Chp 849. Valentine's Day 2021

I took a break from the online world due to the unfortunate passing of Lalani's mother last month. I even wrote two blog posts dedicated to Nu Mahlimi's sad demise, but I didn't post those links on my FB timeline or WA status.

If you're interested, you can read about my humble tribute to Lalani's mom in these two posts - Chp 847. In Remembrance of Nu Mahlimi followed by Chp 848. The Final Day of Nu Mahlimi.

Now that I'm finally back online again, here is my blog update dedicated to Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day is a day of celebration for most lovers across the world. Of course there are the cynics who don't believe in a man-made occasion to celebrate their romance, as well as the sceptics who claim "eVeRy DaY iS VaLeNtiNE's dAy fOR uS!" whenever they see couples taking an extra effort to make each other happy on the 14th of February.

Well, for us, Valentine's Day was a significant day because it was the one month anniversary of Nu Mahlimi's demise. And in our Mizo custom, close friends and family members usually get together on such a day to commemorate the solemn occasion.

But we did manage to find some time for love. Lalani and her cousins made this cute decoration set-up to celebrate Valentine's Day, and also to take their minds off sorrowful thoughts. This was really sweet of them to do this.

Since we couldn't spend Valentine's Day together alone because of the family dinner and function, we decided to dine out the previous day instead. We went to "MoMo Cafe", situated at Canteen kual. Their momos were obviously delicious.

However, they're known for their other cuisines as well, like for instance, their Alu parathas were to die for.

I ordered the "Pork Nepali thaali", but when I saw the amount that was served, I immediately regretted eating that plate of momo earlier because the thaali quantity was huge!

Special mention must be made about their Chilly Pork which came with the Thaali. It was definitely the best Chilly Pork I had in Mizoram so far!

Lalani ordered the Veg garlic noodles and it was scrumptious as well.

Overall, it was indeed a great and satisfying Pre-Valentine's Day lunch. The Nepali dishes are all authentic because the establishment is run by Gorkhalis who have been living in Mizoram for a couple of generations now. They all speak fluent Mizo.

I highly recommend the "MoMo Cafe". The only negative part is that it is situated right at the center of one of the busiest traffic intersections of Aizawl, so you'll have to park at the other side of the roundabout (if you happen to find a parking space).

We utilized our long walk to and from the restaurant by walking on the footbridge, and it was my first time on that skywalk.

Yeah we definitely behaved like a bunch of tourists visiting Aizawl city for the first time. :D

It was so much fun walking hand-in-hand above the bustling traffic, watching the crowd below engrossed in their own hectic schedules while we held hands above together as if we had all the time in the world. We took selfies every few steps to commemorate the occasion. :D

The footbridge was quite empty because most people were still crossing the roads below, probably because they were too busy to waste a few minutes to climb up and down the footbridge. One person did climb up the footbridge and looked at us happy couple quizzically, and so I explained to him that I was from Neihbawih visiting Aizawl for the first time. He grinned back and wished me a memorable visit.

We soon headed back to Lalani's house. Lalani wanted to visit her mother's grave as it was the eve of her one month death anniversary, and so Natalia, Lianzuali and I accompanied her. We went in two scooties.

It was around 20 minutes drive from her house to the cemetery.

Here's a short video clip of our drive to the cemetery.

Once we reached the cemetery, we sat next to Nu Mahlimi's grave.

Natalia brought a few snacks like sunflower seeds and other eatables, and we spent our time slowly munching on them and talking about Nu Mahlimi. It was a very teary-eyed moment for Lalani.

We sat by Nu Mahlimi's grave till the sun had completely set (don't be fooled by the brightness in the above photos, they were actually taken in "night-mode" when it was already quite dark).

Soon it was time to head back to Lalani's house. Once the rest of her family had eaten, Lalani and I had a candlelit dinner together, without the candles.

A short comic break. :)

I went home soon after, closing a memorable day spent together.

The next day, Valentine's Day, I woke up early and completed writing my previous blog update. I published it once I had copy-checked it and then joined my family for breakfast. Even my breakfast was in a lovey-dovey mood that morning. :D

After that, I headed for Lalani's house. Even though it was a Sunday, our State Govt had lifted the Sunday curfew restriction earlier this month and so I was able to find a cab easily.

At Lalani's house, I was busy helping her family members prepare dinner. I realized I didn't take any pictures at all of our preparations, as I was busy doing different chores, and I was also still shy about taking photos of her relatives (most of her relatives only got to know me during her mom's demise).

This was the Valentine's Day decoration that Lalani and her cousins had made the previous night. So adorable, right? :)

And so it was time to celebrate the moment. :D

Gift exchange time. :)

We exchanged our gifts the proper Mizo way, you know, with all the handshake formalities and stuff, while Baby-i and Lianzuali clapped their hands in the background. :D

Lalani with the two Valentine-less Valentinas.

Much thanks to them again for helping with the cute decorations.

Soon our short family function in memory of Nu Mahlimi started, which was followed by dinner immediately because of the 8:30 PM curfew time. We had a great dinner that night.

Yummmm. :)

After dinner, Mami (Lawmzuali) came to the house and delivered the Lamington cakes that Lalani had ordered for dessert, and she even presented Lalani with a complimentary donut bouquet! Lianzuali and Baby-i immediately posed with that bouquet. :D

Mami's homemade Lamingtons were absolutely tasty, and in case you want to place an order, you can do so from her IG page - Crave Corner.

While Baby-i and LZ-i were fixated with the donut bouquet, we on the other hand opened our respective presents. Those were special presents we will cherish forever.

But the greatest Valentine's Day present Lalani will ever receive is the one from her mother 6 years ago. Nothing can and will ever beat this one in her entire lifetime.

"For my beloved and only daughter, Lallianpuii Kawlni. Mom." The sweetest words ever inscribed in time. The perfect gift to last an eternity.

To quote my favourite passage from the Bible about love:

"Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offense and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins, but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes."

                                                – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Amen to that. Being the one month anniversary of Nu Mahlimi's passing, it was even more poignant to look at that gift again. A part of me was smiling deep inside because I knew Nu Mahlimi was up there looking down at us and happy at the way things were running at her house.

It was a beautiful end to the most perfect Valentine's Day, and here's looking forward to many more such moments spent in the future.

Hope you all had a beautiful V-Day too. Sorry for posting this a bit late as we had travelled to Dampa Tiger Reserve at Mamit district the very next day, and I'll be updating my blog about that in my next post, so do stay tuned for that. Take care everyone. Bye.

Chp 848. The Final Day of Nu Mahlimi

Today is 14th February, also known as Valentine's Day across the world.

But to the Kawlni household at Bungkawn Vengthar, it is a solemn day because today is one month since Nu Mahlimi passed away. 14th January, 11:26 PM. A date and time that Lalani and her brothers will never forget for the rest of their lives.

You can read about the last few days of Nu Mahlimi on my previous post. I had written that post with a lot of details leading up to the fateful 14th night, so as to keep her memories alive forever on my blog.

As I had mentioned in that post, everything was fine on the 14th of January. Fine in the sense, there were no new causes of alarm. Nu Mahlimi had a successful operation in the afternoon and the doctors were able to obtain new samples for her biopsy. She was wheeled back to the ICU from the OT and her vital stats were all stable. Those of us waiting outside Aizawl Hospital had our usual dinner at "Bamboo Cave Eatery".

It was only after we reached home that we received the dreaded message that Nu Mahlimi's BP had suddenly dropped, and so we all rushed back to the hospital. What followed next was a surreal chain of events happening in slow motion. Lalani and her brothers were summoned inside the ICU at 11:10 PM and at 11:26 PM, Nu Mahlimi left this world.

It was such a terrible news to digest for all of us. But we needed to keep moving. Plans were set in motion immediately. We all stood outside the hospital consoling each other, waiting for the ambulance to arrive. There were many tears and hugs everywhere. Lalani and her brothers were trying their best to put up a brave face in front of the gathering crowd.

Finally the ambulance arrived. Nu Mahlimi's body, wrapped in a lifeless white sheet, was wheeled out from the hospital and carried inside the ambulance. Her children along with relatives got inside the vehicle as well. As soon as the ambulance started moving, all of us ran to our vehicles. I didn't have a vehicle but one of Lalani's friends told me to hop on her scooty. Much as hard as I think about it now, I cannot recollect who that person was now, because my mind was completely distracted that time. But I am extremely grateful to her for that lift.

The streets came to a rumbling life in the middle of the night as we followed the ambulance in a long but silent procession. It seemed forever to reach their house, when in fact it was just a 3 minutes drive.

By the time we reached their house, there was a large crowd inside and outside already. Friends, family members, well wishers and Bungkawn Vengthar YMA members. The entire house was "prepared" and all the usual furniture were replaced by rows of YMA benches. Nu Mahlimi's body was carried upstairs into her bedroom and laid on her bed one last time.

It was even more poignant because I remember Lalani telling me that her mom had refused to repair or change the bed and mattress since the day their dad had passed away, and this was the last time she would be sleeping on it alone, before she finally reunites with her husband.

It was perhaps around 2 in the morning that the YMA members came into the bedroom and placed Nu Mahlimi inside her coffin. From what I assumed, it was easier for the family to see Nu Mahlimi approach her eternal resting place one step at a time rather than to see her being abruptly kept in a coffin and taken away in one shot. The mourning continued.

Because of the CoVid-19 rules, everybody still had to maintain distance, and nobody was allowed to sing, which was a Mizo tradition on such an occasion. And so YMA members played songs of lament and elegy on the computer instead. At around 4 in the morning, vigil YMA members came and served all of us Sawhchiar.

I welcomed the dawn for the first time from their balcony. The entire surroundings from buildings and trees as well as the small brook below were silent, as if to join in the mourning.

As morning arrived, more and more people started arriving, crying and screaming in pain. One of the most heartbreaking scenes I saw was watching Nu Mahlimi's aging dad and mom cry with uncontrollable emotions.

I went downstairs soon after because it was getting crowded and I wanted to give my seat to the new arrivals.

Back in the living room, Effie and I along with a few relatives put up a poster of Nu Mahlimi on the wall. She was so beautiful.

At around 10 AM, we carried the coffin of Nu Mahlimi from the house to an awaiting pick-up truck outside. Lalani and her brothers along with her relatives followed the truck in different vehicles, while the rest of us walked towards the Church.

The funeral program was held at the community hall. As the number of people attending a funeral was restricted due to the ongoing CoVid-19 rules, I volunteered to stand outside the hall along with Lalani's cousins and friends so as to give way to people extremely close to Nu Mahlimi who wanted to attend the funeral service inside.

Nu Mahlimi's funeral programme sheet. Do have a read at her wonderful life.

Lalani delivered a very beautiful and befitting eulogy in front of all the well-wishers.

Scenes outside the funeral service.

After the funeral service was over, it was time for the photo session. I immediately knew Lalani and her brothers hated this part because when I lost my dad 7 years ago, this was the part that irritated me the most too because all I wanted to do right then was to wallow in my pain and not pose for some photo-ops. BUT it was important and years later, it brought back many memories when I looked back at those photos. Lalani and her brothers will feel the same too later.

With Nu Mahlimi's dad and mom.

With the female members of Nu Mahlim's siblings and relatives.

With the male members of Nu Mahlim's siblings and relatives.

With Lalani's friends.

After the photo session, Nu Mahlimi's coffin was transported back to the truck and we all followed it to the cemetery. The location of their cemetery was pretty far, situated beyond Maubawk, and it took around 30 minutes to reach the place. Mapuia took me on his scooty and I am eternally grateful to him for that.

At the cemetery, we had one last small service, conducted by a Church elder.

It was soon time to lay Nu Mahlimi to her physical eternal resting place. :'(

"For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one." Khalil Gibran.

Nu Mahlimi's coffin was lowered slowly, as we all bid her our final goodbye.

Once Nu Mahlimi's coffin was in place, we all walked away slowly from the cemetery. Mapuia and his friends took Lalani and her brothers away from the cemetery because according to our Mizo customs, family and friends of the dearly departed should never hear the sound of the rocks and soils falling on top of the coffin. The voluntary YMA members in charge of the cemetery too waited for all of us to clear the area first before they started their work of covering the grave.

Mapuia took me back to Lalani's house, where many people had congregated. My cousin BTi, who was also Lalani's friend, waited for me to come back from the cemetery.

Some of the puan Lalani's family received from the well-wishers.

The next few days went by slowly. Lalani's cousins slept at their house so that they wouldn't feel lonely, and there were always family dinners every night. We went back to the cemetery 2 days later, and by then, YMA volunteers had already completed the cement plastering of Nu Mahlimi's grave.

Today is exactly 1 month since the funeral, and there is a program for close family members at their house today, for which I am honoured to be invited as well. It may not be the Valentine's Day that others are celebrating, but considering the amount of love shown by family members, today would be the most beloved Valentine's Day for us.

I'll update my blog again soon, so until then, have a blessed and beloved day, everyone.