Among hordes of SMSes I received this season from friends and relatives, I selected two as the best SMS of the season. Though belated, let me share it to all readers. Here it is: “I am so sorry to disturb you at tis odd hour. But it is urgent. I have a friend coming from far n need a place to stay since no one knows him. So I’ve indicated ur home. Pls receive him. His name is Jesus of Nazareth…. Merry Christmas”
A retrospection of Christmas and New Year celebrations….. “To all my friends and relatives who wished me luck n prosperity last season. It didn’t work. Pls send cash tis time. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
We all received such messages when the demands of children were huge, the needs of the family rise skyhigh but obviously when Christians all over the world await for whom we call the Saviour Jesus Christ. Yet for the many less fortunate parents, this winter festive season is a big headache while trying to meet the children’s demands for new dresses, buying gifts, meat, etc. and right after the Christmas – children’s admission.
As for me, in a bid to do away these headaches, I bought a Wodka Gorbatschow for myself so that I could celebrate with my mind free from all cares. And, for my family – a bag of rice a few kgs of pork. No new dresses for my children, no cake, no Christmas star above us or Christmas tree inside.
Sips of wodka from morning till evening took me to a sound sleep early until I was woken up by the sound of crackers at 11:30 pm on 24th December last. I have never in my life heard such a big and endless noise of crackers. Many people might bear witness – it continued till 2:00 am. I lay awake making assumptions about how many lakhs or even crores of Rupees the good Naga Christians might have spent on bursting the crackers. Certainly, Christians have rouse above normal behavior. Naga Christians might have burnt crores of Rupees on Christmas night against the directive of the district administrations to ban crackers and also against the Christian principles and thus making the Silent Night and Holy Night into a Noisy Night and the most Unholy Night of the year!!! How I wished that with all the money spent on crackers during Christmas and New Year, thousands of poor people were clothed or if not a big building built to shelter the homeless!! After all don’t we say Christmas is a time for giving?
That night even as a friend SMSed me to receive Jesus of Nazareth as he had indicated my house to stay, I could not meet him. Jesus went to some quieter place perhaps scared to come to Dimapur thinking there was another factional clash taking place again. What a pity! The rich Christians scared away our Lord Jesus. I only prayed that the district administration never give orders to ban crackers which it can’t execute in letter and spirit. The church and the 1001 organisations in Nagaland are concerned only about liquor prohibition, Sunday ban, etc and not about the hazardous crackers which pollute the environment!!
My father bought a colourful shirt, trousers and a naughty boy shoes that Christmas. As a little boy, I was excited and ran to my neighbour’s house to show my new dresses. I found my friend and his sister all attired in new dresses and sitting in the kitchen curiously watching at the pot over the hearth with their mother. “Look my father has bought a ‘bone cooking pot’. If you cook meat in this pot, the bones become soft and we can even eat the bones. You can also eat the bones with us,” he explained whispering in my ears. Suddenly the compressed steam blew out szeeeeeze…. from the nozzle and created a big commotion. We all ran out of the house and reported to his father who was chatting with his friends outside. He simply smiled jokingly said that it would burst any moment. “Just tell me when it szeeeeez 10 times,” he said. This made us all the more scared. We intently counted and when it blew 10 times, he walked inside the kitchen but we watched through the holes on the walls as my friend’s father lifted the pot off from the hearth and placed it in a basin. He then slowly released the steam holding the cap with a wooden spoon. When all the steam was released, he opened the lid and tasted a piece. Only after seeing this, we rushed inside and begged him to let us taste the meat too.
“Do you know what is this pot called?”
“Bone cooking pot,” we said almost in unison.
“No. This is called Pressure Cooker,” he corrected. “A pressure cooker cooks food faster than our ordinary pots.”
We all had a hearty laugh together.
At the ground the children played games and received pens, pencils, balloons, soaps, combs or even jaggary as prizes. For a big family, the jaggary collected lasted for a few months. Nights during the five-days Christmas celebrations were real moments of joy and laughter. The drama and jokes competition at the village playground at night, singing competitions and various items were real treats for the sad souls.
After Christmas, the villagers were ready to welcome the New Year. As young boys we also joined the village youth on a walk down to the river for community fishing for New Year feast. While the elders were draining out the water, we frolic in water for which the elders chastised and chased us to play on the misted valley with rice fields all harvested while an eagle soared high above us. When the water dried-up, we also joined them catching fish. We climbed up the hilly path way back home in the evening as the youth walked home ho-hoing and yodeling under half moon and the evening stars twinkling above high mountains.
That was about the beautiful times… Now for Christians it is time to crack !!!
A retrospection of Christmas and New Year celebrations….. “To all my friends and relatives who wished me luck n prosperity last season. It didn’t work. Pls send cash tis time. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
We all received such messages when the demands of children were huge, the needs of the family rise skyhigh but obviously when Christians all over the world await for whom we call the Saviour Jesus Christ. Yet for the many less fortunate parents, this winter festive season is a big headache while trying to meet the children’s demands for new dresses, buying gifts, meat, etc. and right after the Christmas – children’s admission.
As for me, in a bid to do away these headaches, I bought a Wodka Gorbatschow for myself so that I could celebrate with my mind free from all cares. And, for my family – a bag of rice a few kgs of pork. No new dresses for my children, no cake, no Christmas star above us or Christmas tree inside.
Sips of wodka from morning till evening took me to a sound sleep early until I was woken up by the sound of crackers at 11:30 pm on 24th December last. I have never in my life heard such a big and endless noise of crackers. Many people might bear witness – it continued till 2:00 am. I lay awake making assumptions about how many lakhs or even crores of Rupees the good Naga Christians might have spent on bursting the crackers. Certainly, Christians have rouse above normal behavior. Naga Christians might have burnt crores of Rupees on Christmas night against the directive of the district administrations to ban crackers and also against the Christian principles and thus making the Silent Night and Holy Night into a Noisy Night and the most Unholy Night of the year!!! How I wished that with all the money spent on crackers during Christmas and New Year, thousands of poor people were clothed or if not a big building built to shelter the homeless!! After all don’t we say Christmas is a time for giving?
That night even as a friend SMSed me to receive Jesus of Nazareth as he had indicated my house to stay, I could not meet him. Jesus went to some quieter place perhaps scared to come to Dimapur thinking there was another factional clash taking place again. What a pity! The rich Christians scared away our Lord Jesus. I only prayed that the district administration never give orders to ban crackers which it can’t execute in letter and spirit. The church and the 1001 organisations in Nagaland are concerned only about liquor prohibition, Sunday ban, etc and not about the hazardous crackers which pollute the environment!!
Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me
And the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough
For the living
Make a better place
For you and for me
Michael Jackson
Beautiful life
Life was beautiful and free from all cares in the village. I still recall my childhood days when we children sat under the stars around a bonfire during Christmas. In the cool air we could hear the church bell on the hill beyond our house and the sound of laughter from somewhere across the colony. The village folks have finally made it ready to begin the five-day long Christmas programme. Parents bought cheap dresses for their children. Yet how contented we were with our new dresses! We would walk in to our neighbours’ houses to show off what our parents have bought for us. Everyone seemed content with their lot. Except for the row of meat that hung over the hearths or in the corner of our house, we cut no Christmas cake and no Christmas tree inside our houses. Make it a better place
For you and for me
And the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough
For the living
Make a better place
For you and for me
Michael Jackson
Beautiful life
My father bought a colourful shirt, trousers and a naughty boy shoes that Christmas. As a little boy, I was excited and ran to my neighbour’s house to show my new dresses. I found my friend and his sister all attired in new dresses and sitting in the kitchen curiously watching at the pot over the hearth with their mother. “Look my father has bought a ‘bone cooking pot’. If you cook meat in this pot, the bones become soft and we can even eat the bones. You can also eat the bones with us,” he explained whispering in my ears. Suddenly the compressed steam blew out szeeeeeze…. from the nozzle and created a big commotion. We all ran out of the house and reported to his father who was chatting with his friends outside. He simply smiled jokingly said that it would burst any moment. “Just tell me when it szeeeeez 10 times,” he said. This made us all the more scared. We intently counted and when it blew 10 times, he walked inside the kitchen but we watched through the holes on the walls as my friend’s father lifted the pot off from the hearth and placed it in a basin. He then slowly released the steam holding the cap with a wooden spoon. When all the steam was released, he opened the lid and tasted a piece. Only after seeing this, we rushed inside and begged him to let us taste the meat too.
“Do you know what is this pot called?”
“Bone cooking pot,” we said almost in unison.
“No. This is called Pressure Cooker,” he corrected. “A pressure cooker cooks food faster than our ordinary pots.”
We all had a hearty laugh together.
At the ground the children played games and received pens, pencils, balloons, soaps, combs or even jaggary as prizes. For a big family, the jaggary collected lasted for a few months. Nights during the five-days Christmas celebrations were real moments of joy and laughter. The drama and jokes competition at the village playground at night, singing competitions and various items were real treats for the sad souls.
After Christmas, the villagers were ready to welcome the New Year. As young boys we also joined the village youth on a walk down to the river for community fishing for New Year feast. While the elders were draining out the water, we frolic in water for which the elders chastised and chased us to play on the misted valley with rice fields all harvested while an eagle soared high above us. When the water dried-up, we also joined them catching fish. We climbed up the hilly path way back home in the evening as the youth walked home ho-hoing and yodeling under half moon and the evening stars twinkling above high mountains.
That was about the beautiful times… Now for Christians it is time to crack !!!
(For any comments, the writer can be reached at njagoi@yahoo.com)
