Kohima Diaries - 2

Well…..as I had said…..more about the villages in Nagaland in my next post. Saturday the February 12, 2011 we went for shopping in the Main Town Market & the other popular markets in Kohima. Please note it’s a very self-suffice place, self manufactured and self-consumed principle is what still rules the city. Though we get real fashionable stuff from Bangkok, China etc but still what was breath-taking here was the tribal jewelery and the simplicity of tribal attires….which can be still fashionable in their own b’ful ways. So, when it comes to shopping – I bought real good tribal jewelery which do take care of the minute details and are again all handmade. Now I have a collection of jewelery of various tribal communities like – Angami, Lotha, Aao etc. Then how can a girl resist buying – Handbags. Oh! I really got some good ones here. A bit of tit-bits here n there….some hand woven boxes, Angami mufflers etc are another picks.

Sunday the 13^th, my so very sweet students took me to a nearby village as I had shared my desire to visit a village and see the actual Nagaland. Like they say…… if cities are the face of a state….villages is the heart. We went to – ‘Jakhama’ few kms up from Kohima (Picture above – Window to Nagaland). And you can vouch of the serenity it offers. There is a huge Jakhama ground in the village where the village functions are to held and celebrated. And there again you will find the hut shaped stands in the ground depicting various tribes who are the majority residents of Jakhama. Post that we had gone to the St.Joseph College, which is a home away from home; offering various courses, again a very calm and wonderfully managed premise. Since, it was a Sunday we couldn’t witness the real uproar of a college kind of place.  (Picture above)

Beautiful memories and I truly enjoyed the visit. I hereby would like to Thank - Seno, Apong, Zabu & Samuel for making my day a forever cherish able.

Coming up next would be visit to War Cementry & the tank we discovered from World War II…

Do you recall some events in past that have shaped your present?

Image Courtesy: Firetongue8

I am asked – Do you recall some events in past that have shaped your present?

Difficult one......! I could recall various instances which contributed to what I am today.....but framing it in words looks like a mountain.

One thing I always knew since my childhood was - I have to have an identity of my own and second thing I have to be independent – in my thoughts, my work, and my belief of life. I wanted to have peace of mind, the tranquility of achievement. That doesn’t mean – I wanted to be renowned person or something but I wanted to be a person of my own – who believed in doing & did.

I was an introvert, an optimist introvert and all I wanted was to prove my mettle. I wanted to prove it to people who had at times consciously or unconsciously showed a disbelief in my thoughts, aspirations & even my dreams. Believe me; it’s tough to be optimist. It tests you really hard. There were times…that I felt like getting into a shell and forget about all aspirations and dreams.  I used to pray to God – to take it all back and let me become a person of routine life.

I always followed.... my instinct! Though it has been a difficult call always....but somehow I managed to. I never pressed myself too hard to do something which I dint loved or believed in.  

Though, there were testing situations when I had to choose between the easy & difficult, short-cuts & long struggles etc but most of the times – I end up putting myself to test.  Or we can say, most of the times in those situations I could convince myself to hold on and excel. At times I succeeded and at times….was taught a lesson. In both cases, learning continued and it still does.

Yes, in some ways I am at peace but the struggle to dream continues. The new ones are in making, somewhat dense….they are in the process of getting the picture correct. I am again getting ready to find something new….maybe it’s the next phase…another level of ecstasy in terms of belief, learning & success.

My inspirations are varied…sometimes an entire book, sometimes a statement, sometimes a personality, sometimes an incident….. God has always been generous in providing me right mentors at different levels of life and the constant belief of my family & few friends, in my capabilities which I at times feel is too rigid, gets me to reach places.

Kohima Diaries

Picture this: 3 weeks - No Television. No Internet. No Newspaper!

Well! Last Sunday, around this time…I was worried, tensed and wondering as how in the world am I going to stay & more importantly survive here for 3 weeks! Though the place, where I am staying is all nice, neat & organized but there is no Television and the day I reach there was no internet connection. I felt like I am going to be in some real trouble –as I will be staying in this aloof building which is one of the safest places to stay over in the city. But somehow I realized that it’s an opportunity to connect to nature and to connect to myself.

The people here are in their own worlds, they don’t bother because majority of them are not aware of the speed with which we live in the metros out there. They are self-sufficient & satisfied in their own beautiful ways. They do something or the other for their livelihood and they manage – really well at times! Other thing which I like about this place is the simplicity & their love for the region & community. They are very humble, proud and accepting about where they belong to, unlike the people back who at times even hesitate to accept about their roots being coming from a small town or may be a village.

Youth here is like friendly, sincere, lazy at times and involved in some activity or the other. There are Church activities, Music trainings, and Part-time schools, Student Unions of each of the 16 tribal communities to work for and keep oneself busy. There is no run, no competition, no jealousy and hence no problem. They have aspirations and they have dreams but there is no rush of any kinds.

Sundays here are too peaceful & calm. It’s a complete rest day and the markets almost resemble to the curfew clad metro city. Even some of the getaway joints, lounges are closed on Sundays – Imagine Delhi/Mumbai or Bangalore like that! Most of us will get panicky even on this thought. Restaurants are open here from 10am – 6pm.

Food preferences are mostly towards non-vegetarian preparations. Incidentally that’s the biggest challenge for me to survive – even after a weeklong stay. We do get vegetarian food but very few options and even less variety.  There are a lot of bakeries here and that’s why you don’t get branded breads here, because they prepare their own stuff.

Western clothes are quite popular among youth but at the same time you will see a lot of ladies wearing traditional dress called ‘Myekhala’ which is hand woven in different colors & threads depending on the tribal community. The jewellery patterns & colors also vary from community to community, but you get real exquisite ones.

Overall it’s a different place – a different world of its own.

More to come about my shopping experience and visit to the village ‘Jakhama’ and other tourist destinations!

P.S:I managed to get Internet & Newspaper! 

A long year ahead..! Stay Hopeful!

Just hope is what I could thought of while saying good byes to the year gone by. Chasing targets is how my last year went though, targets I defined for myself and the pressure to perform and prove that why I believed in me and also to stand firm on the faith that my closed ones shown in me. I always kept on for hoping against all hopes....yeah most of the times it worked! I have learnt and I am learning. I still have targets but this year I have decided to go calm....the chase will continue but I will keep the peace. Peace of mind n soul.

The beginning has haven't been so easy....initial 15 days...the year knocked with struggle at work, stress of various kinds, lot of travel and yet again I am hopeful and I will work towards my goals. God is gracious and I am sure he will never let me loose the hope.

And with Hope, I have got the plans...and I will gain clarity. I am working towards my goals. I am removing the clutter...getting focussed and besides all I am calm & going!

Keep Faith. Keep Hope!

Have a Hopeful 2011 :)

My First Birthday!

My First Birthday!

Yeah! I am going to write about my first year of life. Not only did I open my eyes in a new world, from tasting the unknown to recognizing the right & wrong – I have grown up to a certain bit in my first year of entrepreneurship.

The Birth:

The idea was conceived few years back but it got life only a year back. Like every birth it was painful & challenging and all I tried was to avoid any complications. Initially it was difficult to take up the challenge and convince my family that I am quitting a job (which was paying me quite decently) for I am going to start on my own. But, like it’s been said – it’s only the first step. Yes, we launched 30TH FEB on November 17, 2009 and I was born as an entrepreneur.

The Inception:

The inception, the observations, the test runs were at times positive, at times negative and weird at others. Some dint like the logo, others failed to love the idea. Some were worried about the complications attached…some failed to understand that it’s equally difficult to kill an idea like it is to a newborn. Some raised eyebrows & others raised fingers. Few were positive about me and others laughed it out.

All this – made me jittery at times but eventually made me stronger.

My First Lesson!

Learning started from the very beginning. While during the inception only I had started developing business. Interestingly, the first project was bagged out of a job interview. Before launching my venture – I had been appearing at the job interviews – to say that I was still double minded and because of which I had not given them an answer on my joining within a week as expected and so when I had sent the launch mail about my venture, my interviewer, the founder CEO of a new venture called me to meet the VP-Marketing for a Brand Development task. Bingo! I felt. And soon I realized that one shall not let the client treat you a novice, desperate start-up who is just looking to perform. I truly felt that people try to exploit their level best only If you allow them to. That led me to my first rule – “Value your own time”. ‘Be professional. Promise results. Stay Confident and remember – No one is doing a favor by giving you a task. Business is all about mutual benefits.'

First time in the Playground!

When a child gets out from home to the playground, he learns about the competition, the society and makes contacts. He starts making his own identity in the playfield. Now the point – is not about playing the game but it is more about staying in the filed.

My first boost came when work started coming & people valued my ideas and hence approached me to work with them. Yes. That helped me raise my spirits and slowly I was getting into a Brand boosted number game. Earlier the chase was to sustain and now I was growing & realizing competition. The idea now was to stay here and to make my presence felt.

With Brand projects dwelling and events happening side by side… I was assured of sustainability but every time I had the same fear – What next? To some extent that still is the case…..

Be-fitting the New Shoes!

Good Brand projects came in. Friends trusted me & clients agreed to the concepts & the caliber. Many agreed to my point – that you need to give us projects to see the portfolio of 30TH FEB and you need to offer the projects based on my personal portfolio.

In simple words, Issue the bill to see me fit the bill. 

A Difficult One!

Things started churning and in no time, I was hopeful against all hopes. People who we had pitched in April….called us and we fetched a project in June. As challenges were growing and we realized that we need to grow in terms of team, people and power.

What I thought of as an Ambitious project turned out as the most difficult project in this one year. Certain execution problems cropped in, my personal life asked attention – leaving me in a real fix at instances. Here I was lucky as my client took charge for few hours and actually made my team work up to her expectations. But again I learnt a lesson – I need to delegate and I can’t be there at all the places at all the times. I knew it was the time to think of expansion.

No Effort is a Waste Effort

We worked we our soul and our dreams survived. We are now working with more diligence & better plans. We plan expansion & we are growing. We are growing in number and we are growing in hopes.

I am Team 30TH FEB. And November 17th,2010 is my first Birthday.

Anger – The Depressing Act!

Anger – a painful feeling. A disheartening act, a fit of rage, a dismal memory and the unforgetting moments!

I have been writing about Anger & Anger Management. Why it came again here is because yesterday I witnessed a roadside argument & fight for the first time. I am disturbed post that. Neither could I take it out and nor am I ready to accept the fact that it just happened and this is the way it happens. It was disastrous for me, the abuse, and the indecency & of course the crowd who was there to watch. I am thankful to them who actually came forward to help the arguing parties sort it out peacefully.

Horrendous it was, I felt shocked and realized that I can’t bear any form of violence. I could almost feel the shiver for next 4 hours and was wondering – what must have gone wrong with those who were involved. The similar adrenaline rush was there when I had seen a car speeding so much & ignoring a child who just survived. I did shared that too..here.

I feel so shallow of being human. Cheapest of all as it turns to be is human capital. Its shameful & shocking both.

Yes, its human to get angry but can't we just take an oath to control it as much as we can.

Faith & Confidence

A Man Lost Everything in Fire, Next day he placed a Signboard-"House, Shop burnt, Goods burnt" But Faith & Confidence not burnt,Business Starts Tomorrow...