Chp 698. Amoii the Artist

Many people from Mizoram, especially those in the art field know her name. Amoii. The famous artist.



She had rubbed shoulders with the likes of legendary Mizo artists like Pu Tlang Rokhuma and Bishop Stephen Rotluanga while managing her own popular Studio "Art Novelty Gallery". She had won numerous prestigious awards and conducted many successful exhibitions.

The PMO official Twitter account even tweeted this last month:






She is a prodigy as she has acquired all her drawing and painting skills by herself and not from any fancy art schools or institutes, spending most of her free time since she was a kid sketching and painting as she grew up. Her paintings sell from around ₹ 5000 to ₹ 50,000/- And yes, as I have mentioned in the beginning, she is quite a celebrity and everybody adores her paintings.

But what people don't know is that, her first published work was actually supposed to be a comic book with me!

Lolz. Just kidding. But here's a funny story.

Back in the late 90's when I was still in school, I used to write short stories in my free time while the guys of my age back then were busy chasing skirts and partying. I was this complete nerd slash geek slash loser that no girls wanted to hang out with (which still hasn't changed much today). I did have a crush on one of my neighbours, though I was too shy to talk to her. Let's just call her "F". :)

"F" is Amoii's younger sister.

Of course "F" was way above my league, she had all the cool older guys in leather pants and "Defendor" jackets coming over to her house all the time, including people who are now currently IAS officers :P

Sadly, I never stood any chance. But Amoii understood my plight and played the role of a gracious neighbour and concerned sister so as not to make me feel bad, and we eventually got to talking about my short story collection. She loved my scripts and she wanted to draw the art and turn it into a comic book!

I had never been that excited. We met a couple of times to discuss our comic collaboration, talking about the plot, the hero, the setting etc., but eventually, my summer vacation was over and I had to head back to my boarding school back in Tamil Nadu.

That was an unforgettable Summer of '99.

Here is an old photo of Amoii waving at me from her balcony, lolz.



I called her up from our landline that day and told her I'll be standing on my terrace and then I ran upstairs panting and took a photo of her as she came outside and waved at me. Oh those difficult times, lolz. That was her old house above where she and "F" used to stay, before it was demolished to make way for our Chaltlang South Presbyterian Church.

Soon, both "F" and Amoii got married and we never got to talk about our comic venture again. She too had been extremely busy, pursuing her self-taught art and craft career (oh did I not mention she excels extremely well in crafting as well). And so during my recent vacation back home, I made it a point to visit her to catch up on old times and check out her work.

Like I have mentioned in earlier blog posts, one of my favorite WhatsApp groups is our Mizo Bloggers group, and a few of the members like Bazik and Didini had mentioned Amoii's works on numerous occasions. I had to see her masterpieces in real life too.

And so on Jan 3rd this year, I visited her Studio.

Just to be clear, her Studio was a mess. But not shabby mess mess, more like Creative mess mess. What needed to be showcased were all neatly framed on the walls with the perfect lighting falling on them, while paints, tubes, palettes, canvases and papers were strewn all across the floor. My kinda mess!

Here is a brief glimpse of her studio that day.











The paintings you see above are not just by her but her peers, friends and students as well. They all looked so awesome.

I was surprised to find my dear friend Mazami in one of her portraits!



What a befitting depiction indeed. This acrylic on canvas has been aptly entitled "Think out of the Box". Notice Mazam's breast? She's a breast cancer survivor and one of the bravest women I know of. She has inspired a whole lot of other cancer patients and is indeed a shining beacon for those in despair. 

I really love how Amoii had set up the whole lighting and false ceiling inside her Studio as well.





That day, Amoii was currently working on a painting that Matea and Parteii had ordered for their living room. It saddens me and Amoii so much to know that our friend Matea is no longer around to see the completed work. He would have loved it so much, Amoii had given extra care and effort to the painting and included all the elements they wanted in it.

Here is she working on that painting for Matea and Parteii.







I actually asked her to just pose and fake it as if she's currently painting, but she got right into it, mixing different paints on her palette and stroked the canvas with her brush that she explained to me as, "giving brighter shading to the meadows". It was super impressive just watching her work. That, my friends, is how genuine artists operate. They don't just fake things.

Here are a few more of her superb collection, some sold and some still available…

"Story of the Warriors", sold to Dr. Lalrinawmi of UK.



"Endless Love", Acrylic on canvas, collected by Minister Lal Thanzara.





Acrylic on Wood painting, a commission work.





"Dream of Flying", Acrylic on canvas, 2015.



"Emancipation", Acrylic on canvas.



"Shackled", Acrylic on canvas.



"Source of Life", sold to a customer.



Apart from just churning out great masterpieces, Amoii also conducts seminars and classes at her Studio, and exhibitions are also held there at regular intervals. Her exhibitions are usually contemporary with a touch of Mizo tradition.

Recently, she had organized "Aizawl Art Festival" for the first time in Mizoram and it was a big success. Young and professional artists attended, including many other artists from other North Eastern states as well. They also had a seminar and life study, which the young artists greatly benefited from.







Apart from all these painting, crafting, teaching and organizing exhibitions, Amoii is also an active proponent of feminism in our Mizo society, working for the upliftment and empowerment of Mizo women. Here is one such snippet of her art performance.



Man you can't be more multi-talented and multi-functional than that. Her husband is also the owner of "Soltee" restaurant which I have mentioned in my previous foodie post, so their family has covered everything from fine art to fine dine!

For those of you in Aizawl who wishes to visit her Studio, the address is: Art Novelty Gallery, Chaltlang, Venglai. From Dawrkawn, go towards Chaltlang field / Tourist Lodge. Don't take the road going up to Mount Carmel school or the road going down to Salvation Army church. After you pass those two forks, just before the first left curve, her house is situated right there on the left side of the road.

Go up that long flight of stairs and at the top is where her most beautiful Studio lies (if you go a  bit further down the road, the first house on the right is where the most beautiful man lives :P )

You can also contact her at +91 9436150488 for any enquiry on her paintings or if you would like to order or purchase any painting.

I hope to see more wonderful work of art from Amoii and here's me wishing her a big success in her future endeavours.

Until then, cheers everyone.

Chp 697. Vacation home food delicacies

Two of the many reasons I love about going home to Mizoram are the scenery and the food.

Waking up at 5:30 AM just to watch the sunrise from my balcony is truly enchanting. It's an experience you won't get anywhere else. Our house, which is perched on a hilltop, has this absolutely stunning panoramic view from my balcony, where I can see the entire Chaltlang eastern slope on my left and right side, Durtlang and Zemabawk in front, Ramhlun below, and the rest of Aizawl on the far right.

At 5:30 AM, everything is so calm and peaceful, with just a light bulb or two shimmering from each household, all cozily lying next to each other in clusters. The entire valley is dead silent except for the gush of cold icy wind and feisty roosters crowing one by one across the valley, as if they're sharing the latest gossips from their respective localities.

I clutched my hot filter coffee tightly as I slowly waited for the sun to appear across the horizon… It's like having an epiphany as the sun slowly appeared across the pristine pale blue horizon. Hello sunshine! *sigh*

Even at 10 AM, the scenery is still breathtaking from my room, especially when the mists lying at the bottom of the hills refuse to leave… (all photos clicked using my Oneplus 3)

(I feel sorry for my friend Jacqueline though whose house lies at the foot of the hill in the pic above, so she is perpetually surrounded by mists and cannot even make her way to the toilet without bumping into the cupboard or fridge)

Absorbing all these beautiful scenery amidst the pleasant cold climate brings me to the other thing I love the most about Mizoram - the food.

Unlike the past few years, this time I spent most of my vacation at our house, dining with my family. For a change, it felt very fulfilling and heartwarming. Also, I got to eat more of home-cooked food rather than at restaurants, so here are some of the stuff I had this vacation, with a brief description of the dish.

The first thing I demanded when I reached home was fresh Smoked Pork! Oh yeaaaaah!

Mom got these ready for me and it went to the frying pan straightaway.

Yummmm! Very porky, such fatty, much juicy, wow.

I had the awesome Pork with our Mizo Anṭam bai (Mustard leaves). It is the green dish you can see below. "Bai" is our traditional method of preparing stew dishes, and it is usually cooked with Saum (fermented pig fat), vegetables, some boiled rice, soda, chillis etc. Ingredients change from dish to dish depending on the type of "Bai" you're making and they are all utterly delicious.

Another traditional dish I really love is our Bekang (fermented soybeans). In Pune, I make the dish using Bekang rep (dried) because they preserve for a long time. But back home, I can have fresh (green) Bekang which is like 10 times better.

My sister always prepares this dish in large quantity so that it lasts for a couple of meals. She mixes onions, salt and chilly powder to the sizzling fermented soybeans and it is sooo good!

The Bekang dish goes well with any cuisine, even when there aren't that many side dishes, like below is just rice and dal with omelette, a small quantity of mashed potatoes and Bekang overload, lolz.

Squash, known as Iskut in Mizo, is a common vegetable in our local cuisine, and we usually boil them. It's truly sad that we don't get Squash this side of the country. The green veggie below is boiled Squash.

And sometimes we fry Squash too and it is awesome. Here's fried Squash, with some Avocado that my mom force fed me, lolz.

Next we have Behlawi bai (cowpea leaves), another popular Mizo dish, with of course more fatty Smoked Pork. If I'm not mistaken, Behlawi bai is prepared the same way as Anṭam bai, with the only difference being the vegetation, as one is Mustard leaves while this is Cowpea leaves.

Rawtuai bai (bamboo shoot) is yet another popular and awesome Mizo cuisine. The white chunks on the left below is Rawtuai bai. Next to it is Behlawi bai, fried Prawns, Bekang, Iskut (boiled Squash) and fried potatoes.

The best part about boiled Smoked Pork is that even when the Pork (meat and fat) is over, the residual broth can be used to boil veggies like Mustard leaves and Cabbages. Here's some of that juicy boiled Mustard leaves, along with some fried potatoes and Tuna. Both the Tuna and the type of dal below aren't authentic Mizo dishes though.

Here's more of fatty boiled Smoked Pork with sautéed Mushroom gravy and fermented Shrimp chutney! So good! Fermented shrimp paste/chutney/pickle are very popular and they really spice up any meal. They have quite a pungent smell though, so it is an acquired taste.

Giant Tiger Prawns! Super dillu.

The head part is a little difficult to eat, you gotta clear some of the "stuff" which can get a little bit tedious, but it is absolutely worth doing that.

Another simple Mizo cuisine. If you look at the rice below, you will see the light-coloured dal, that is called "dal hâng" in Mizo. Hâng (pronounced "haang") basically means something made with little or no condiments. For example, "thingpui hâng" means tea without sugar and "dal hâng" means dal without salt or masala. My mom loves it this way.

Ok taking a brief break from rice meals, here's an awesome afternoon snack I ordered from "Cookie Jar", Chanmari. Beef stuffed paratha, giant Beef momo (I think it would be more appropriate to call it stuffed Tingmo?) and Beef burger.

Here's some Chole bhatura my sisters made at home after New Year Church service. First class tasty tasty :)

Ordered stuffed paratha, grilled Chicken, mutter paneer and a Mutton gravy dish from some place, I can't remember the place now, lolz. But look below, the bekang side-dish went well even with this inter-culinary platter! :D

We ordered Chana bhature from "Malva", a small restaurant situated at DIET pêng between Chaltlang and Ramhlun, as my sister said they make the best Bhatures and Puris in Mizoram. My verdict? It is indeed the best in Mizoram! You must try it out if you haven't yet.

We also ordered a couple of times from "Soltee", a new restaurant that had opened up near our house. We got Pork roast (dry), Dal tadka, Bhendi fry and Mushroom masala with rice and chapatti. One of their chefs who specializes in Pork roast had gone home to Manipur for the holidays, so this one wasn't that great as the usual, my sister said.

Another oddly mixed up meal - Anṭam bai (Mustard leaves), with fried Bacon and fried Egg-coated Brinjal (can we call this "Egg Eggplant"? :P )

Here's my brother-in-law Nick donning the chef's hat and preparing Paella for dinner.

Paella is a Spanish (Valencian) rice dish made from Arborio rice (which they bought from Australia as it isn't available in Mizoram) with Parmesan cheese, Chorizo sausages, Prawns, Roast Chicken, beans etc.

Extremely delicious. It went perfectly with all the usual Mizo dishes as well. Also, below at the bottom is boiled Changkha (bitter gourd / karela) which is good for lowering high BP, and above is "Vawksa er fu" (Pork crackling / Pork rind) which is good for raising low BP, lolz. See, they cancel out each other, haha. :P

We also ordered Pork Ribs from "Aizawl Meats" and it was awesome. I added KFC Chicken Breast, cheesy Mushrooms and Bekang chutney to my Rice + Ghee. Some of you might consider this a weird combo, but I looooved it!

Below is a mix of most of the dishes you've seen earlier. What's new is that whitish dish on top. That is called "Vawk lu bawl" and it is one of my favorite Mizo dishes. It is made from Pig's head, grounded Sesame, Maida flour, garlic, onion, ginger, chilly etc and it is soooo good!

We also made Puchkas at home. Added a little bit of vodka to bring out the zing :D. My sisters made the alu chaat stuffing and spicy mint + tamarind water, while I had the arduous task of adding vodka into it :P We bought the ready-made Puris from "ST Mart", Ramhlun.

The dishes below, we ordered them from "Curry Pot". Initially they said we would have to pick them up since it was their busiest time of the year, but eventually, we pleaded and pleaded and finally they sent out a delivery boy :D - Great food: Pork, Chicken, Cutlet, Gobi and extremely spicy chilly chutney.

More fatty Pork fry dish, with Pork sausages, Egg curry and Chilly Chicken gravy.

As I have said a couple of times in my blog before, we Mizos have just two main meals a day - Breakfast and Dinner, which as you can see from above are very heavy and usually rice based. While the rest of India have Lunch, we have "tea snacks" instead during this time, where we eat something light.

Like for example, here's WaiWai I made for tea snack, garnished with sausages and Raja mirchi pickle. Simple yet amazing.

My sister's homemade Hakka noodles with shredded Beef and Mushrooms. Yummm.

And here's a tea snack from our neighbours "Serṭawk Bar" restaurant (or as my friends now simply call it "SB" to make it sound more classy, lolz) - Beef chow, sa tui leih (which means "with soup poured into it").

Mixed chow and Mixed fried rice from "Soltee" below. And oh, I would like to give one piece of precaution to tourists visiting Mizoram - since we eat all meat, just be careful when you order anything "mixed" because that would include Chicken, Beef, Pork etc and you might not like it if you don't eat such meat due to religious sentiments.

Sometimes, for tea snack, me and my two sisters, bro-in-law and niece would get so lazy to make anything that we would just eat anything that could be eaten quickly, lolz, like for instance, trying out different types of Cheese with salted Crackers.

It's like a tornado went through here :D

Below at the bottom right is Samṭawk (bitter tomato) which is again very common in Mizoram. It is boiled and eaten just like that. I really don't like it because of the bitterness but mom would always make sure I eat them (she would slyly put them in my plate like a Ninja while I'm looking somewhere else, daymmm mom!)

And this was my last meal of my 2017-18 vacation. My sister made the special Beef balls that my friend Delph had gifted me, along with Smoked Pork, Arsa buhchiar (Chicken rice khichdi), Mai-an bai (Pumpkin leaves stew) and boiled Pumpkin. And of course, Anṭam (boiled Mustard leaves), Chicken popcorn and Bekang (fermented Soybeans). Truly a befitting last meal, naw? :D

And with that ended my documentary of the food I ate at home during my vacation. I hope you enjoyed this post and it made you so hungry that you are ordering food right away too :D

Now you know why I gained 5 KGs, lolz.

In case you want to know more details of our Mizo cuisines, do drop me a comment. Until the next post then, cheers everyone.

Ps. Much gratitude to our Mizo Bloggers WhatsApp group for helping me with some of the English translation of the dishes.