Thatched House

I know someone whose vocabulary bank is thin and he’d struggle to find the right words. We get his intention before he struggles to complete his sentence. When one has rich vocabulary, even if one starts a sentence ‘on the back foot’, to use a Cricket metaphor, one can come around and complete it well. But that person does not have that benefit. Mine is also not rich when it comes to knowing names of plants, fruits, and animals. So, let me call this flower plant as Christmas flower. I wonder if that is the name. Last year, it bloomed during Christmas and gladdened our hearts. This year, we are planning to grow it even more. So, this was what we did when I went home for the weekend. But let us first go further back to November 2013. It (Pic 1) was starting to bloom by late November. Pic 1: November 27, 2013 On Christmas day, it was in full bloom (Pic 2). This was clicked by my brother as I was in the village to celebrate Christmas wit...

No one can write a definitive or comprehensive piece on a topic. What one can do is contribute one’s bit in one’s lifetime. Some may contribute more, some less. But no one can put an end to a subject and say, ‘this is all there is to know on this topic’.   I am prevented to blog/write/speak on some topic because I feel I have not done enough research, or thinking. It is important to study and reflect before I speak or publish; but I realized that I must not be afraid if I don’t have the final word. I can never have that. A story may end with ‘and they lived happily ever after’. But we know that is not the end of the story. The story goes on.

It was on the 8th of February 2014 and I was driving alone from Dimapur to Kohima. I was tired as I returned from Guwahati the same day.  I was sleepy as we slept late the previous night and had to wake up early to catch the train. So, I was in a hurry to return to Kohima for a bath and sleep. That is the background story when I came across this biker on the road. It was a long straight road when I tried to overtake a truck. It was dusty driving behind it and I’ve been impatiently waiting for a chance. That was when I saw this bike coming towards me. The biker was honking, signalling not to overtake. But it was too late. But I have made up my mind to go for it, and I pushed forward. Due to the bad condition of the road, my estimation went wrong. The three of us - the truck, my car, and the bike - had to share the width of the road. The bike was forced out of the road and came to a halt. It was bumpy and I couldn’t speed away and had to slowly pass the biker and feel his wrath. ...