Thursday, November 29, 2007
G.I.JOE!
An sawi G.I. Joe fun rawn hawn chu ka han hawng a, hre ngai lo ta na na na chu ka phu zawk mai! A fun phelh hlim hlawl chu ka han en chiang a, uchang naute niin ka hria. GI Joe tia a hming an vuah daih mai chu a mak ve hranpa reng reng. Kan ro rawt sawm chu nghate rep sa te pawh a ang ve dawn dawnin ka hria!
Friday, November 16, 2007
Ahmedabad - Navratri 2007
Thanks to one of my colleagues, Sonibhai, I got an opportunity to visit Karnavati club during Navratri on October 19, 2007. I went to Chennai the previous week for some training, where I met Pu Avena, Pu Lawmsanga and several Chennai Mizo students in the Church. When I returned to Ahmedabad, Sonibhai had already arranged three club passes for me. I took along my sisters, Awmawmi and Madiki, along with Madiki's daughter Angie. We did not dance but we really enjoyed watching them dance since it was our first time.
Navratri can be considered the biggest festival of Hindus in Gujarat. In Sanskrit it means 'nine nights', and as the name suggests the festival was celebrated for nine nights. Two types of dances were performed in the club when we went there. One was 'Garba', which is a fertility dance for the womenfolk. Originally, they danced with 'garbos' (meaning earthen pots) on their heads and danced gracefully in circles to please their goddess Mataji. These days, however, pots were generally not carried and men too joined in. The other dance was 'dandia-ras' or stick dance (dandia means stick). Here are some of the videos which I had taken with my digital cameras during the festival.
Dandia
Garba
My Niece Angie
Navratri can be considered the biggest festival of Hindus in Gujarat. In Sanskrit it means 'nine nights', and as the name suggests the festival was celebrated for nine nights. Two types of dances were performed in the club when we went there. One was 'Garba', which is a fertility dance for the womenfolk. Originally, they danced with 'garbos' (meaning earthen pots) on their heads and danced gracefully in circles to please their goddess Mataji. These days, however, pots were generally not carried and men too joined in. The other dance was 'dandia-ras' or stick dance (dandia means stick). Here are some of the videos which I had taken with my digital cameras during the festival.
Dandia
Garba
My Niece Angie
Friday, October 05, 2007
The Story Of Your Life
[Beautiful forward I received from a friend! Whoever wrote this sure do have a 'beautiful mind' :)]
Don’t say you’re not important,
It simply isn’t true,
The fact that you were born,
Is proof, God has a plan for you.
The path may seem unclear right now,
But one day you will see,
That all that came before,
Was truly meant to be.
God wrote the book that is your life,
That’s all you need to know.
Each day that you are living,
Was written long ago.
God only writes best sellers,
So be proud of who you are,
Your character is important,
In this book you are the 'Star'.
Enjoy the novel as it reads,
It will stand throughout the ages,
Savor each chapter as you go,
Taking time to turn the pages.
Don’t say you’re not important,
It simply isn’t true,
The fact that you were born,
Is proof, God has a plan for you.
The path may seem unclear right now,
But one day you will see,
That all that came before,
Was truly meant to be.
God wrote the book that is your life,
That’s all you need to know.
Each day that you are living,
Was written long ago.
God only writes best sellers,
So be proud of who you are,
Your character is important,
In this book you are the 'Star'.
Enjoy the novel as it reads,
It will stand throughout the ages,
Savor each chapter as you go,
Taking time to turn the pages.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Sunita Williams at Ahmedabad!
Indian-American Astronaut Ms. Sunita Williams was felicitated by various institutions and important bodies at Ahmedabad when she came here during September. On September 22, 2007 I was also invited to attend one of those felicitation programmes organised by Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Ahmedabad. I got two passes and with one pass two persons can enter. So, I went with my sister Awmawmi and my colleague Ravi Rawal. I was impressed to find that GCCI had invited students from schools across the city and the hall was full of them instead of Government officials and VIPs. I was particularly impressed by the keenness of Sunita Williams to interact with those school kids (which however did not happened; it seems like teachers had collected the questions beforehand and one of them asked the questions directly to Sunita on behalf of all ) and the way she encouraged them as well the way she tried to change their perspective [Watch the video below to listen to those :) ]!!
Sunita Williams was born on September 19, 1965 at Ohio as Sunita Pandya. Her father Dr. Deepak Pandya is a Gujarati (Hindu) while her mother Bonnie Pandya is a Slovenian (Catholic). While listening to the Indian spiritual leaders, she also used to attend Roman Catholic church.
Sunita williams set the record for the longest stay by a woman in space (195 days) and also created another milestone by creating a world record for females with four spacewalks totaling 29 hours and 17 minutes.When she went to space, apart from other things, she took along with her Ganesh idol, the Gita and samosas. Here is a video of her speech taken with my digital camera (Canon Powershot A620) from a distance.
Sunita Williams was born on September 19, 1965 at Ohio as Sunita Pandya. Her father Dr. Deepak Pandya is a Gujarati (Hindu) while her mother Bonnie Pandya is a Slovenian (Catholic). While listening to the Indian spiritual leaders, she also used to attend Roman Catholic church.
Sunita williams set the record for the longest stay by a woman in space (195 days) and also created another milestone by creating a world record for females with four spacewalks totaling 29 hours and 17 minutes.When she went to space, apart from other things, she took along with her Ganesh idol, the Gita and samosas. Here is a video of her speech taken with my digital camera (Canon Powershot A620) from a distance.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Awesome God!!
Awesome God
Rich Mullins
When He rolls up His sleeves
He ain't just putting on the ritz
(Our God is an awesome God)
There's thunder in His footsteps
And lightning in His fists
(Our God is an awesome God)
And the Lord wasn't joking
When He kicked 'em out of Eden
It wasn't for no reason
That He shed His blood
His return is very close
And so you better be believing that
Our God is an awesome God
Chorus
Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God
(Repeat Chorus)
And when the sky was starless
In the void of the night
(Our God is an awesome God)
He spoke into the darkness
And created the light
(Our God is an awesome God)
Judgment and wrath He poured out on Sodom
Mercy and grace He gave us at the cross
I hope that we have not
Too quickly forgotten that
Our God is an awesome God
(Repeat Chorus four times)
Our God is an awesome God (Our God is an awesome God)
He reigns from heaven above (He reigns from heaven above)
With wisdom, power, and love (With wisdom, power, and love)
Our God is an awesome God
Our God is an awesome God
Our God is an awesome God
Today is the tenth death anniversary of the person who wrote this wonderful song, Richard Wayne Mullins, popularly known as Rich Mullins. He was only41 at the time of his death. Rich had gone Home to be with the Lord, to stay with Him forever. Yet, his songs continue to change the lives of many people, and turned their hearts toward Jesus. Here is another song of Rich, called "Sometimes by step". It includes the lyrics and you can sing along while listening the song.
"Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days"
Friday, September 07, 2007
Jesus Checking in Today!
(I received this forward from a friend.
I think this is a wonderful story,
and a must read for everyone!)
A minister passing through his
church in the middle of the day,
Decided to pause by the altar
and see who had come to pray.
Just then the back door opened,
a man came down the aisle,
The minister frowned as he saw the man
hadn't shaved in a while.
His shirt was kinda shabby and
his coat was worn and frayed.
The man knelt, he bowed his head,
then rose and walked away.
In the days that followed,
each noon time came this chap,
Each time he knelt just for a moment,
a lunch pail in his lap.
Well, the minister's suspicions grew,
with robbery a main fear,
He decided to stop the man and ask him,
"What are you doing here?"
The old man said, he worked down the road.
Lunch was half an hour.
Lunchtime was his prayer time,
for finding strength and power.
"I stay only moments, see,
because the factory is so far away;
As I kneel here talking to the Lord,
this is kinda what I say:
"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP
AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS JIM,
JUST CHECKING IN."
The minister feeling foolish,
told Jim, that was fine.
He told the man he was welcome to come
and pray just anytime.
Time to go, Jim smiled, said "Thanks."
He hurried to the door.
The minister knelt at the altar,
he'd never done it before.
His cold heart melted, warmed with love,
and met with Jesus there.
As the tears flowed, in his heart,
he repeated old Jim's prayer:
"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP
AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
I DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME CHECKING IN."
Past noon one day, the minister noticed
that old Jim hadn't come.
As more days passed without Jim,
he began to worry some.
At the factory, he asked about him,
learning he was ill.
The hospital staff was worried,
but he'd given them a thrill.
The week that Jim was with them,
brought changes in the ward.
His smiles, a joy contagious;
changed people, were his reward.
The head nurse couldn't understand
why Jim was so glad,
When no flowers, calls or cards came,
not a visitor he had.
The minister stayed by his bed,
he voiced the nurse's concern:
No friends came to show they cared;
he had nowhere to turn.
Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up
and with a winsome smile;
"The nurse is wrong, she couldn't know,
that in here all the while
Everyday at noon He's here,
a dear friend of mine, you see,
He sits right down, takes my hand,
leans over and says to me:
"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, JIM,
HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND THIS FRIENDSHIP,
AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SIN.
ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY,
I THINK ABOUT YOU EACH DAY,
AND SO JIM, THIS IS JESUS CHECKING IN."
Many people will walk in and out of your life,
but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
May God hold you in the palm of His hand
and Angels watch over you. But for those of us
who are already His, He not only holds us in the palm of His hand,
but has engraved our names there, and we are continually in His sight (Isa 49:16)
I think this is a wonderful story,
and a must read for everyone!)
A minister passing through his
church in the middle of the day,
Decided to pause by the altar
and see who had come to pray.
Just then the back door opened,
a man came down the aisle,
The minister frowned as he saw the man
hadn't shaved in a while.
His shirt was kinda shabby and
his coat was worn and frayed.
The man knelt, he bowed his head,
then rose and walked away.
In the days that followed,
each noon time came this chap,
Each time he knelt just for a moment,
a lunch pail in his lap.
Well, the minister's suspicions grew,
with robbery a main fear,
He decided to stop the man and ask him,
"What are you doing here?"
The old man said, he worked down the road.
Lunch was half an hour.
Lunchtime was his prayer time,
for finding strength and power.
"I stay only moments, see,
because the factory is so far away;
As I kneel here talking to the Lord,
this is kinda what I say:
"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP
AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS JIM,
JUST CHECKING IN."
The minister feeling foolish,
told Jim, that was fine.
He told the man he was welcome to come
and pray just anytime.
Time to go, Jim smiled, said "Thanks."
He hurried to the door.
The minister knelt at the altar,
he'd never done it before.
His cold heart melted, warmed with love,
and met with Jesus there.
As the tears flowed, in his heart,
he repeated old Jim's prayer:
"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP
AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
I DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME CHECKING IN."
Past noon one day, the minister noticed
that old Jim hadn't come.
As more days passed without Jim,
he began to worry some.
At the factory, he asked about him,
learning he was ill.
The hospital staff was worried,
but he'd given them a thrill.
The week that Jim was with them,
brought changes in the ward.
His smiles, a joy contagious;
changed people, were his reward.
The head nurse couldn't understand
why Jim was so glad,
When no flowers, calls or cards came,
not a visitor he had.
The minister stayed by his bed,
he voiced the nurse's concern:
No friends came to show they cared;
he had nowhere to turn.
Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up
and with a winsome smile;
"The nurse is wrong, she couldn't know,
that in here all the while
Everyday at noon He's here,
a dear friend of mine, you see,
He sits right down, takes my hand,
leans over and says to me:
"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, JIM,
HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND THIS FRIENDSHIP,
AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SIN.
ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY,
I THINK ABOUT YOU EACH DAY,
AND SO JIM, THIS IS JESUS CHECKING IN."
Many people will walk in and out of your life,
but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
May God hold you in the palm of His hand
and Angels watch over you. But for those of us
who are already His, He not only holds us in the palm of His hand,
but has engraved our names there, and we are continually in His sight (Isa 49:16)
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Angie's first birthday!
August 12 was my niece Angelina Vanlalmalsawmi's first birthday. My sister Awmawmi and I reached Bhuj a day earlier. It was nice to meet again Marindiki, Isaac and Angie. The same night we arrived, we went out for dinner at Prince Hotel with their family friend Mrs. and Capt. Jadhav.
The birthday party was held at Officers' mess and it started from 8 pm. Angie was very happy and so was her parents. And we were happy there to see our lovely niece standing tall among her friends celebrating her first birthday. May God bless Angie and her family!
It was also nice to meet and interact with army officers like Col.Mehra, Lt.Col.Joshi, Maj.Sandeep, Capt.Jadhav, Capt. Verma, Capt.Maran and their families. The military campus was also well maintained. I remember the last time I visited Bhuj in 2001 as part of earthquake relief team; that time it was razed to the ground. Now, the city was rebuilt and was growing, and did quite well especially in tourism and hotel industry. We left in a hurry that night because Awmawmi and I had to catch 10:15 train to Ahmedabad as we had to attend office the next day. We reached Ahmedabd the next day around 6:30 a.m. It was indeed a party to remember!
The birthday party was held at Officers' mess and it started from 8 pm. Angie was very happy and so was her parents. And we were happy there to see our lovely niece standing tall among her friends celebrating her first birthday. May God bless Angie and her family!
It was also nice to meet and interact with army officers like Col.Mehra, Lt.Col.Joshi, Maj.Sandeep, Capt.Jadhav, Capt. Verma, Capt.Maran and their families. The military campus was also well maintained. I remember the last time I visited Bhuj in 2001 as part of earthquake relief team; that time it was razed to the ground. Now, the city was rebuilt and was growing, and did quite well especially in tourism and hotel industry. We left in a hurry that night because Awmawmi and I had to catch 10:15 train to Ahmedabad as we had to attend office the next day. We reached Ahmedabd the next day around 6:30 a.m. It was indeed a party to remember!
Monday, April 09, 2007
Purpose Driven Life!
It is possible to live one's life aimlessly, not knowing at all what we are here for on this planet earth. We all know it very well that man is not destined to live forever on this earth. We've seen people dying and we know that our time will come one day. It is, therefore, crucial to stop at one point of our life and take time thinking about our purpose of being here, what or who can make a difference in our lives, how we can make a difference in others' lives and even about life after death!
I am presently reading one book called Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. Christian or no Christian, I am sure it can be of help to you to understand what on earth you are here for? You can either ask for a copy of the book from a bookstore or check the website to read the first seven chapters of the book at http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/
I wish you all the best!!!
I am presently reading one book called Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. Christian or no Christian, I am sure it can be of help to you to understand what on earth you are here for? You can either ask for a copy of the book from a bookstore or check the website to read the first seven chapters of the book at http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/
I wish you all the best!!!
Monday, March 26, 2007
Ahmedabad!
Its hot out here at Ahmedabad city. It will be hotter in the next two months. Friends told me to expect higher temperature of 40 degree plus in the city by May. I had faced such dry heat for seven years in Delhi and I believe I could face here too without difficulty. However, since I was in Mumbai for the past four and half years where there was no such extreme temperature, I am a little uncertain how I will take it. Anyway, let it come!
We don't spend much time travelling in the city. Compared to Mumbai, I have more time for myself in Ahmedabad. But I realised that if you are not having a family, having more time for yourself only adds to your loneliness here. In Mumbai, if you are staying somewhere 35 kms from your workplace, including the time spent travelling between home to station and station to office, you have to spend around three hours travelling by train and taxi/auto everyday. You dont have much time to spend at home. Lesser lonely, I'd say! But you were more tired and could also not invest much time for your health.
I went to a nearby park one evening. The park looks good and it seems to me a nice place to take a walk. I took a walk that day for one full hour and I sweated a lot. I went for walk the next day, and I continued like that for the next three days or so. My laziness stepped in and I did't go out for a walk since then. I guess I'd continue it later. I started driving and tried to know more about the city instead. I drove to Satellite road, CG Road, Ashram road, SG Highway, etc and crossed some of the famous bridges over Sabarmati river like Gandhi bridge, Nehru Bridge, Ellis Bridge and Sardar Bridge. However, so far I didn't explore much of the eastern part of Sabarmati. In the western side, I went to Vastrapur lake, IIM and Centre for Environmental Education (CEE) which are located in the north-western side of the city and ISCON temple, fun republic and big bazaar in the south-western side of the city. NID, in the southeastern side of the (Western part of the) city is also one institute we always passed through on our way from Kohlapur railway station.
People do watch lots of Hindi movies. While most of the theatres show Hindi movies in a week, only 2/3 theatres show English Movies. This week, only Fun Republic and Wide Angle show (two) English movies. Last week, no English movies were shown at any theatres at Ahmedabad. While I hardly had time to go for movies when I was in Mumbai, here I watched a lot. Forced by circumstances, I even started watching Hindi movies alone ( I generally watched Hindi movies with friends), due to shortage of supply of English movies in the theatres.
On Sunday, I used to go to CNI Church at Victoria Garden in the evening. I happened to come across that Church when I crossed Ellis Bridge one day. Since then, I attended three services in that Church.
I have more to tell about Ahmedabad, but that will come later...
We don't spend much time travelling in the city. Compared to Mumbai, I have more time for myself in Ahmedabad. But I realised that if you are not having a family, having more time for yourself only adds to your loneliness here. In Mumbai, if you are staying somewhere 35 kms from your workplace, including the time spent travelling between home to station and station to office, you have to spend around three hours travelling by train and taxi/auto everyday. You dont have much time to spend at home. Lesser lonely, I'd say! But you were more tired and could also not invest much time for your health.
I went to a nearby park one evening. The park looks good and it seems to me a nice place to take a walk. I took a walk that day for one full hour and I sweated a lot. I went for walk the next day, and I continued like that for the next three days or so. My laziness stepped in and I did't go out for a walk since then. I guess I'd continue it later. I started driving and tried to know more about the city instead. I drove to Satellite road, CG Road, Ashram road, SG Highway, etc and crossed some of the famous bridges over Sabarmati river like Gandhi bridge, Nehru Bridge, Ellis Bridge and Sardar Bridge. However, so far I didn't explore much of the eastern part of Sabarmati. In the western side, I went to Vastrapur lake, IIM and Centre for Environmental Education (CEE) which are located in the north-western side of the city and ISCON temple, fun republic and big bazaar in the south-western side of the city. NID, in the southeastern side of the (Western part of the) city is also one institute we always passed through on our way from Kohlapur railway station.
People do watch lots of Hindi movies. While most of the theatres show Hindi movies in a week, only 2/3 theatres show English Movies. This week, only Fun Republic and Wide Angle show (two) English movies. Last week, no English movies were shown at any theatres at Ahmedabad. While I hardly had time to go for movies when I was in Mumbai, here I watched a lot. Forced by circumstances, I even started watching Hindi movies alone ( I generally watched Hindi movies with friends), due to shortage of supply of English movies in the theatres.
On Sunday, I used to go to CNI Church at Victoria Garden in the evening. I happened to come across that Church when I crossed Ellis Bridge one day. Since then, I attended three services in that Church.
I have more to tell about Ahmedabad, but that will come later...
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