There's something about South Mizoram

Once upon a time comes a movie that makes you fall in love went the tagline of 'Lamhe' (happily saw  it few times with dadi) and once upon a time comes an email - a response to what you write - that makes you feel warm, happy of your writing and the ability to make that connect and of course leaves you craving to go 'there' again . . 

It talks of Lawngtlai - lights of which I saw from my room (near the Saiha Helipad) each evening. Initially I used to get irritated at Lawngtlai having electricity and my having to see it from the hill opposite that lay covered in sleepy darkness - but gradually started loving it - a bright shining necklace worn by the hill. The forests of Lawngtlai (along the Aizawl - Saiha road) where I first saw civets on a tired evening and also rats during moutam (bamboo flowering); of course the rats scared me. . 

Our trips to Ngengpui Wls and Phawngpui (Blue Mountain) NP were possible only because of Pu Tlana. He then stayed in the lovely campus at the outskirts of town - one he shared with flying squirrels. Hope to loitter again in the landscape with him!

(It rained to it's and my heart's content that evening at Ngengpui!!)

Share text of the email below that came as a response to a post on my earlier blog. Many thanks Sir. 

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Dear Mr Ved, 

I enjoyed reading today about your trip to Ngengpui National Park in 2010. You seemed to have enjoyed the trip and you have recounted your experience well in the article with excellent photographs. 

I spent my initial years as an army officer in South Mizoram. Our Battalion Headquarters used to be in Lawngtlai on a hill overlooking the town opposite the PWD Rest House. We had tactical posts at Diltlang, Bungtlang, Chawngte, Tuithumhnar and Parva-all accessible only by foot!!!! So enjoyed reading your bit about walking to Bungtlang Village. I was the Post Commander of Bungtlang for many months! So I know the terrain and the path you would have followed. I am happy to note that there is road now. From Diltlang to Bungtlang the footpath was without any gradient whereas from Lawngtlai to Diltlang invoved steep gradients and long hours of trudging with our belongings on our back in a rucksack. 

We used to take about 8 hours to walk from Lawngtlai to Diltlang (now Divisional HQ of LADC, I believe; then a small village) and four hours from Diltlang to Bungtlang. Bungtlang was another sleepy hamlet. I am amazed to hear that there are shops and a Rest House there now!!! 

Those days we were actively involved in military operations against the erstwhile MNF, an armed anti-national force of the parallel illegal "Govt" of Mizoram. Mizoram was a Union Territory then. 

I used to be very happy to walk in the thick forests around Bungtlang; only fear was of being ambushed by the MNF militants. There used to be a lot barking deer near our post-they came to a spring from where we used to collect water for our Post. Seeing various versions of Hornbills was very common in and around Bungtlang. We even had a pet Great Indian Hornbill on our post. It had got hurt as a baby and one of my soldiers had nursed it back to health. It led a semi-tame life in the sense it used to go out of the post and roam around in the wild and then return to us usually by night. Our soldiers not being ornithologically trained called this Hornbill by the name "Jatayu" from the famous vulture-like mythological bird of the Ramayan. The Doctor of our Post and I abbreviated Jatayu to "Jets" and called the Hornbill by that name. When it was hungry, Jets would sit on our chair and gently peck our scalp or ear and we would give him some tinned pineapple. In fact he was addicted to tinned pineapple which was stocked as part of our "monsoon emergency ration" because during monsoons we could not receive the normal airdrops of food. All food used to be dropped in parachutes from aircraft for us, because there was no road!!!! 

From Bungtlang it used to be a two hour long walk to Tuithumhnar, a village and military post on the banks of the beautiful River Kaladan which flows into Myanmar. 

I wonder how the road connects these places now. I mean the alignment. I could speak Lushai reasonably well and I used to freely interact with the local population. Now my Lushai skills have rusted due to disuse, except for a few phrases. 

Once again I enjoyed reading your article-thanks. Brought back a lot of old memories of the time when when I was a 21 year old Second Lieutenant in the Army !! Now I am a 53 year old serving Brigadier. I used to be in South Mizoram from August 1980 to July 1982. I am happy that Mizoram has become a State ; there is no more armed violence and there is no more Army deployment there. 

Regards, Cherish Mathson

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Roshni's posts on Ngengpui