, a brand new experience for me and here's to many more such experiences on the way. Cheers for now everyone. Stay safe.

Chp 795. The year ahead

First of all, a very happy New Year to you all! I know it's almost the end of January now, but better late than never. :D

Ahhh what a long month this January feels like, right? It just seems to be going on and on and on forever! Or maybe I just feel this way because this is the first time in 30 years that I am actually staying in Mizoram for the entire month of January and not rushing back to my rented apartment someplace else.

I no longer need to take a flight from Aizawl back to my city of residence, which would usually take me an entire day, reach my single lonely cold bachelor apartment in the dead of the night from the airport, join work the very next morning, and that entire day is spent keeping up with all the things I have missed out for the past 3-4 weeks, like new projects undertaken, current projects statuses, new employees orientation, changes people had made on my documentations, me fighting back at the people who changed my docs etc etc., not to mention the sudden change in climate, language, cuisine and dining time. To be honest, coming home to Mizoram for a short vacation had always been tiring and never felt like a real vacation.

However, now that I no longer need to do any of those, I finally get to enjoy what a vacation in Mizoram truly feels like! In fact, I am still in vacation mode right now, lolz.

So far, the main highlight of my two months here in Mizoram is of course my pimples. As I have mentioned in my earlier blog post, my pimples flared up after reaching Mizoram and I was under heavy facial treatment for a couple of weeks (Dr. Mathlengi). I am now currently cured of all pimples (yaayy) and am following a different medication to remove the scars.

So what I mostly do the whole day is stay at home and watch Netflix, or make stupid memes like this, lolz. I call this - Bad fermented versus Good fermented. :P

I have also slowly started going out again, and I look forward to updating my blog with a lot of activities around the city. I have eaten dinner from 5 different caterers so far, and will be updating my blog with the food pic and review along with their contact numbers. There are also a lot of wonderful places I am looking forward to visit and review on my blog, which also includes going on a road-trip across Mizoram (and parts of Myanmar), so stay tuned because this year is going to be exciting!

I'm also planning to go on my first ever "nula rim" here in Aizawl, something I have never experienced in my life before. It is an ancient Mizo tradition of guys going to a girl's house to woo here, and I too wanna know what that feels like (only problem though, is I don’t know who to rim or how to rim). Yup, things are definitely going to get hot in here! :D

So keep checking back here for updates, I'll be seeing you around. Laters, everyone, cheers. Mizohican out.

Chp 794. Happy New Year!

Aaaand this is my 50th blog update of the year!

With this post, I have now updated my blog 50 times annually for 14 straight years! I guess it is fair to say I have been consistent with my blog updates longer than most of your relationships. In fact, I've even blogging longer than most marriages out there, lolz.

I even know a couple of people who started reading my blog when they were single, got married, some had kids while others didn't, and then got divorced, and are now reading this very blog post as a single once again, lolz :D Ah the circle of life. :P

So, yeah, don't you dare make fun of my single status :D :P

This year had been good to me. The biggest milestone of this year for me was perhaps when I finally completed my gratuity (5 years employment) at a Corporation, and so it was finally time to hang up my boots and say goodbye to the Corporate World.

I've always wanted to complete working for 5 years somewhere, and I almost had that chance when I was at an Advertising agency. After slogging my ass off for 4 years and 10 months as a Copywriter, there was this sudden golden opportunity to create our own gaming Start-Up, with complete investor backing and mentorship from the best incubators in India.

It was a "now or never" moment. I could have just let that train pass and continued working as a Copywriter for another 2 months and get my gratuity, or I could quit right then and venture down a new path of game designing and face the unforeseeable future with my fingers crossed. I finally decided to do the latter, and it had been a dream ride since then.

After 2 years of being a Co-Founder of our own little Start-Up, we got acquired and after 5 more years of working as a Game Designer, I could finally retire from the Corporate World, with enough experience in both Digital Advertising & Marketing along with Game Designing and Production.

Next year onwards, a new chapter of my life will begin. I'll definitely be updating you all on my blog. But before I take on my family business related projects, I also plan to tour Mizoram along with some of the Myanmar border towns and get to know my own roots, something that I have never done in my life before, so get ready for a series of interesting travelogue next year.

So here is me wishing you all a very Happy New Year on this last day of the year, and may the next year bring much fortune and prosperity to you all. Love you all everyone, cheers!

Chp 793. Pimples

Exactly a month ago today, I wrote my last blog update from Pune and then packed up my computer.

A lot had happened since then. The movers and packers arrived at my apartment in Pune that afternoon and quickly packed up my entire belongings.  They were truly professional, making sure everything was packed properly, all fragile items safely bubble-wrapped and every single box water-proofed tightly.

Nothing was broken or missing when I received them in Mizoram 2 weeks later. I didn't even have to pick them up as they were delivered to my doorstep here in Chaltlang! I really recommend "Safe Express" to you all if you're also planning to send home your luggage to Aizawl. All in all, I spent 40K as I had a lot of stuff (my entire life belongings), but it was worth it.

I reached Mizoram on 30th November. The prodigal son had finally returned home, this time for good. However, there was no rejoicing or celebration, as I landed in Mizoram right in the middle of a political shitstorm. The controversial CAB/CAA issue.

Everywhere I looked, there were passionate arguments and fervent discussions. Mizo social media exploded with so much anger and protests. There were people protesting against CAB because they feared it will affect Mizoram anyway if it's implemented in Assam, and there were those who protested against it because it discriminated against a particular religion. There were those who criticized our Lok Sabha MP and were against CAB, and then there were those who supported our MP but were also against CAB. And finally, there were those who supported CAB itself, and I think that was just Pu Hriata Chhangte :D :P

Overall, yeah, the issue was everywhere, from WhatsApp status updates and Facebook posts to even Twitter rants and YouTube comments!

Meanwhile, I was facing a personal problem of my own. During the last 2-3 months of my time in Pune, I was starting to get a lot of pimples on my face. It first started slowly, one there, then another one, then another, and so on. There was no need for me to see a doctor as I knew the reason - too much alcohol and red meat consumption.

However, after I completed my Notice Period and left my Organization, I was in Pune for another 2 weeks, as I had some unfinished businesses here and there, and I needed time to pack and stuff. I spent that last 2 weeks binging on food & drink more than ever, along with different farewell parties every other night, such and such that on the night I was leaving Pune, all my pimples flared up!

Even my friends Teresa and Nitin with whom I had spent the previous day with were shocked and horrified to see how much worse my pimples had suddenly become when they came to pick me up to drop me to the airport.

That was how bad my life had suddenly turned to. I covered my face during my entire flight back home, and once I reached my house, I ran inside without even saying hi to my neighbours.

I made an appointment with renowned dermatologist Dr. Mathlengi, and when she saw me at her clinic, she immediately told me to get a blood test first. She checked everything, from my blood sugar to BP to liver to kidneys to a few other tests with acronyms I didn't understand, and fortunately for me, everything was fine! Phew!!!

She prescribed a couple of tablets along with different creams (expensive ones too!) for me, and she also injected steroids (that's what I heard her say) into my face at around 10 different places! Yeah that really freaking hurt! First time in my life I was experiencing that.

I followed her medical treatment regime strictly and also abstained from alcohol for 24 straight days! Right now, all my pimples have healed, but the scars are still there. Dr. Mathlengi told me it will take around a month for the scars to vanish too, so I am pretty happy now, pun unintended :P

If you want to see how I look now (day 27) versus how bad I looked on the day I reached Mizoram, here it is. See the difference. I'm also putting up the picture here because whenever I tell my friends that I can't meet anyone yet because of my pimples, they'd be like "i van lerh em em, a ho lutuk!" Trust me, if you had a face like mine in the first frame below, even you wouldn't want to step out anywhere!

Terrifying, right?

I looked like one of those extras in a survival movie or somebody who's just about to turn into a zombie after being bitten by one.

Other than my appointments with Dr. Mathlengi at her clinic in Chanmari, I remained confined to my house. I didn't go to Church or even to attend the Christmas service or the Christmas community feast the next day. I also cancelled my planned Goa and Bangalore trips, hence missing my dear Mumbai flatmates Sid and Shweta's big wedding! :( I was soooo looking forward to their wedding, especially since I was with them right from the very beginning of their romance and I was the only one from office who knew about their relationship and kept it a secret for so many years.

Also, I received just 18 bucks refund from cancelling my flight tickets. Aaarrghhh damn you pimples!

But being on a self-imposed house arrest until my pimples heal completely, I have come to realized how easily we take things for granted. How we must avoid taking selfies or how much we envy those who do. Now I understand why good looking people care so much about beauty products because not good looking people like me can also be affected. It's like that saying, "How can I face my problem, when my problem is my face?"

On the bright side though, my friends told me that this was the perfect time for me to actually venture out and look for a girlfriend because anybody who can love me when I look like this is somebody who will definitely love me for the rest of my life, lolz.

So until my next blog update with a hopefully much better face, cheers for now everyone.

Chp 792. Adios Pune

This will be my last blog update from Pune as I have to pack up my computer after this for the Movers & Packers to pick up. My first blog post after moving to Pune was this – "Of Pune and Blog friends" and man, just reading through it again brings back so many memories! (Daniel and Zodin, you have to read this and see how small your kids were back then)

I have written 235 blog posts since then, in a course of 5 years, and many of them will remind me of the magical moments I had in this great city. To be honest, as my friend Rami never fails to remind me, I did hate this city when I first arrived, but it slowly started growing on me, and by the end of my first year, I was already in love with this damn place.

My house :'(

Of course some of my Mizo friends say I love Pune only because I live in Koregaon Park. Well, living in KP, that too alone with no flatmates to split the rent and bills with may be expensive, but it has a lot of perks. Here are my top 10 reasons on why I love living in KP so much.

#1. First of all, I have complete privacy. I can watch TV shows naked or cook naked whenever I want because I live alone (though my dinner guests often complain about that so I started wearing at least an underwear when they come over :P ).

#2. Everything from the top restaurants and bars to nightclubs and spas are just walking distance away from my home.

#3. I can get everything home-delivered, from groceries and cigarettes to alcohol and even ready-made cocktails!

#4. No electricity blackouts or water shortages, like ever, along with seamless broadband service and mobile 4G data. Uber and Ola also arrive in less than 2 mins any time of the day.

#5. We also get soft water, unlike most of my friends' places across Pune where the water is hard. You know what hard water does to your hair and skin right?

#6. The crowd moving around my apartment are always awesome, cool and classy, even the beggars wear Gucci and stuff :P

#7. It takes just 10 minutes for me to walk to office and back home.

#8. No Temples, Mosques, Churches or other places of worship nearby, so there are no bhajan or azaan sound you can hear throughout the day. I know some of you may think that is not a politically correct thing to say, but I'm just being honest here. My apologies if you are offended.

#9. Have I not mentioned about the number of awesome eatery joints and roadside snack vendors below and around my apartment? It's not just the number of different eateries, they also keep changing! I have seen at least 20-30 different joints setting up and being replaced with a new joint during these past 5 years itself. And I am only talking about the shops below my apartment.

#10. "This is KP, mannn!" :D

I mean, living in KP is like living in paradise, and that's what some of my friends in Pune assume I am doing, living the Mizohican dream.

But actually, it is not always happy happy for me. I have never told anyone this, so I'm just going to mention it here in my last post for the first time -> Living in KP can get very lonely for a person like me.

I have a lot of awesome Mizo friends here in KP. They all live like 5-10 minutes walking distance from my place. But the thing is, except for a few students, around 95% of Mizos living in KP work in the Service industry. They're all here working their asses off at various hotels, day spas, shops, parlours, restaurants, pubs etc. And so, the two days that I am free from office - Saturday and Sunday, are the two busiest days for them instead. Hence there's nobody to hang out with in KP during the weekends, and so I would just stay at home alone, watching yet another TV series marathon. I even started hating the weekends because of this.

Yeah, like I said, loneliness can be deafening.

Of course I have a lot of other wonderful friends outside KP too, but then again, there's the distance, and another thing is, most of my age-group friends in Pune are all married, with many of them having kids and stuff. You understand what I'm saying. We still chill out together and have lots of fun, but you can never chill out like bachelors again because of so many commitments. But nevertheless, I will miss each and every one of them.

There are so many things I would like to mention in this last post, but I think I have already said most of them in my past blog updates. The shortest goodbyes are the sweetest.

And so, as I close yet another chapter of my life, I thank all my friends here in Pune who have made me enjoy living here so much. Thank you all for so many wonderful memories. I will miss all of you dearly, and hope that one day, our paths will cross again. I wish you all the very best, take care everyone. God bless you all.

Mizoram, here I come home, with my entire life's belongings. I've been staying outside the state since class 3, so be good to me Mizoram, be nice and gentle to me.

Signing off for the last time from Pune, Mizohican out.