Thatched House

It was on 24 th December, 2013 when my dad and I took 7 sisters and one small boy to Tsazu mountain for outing. The youngest of the sisters is in class 1 (?) while the eldest is in higher secondary school. The 6 sisters (because the eldest stays in Kohima for studies) live with their mother just in front of our house in the village. Dad is very friendly with the girls. He has been teasing them throughout the year of finding the root of a tree up there in the mountain. The tree is called ‘süthi’ and its root is hot and sweet, and has a good aroma. He has built interest in the minds of the young girls. Dad’s incessant stories of finding that special root in the mountain turned that interest into craving in the young minds. They would ask when dad is going to take them there. But it is a long way from the village and the craving remained only a craving; and the mountain became a sort of Yarrow Unvisited for the girls.  So, when I came home for Christmas; we made a plan to go...

Those mornings when a sense of good health outweighs laziness, I take a morning walk along the New Secretariat road, Kohima. I have observed that there is a short stretch of the road which is swept clean every morning. Every time I take a walk, there is a domestic helper who is out with her broom sweeping that stretch of about 30 feet. She is dark and is certainly a non-local. She must be around 10 years old. I have never spoken to her. But I would admire her work every time and think of this: She may not know that sweeping the roadside clean is a spiritual activity. But I think she is doing a very blessed job. That small area that she is keeping clean every morning I’m sure blesses the heart of God. Good things that some people are doing unaware.