On Mizo's and Mizoram

 Having just returned from Aijawl after my second visit, I cannot but discuss a little about Mizoram its culture and society. Unfortunately, very few Indians in the mainland have had an opportunity to go here or  interact with the people of Mizoram and there are by and large so many misnomer and biases  that are present. Three things which I love about Mizoram is the people, the discipline and the food. I have had many students from Mizoram over the years and they still treat you with so much love and affection. I have not seen this in any other  region. In MA we have so many students and we hardly get to know any one individually. We get to know and understand a student only after they become our research scholars and a close bond develops between the teacher and the taught. However, many of the Mizo students whom I taught in MA still continue to have that bond and though it was late at night and many were busy, they did come to meet me. We spent many hours together discussing and talking about different things. There is an ease of relationship even among the people and they are so friendly even if you are talking to drivers or junior staff. Even in the Department there is a friendly atmosphere. I do not find this elsewhere. I find Aijawl so neat and clean and people have a sense of civic responsibility. I am saying this because I observed the driver who came to drop me to the airport. We were traveling for one and a half hour and the roads were empty with hardly any vehicles and only jungles on both side. He ate some thing three or four times and did not throw the wrapper on the road but crumpled it and kept it in his car only. Though this is a mountainous terrain and roads are narrow and there are so many traffic jams in the city, no one uses a horn and the roads are so quiet. I really do not know where the people of Mizoram learnt this and I can compare this to Europe and America. The bonds in the family are very strong. Among the Mizo unlike the rest of India, it is the youngest son who gets the unmovable property like house, land etc and is responsible for taking care of his parents. The Mizos are still very close to nature and a very good example is the food they eat. Most of the food is boiled, with no spices or salt. May be the environment the water is responsible for making this food very tasty.They boil all kinds of leaves and the markets are filled with women selling all kinds of green leafy vegetables. I cannot imagine having vegetables here in Hyderabad only after boiling them. Indeed a great experience.