Mizo thei leh thlai te leh an Sap (leh vai) hming

Pangpar leh a extra kan ti tawh bawk a, tunah thei leh thlai leh bonus ho han ti leh teh ang. Keipawh mi huan a thei lo ru kumkhua lo in, mahni a thei huan te hi Pathian in rem A tih chuan siam ve te hi ka chak a, chung tih dawn hunah internet a han search zung zung theih nan an Sap hming hriat hi a tangkai.

Heng ho hi chu kan naupan laia kan koh thin dan a ni tlangpui a, an hming dik tak a ni leh nih loh ah ka chiang lo.

Ar-a fanghma: African horned cucumber, horned melon, blowfish fruit (US lamah) etc

Kan naupan lai chuan khat tawk a ramhnuai a hmuh fuh hlauh tih loh ah chuan hmuh tur a vang. Chaltlang Zotui tuikhur bulah khan a zam nasa thei. Zotui kha a hrang an ti thin a, ngaina lo deuh chung pawhin Ar-a fanghma a rah tih kan hriat chuan kan kal tang tang thin.

Bawrai: Indian Jujube, Indian plum etc. Vairamah North lamah kha chuan 'Ber' kan ti mai thin, South lamah hi chuan...ka hre lo.

Vairam bawrai lian lurh ang chi hi chu tui ka ti lo khawp mai. Mizoram bawrai phak deuh chep chuap ngei kha a tui. Vairam ah hian pawn a an rawn zawrh hi chu hetiang lian tui lo chi hi a ni na in, an ramhnuai ah te leh kawt ah te pawh bawrai kung lo rah hi chu kan ram lam ami nen a in ang.

Bepui: Hyacinth bean

Hei chu sawi vak tur awm lo. Saum nen thak tek tok in bai ila a tui em em tih mai loh chu. Chhumhan pawhin a tui tho.

Bepui thlanei: Winged bean

Hei pawh thil tui dang. Hei chu a saphming hi a common a kan hriat fur ka ring. Ka telh nachhan chu a Sap leh Mizo hming meaning in ang vel dan em em hi a mak ve mai mai a. "Literally" a Mizo to Sap (or vice versa) a leh te pawh a ang.

Chengkek: Kokum, Wild Mangosteen, Red Mango

Chengkek hi a lar em em lo nain, a cousin Purple Mangosteen hi chu khawvel ah chuan tropical fruit lar pawl tak chu ni. Thei poster ah te khan hei chu an telh ve ziah kha :) Thailand/Indonesia velah khian hei hi chu a tam a. India ramah pawh theizuar lian deuh chuan hei hi chu an nei ve tlangpui. Hyderabad ah chuan pali vel zel a pack hi Rs 60-70 an ti. Delhi ah chuan kum 5 kal ta khan pakhat hi Rs 100 in an zuar thin. Imported a nih tlangpui vangin a to.

Chengkek pawh Mizoramah heti em em a a that theih chuan heng chi pawh hi a that duh ka ring. Han ching teuh mai ila, India ramah thawn chhuak ila, imported price ai a hniam deuh si in, a hlawk duh ngawt ka ring. Hei chu Chengkek ang lo takin a pawn tuamtu hi a ei theih loh a, mahse a mu var lai hi a thlum bon thuais a, vai ho duh chi tak ani. Aizawl ah ka hawn a, thenawmte leh chhungkhat ho te ka eitir a, tui an ti nasa. A mu an dah tha sap sap mai kui tiah beiseiin. Lo kui tiak hlawm tak ang maw...

Hlonuar: Sensitive plant, humble plant, shameful plant, sleeping grass, touch-me-not

Hei hi chu 'touch-me-not' tih hian kan hre lar hlur a, a hming dang ho khi bepui thlanei ang deuh, a in leh mawi em avangin kan telh ve re re ani e. Eg. Hlo = plant, nuar = sensitive (mi sensitive thinrim hma deuh te sawi nan a kan hman ang context in). A zung hi rulchuk damdawi ah a tha an ti.

Iskut: Chayote, Chow-chow, Vegetable pear etc

Hei pawh 'squash' tih chauhin kan hriat dan a ni tlangpuiin ka hria. A tui ve em avangin boksik ve re re ang :)

Kawlsunhlu: Otaheite Gooseberry, Malay/Star/Tahitian Gooseberry etc

Hei pawh thil tui full fight! :) Sunhlu pangai aiin tui ka ti zawk.

Lenhmui: Jambul, Java/Portuguese Plum etc

Hei vairam ah chuan Jamun kan tih hi. Hei pawh hi vai Jamun lian pui pui ai chuan a thlalak ami ang Mizoram a te reuh te te phak deuh deuh kha a tui ka ti zawk. Kan in kawt ah kan nei thin a, a picture ami ang chiah hian a rah thet thin. Ka lung a van tileng tak!

Pawihte ha: Salak, Snake fruit etc

Pawihte ha leh hruipui rah ah hian ka buai! Ka nu chuan thil in ang an ni lo atia, hruipui rah ni a ka hriat chu Pangpar post ah khan Moriche palm tih a ka dah kha.

Rul chaw: Mock strawberry

Tuikhur leh hmun dam ah khan a to duh thin. A hmel a it awm avang hian kan ei leh nge nge thin, mahse a tui lo.

Sazu theipui: Velvet apple, Mabolo

Hei chu phak thlawn. A hming re re atang hian a itawm loh, mahse ei chuan ka chhung zawng zawng a duk vek theih avang khan intih bawn nan naupan lai chuan kan thial lui tawlh tawlh thin :)

Sertok: Pomelo

Sertok is veri tui tih mai loh chu sawi vak tur awm lo.

Theiria: Jabuticaba (??) - Hei hi chu theiria ka hriat dan hi a chiang loh avangin a dik loh ka ring mah mah. Mahse ka mitthla a theiria ka hmuh dan nen chuan a inmil viauin ka hria.
Bukpui khua ah vawikhat chu ka pa in min hruai a, kan thlenna te in kawmthlang ah theiria kung hi an lo nei a, heti hian a kung leh zar zawng zawng ah khan a rah duk hi a lo bet khat chur mai a, ka thau ah te min man deuh titih. Natna a ang :) Mahse a thei hi chu a thlum a a tui bakah a mu te kha a nem vek a a ei theih zel mai a. A mu nen a ei zel theih hi thei ah chuan a tha ber mai! :D Bawngkawn Brigade field thlang ram ah pawh sawn theiria kung chu a awm nual thin.

Tuaitit: Bignay, Currant tree etcHei pawh thei tui (mahse ei em em dan a vang) leh lung ti leng.

Thei herawt: Starfruit, Carambola etcHe thei hi chu ka thei ngainat loh tlemte te zing ami a ni hlauh. Ka ei luih chuan ka luak dawn zel.

Zapan zawngtah: Leucaena, Coffee bush

Bekang nen, hmarcha hmui nen han rawt ila a tui full. Vairamah hmun tinah a to hi Mizo vairam awm Mizo chawhmeh rawp em em tan chuan a vanneihthlak. Keini pawh kan apartment kawtah a rah reng a, duh hunah chuan zanah zuk lawh zuai ani mai. Mahse ka ngaih bel nge vairam ami hi Mizoram ami angin a tui ve lo in ka hre leh tlat.

Chawngbawla: Kaffir LimeSer ah chuan tui ka tih ber pawl. A thur dan hi a chiang. Thei tan hian piangthar hi thur dan ah hian teh ta ila he thei hi chu a piangthar tha ngawt ang :-)

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Chiang lo group - chhui peih te tan a chhui zawm tur

Pangkai: Langsat

Langsat an tih hi a thlalak vel a an lang sat sat danah hian pangkai ni ngeiin ka hre na a, ka chiang ngam lo. Engnge in ngaihdan?

Ka thei hriatpawlh tawp theih loh chu theitat leh tuai ha beh. Ka mitthla a ka hmuh danin hetiang ve ve hian ka hmu -

Heng hi Lakoocha an tih leh Kwai muk an tih nen hian a in angin ka hria. Lakoocha leh Kwai muk hi chu tlem in an dang na a, family khat, in ang lek lek an ni.

Thei pahnih ka vei em em an saphming ka hmuh theih miah loh chu khawmhma leh bil hi. A hria chuan min rawn hrilh ula lawmman ah khawmhma den ka lo pe ang che u :-)

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Tunah bonus track :P

Ka thil mak tih mai mai, kan Mizo tawng leh Saptawng te, kan Mizo 'myths' leh ram dang myths te lo in ang ve tlat thin ho pahnih kan boksik lok ang e.

1. Seliah - Cowlick

Seliah hi Sap hovin cowlick an lo ti ve hi mak ka ti. A in ang chiah chiah a a meaning hi. Se liahna hnu chu a ang pawh a ani maithei, mahse han an theih hi a ngah em a, entirnan 'Sam luhlul' te pawh lo ti ta ila awm ve tak tho ania. A sap ho pawhin 'cowlick' ti loin 'Pillow hair' (hehe) te lo ti ta sela a awm ve thei tho. Mahse hetiang a sam awm kan hmuh a, thildang tam tak a an theih kar a, bawng in a liah na hnu chiah kan lo tehkhin ve ve a, ''Seliah" kan lo ti ve ve hi a mak reuh ve mai mai.

2. Chawngtinlerhi fapa leh Greek ho Satyr leh Roman ho Faun

Chawngtinlerhi thawnthu ah khan lasi, ramhnuai leh ramsa te lal pasal a neih hnu ah a fa nausen nen a U an va tlawh a. A naute chu puanin a tuam tlat a, a U chu a naute ke lam en a phal miah lo tih kha awm kha. A U hnenah 'Ka naute ke I lo en chuan vawikhat mah min hmu tawh lo ang' a ti a, mahse a U chuan a en chak ta tlat a. A puan tuamna chu a phelh a, naute ke chu a enru ta a. Naute chu a lu lam chu mihring naute pangngai ni si kha a ke chu kel ke a lo nih kha.

Greek ho ramhnuai 'huai' Satyr ho pawh hi mihring lu leh kel ke an lo ni ve leh zel a. An ni ngaihdan pawh khan Satyr ho chu ramhnuai huai chikhat, 'woods and mountains' a cheng an ni a. A mak ve mai mai na chu, hetiang culture in ang lo lutuk, Greek ho lahin Mizo an awm tih pawh an hriat loh, Mizo lah Greek an awm tih pawh an hriat loh lai a, hetiang 'huai' - ram leh tlang vel a cheng, mihring lu leh kel ke nei kan lo nei ve ve hi. An lo awm tak tak thin emawni leh te ka tih phah rum rum.

Mahse Mizo in kan sawi tel ve loh, Greek ho version a tel ve ziah chu Satyr ho hi an *hur* hle tih hi :D An lem ziah re re ah pawh an shekshi thei hle. A tlip nan, satyr picture seksi tak bonus ah kan dah ang e :-)

:-)

Paranormal or not?

For someone who grew up in Aizawl, I spent a lot of time in the forest as a kid. I lived in an area where half the kids were from farming families and therefore spent more time farming in the forest than they did in school so I was never short of company when the majestic green hills surrounding the city beckoned.

On no school days, it was only natural to sit on our vantage point in Chaltlang, point to some hill in the distance and just set out for it. There were many times these chosen destinations were much farther off than we assumed and night would fall on us while we're in the middle of the woods. We were never afraid, I remember walking through the woods with my friends with only the moonlight gleaming through the leaves, our only fear the scolding we would surely receive when we get home...

But there's this one time I and everyone else I was with got scared out of our wits. And it all happened on this hill -
It was during the school holidays, we were sitting around, listless kids trying to come up with something fun to do. Suddenly this boy, his name was Lallawmawma, piped up -'I know what to do! Let's go to Muthi tlang!' he said. There were a few questions, 'Isn't it too far?,' 'We don't even know the way..' and most importantly 'What's there to do?.'

Lallawmawma quickly put everyone's qualms to rest by proclaiming that he knew the way (even though he'd never been there), that the distance was more or less equal to our favorite swimming hole, and that the reason we should go there was because cinnamons grew there in abundance. Cinnamons! That wonderful, magical root and the best loved of all childhood treats. And when he said that we could dig up all the cinnamons we wanted to eat, plus more if we wanted to smoke them and we could bring along some old newspapers, no one needed further convincing.

We jumped up, appointed him king and leader for the day, put on our sandals and headed off in the direction of the hill. We faithfully followed in our hero's footsteps all the way up to Durtlang but when he started cutting through people's vegetable gardens, murmurs of doubt started to rise. But despite this we made him lead us far enough away from civilization that we could see houses no more and by then the sun was out in full force and we were all hot and thirsty.

And when we met two farmers and our fearless leader stopped to ask them the way to Muthi, we dethroned him immediately. We did find the rest of the way easily enough because there was only one tiny path in the forest to follow from there on anyway.

When we got to the forest, all the disappointments of Lallawmawma's failed leadership was forgotten. It was beautiful! A virgin forest, thick with trees, and the defamed king was right about the cinnamons. Except that they were either bitter or tasteless. I remember someone saying the plants were too young..We kept digging but we gave up after a while and just busied ourselves with the climbing of trees and the singing of songs and other such joyful activities.

Then what happened next was the weirdest thing ever! I was sitting on the branch of a tree with a friend, and the others were frolicking on the ground, some still digging, some singing at the top of their voices, me and my friend lustily joining in from our lofty perch..when suddenly, it grew really really dark. Almost like the darkness of an approaching thunderstorm but at an extra speed. It seemed like very thick, dark clouds were rolling in at the speed of a plane.

We were all a little scared, but calm still because we thought it was just going to rain. Then suddenly there came this sudden gust of wind blowing through the forest. It was total chaos, the wind was so loud, there were leaves being blown about everywhere, the girls were crying at the top of their voices. The wind was so strong the tree we were sitting on went crashing down, but it was not a violent crash, and luckily it was not a tall tree and the earth was really soft so we were unhurt. I was really worried about my younger sister so I immediately ran looking for her, everyone else was also running around in panic it was not easy finding her.

Then as suddenly as it started, it all stopped, everything went quiet, the wind was gone, and the sun was shining in through the trees again. It seemed to me like it all started in the blink of an eye and stopped in the exact same way and lasted only for a few minutes.

But it was eerily quiet after it was over, no birds chirping, no soft breeze rustling through the trees. I saw my sister, grabbed her hand and held on tightly. For some reason I was filled with terror, and apparently everyone else was too because no one wanted to stay anymore. Just as we were walking out of the wooded area, we saw a flock of these big geese-like birds flying out of the forest overhead. They were blackish/greyish in color and scary looking as hell. After that, we pretty much fled from that evil scene of darkness.

When me and my sister told my mom that night about the wind, and how the tree went down, and how the forest shook and how it all stopped so suddenly, she only laughed. I think she thought we just had overactive imaginations and we were blowing everything up. I was disappointed that she didn't seem to think anything was strange. I got a little sense of satisfaction when we got to the birds part and she said "That's weird!" But then she said the birds were probably 'Kawlhawk' and that they were was a common sight in the villages.

I don't know anything about Kawlhawks (what are they called in English?) because I've never seen one. And even if I saw one now it wouldn't mean anything because my memory of the birds that day is all hazy, and I remember no specifics except their size and color.

Sometimes when I meet some of the friends I was with that day we still bring up that incident and wonder. Did we indeed experience something out of the ordinary, or was it merely that our impressionable young minds misunderstood a regular weather phenomenon? Or was it the force of some paranormal activity? I guess we'll never know...

But you know, I guess the real horror story in life is the ravages of time. Two of those children I was with that day have been dead for over 10 years now, our fearless leader is now a raging drug addict and can no longer be considered sane, and will never again lead a troop of hopeful children to any magical place. And the rest of us? We may be alive but none of us can be made happy with just a few sweet puffs of cinnamon cigarettes anymore...

Well that's it. What do you think? What happened that day?