Thatched House

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...

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." (Isa. 20: 31)   A Compass is a navigational tool for finding directions. It is particularly important for sailors at sea. At sea with no land at sight, looking for directions will truly be a challenge. Even if you start at the port in the right direction, the waves of the sea will have turned the ship within no time. And for a long sea voyage, a slight change in angulation can take you to a very different destination. You won’t find many travellers at sea to ask for directions. One can be lost at sea with no trace of dry land and all resources on board running out. This is an uneasy illustration as I have never been at Sea myself. I hope what I said is fairly accurate. But we all have seen a Compass somewhere. Some people have it on their wrist-watches or car dashboards. Adventurers carry it with a map in the city or thick jungles so that the...

I've been thinking that I will write a book one day. After I reach 45. But if things go as planned, there will be a book published this winter. I should have given it more time. It needs more editing. But how much editing? If I have to keep on editing, it will go on and on. There is no end to editing. So, I have handed over the manuscript to the publishers (Heritage Publishing House, Dimapur). Now, it is at their mercy. Dr. Wati Aier has been very kind to write the foreword. He was very generous.Will the chapters be able to live up to the foreword :-) I don't know how people will receive it. Some will agree, some will disagree with me. That is something we have to live with. We should be firm but not stubborn. It must be a wonderful feeling to hold your own book with your own hands. But better still will be, when a stranger meets you and says, 'your book spoke to me', or 'you wrote what I have been thinking'. There is no reward for guessing what...

If a family member is sick, you would like to look up the internet to see what it says. You type in some key words in Google and you will find several pages of web links, directing you to a lot of useful websites and some not useful ones. You ask for a second opinion from your family relative doctor. You search for experience of other people who have suffered similar ailments.    Patient experience is gaining importance in informing how best to deliver health care. In the UK, patient experience is being researched to guide the National Health Service. It is acknowledged that most patients now search the internet before or after visiting a doctor. Even if an old patient may not be tech savvy, there is a younger family member who can do so for her. There are also online discussion forums and chat rooms where patients are communicating with each other about their disease condition. There is a suggestion that doctors may refer useful websites to a patient in the consult...