Every child that grow-up in those obscure mountainous villages looked up to anyone that came from Lamka or anyone that live in there. Anyone from Lamka who lives in other cities wanted to pretend themselves above Lamka but without any success. My point is there is something about Lamkate that will never change no matter what or where they live!
For instance my Aunt who live in New Lamka (CYA Road –so that you know what dialect she speak, the church she went to, etc! This is very Lamka) understood most of Lamka’s numerous dialects while she speaks none. When I went grocery shopping with her, she often amused me with the way she bargained with the ‘Ima’ selling ‘ngari’ or with the ‘Ka Nu’ selling ‘bawngkerawt’ when each of them spoke only in their own dialect and still managed to strike a good deal.
But what amaze me more is the sheer numbers of ‘second languages’ they speak or understood. Most of them can speak or at least understood Meitei, Hmar, Mizo, English and most of the ‘Zo’ dialects. And of course the women folk (especially the most unlikely one) understood Hindi which of course, they learned from ‘Tulsi of Kyunki’! That’s not a small feat especially when I compared to the number of times I gaped my mouth with confusion when people talked to me after church service at ZCF Delhi.
Most Lamkate also has a penchant for Mizo songs. That’s understandable considering that there are more Mizo songs blaring out from the local channels. A cousin, like every one of her friends, has listened and has her favourite Mizo songs –a dialect she cannot speak. And of course those imaginative dances they called ‘choreography’ performed by little boys and girls in the church with colourful ribbons tied to their hand! They are typical Lamka!
Another thing about Lamkate is their passion for ‘kuva/kuhva’. Most walls and public toilets faced you red bearing testimony to that. If they don’t chew the ‘betel leaf’ version, they can be seen chewing its dry version of ‘talap’, ‘shikhar’ or ‘raj darbar’, all these wonderful names I learned from a semi-literate friend while back in home. I often assumed those packed ‘paan’ are chewed only in Bihar and/or UP alone, but I must quickly add here –no connection, especially when we got enough connections and a friend here is seriously considering researching our Manasseh Connection!
Then, of course, there is the Lamka ear. They heard a gun shot and can name the name and made of the gun! Most of us from the city are too used to the crackers/fireworks coming from the never-ending birthdays, weddings and any sort of celebration we hardly hear a bomb ‘booming away’ a metre behind us. The last time I was in Lamka I put my best effort to make a joke when every one perked-up like a mongoose on-guard and looked at each other. I gave up attempting only to be told that they were wondering about the ‘loud boom’ which I still think is a lame excuse for not wishing to hear my joke!
There are more, like the Korean films, the seasonal fashions trends coming from Silchar or Tamu, etc. which are ‘religiously’ pursued and paraded every Sunday. But, let’s talk about that some other time. In conclusion, “No doubt, there definitely is something about the Lamkate!”
