MA (English) "zir ve hrim hrim" hi

Mizo tawngin tun tum chu ti ve ngei ange aw... Kima Mizohican paw'n a ti ngam a lawm le! Hehe. Ziah dik loh leh tawngkam thiam loh kha chu min lo hmuhloh der sak hram mai dawn nia. Mizoram University hnuaia admission tih a hun leh tan chho tawh a, thawhpui te chuan an phone engtik lai mai pawhin a rik leh tan chuah chuah tawh thu an sawi sap sap leh ta. Kei ve mai, ramdanga awm daih pawh hian admission lama sawi pui tur a min rawn ngen call ka dawng nawlh nawlh mai! Hemi chungchanga kan hriat tha ka tih tlemte ka sawi chakna hi a rei tawh a, mahse kumin chu ka awm lo bawk a kan sawi ve ang e.Department dang ka sawi kep lem lova, mahse kan ngaihdan hi a inan tlan viau chu ka ring. Hei hi chu MA (English) "nih ve hrim hrim" tum ngawr ngawr te chhiar atan bik deuh a ka sawi ah min lo ngaih sak ula, chutih rual chuan English Department aiawh pawh ka ni chuang hranpa lo. Ka mimal hmuhdan ve mai mai a ni.

# Mizo te'n admission hmuh kan tum dan hi a fuh lo. Kan kalphung hrim hrim hian a zir loh vang te pawh a ni anga, hna dil leh engemaw hamthatna tur awmah "induhsak" "insawipui" tih vel hi a lar bawk lah taka. Zir na sang umin kan kal a, bul kan tan tum dan a dik lo nghal viau zel. Merit (a ti tha tha) a thlan mai tur ni si hian in sawipui leh in duhsak vanga luh kan beisei tlat. Kan department ah chuan hei hi theihtawpin tih loh kan duh dan a ni ve tlat thung. BA zirlai zawng zawnga zir tha peih si lo vawi leh khata inel rala duhsak vanga luh thut tum a, mahni aia zir tha peih leh thawkrim zawk rawn leh pelh vek tum hi a dik lo hrim hrim.
Minister lehkha leh Zirlai Pawl hruaitu lehkha, thiantha sawipui leh chhung leh khat, kohhran leh khawtlang a min hmelhriat tu rawn sawi zawng zawng hi admit vek theih an ni si lova, lungawi lo fe fe pawh an tam ang. Chutih rualin heng lehkha nei ve lo tan chuan thei ang tawk a dik (fair) a entrance test leh interview kan lo neih khan an tan chuan a 'fair fight' a nia, a lawmawm viau thung.

# Entrance/ selection kal phung: BA marks hian 50% a pu a, a dang 50% hi written test leh interview a ni. English department ah hian written test hi zirtirtu zawng zawngin dawhkhan thut bialin hmun leh hmunah paper tin an check a mark an pe hran vek. A tawpah an marks pek theuh average an la. Chutiang bawkin interview ah hian zirtirtu awm zawng zawng an thu a, marks a hranin an pe vek a,a tawpah average lak leh a ni. Mi pakhat khan a lo duhsak ruk viau pawhin a average lak a nih avangin awmzia a awm thui vak lo; chutih rualin kan en dan a inang tlang duh viau a, kan marks pek pawh hi a inang tlang viau thin. I ziah zawh hman loh emaw i nervous deuh etc vang khan i rilru ti hah lutuk duh suh, a endiktu lam hi experience nei tha tak tak an ni a, phek 2 -3 an chhiar emaw rei vak lo an kawm che chuan ngaihdan an siam thei ruak. I thiam vek loh pawn i thiamloh kha chu an lo zirtir mai dawn che a, an vei lutuk lo, zirtir theih turin potential i nei em tih kha an ngai pawimawh viau.

# MA hi zir mai mai chi a ni lo. Tunlai chhanah mi in hausak (k)an duh theuh a, Masters' Degree English a i neih khan i hausa thur thur dawn lo. Chutah a ti tha pawl i nih lova, pass ve tawk tawk i nih phei chuan zirtirtu hna tha emaw research tihna chance pawh i la nei vak dawn lo zui. Practical skills zir chhuah a tam lo hle a, doctor te, engineer te, leh Sciences zir ho angin nitin nunah i thiam thil han hman tangkai na tur em em a tam lo maithei. Sapram university tam tak ah phei chuan Humanities hi chu mi hausa zir atan an dah tan. Eizawn nan a tha ber ah ngaih a ni lem lo. I lungleng thei viau anga, thil i chhut neuh neuh peih viau anga, i philosophical viau anga, tlem tlem in history, psychology, political science, leh sociology te i hre nel nual ang a, critical thinking i hneh viau maithei. Chu pawh i subject ah i tui chuan. I tui loh phei chuan i hne hlui a ni mai.

# I hne hlui nachhan tur chu a workload a la rit phian zui. Lehkhabu pakhat chhiar zawh nan a thla thum vel mamawh zel chi i nih phei chuan a ngaihna a awm dawnlo. Semester khat (Thla 5 vel) chhungin a lo berah lehkhabu 30 vel i chhiar theih angai a, chu chu text chauh. A bak i inchhiar zau tur phei chu i peih zat zat a ni tawp mai. Zirtirtu te lah hian kan dim vak lo leh nghal a.

# "No" a theih loh. MZU hi a hla. A tehna a zir te pawh anianga. Mi tlangpui tan a hla. A lum bawk. Duhthusamin tui, ei leh in, bus service, etc etc a tha lo fo. I vun te kha a thu vek dawn. Hmeichhe tan - first semester chhung bak chu i inchei parh rei lo ang. Mut kham tawh ngai lo turah in dah tawp a fuh ang. Chung chu i pawm mai khan i hahdam. I no viau chuan i tlin dawn chuang lo.

# Master's Degree hi kal paha tih vel mai mai chi a ni lo. Assignments, presentations, tests, leh exams a indawt zut. I fail kher lo anga, mahse i social life - thian kawm, khawtlang leh kohhran, innei leh chaw eikhawm zawng zawng thulh lo a tih pah i tum chuan i rin aiin i ti tha lo anga, a tawpah certificate leh marksheet i tangkai pui vak loh nen i hawi ha ha mai ang.

# Saptawng zirna a ni lo. English department tih a ni naa, literature zirna a ni a, language hi a hranpa in kan in zirtir lo. Kha lam chu i chan.

# I tui chilh bur a ngai. Art a ni a, tui vak lo, tha si a ngaih avanga zir tum i nih chuan zir lo law law la i hahdam zawk maithei. Graduate i ni tawh tho tho a, hna tlangpui dil turin qualification i nei tawh tho; Master's chin hi a subject specialize duh tan liau liau a ni tawh tih hi kan hriat nawn a tha hle. Thu leh hla lam zirna a nih miau avangin luangliam deuh zawih zawih, sawi hluam hluam chi tan a nuam, titi mai mai naah te thlenga tui tak maia sawi peih loh tan chuan hun khawhral na ninawm ang reng tak bak a ni thin lo.

Heng zawng zawng hi i inhuam a i ti thei a nih chuan semester li (4) i zawh meuh chuan a hma ai chuan tih danglamin i awm ngei ang. English a Master's Degree nei chin hi mi rilru zim tak, tawng pung pung leh mawlmang deuh deuh a ngaihdan siam pup pup an vang viau. Keini lam, thiam vang ai maha hrat vanga thildang tih thlang lova lo luhchilh ho hian kan lo lawm viau ang che. Welcome aboard, and best wishes!

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Travel Notes - I

I had wanted to visit the New England area for a very long time. Many years ago,when I studied American literature at University, I realized that most of America's best known, highly influential, and most beloved writers had hailed from the region, and I knew I had to see for myself the region that had produced such great minds. Besides, Harvard University is there. So, finally, one of my long-cherished dreams was going to come true for me. I was hyped up, super- excited, and ready to be overawed by pretty much everything I encountered.

Our first stop was Boston, Massachusetts. As we disembarked from the bus and went into the bus depot, the first conversation I overheard went thus:

Police officer/ Security Guy: [Looking at a Buddhist monk who hurried past] Is that the Delei Lama? (Dalai Lama)
Woman standing nearby: I think so...Yeah, I think so. But I don't think he'd be taking a bus here....

They were both completely serious. So much for first impressions. My friend and I exchanged looks of horror - and burst out laughing.

Anyhow, after a series of subway transfers, we reached the Bed and Breakfast that we were to stay in, run by a gay couple well past their prime but still full of life and drive. I won't digress into the very interesting art work placed strategically all over their beautiful home. Suffice it to say that they had quite a collection of gay art. Bruce, one of the hosts, was a great cook and we had a merry Fourth of July dinner with all of their other guests and some neighbors. This was one of the more harmless pieces in my room (not the most incongruous, though)

Boston decided to put on the Fourth of July celebrations including a concert with The Beach Boys followed by fireworks on the 3rd July because of the impending Hurricane Arthur predicted to hit the next day. So we went and enjoyed the show (sidenote: they must have a huge budget for fireworks) and then got caught in a downpour that took everyone by surprise on that balmy summer evening. I had worn a thin cotton shirt which turned out to be quite see-through when soaking wet. I felt like a Hindi movie heroine of yesteryears when they would stand and sing songs under waterfalls to avoid charges of blatant nudity on screen. But I digress.

Harvard University, which is a short train ride from the heart of Boston, was everything and more that I had imagined it to be. The "more" because it was VERY touristy, complete with tour guides shepherding various groups all across the campus, a Scottish wedding party marching to the tunes of bagpipes, Harvard souvenirs in all imaginable shapes and sizes and forms - you get the picture. Here are some, anyway:

World Cup football (soccer here, arrgh!) fever riding high, we even took a moment to catch a game at a sports bar in Hahvahd. Which was pretty cool.


Of all the information crammed into our heads by the tour guide, the one (probably useless) tidbit that stands out is the fact that the face of Mr. Harvard in the statue above is not actually his, because there are no records to show what he actually looked like. It is said that the statue's face is modelled after a certain Leonard Hoar, who was an ex-President of the University. Most ex-Presidents and other important people are remembered at Harvard by having the residential houses named after them - for example, Lowell House, Adams House, Mather House, and so on. But to have a house named after Hoar was a bit of a problem. So they commemorated him in the face of the great late and faceless Mr. Harvard, who, by the way, was not the founder of the University. Hah.