Thatched House

I received an email on 6th November 2014: From: nana issa To: Sao Sent: Thursday, 6 November 2014 7:09 PM Subject: Please my good friend, Please my good friend, I am the General Audit Manager, Accounts Department in our bank. I have the opportunity of transferring the sum of (US$5.5 million).This fund originally belonged to one of our bank Customer who died in the year 2004. My request for foreigner to stand as next of kin in this business is because the fact that the customer is a foreigner. Based on the fact that this is a deal, I propose that 40% of this fund for you and 50% for me.10% for the poorest and rest for me I will give more detail of the transfer process as soon as you show your interest in this transaction.Email:mr.issa_nana4@terra.com Thanks, This was my reply to him (her?) To nana issa Dear Mr. Issa Nana 3. The email contact that you gave me was for mr.issa nana 4. But I hope that this email will reach you in good heal...

Marriage. New job. Those are the two big things I have been experiencing. Book release will not be far away.  Life can be repetitive. We do the same things and let the days, weeks, months, and years pass us by. Change can be frightening, like getting married. When life has slipped into a routine, we do not want it to be disturbed. But on going through the change, we discover that life has more to offer than what we have at present.  Without Change, we can become complacent and stop to grow. There are things in life which we do not want to change, and we do not want to let go, like childhood memories. But time and aging are things which we can't control. Even if we do not have big things coming our way, like marriage or a new job, we can decide to grow/change. We can set targets and goals to achieve. For example, we have about 40 days left before the year 2014 ends. We can set a target to read 2 books before New Year. Or visit an old relative in the...

Thank you for the pain Which brought me to you

Before Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2014-15; Dipankar Gupta wrote an article in Times of India called ‘get well first, get wealthy next’ . He appealed for Healthcare to be taken as a priority by the new Central Government and be given the status of an Industry.  Soon after, the Union Budget was presented and it evoked mixed response from commentators. The government plans to provide free drugs and free diagnostics. Other key features of the budget include expansion of insurance coverage through FDI; setting up of AIIMS-like institutions, drug testing laboratories, rural health research centres; and increased excise duty on cigarettes. The increase in taxation of tobacco products is a welcome move and so are the new proposals. However, budget allocation did not measure up to the planned initiatives. As per Economic Survey 2013-14, only 1.4% of the GDP is spent on healthcare which is among the lowest in the world. The n...

Pic: Pfutsero, July, 2011 Bus ride After owning a car, I hardly travel by public bus anymore. So, on those now rare occasions when I take the minibus in Kohima, it feels a bit strange. Why should I feel this way? There is someone on the phone; some students come in uniform; some are dead silent and seem lost in their thought. Some are playing with their phones while some are listening to whatever they are playing on their headphones. Still there are those people who seem to have met after a long time and are catching up with the stories of each other.  The bus conductor comes and some people stretch out their hands to pay the fare for their friends. When some passenger wants to stop before reaching the actual bus stand, they’d say out loud, ‘side’.  But when I drive alone, I am detached from this experience. I am in a way detached from the society that I live in. All these people in the bus, we share a common space and time. We all have our own lives and go abo...

Each night, I lock the gate and place the keys on a certain spot. I have been doing this over and over, week after week, month after month. When I was with sister, sometimes she would do it; and sometimes, we’d both forget or don’t do it thinking the other person had already done it. Now, with no one around, I make it a point to do it every single night.   When it started, it was burdensome and there were times when I would forget or question why I should lock the gate anyway. But with repeated practice, I am finding it to be much easier. One night, I surprised myself. I have been busy with some work for which I arrived home late. And my mind was preoccupied that I didn’t remember how I got myself into my room. Then I came to my senses and awareness of my surroundings and went to lock the gate. But I found it locked and the key was in its usual place!! I have already done it unaware.  That is how Christian character-building works; N.T Wright seems to say in his b...