Chp 815. The Long Train Home

Today is Day 52 of a Lockdown in India, and Day 55 of a Lockdown in Mizoram.

With Mizoram now currently a CoVid-19 free state, our borders have started opening again for Mizos outside the state to come home to their families. Various groups of Mizos, mostly students and migrant workers, have been returning to Mizoram in busloads almost every day, straight to the designated Government Quarantine Centres.

In fact, just this morning, a 1000-strong contingent of Mizos arrived at Bairabi train station in Mizoram from Chennai, Tamil Nadu.



The Chennai Mizo Welfare Association (CMWA) had been exemplary in their work since the beginning of this lockdown. The organization was all over the news when they managed to arrange an ambulance to transport the remains of a fellow Mizo who had passed away in Chennai, all the way to Aizawl.

And these are just some of the news you might have read about on social media. There had been many other instances where their work had gone unnoticed, like how they would donate large sums of money to various charity organizations in Mizoram every year, or how they immediately got involved when random Northeastern people were detained by the police to prevent "Tibetans from protesting against the visiting Chinese Premier", thus ensuring their immediate release.

In fact, I feel the word "Chennai" in CMWA is a misnomer because they have been taking care of not just Mizos in Chennai but all across Tamil Nadu as well.

And all this is possible because of their great leaderships. CMWA leaders like Avena Renthlei, Lalmalsawma Pachuau, Lalnuntluanga Colney, Michael and his brother Gabriel, and many other Mizos from Chennai have been working around the clock to ensure that all Mizos are taken care of.



All images below are from Gabriel, Michael and Avena.

Malsawma, Tluanga Colney and Avena had many meetings with different nodal officers and various corporations to arrange transportations and manpower, and as a result, around 50 buses were provided by the Tamil Nadu Government not just within Chennai but across Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry to transport Mizos to Chennai Central, the main railway station in Chennai. Avena also added that numerous cabs were also hired for those who couldn't be picked up by buses.









Mind you, the process of sending back people to Mizoram is not an easy task. Right from the beginning, various CMWA leaders like Tluanga Colney and others had been collecting the list of names through a portal created by Malsawma, and sending them to Mizoram and back and forth and so on.

And of course many of the forms were filled incorrectly and could not be verified, and so they spent a lot of time speaking to such people in person and correcting their forms as well. In fact, Tluanga Colney even went the extra mile of helping the Sikkimese people with their list! :)

There was proper large-scale planning and coordination done in advance, like what time Mizos from so and so location were to be picked up by so and so bus, and people waited obediently on those given time & location.





This applied to not just Mizos within Chennai, but across various cities in Tamil Nadu like Salem and Coimbatore (my two alma maters!), Kanyakumari, Rameswaram, Nilgiris, Madurai, Tirunelveli, etc., including Pondicherry as well. A big thanks to all the DCs of all these districts too for ensuring a hassle free travel to Chennai.





According to Avena, Tluanga Colney literally stayed at the corporation offices while all this was taking place to ensure that things were going smoothly according to plan.

Sir Avena in action.



Gabby coordinating the incoming crowd.



And so, people lined up to enter Chennai Central…



As you can see from the above three images, daytime quickly changed to night while the people were still standing in a queue. This was because there was a medical screening done for every passenger before they could enter Chennai Central. However, taking photos were strictly prohibited at that section. All registered Mizos for the journey were also screened at Government hospitals on the previous day as well, and according to Michael, nobody failed the screening.

Chennai Central was quite deserted except for a small police presence.





Even the Chennai police were amazed at the amount of discipline Mizo passengers displayed. There was absolutely no need for the police to get involved as everybody politely formed a queue. There was no pushing or jostling or fighting among any of the passengers like you might have seen elsewhere on TV or WhatsApp forwards, and this was a new experience for the police.

The line slowly started moving…











There were make-shift counters to record all the tickets, and passengers also had to be grouped as there were also a few passengers bound for Sikkim and Assam.



I've been to Chennai Central many times (read my next blog update on those experiences) even back when it was known as Madras Central, and I have never seen the platforms this empty!



Gabby and other CMWA leaders along with Railways officials were busy directing and redirecting passengers to various coaches.



The person in light blue formal shirt is Shri. Shunchonngam Jatak Chiru, IAS, Commissioner and Secretary Tamil Nadu and the Nodal Officer in charge for all the North East States.





Thiru Avena and Thiru Malsawma overseeing the whole process.



Tluanga Colney (holding the water bottle) in the pic below. By the way, Tluanga Colney is also a fellow blogger and he blogs at miyzone.blogspot.com.



Here are two samples of the train tickets issued. The price printed on the tickets had been completely borne by the Central Government and Tamil Nadu Government! Rombo nandri!





It must be mentioned too that there were a couple of people who had lost their tickets, lolz, yeah, it happens, but thanks to the involvement of Avena and Malsawma, nobody was left behind.

Once everybody was on board, it was time to leave.



Goodbye Chennai Mizos.



Here's the amazing CMWA team that coordinated this whole process. A big shout-out and kudos to them all!



Apart from those mentioned in this post so far, there were a lot of crucial CMWA members who had worked hard to make this successful, like Mamboihi from Siaha, Rintlaka from Champhai, Kaitea from Chanmari West (who even travelled along with the group), Hruaia from Champhai, Mapuii Tochhawng from Chhinga veng, Muanpuii from Ramhlun South, and of course Bena Sailo, my dear senior from Montfort School and PSG Tech. Well done to all these people indeed!

Michael and Gabriel in the pic above are both sons of Pu Lawmsanga, IPS Rtd., who was the Founder and former President of CMWA. He had already done a great deal of work for our Mizo community in the past. From setting up the working model of CMWA to its constitution, it is really good to see his sons following his footsteps and utilizing all the important contacts he still has with different top authorities in Chennai.

I mean, Mike and Gabby had been in Tamil Nadu for so long that they used to correct the locals whenever they made a Tamil grammatical error :P And Avena had been such a stud that even when he was posted in Hosur, all the cops used to fear his name more than they feared the name of Pu HT Sangliana :D :P And as for Malsawma, while all of us were playing basketball back in Montfort School, he used to sit at the side and study, and when we asked him to join us, he would say, "No! One day, I'm going to become an IRS officer and help Mizos in Chennai who are stranded due to CoVid-19". :D

All exaggerations aside, these people are an amazing bunch of leaders and Mizos studying and working in Tamil Nadu are really lucky to have them.

Managing a crowd of this proportion must have been a gargantuan task. There was even this funny viral message of one of the passengers describing about how they all kinda resembled the Exodus of the Tribes of Israel led by Moses from Egypt to the Promised Land, because there were all sorts of people among the crowd, from small children and old folks to pregnant women and adolescent students, carrying all types of luggage from suitcases and jute bags to water canes and even pet dogs and birds! :D

Here are pictures of the famous birds and dogs :D







And with that, the people continued with their journey. Seeing all their happy faces really melted my heart.













Reading about all their experiences and seeing the pictures made me reminiscent of my past too, back when we used to travel by train from Howrah station to Madras Central during our school and college days, but I'll post about that in my next update.

One thing is for sure though, these people will not be experiencing any of the regular "incidents" we used to experience on this same route, like the early morning wake-up call of "chai chai kaafi kaafi" holler from tea and coffee vendors, or the invasion of transgender who would not leave you in peace until you gave them some money :D There wouldn't be any of that because of the lockdown and all other stations on the route were closed.

Michael told me that there was no pantry car on the train either, and instead, the train stopped at designated stations along the way where food packages and water bottles were already placed on the platforms, arranged by the Railways department.

The food was edible, and free of cost.



There were a few minor incidents, like there was no running water after some time in some of the coaches, but a quick call to Avena or Malsawma solved those problems.

The train stopped once at Sikkim and Assam each for the respective passengers to off board, and after that it was straight to Bairabi, Mizoram.

Meanwhile, in Mizoram, Bairabi train station was prepared for their arrival.





Instructions were given to the various bus drivers, conductors, health workers, medical staff and other volunteers on what to do and what not to touch etc.



Multiple counters with medical staff were set up on the platform.







And soon, the train arrived, as people all around cheered and welcomed them.



Once all the passengers were in the buses, people bid farewell to the smiling and cheerful train driver :)



The train reversed, and so some of the people asked if he was going to go in reverse gear all the way back till Chennai again :D Ah, gotta love Mizos.

The buses were also modified so that there was minimum contact between the passengers and the staff.



Soon the convoy was on its way to distribute the passengers to various destinations.



According to officials, the number of passengers were distributed as - Aizawl (346), Champhai (69), Lunglei (50), Serchhip (34), Khawzawl (20), Saitual (37), Siaha (136), Lawngtlai (46), Hnathial (20) and Mamit (82).

Meidum VLTF and DC Kolasib district welcomed them with fresh refreshments.



A heart-warming welcome from Bairabi YMA.



The pic below is the most recent photo I received of the bus convoy entering Aizawl.



They were all driven straight to their designated Quarantine Centres.

Last week, I wrote a short piece on the Govt Quarantine Centres here in Mizoram, about how we seemed to be managing well so far… but now that the volume of incoming returnees has increased multifold, various Church community halls across Mizoram are now being transformed into Quarantine Centres as of tonight.



We are so lucky to have important leaders among our Mizo community who could make this happen. But while we praise them, let us not forget that there are thousands of migrant workers across India who are not as fortunate as us. They had to walk all the way to their home towns across multiple state lines, braving the blistering heat, and suffering and dying not just from hunger and fatigue but even road and train accidents!

Let us continue to keep all of them in our prayers as well.

Now that our Chennai returnees have all safely reached their quarantine destinations, the next step is to ensure that we all take extra precautions, as the chances of infection are higher than before now.

I know some people are skeptical or have mixed opinions about having an influx of new arrivals during a pandemic, but do know that these people are helpless and shit scared too, and the only solace they will find is in Mizoram. Being selfish, is not the Mizo way of life. We never abandon our brethren, especially in times of war. That is how we were and that is how we will always be.

Will end this post for now, so here's to prayers that all things will end up well. Once again, a big thank you to all the CMWA members and their leaders, both the Tamil Nadu and Mizoram state governments along with their respective state Nodal offices for facilitating this journey smoothly, and all the bureaucrats involved in making this happen from the CS and other Central & State service officers right up to the Church authorities, Medical staff and Bus drivers. God bless you all.

Chp 814. Welcome back Mash!

Today is Day 50 of a Lockdown in India.

Today is also exactly 50 days since my cousin Dr. VL Hruaii, better known as Mash to us, left our colony here in Chaltlang to stay at ZMC Hospital, Falkawn, indefinitely, as she was one of the doctors appointed to treat CoVid-19 patients in Mizoram.

With Mizoram's lone CoVid-19 patient now completely cured and discharged, the dedicated CoVid-19 medical staff of ZMC too were quarantined and tested, and finally, my cousin was allowed to come home today!

Yayyy, taali bajaao! :)

Though it's been just 50 days, it feels a lot longer than that, especially since back then there were so much fear and uncertainty in the atmosphere. There is still some level of apprehension now too, but most of us are no longer in panic mode thanks to the wonderful work of our CoVid-19 warriors in Mizoram.

As I posted on Day 1 of this Lockdown series, Mash and her group of selected doctors and nurses went off to fight this battle for us, isolated from the rest of the people including other medical personnel as well, unaware of what the dark future might hold for them.

Thankfully, that future turned out to be very favorable for all of us.

In case you missed this post, you can read about what the doctors, nurses and other medical staff treating CoVid-19 patients in Mizoram go through everyday - ZMC CoVid-19 Warriors.

While we saw the people of Mizoram rejoicing as our lone CoVid-19 patient was finally discharged from the hospital with scores of well-wishers lined up on the roadside clapping their hands and cheering for the recovered patient, all these doctors and nurses from ZMC who had risked their lives every day for the past 50 days, went home to a silent reception.

The reason was simple. They wanted to keep a low profile.

As Mash puts it, they were simply doing their jobs so there was no need for applause and commendations. Plus they were allowed to go home only for a week and will all have to report back to the hospital again next week. (And this is only if no new case comes up in the next one week. Any new case means they will have to report back to the hospital immediately).

I too was specifically instructed not to post anything about Mash's return on Facebook, in case some of our friends and neighbours turned up at their house to welcome her. Now that she is safely back inside her room (sleeping on her bed that she had nicknamed "the bed of roses" as a tribute to Jon Bon Jovi), I am finally allowed to update about her return on my blog. :D

And so it was just a very small family gathering welcoming her back from the hospital. My sister got a bouquet for her, and my uncle and aunt had a "welcome cake" ordered. That was it.

But yes, it was indeed a joyful moment for all of us.

We let baby Thomas, son of Dr. Samu and Mahlimi, Mash's sister, blow the candle out before cutting the cake.

And so, that was it. A hero's welcome, in its most modest and humble form.

We don't know what lies in the road ahead, especially now that more Mizos from outside the state have been returning home (read my next upcoming blog update on that), but one thing we know for sure is that doctors like Mash and nurses like Hluii will be back on their feet again giving their best shot to fight this pandemic for us.

So let us continue to keep them in our prayers and ask that they get the strength to continue with their work.

Take care for now everyone. Good night.

Chp 813. To cum or not to cum

As of 5th May 2020, in Mizoram, you can no longer eat at cum restaurants.

I mean, what? Cum again?

:D :P



Well, let me get straight to the point, like a sperm swimming straight to an egg (couldn't help with that joke, and there will be many more in this post :P )

Recently, the Government of Mizoram, Tourism Department, issued a directive that the usage of the word "cum" is no longer permitted for all hotels and restaurants in Mizoram. Hence, "Hotel-cum-Restaurant" will now be known as "Hotel & Restaurant".

Here is the notification that the department circulated.



A bold directive indeed. So basically, if you want to eat at such restaurants, you can go there, but you cannot come there :P Reminds me of the Russell Peters joke, "Oh I'm arriving, I'm arriving!" :P :D

All jokes aside though, I do have a few questions. Now I'm not criticizing anybody in particular, so if you're one of the people involved with the Tourism department of Mizoram, please don't take this the wrong way.

First of all, as stated in the above official notification about the usage of the suffix "cum" not permitted anymore, well, "cum" is actually not a suffix (nor a prefix for that matter) as it lies in-between two words. It is a preposition to be precise. :)

Secondly… the usage of the word "motel". Urrghh. I mean it is not incorrect per se, but personally, I find it a bit weird and awkward to see a word of American origin on an official government circular in Mizoram. And "motel" is a pretty specific term too, I mean are we also going to point out Resorts, Inns, Guest houses, Lodges, Bed & Breakfasts, Service apartments, Boatels, Rotels etc while we're at it?

And finally, the most important point of all - there is absolutely nothing wrong in using the word "cum".

Ooopsie. :)

Sorry, Department of Tourism, but that is a fact.

Yup, cum is a perfectly legitimate word. I'm sure everybody at the Tourism department already knows this, but I'll just briefly explain the meaning of "cum" for everyone's benefit. The word is taken from Latin and it means "with". It is used to join two nouns, usually a profession or a characteristic of a person. Example, John is a plumber-cum-electrician. Mary is an alcoholic-cum-kleptomaniac.

It is also used to join two things or locations. Like for example, during this lockdown period, this room has become my bedroom-cum-office, or, I can't meet anybody because of the lockdown, so my computer has become my playmate-cum-girlfriend.

Ok that last sentence came out wrong on so many levels :D but nonetheless, it is a legit sentence structure.

Hence it is totally fine and correct to say such and such a place is a hotel-cum-restaurant. It just means that it is a hotel as well as a restaurant. If you travel by road across Mizoram, you'll find plenty of these signboards everywhere at the roadside, and they usually serve the best Mizo traditional cuisines.











Now, why did our Tourism Department suddenly object to the use of the word "cum"? 

If the reason was something valid, like for example they wanted to apply a uniform code of description for all establishments across Mizoram, then I would totally understand.

However, there is no standardized definition of a "hotel". The minimum number of rooms along with various amenities required to constitute a "hotel" differ not just from place to place but across different countries as well. Some hotels provide food, while others don't. Some have attached bathrooms and even Jacuzzis while others don't even have televisions or room-services.

In fact, various governing bodies and umbrella organizations across the world like the HOTREC (Hotels, Restaurants & Cafés in Europe), WTO (World Tourism Organization), ISO (International Organization for Standardization), IUOTO (International Union of Official Travel Organizations), Paris based IH&RA (International Hotel & Restaurant Association), India's HRACC (Hotel and Restaurant Association Classification Committee), CEN (Comité Européen de Normalisation) etc., ALL have different definitions and rating systems for a "hotel".

Hence, the very word "hotel" is generic and ambiguous. The only facility they seem to provide and have in common with each other, is that they all provide lodging.

Simple as that.

So what could be the reason behind this latest directive?

Well, if you take a look at the conversation between twitter user "Mizo zeitgeist" and the official Mizoram Tourism twitter handle as well as the Director of Mizoram Tourism, you might be able to make out why. :)



Yup.

The reason is exactly what you and I were thinking. :D

Because "cum" is also a slang for semen, and it can also be used to describe the sexual climaxing of both men and women, that is apparently the reason why the word is now prohibited! :D

I mean, seriously?

Most people will not laugh at that word or find it derogatory, only juvenile delinquents will do so, you know, people like me! My mentality level has stopped maturing since the age of 16 and I still laugh when I see words like "penis" and "boobs", but that's not how most people are.

And I am pretty sure somebody, say, U Liana from Keitum village or Pi Ṭhuami from Tongkolong who run their own "Hotel-cum-restaurant" outlets aren't even aware of the English slang meaning of the word "cum".

Well, congratulations, now they will. :D

Because now they're definitely going to ask why they are being told to change the names of their establishments. They probably spent a lot of money putting up those signboards too. I would loveeee to be around while the Tourism department people are trying to explain the reason to them! :D

By trying to erase the word "cum", has the Tourism department unnecessarily landed itself in a… sticky situation? :D It must be a pretty heavy load to unburden. :D Will they succeed in doing this, or will they just be… shooting blanks? :D Man I can't stop with the puns, I told you I'm such a juvenile :D

But I agree with what "Mizo zeitgeist" said in the above tweetversation.

I was brought up outside Mizoram and I spent most of my life roaming across India. I had seen MANY establishments that used the word "-cum-" too, and even though I didn't take any photos then (because I never thought the day I defend the word "cum" would actually arrive), here are a few results from a quick google image search:

Here's the typical Hotel cum Restaurant.



There's even a Family hotel cum Restaurant.



Then we have the Restaurant cum Bar.



A Bar cum Family restaurant.



Even a California Restaurant cum Bar :P



A Dhaba restaurant cum bar.



A Classic bar cum restaurant.



A Restaurant cum Lounge bar.



And so on…

Suppose I open a restaurant and name it "Cu", and later I add a bar attached to the restaurant, does it become a… Cu-cum-bar? :D :P :P

So yeah, it is quite common elsewhere to see establishments using the word "cum".

Now for argument's sake, let us open the floor up to some questions you might have. Some of the comments I have seen my friends make are:

Yes, the word may be correct, but other places around the world do not use it.

Well, I haven't travelled around the world to know this, but even if it is true, why change it to fit into a norm? The beauty of travelling and exploring new places is to see new cultures and practices, things you don't see at your own home town. Let these tourists come and see the unique concept of "cum" in our state, which will make it even more interesting for them. :)

True, but some tourists laugh when they see such signboards.

So what? Let them laugh. It simply means that they have something unique to remember our state by. And by the way, if we're going to cater to the whims and fancies of a minority of our tourists, what about the majority of our tourists who want alcohol to start selling in Mizoram again, are we going to change that for them as well? *badumtsss* :D

Ok but, many of these hotel-cum-restaurant places in Mizoram do not even have places of lodging, so the inclusion of the word "hotel" is misleading.

I agree, and that is something the Tourism department can look into. However, I would also like to add that there are many restaurants across India with the prefix "hotel" which is actually just a restaurant. Hotel Saravana Bhavan is one such example, it was one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants back when I was studying in Tamil Nadu. There are now more than 100 Hotel Saravana Bhavan outlets around the world, with a revenue of INR 2,978.24 crores (USD 430 million) in 2017, and yes, Hotel Saravana Bhavan is just a restaurant, not an actual hotel.

Likewise, in some of the remote places in Mizoram, according to people who had travelled there, they said that an outlet with a "Hotel" signboard simply means the place serve "meals" whereas an outlet with a "restaurant" signboard means it serves afternoon tea snacks, and so an outlet with a "Hotel-cum-Restaurant" signboard is a place that serves both meals and snacks. Interesting huh? :)

And so, these are the few pointers I wanted to say regarding this matter.

The assumption that "cum" is an embarrassing word to use is wrong. It is a… wrong conception :D  We need to… impregnate our mind with better thoughts, penetrate it with more tolerance. The Tourism department might have reacted too quickly, probably a… premature ejaculation of opinion :D  (Jizz, I think I just broke my record for the most number of puns used in a single post)

Only immature and childish people like me will joke about it or make a meme out of it. For example, my dear friend Darliansanga runs his own restaurant called "Uncle's Diner" at Mel 3, near Zampuimanga Thlân, Lunglei road.



Since he himself cooks the food in his restaurant, and suppose he tastes them before serving it to the customers, does that make him a… cook-cum-taster? :D

See, I make stupid jokes like that all the time. But this should not be taken seriously by the Department of Tourism. Serious people do not even consider it as a joke.

In fact if you graduate from some of the top Universities with good marks, you'll be a magna-cum-laude which means "with great honour" or a summa-cum-laude which means "with highest honour". Some might find these words to be funny, especially "cum laude" in Hindi :P but then, they don't care if anybody laughs at them for that. And nobody is banning the use of those words.

So yes, as my final cum puns, I'd just like to say, just as how some people practice the withdrawal  method before they cum, maybe it is not too late for the Department of Tourism to withdraw this directive too? :)

Because at the end of the day, making people in the hospitality sector change their name when their business is already suffering due to the lockdown would be quite an… anti climax.

Just my thought. Like I said, these are just my personal opinion and if you're a part of the Tourism department, please don't take this personally.

Until my next update then, cheers everyone.

*exits blog to the soundtrack of The Beatles song… Cum together… right now… over me… ewwww* :D :P