A Night to Remember

It was a boring day. I was all alone in my room. My roommates had gone to see their frens and relatives. They weren’t coming back for the night and I was all prepared to spend the night all alone with a cup-o-noodles and some movies. At around 5 p.m. my phone rang, it was Elizabeth.

Elizabeth is one of my very good friends. She knew I was alone and asked me to come at their place for dinner. After a sumptuous dinner, we went to Gurgaon with her BF to some unknown shopping mall. In the top floor there was a pub with the name “Sapphire”, it was a pleasant pub, spacious, nice ambiance with a vibrant dance floor and good drinks. We had few drinks, after that Eli and I went to the dance floor. We were just laughing and inventing some funny dance moves when I saw her. She was dancing with a girl. Her dance moves were graceful, seductive and amazingly wild. I stopped dancing and stepped back admiring her dance moves. She was an incredible dancer. Almost all the people gathered in that pub was looking at her. She was wearing a jeans and a jacket, plain and simple as compared to the other girls in the pub who came with all those revealing clothes. I looked at her face; she was very fair, applied no makeup and had dreamy eyes. Once or twice she glanced at me; she knew I was looking at her.

After sometime I accompanied Eli to the washroom as she was feeling sick coz of the drinks. She was very drunk and I was holding her hands while she was trying to puke. Suddenly the washroom door opened and that girl from the dance floor entered. She washed her hand and gave a quick look at us. She knew we were having problems and told me to put Eli’s head under the tap. Then, she came towards us and helped loosen Eli’s shirt and put some water around her neck. I thought, ‘what a girl, great dancer, simple, smart and caring’. She asked me my name and told me hers is Nina and she is from Mizoram. We talked for almost half an hour about various things. After sometime the washroom door opened and that other girl with whom she was dancing entered. She said, ‘ Nina, I was looking for you, thank god u are here’. She said Hi to me and went to one of the lavatory. Nina smiled and turned back to resume our talk when that girl called her from the lavatory. She said, ’Nina, Can you come here once’. Nina asked for my excuse and went inside the lavatory then she locked the door from inside.

I stood there for few minutes when I suddenly realized what a fool I was. Everything was making sense now. She was a Lesbian. I dragged Eli out of the washroom at that instant.

Eli’s bf was waiting for us at the entrance and we were just about to leave when I heard someone calling my name. I turned back and was petrified when Nina hugged me tightly. She asked for my no. I told her I don’t remember mine and instead to give me hers. She wrote it down in a piece of paper and told me to give her a call for sure. I promised and left the room.

Eli’s bf asked me if I knew her, I told him we just met then he smiled and said, ‘she is very famous’. I knew what he meant. I was shocked and traumatized.

It was late when I reached my room. I changed, washed my face and went to bed. Then I searched my bag took out that piece of paper, stared at it for few mins, it was an Idea no. Then I tore it and smiled for the first time in that last 4 hours.

A Night

It was so dark; I could only see his shining eyes.

It was so quiet; I could only hear my heartbeat.

There we stood in that dark room, staring at each other for like forever,

Waiting for the first move, which both of us are reluctant to make.

The clock was ticking and a minute seems like a year.

Far away in the distance a dog was barking and how I wish I had a pet dog.

His eyes hardly blink and he was still like a stone.

Then, in a flick of a moment, I saw his hand rushed in his pocket.

He took out something shiny, shinier than his eyes

I lost all hope when I saw that shining blade.

He approached like a gladiator coming for his kill.

I pray and uttered my last word when his blade strike at my heart.

‘Forgive me for my sin’

But something was wrong, I can still feel, but I cannot feel the pain,

Like I have been given something to sedate.

Then, the alarm clock rang and I sprang up from the worst nightmare I ever had.

When I think about you...

Sitting alone in this abandoned space,

My eyes are fixed at the crowd in front of me, but

My mind, my mind is not willing to stay in this chaotic room.

It is seeking, seeking every dream, every illusion that is stored in my subconscious.

Life has changed dramatically in the last few years.

You have come and you have gone.

I am not crazy about you and I will not die for you.

I can live without you and I can smile without you, but

When this convulsion comes to me, I need you to hold my hands.

When this fit stuck me, I need you to hug me tight, and

When all these worldly lust leave me, I want you and only you to stay behind.

When I grow old, I want to spend my whole day by your side.

And I think this is Love.

She

Look at her. What do you see?..a satisfied face? a symbol of adequacy? an apple of everyone’s eye?

Her face is adorned with her smile but her smile is a silent shroud, and like any other shroud, there is death beneath it.

She bloomed like a flower once when the sun was on her side..But, one day that same sun burned her to the root, turning her in to a lifeless form.

Hope came in the form of rain and she resurrected into a beautiful flower, like in her younger days.

She searched every nook and corner to find the only thing that gave her life back.

But, this fool never knew,,her days are gone and so was her beauty.

She was meaningless to even the dust beneath her sole and foolishly she longed for the rain from the sky.

Her new life was not a reward but a curse. She had no choice but to embrace this curse,

and wear this "Smile".

"I'll try not to smile a special smile when you say hello"

My School Days

Memories of School Days always bring smile to one’s face it always make you search your memory lane to remember those precious moments that you have preserved in your mind.

I studied in only one school ‘Manipur Public School’ which was one of the best schools in Manipur at that time with more than 2000 students. When I came to give the written test of that school, I admired the vast campus full of kids with their parents around them. My test room was the last right side one of the primary section and as a kid I remember walking a long corridor to reach that room. My test went well except for Hindi which I found to really tough for a class 1 student.

During my primary classes i.e., Class I-V, I was a really studious kid with only one close friend. I use to sit at the right side corner of the first bench with my Best friend (her name is Laishram Priyadarshini) beside me. I never talked to boys except one who happened to be from nearby my place. I used to come always in the 4^th Rank and I how I wished I could come in the 3^rd Rank once. Chaobi, Ranjita and Akee always take 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd and I use to loathe them like anything. How stupid I was.

Things changed when I came to class VI, We were in the senior block now and the whole block was a chaos, the corridor was always crowded and girls were so shiny, clean and had beautiful hairs. I use to stare at the girls and admired them (just like a sister, I am not a Lesbian) some of the girls who were in class XI and XII looked like movie stars and all of them wore short skirts. Jennifer who was in class XII was like a goddess to me, she used to walk the corridor like she was walking a ramp. I admired everything about her, her hair, her complexion, her skirts and the way she walk. At home I use to look in the mirror and imitate her and I will say she did change me from a boring bespectacled bookworm to the real me. I got a proposal from a guy in my class when I was in class VI and you won’t believe how much I shivered that day. I wanted to keep it a secret but the next day I found out the whole class was talking about us. After few months he proposed my best friend and I wondered what the hell was all that. All these things changed me, I no longer had interest in books or visiting libraries, I started wearing make ups and sometime bunking classes too. My best friend wasn’t my best friend anymore. I had new friends who never study and always bunk the classes. The whole day they use to talk about girls and boys.

I never dated any guy as my parents were really strict but I found my first love in that very school. We were and in class IX and one day I saw him sitting in a corner bench all alone. He was definitely a new student. I never intended to love him in the beginning I just pitied him. The next instant I remember we were talking as we were friends for the last so many years, He was from Sainik School and I guess he was expelled because of some fights from there. It was hard to believe coz he looked so innocent. We became good friends and I use to give his letters to girls. He proposed so many girls, some of them accepted (he was really handsome and tall) but he was never too interested in any of them that it lasted 1 month. One day, I came to know he love me. I was confused, I never wanted to hurt him but I had no intention to date him too. I knew I was just another girl for him. I never confessed that I loved him too but I avoided him. He called me at home but I never picked up and one day he came to visit me at my tuition centre. We talked for a while but I knew it wasn’t possible for us to be together, we were so different.

We gave our class X exam, and I was the only one who passed in my group, more than 60% students flunked. When I came to class XI everyone was a stranger. I made new friends and my school life revolved around tuitions, classes, news paper readings for assemblies and having khichri and aloo chop in the canteen.

I missed my schooldays and I am what I am all because of that school.

Andro

It was 1^st of July and my boss had been calling me up, insisting me to submit my report on field visit to various schools. I had almost completed my school inspections except for 2 and I knew I was going to be the first and most probably the only one who will be submitting this report as according to my colleagues it is not of much importance and they have better things to do rather than roam in the fields. Well, my thinking is different, I actually love going to the fields, talking to the students, teachers, headmasters. I love listening to their small issues which if I can, I solve it at the instance or maybe submit a concrete report to my bosses who sometime take up necessary actions or literally tend to forget some issues, well you know how boss can be..:)

Well, it seems I am drifting away from the topic but this is me, I just love talking, give me a topic and I can speak on it for hours, like those extempore speech. Anyway now let me begin the very thing that I have wanted to share with you friends for the last so many days. The 2 school that I haven’t visited yet situated in a very far away town of Manipur call Andro. And that day I intended to finish my field visit so I planned to go to Andro with some of my District Officials. It was going to be my second visit to Andro, last time I went there to conduct a streetplay with the famous Nokphadey party. I wasn’t able to explore the place but I had a tea which cost just 2 Rupees. I knew today was going to be different as I had only two schools to visit with mush lesser number of companions which includes one lady special teacher, one District coordinator and one male special teacher. I borrowed my Dad’s car for the day and we were off at 8 o’clock in the morning towards the famous town of Andro.

We drove for about 10 minutes and we crossed the beautiful Irilbung Bridge, the hills in front of the bridge looks mesmerizing, it looked so near, and I could see the roots of the trees on the hills. After crossing the bridge we drove towards the famous ngariyan hills. The road was smooth, thanks to Andro MLA. People who live or has visited hills will know the difficulty in driving on a hilly road, so many blind turns, the steepness and the speed of the other vehicles but thank God that day I wasn’t driving. Besides praying to god to make me land in Andro safely I just can’t help admiring the scenery, the valley was quite a site when looked down from a height of some thousands ft above the sea level. After about 10 minutes of drive the roads became narrower and what I can see was only heavy populated bushes in both sides of the road. Most of the plants grown there were eucalyptus, teak, castor, banana, some tall grasses, pine trees and bamboos. I could see 2-3 Bees hive on some trees. My dad once told me that a man died few years ago on this road, he met a swarm of bees and was bitten everywhere, he lost control of his steering and met with an accident. It was freaky and It gave me Goosebumps when I remember it, nearby that place we saw a bamboo made thatched roof shed where some old ladies were selling juicy pineapples. My colleagues told me Andro’s pineapples was the best in Manipur and every year they organise pineapple festivals where they sell more than 10,000 pineapples and it’s by products. After a while I saw a certain part of the hill covered by beautiful, fully grown Pine trees and in one clear area some women were selling cane products, handbags, mats, boxes of different size. The places were so quiet and cool, so opposite to my hometown. I felt sad and jealous for a while. After about 5 minutes I saw various yellow colour buildings on a hill top similar to some government quarters, my colleague told me they are constructing a Police Station. It was really depressing to know Guns can reach such a heavenly peaceful place. We reached Andro Lamkhai and from there we turned left for Andro. I could see big trees on the way which seems older than any man walking on the earth at that moment. Andro was plain area but covered with paddy hills, small ponds and streams. The smile on my face returned again after seeing nature’s beauty of such degree. Then we passed a beautiful gate made of bamboo and straw which was standing there to welcome any outsiders in Andro. We stopped in front of a school and when I opened the car door and stepped out, the first thing that greeted me was the smell of the atingba yoo(a local alcohol of which andro is very famous) as I follow the smell, I knew it was coming from the opposite house. A sense of curiosity grew on me and I couldn’t resist checking what was going on at that house. I opened the gate, there was a big dog lying at the courtyard, he seemed asleep, then I saw the room where they were brewing the alcohol, there were pile of woods, many big pots, some of them upside down and cooked rice scattered everywhere. It is rumoured that in Andro, people serve atingba instead of tea to the visitors, and in every ceremony atingba is a main ingredients. I took few more steps and was kinda inspecting the place when suddenly a woman came out and asked me what I want. I told her if they sell the andro pots, she said yes and asked me to come and choose. She showed me around 100s of pots, they were earthen pots but the texture was unique and the shapes were different. I asked her what’s the difference between Andro pot and the ordinary pot, she said they are long lasting and not easily broken. I paid 100 for two big pots and she gave me two small pots free. We left the place and headed straight towards Andro bazaar. On the way I saw many people wearing white dresses and walking on the road, it seemed some family was having a dead ceremony and they have invited the entire population of Andro, we met one of our staff, he was also wearing the ceremonial dress he was quite drunk and it was just 1 pm but he was so happy to see us. We left him and headed straight for the school. When the inspection was over we planned to have a cup of tea but all we can see were meat shops where they sell liquor too. The hotel where I had tea last time was also closed so we bought some juices and chips. The guys wanted to buy the atingba yoo so they went inside a house, one of my friend from Delhi called up when I told her I am in andro she insisted me to have the andro pork which according to her is really good. So I went to one of the meat shop and bought 5 piece for Rs 50. Our work was also over so we thought of just exploring the place for a while before going back. I opened the pork packet and took one bite of the biggest piece and oh my gosh! My mouth is still flooded when I remember the taste. According to my friend the meat was tastier because their animals are always roaming and feeding and their muscles are stronger, well! I don’t give a damn as long as they taste good. Then we visited the famous Andro temple where there is a fire which keeps on burning and will keep on burning forever. I don’t understand, how? According to them it was a sacred place but I think some Gas probably Methane must be emitting from the ground…if so? Then why haven’t anyone proved it. Andro is not so rural. They said the community people provide woods for the fire early in the morning every day. They didn’t allow us to take pictures or peek through the closed temple door but there was something about the place, some kind of energy and I felt it that day. We visited the two huts where they have stored the big pung. Again I wasn’t able to see the pungs but looking at the length of the huts, I was sure it must be a really big pung. Andro citizens accent are different from the Imphal meiteis. But they look so innocent, carefree and happy from the Imphal people. Honestly Andro was growing on me that day. We left Andro at around 3:30, our mind enriched with the sacred knowledge about Andro, its culture and its people. I bought a cane box and some pineapples on my way back home. The box I am using to store my tarot cards and the pineapples I shared with my friends. I am using that small pot which I received free from that lady as a flower vase and I have dropped it from the staircase few times but there was not a single scratch. I am looking forward to my next Andro Trip.