Mawlynnong 💖 we love you 💝

It has been raining for the past few days in my town. It effortlessly reminds me of our visit to Mawlynnong, Meghalaya! Mawlynnong is known as the Cleanest Village of Asia! It cannot be disputed. The not-so-big village is clean everywhere. ✈⛱

We reached the village after sunset. Oh, not sunset, as it sets early everyday. We reached around 8pm and the village was serene in the beauty of dark! After having checked-in, we wanted to take a night walk around the village. We couldn't spot villagers except for a tiny shop or two. But there were a couple of other tourists wandering around to embrace the beauty of the village. Exchanging smiles, we walked around. The tiny shop had cute souvenirs and we grabbed a few. Here and there we got a glimpse of kids who had wide smiles! We were able to spot bamboo tree house and couldn't wait till morning to climb. And not to forget, many houses were built with bamboo, explaining their way of living. But we were told that many bamboo houses have now transformed to concrete building owing to meet increasing number of tourists. One hopes that their traditional style of living does not vanish! 🌘🌆

I spotted a beautiful entrance of 'something' with well-drawn pictures, only to find out later that it was a public restroom. We couldn't control laughter because we would never find one such place back home. There were bamboo-made dustbins every 50-100 meters and hut-like structures at the same intervals for people to sit and relax. Those were beautiful and makes one yearn for such spots even after months of our return from the village. If given a deeper thought to it, it is more like our own "kuttichuvar" in small towns and villages of our State, where people sit and chat for long hours. But these spots were extremely artistic. It seemed like bus shelters too. As it was not raining, we had a really long walk and returned. We decided to wake up early to see the morning beauty of the village. 💚

It was raining in the morning. It was a beautiful sight to see tiny, teeny children walking to school with umbrella as early as 6 am. We were reminded of our town where we all would be glued to television sets or internet to find out if a holiday is declared on rainy days. Here the children cannot be given holidays as it rains almost everyday!! Their umbrellas were the same and they looked cute. It reminded us of the common school bags our children receive in government schools. We were wondering if schools provide umbrellas to children as an essential good. We stayed opposite to a school and we could see their classrooms. When there was a break or something, we saw children reading, talking and spending time near windows, with a cool weather! It was a sight that could never be erased from our minds. Children live so close with nature, on a daily basis. After sometime, we saw children running and we were told that they were going home to have breakfast and come back. Imagine, how close their houses were!! Classes went till noon and the school was closed for the day. Now children join in the streets to play or help their parents in their chores attending to guests and tourists. 👫

After visiting a living root bridge near the village (it was again unique), we came back drenched in rain. Not willing to stay indoors, we decided to take a plunge into a small waterbody that was attached to a tiny waterfall. It was just behind the room we stayed and in the heavy rains, we were in the river, enjoying the new experience. It was so cold; yet we stayed at least for an hour! ⛆☂

There were a couple of beautiful bamboo tree houses that we couldn't resist enjoying for hours. We got the sight of Bangaladesh land from the top of the tree house. We laid down for some time and again got drenched in rain! It was a magnificient sight to see how skilled they are with bamboos. A walk along a field was quiet and enjoyable! 💗💗

We had learnt from the villagers that any income the village receives on the entry of tourists, they get equally divided among the families and thereby everyone takes a sense of ownership in protecting their village and keeping it as tidy as it is! They live in a network, and it was one of the many nice things we heard about Mawlynnong! 😍

Of the whole Meghalaya trip, Mawlynnong stayed close to our hearts, and it still is, and we hope to visit the village again! The rains here in my town bring back those memories and it is soothing! 💝

கேள்வி நல்லா தான் இருக்கு - 5

சில நாட்களுக்கு முன் "ஆன் ப்ரான்க்" பற்றிய ஒரு சிறிய ஆங்கில புத்தகத்தை மகளுக்கு வாசிக்க கொடுத்தேன். அரசு பள்ளியில் படிப்பதால் ஆங்கிலம் சிறிய கடினத்துடன் வருவது இயல்பு தான் என்பதால், பொறுமையாக படித்து கதையினை எனக்கும் சொல்லுமாறு கேட்டேன். ஒவ்வொரு பக்கமாக படித்து எனக்கு சொன்னாள்.

 

அப்போது ஒரு இடத்தில் 'ஆன் ப்ராங்கி'னை 'நல்லா கவனிச்சிக்க கூட்டிட்டுப்போனாங்க' என்று சொன்னாள். 

என்னது "நல்லா கவனிச்சிக்கவா?" "ஹிட்லரா?" "யூதர்களையா?" எனக்கு ஒன்றும் புரியவில்லை. 

"இல்லையே பாப்பா, அவங்கள சித்திரவதை செய்ய தானே பிடிச்சிட்டு போவாங்க!" என்றேன். 

"இல்ல அம்மா, 'concentration camp' க்கு கூட்டிட்டுப் போனாங்கனு தான் இந்த புக்ல போட்டிருக்கு. 'concentration' அப்படினா நல்ல கவனிக்க னு தான வரும்," என்றாள்.

அவளிடம், நிறைய மக்களை ஒரு இடத்தில் குவிப்பதால் அந்த பெயர் என்று சொன்னேன். குவித்து சித்திரவதை செய்யப்படும் இடம் தான் "concentration camp" என்றேன். 

பள்ளியில் 'concentration' என்ற வார்த்தைக்கு இனி  'ஆன் ப்ரான்க்' நினைவுக்கு வருவாள் என்று நினைக்கிறேன். சில பள்ளிகளில் நடப்பதும் சித்திரவதை தான் என்பதால், பெயர் காரணத்தில் பெரிய விவாதம் ஒன்றும் தேவையில்லை என்றே தோன்றுகிறது.

Jane Goodall - A Netflix Interview

Jane Goodall - A name most of us would have come across in the last month as she passed away. As planned, her interview, titled "Famous Last Words - Dr Jane Goodall" was released by Netflix after her demise.

PC: google images

It was a wonderful watch with the family. Her childhood and how she was attracted to insects from a very young age were sweet. Her narration about her mother reminded me of Totto Chan's mother. Her mom made sure that none of her actions prevented young Jane from exploring the earth or anything for that matter. No wonder that Jane wanted to be greeted by her mother in the other world that she strongly believed in. This belief was contagious and it felt good for me as well to think on the same lines. I am sure that Jane and her mom would be spending some lovely time together watching all of us, from the other world which is invisible to us. On the other hand, interestingly, her role as a mother seemed to have had its own ups and downs, given her dedication towards her job that she valued & loved the most. She does not regret any of them.

One part I loved among few others is where she made a bold statement (!) on people she hated and what she wanted for them. Some of us would certainly align with her choices. She absolutely treated the whole world as her tiny teeny family and she wanted to keep it away from evil people. 

Another portion is her love towards animals, particularly Chimps, humans' closest relative (in her words). As we both share almost 96 per cent of DNA, both species are very similar in many ways, one being naturally aggressive. The way she expresses her love for her chimps is stunning. One would want to befriend a chimp right away :-) 😊

It is worth noting about her stance on luck and hard work that brought us to where she was. She was destined (she agrees herself to be lucky) to be where she was at the right time, with the right person and her hard work starting there determined the rest.

According to her, we are in war. War of protecting nature and fellow beings and this is as bad as the second world war. She left behind her legacy for the young generation to pick and carry forward. She wanted all of us to find beauty in all tiny little things around us. They might seem to be tiny but hide hell lot of surprises to beat all sorts of boredom we keep complaining about.  What is there to feel bored about on this earth!!! - This is one important message she leaves with us to ponder and experience. Next time we wait somewhere idle, we might be spending it as rather a quality time. That's something 'unable-to-live-without-cellphone' people like many of us need to try.

Towards the end, the host leaves the show and tells Jane that it is just her and the audience now and the latter would be listening to this when she would be "no more on earth." 

That moment..we all would feel something personal, known only to us. And also would want us to be "collective in nature" for nature to live long! 💖

An inspiring life journey she had! 💗