Thatched House

I’m home for Christmas. Today is December 19, 2013. Yesterday, as I was cleaning the house and dusting old books, I found this letter I wrote to my family on November 11, 2004 from Imphal. I was in my final year MBBS and the final university exam (the toughest exam I have ever faced) was fast approaching. It is funny somewhere but here it is, unedited. It is 3:00 in the morning and I haven’t slept yet. A friend passed away at 10:00 pm and we went to condole the family. I couldn’t slip out and come to bed early as I was leading the singing. She had been suffering from Leukemia/blood cancer and there is no cure in our college. Anywhere in the world, chance of complete cure is just one in a million (about). Rukuwe’s mom came to visit him and I thought maybe I’ll send a letter to my family through her. A letter about me. The phone line is not working and even if it’s functioning, I can’t talk for long as I want with everyone of you. I wish to come home for Christmas but I ...

I bought three books recently. Two from the internet, and one from attending the program where the book was launched. It is too early to write Review of the books as I have not read them completely, but this is only an introduction. 1. Indian Economy (For Civil Services Examinations) by Ramesh Singh. This was recommended by a friend who is appearing Civil Services Examination. I have sounded to him my interested to learn some basic economics and he recommended this. I have just read a couple of Chapters. The language is very simple and the concepts are made easy to understand, good for someone who is not from Economics background. In an economy, there are certain 'public goods' or 'social goods' which should not be 'marketized'. These are Education, healthcare, sanitation, water, nutrition, etc. Another interesting concept is that the Indian Economy jumped from Agrarian Economy to Service Economy, skipping the stage of Industrial Economy which was exp...

Published in State Dailies The recent ‘Salty rumours’ has little relation with this article. But while salt is still in our mind, let me put forward this pressing health concern. Salt is addictive. Research shows that salt addiction is like addiction to hard drugs or cigarette. The easy availability of salted processed food from the market results in increased intake of salt. The human tongue can be trained that it gets accustomed to food with high salt content. It is not only for preservation; salt produces a craving and helps in sales of such food products.    In Nagaland, salt intake is mainly from the added salt while cooking. The use of processed ‘junk’ food is on the increasing trend. So, we now have the dual problem of high dietary intake of salt in the normal meals and increased intake of salted processed/packaged food. Salt intake varies between individuals, families, and tribes. The amount of salt intake is determined not by biological need but by cult...

I'm sorry If I am as boring as an academic textbook This I promise That I'll never fail you and will be with you through every semester of life

For Chakhesang Baptist Church Kohima, Annual Youth Magazine. The language issue among the Chakhesangs is often called as ‘Chokri-Khezha issue’. But the Chakhesang community is composed of more dialects than Chokri and Kuzhale. So, even as the issue is spoken of in terms of the two major groups, the matter pertains to all the language groups of the Chakhesang community. Some people are of the opinion that the issue is not simply the difference in tongue, but have social and political ramifications and will have far reaching consequences for all Chakhesangs, including the future of the existence of the tribe itself. A Poumai and a Mao friend said that we are heading the same road. The Poumai-Mao tribe separation started from the church. Then election campaigns were played in such lines and so on, leading to ultimate separation. I am not informed enough to speak on what’s going on at present or predict the consequences. But as a concerned Chakhesang Christian, I want to spell o...

When I am awake but have not gotten out of bed. When I am trying to sleep but I can’t. When I am caught in a traffic jam. When I am washing clothes or sweeping the floor. I listen to mp3 lectures/talks.   Washing clothes, mopping the floor, or taking an evening walk doesn’t require much thinking. But if my ears are plugged to my mobile phone, it becomes like I am attending a world-class lecture in USA or UK. Many people would travel and spend lots of money to attend lectures. Listening to mp3 talks through my phone has been a very important source of learning for me. I picked up the habit through friends in North Delhi, somewhere in 2007-08. We were a Christian group. We shared the lectures/sermons/talks through pendrive, Bluetooth, emails, or web links.  Reading books strain the eyes. But listening to mp3 can be done with the eyes closed. Reading books take time. In lectures, we get to hear in a nutshell the key messages. You can’t take your book to all...

from foxnews.com I grew up in the era of 'Oops I Did It Again', so it is amusing to see in the news what the song does to the Somali Pirates. As soon as the pirates hear the song played, they must be saying to one another, ‘ABORT MISSION, ABORT MISSION, NO HIJACKING TODAY’.  Some would plug their ears with cotton while some would use their palms. The news report says, ‘as soon as the pirates get a blast of Britney, they move on as quickly as they can... Pirates will go any lengths to avoid or try to overcome the music’. The merchant navy has found a new tool to counter hijacking cargo ships by Somali Pirates. They don’t need guns. They just aim speakers at the Pirates and play Britney. The Somali Pirates’ disgust for western culture, particularly Britney’s music does the job. I want to see the look on their faces when those Pirates hear Britney played. It must be really something. The disgust for a particular music which deters them from hijacking all that’s i...