A Canadian student who came to India with Global Youth Network made it to Mizoram. He found it completely 100 per cent different than the other states in India. He is even more surprise to see that in Mizoram, everyone knows everyone by name 
He said:
“You see the Bollywood movies and the cricket. And people tend to associate India with Hindu, but Mizoram is completely 100 per cent different than the other states in India,” he said.
“We got the opportunity to go to different churches of all places to talk about HIV and AIDS … and how to prevent it,” Knight recalled, adding the Mizos were, for the most part, receptive to their lessons.
The group also taught English for a week working specifically on pronunciation, which can be tricky for the Mizos who find it difficult to say some English words.
“Their idea of community is alien to anything we have here in Canada,” said Knight.
“Everyone knows everyone by name and it’s just amazing. You go to the market and you’re talking to people.
“It’s just a wonderful, wonderful place.”
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September 7th, 2007 at 3:50 am
Oh…NOT another one who just came back having rescued the innocent dying or educating the poor people of Mizoram….SORRY, but I, living here knowing many many student programs find it hard to digest this type of story……I am NOT impressed, the world knows about us, it is us who does not help ouselves…..their flight tickets could buy precious equipment we need at hospitals back at home. Our English pronounciation is just fine……
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September 7th, 2007 at 6:58 am
engnge an flight ticket man chuan lei i lo rilruk deuha
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September 7th, 2007 at 7:26 am
Let us assume he is correct (that Mizoram is 100% different from other Indians):
1.Other Indians have two legs, two hands and two eyes. Mizos have one leg, three hands and three eyes.
2. Other Indians get thirsty and drink water. Mizos get thirsty and drink Coke.
3. Other Indians like cricket, Mizos like grasshopper, beetle and scorpions.
4. Other Indians have hairs on their heads, Mizos have hair on their toes.
5. Other Indians marry when they are 16 to 35 or so. Mizos marry whe nthey are 60 to 99 years.
6. Other Indians like Bollywood movies. Mizos like Follywood flims.
The man does not know Indians. I for one, is like any other Indian. I rejoiced on Wednesday night when Indian team defeated England in ODI against heavy (317 run) odd. And I watch Bollywood movies by the dozens. I have Christian friends from Kerala, Mumbai and Kolkatai who are more real than many Mizo Christians.
He said “In Mizoram, everyone knows everyone by name”
I do not think anybody in Mizoram who knows all the other 800,000 odd persons in the state (I know around 800-1200 people by name).
“You go to the market and you’re talking to people”. Well, does he think that other Indians talk to animals or aliens in the marketplace ? They also talk to people. People in other countries also talk about HIV and AIDS in churches. It is not only in Mizoram.
I also have impression that Mizoram is among the most “unglobalised” (not “unglobalized”) state in India. It is also not that important to learn English in Canadian accent (same as American accent). British accant is more respected in many parts of the world including, well, other parts of India..
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September 7th, 2007 at 9:38 am
I am really appalled by this certain canadian student statement. On what basis does he have the right to make this insidious statement.
Kudos to @Vladimir Putin , i agree with the points he made.
We are Indian, very much Indian, i don’t think it’s fair not to feel indian after enjoying every right that an Indian enjoys.
This type of careless statement could trigger off some really stupid people and provide more gap between “us” and the “vais”.
Kan mizo pui ho hi aw, once we cross Mizoram, we rarely have friends outside the mizo circle, we have much to learn from other Indians(say spoken english for one and others..). That’s for one how i categorize the “mizo-fel” and “mizo-fel_lo”. The mizo-fel will have friends other than mizos and comfortable among them(not feeling inferior.. etc), in the long run, he will gain a lot from this friendship.
The mizo-fel_lo will rant about how the vais and other people every now and then, and will be confined within the mizo circle, at the same time speaking broken english, not trying to improve a damn .. the very purpose of being a studeng is lost here itself
Coming back to the topic “Knight recalled, adding the Mizos were, for the most part, receptive to their lessons” indeed we have in our culture to give that sense of false belief to other people while thinking of other things in our minds.
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September 7th, 2007 at 9:39 am
Why are we so hell bent on complicating things? Someone writes some rude shit about us, and we protest. Somebody else comes along and writes something nice, and we protest…
In any case, I don’t think every line should be literally dissected to shreds. I think we all have the sense to understand what he meant when he said ‘it’s 100% different’ or ‘you go to the market and talk to people.’ No elaboration or elucidation required.
Also, our English pronounciation is not fine. Taken as a general whole. Not the ones living in other countries/states, the educated non-resident ones. Think about the real Mizoram, that includes any other village you can think of. We all know there are many English words lots of people can’t pronounce right. Maybe even our very own grandmas are members of this guilty party…
I’m glad to see someone say that Mizoram is a ‘wonderful, wonderful place.’ It’s better than reading stuffs like ‘extramarital relations spread HIV/AIDS in Mizoram’ any day. Or how the Mizo people are hostile/racist/whatever. Or about houses on stilts and unvaccinated, snot-faced kids or chicken and mongrels roaming our church aisles.
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September 7th, 2007 at 9:51 am
uiiiiiiiha no comment
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September 7th, 2007 at 10:05 am
I have read the article, and i think when he says we are 100 percent different, he means it in good spirit. Indian’s are not the most respected people internationally and are not known for their good manners either.
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September 7th, 2007 at 10:18 am
zopatriot – Amen! It’s so blatantly obvious that he meant it in good spirit and goodwill that it’s embarrassing to take offense.
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September 7th, 2007 at 10:45 am
I have one Indian Army Offrs friend, he had attended training at vairengte.
he told me “he had culture shock in Mizoram” he felt he was somewhere in Thailand or the other. Mizoram is very different from other part of India, we have very good chance for tourism who like to visit, virgin land or something, many of my friends to Mizoram they all like the all together different experiance !!! they like “sawhchiar” and Mizo Thali … vawksa rep, hmarcha rawt , and tumbu bai, and hmarchate Um. But many complain abt the parking system. The Parking tkt collcetor give them tkt and money only before moving out, so they are nt responsible where their vihicle are towed, and the paking system is also not very clear for outsiders.
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September 7th, 2007 at 11:19 am
mizoram is more than 100% different than the other states in India especially on sunday!!!
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September 7th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
I absolutely agree with Maimawm and zopatriot! We are Indians no doubt, but we are surely different from other Indians almost in all aspects of life, if not 100%… those of you who feel that you are like any other Indians, perhaps you are staying too long in one place….just move to other parts of India and you will see what i mean…
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September 7th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
hei chu comment van tra truai2 hlawm ve le
“people tend to associate India with Hindu, but Mizoram is completely 100 per cent different than the other states in India,”
………………………
India sawi chuan hindu sakhua nen belhbawm na a awm trin a, mizoram chu India ram state dang te ang ani lo e, hindu sakhaw bia an awm mang lova,a tihna mai ani lo maw? tin, kan vai ho hmel leh pian hmang nen a khai khin chuan dang tak an ni atihna anih ka ring.
@maimawm in a rawn sawi ang deuh hian, kohhran ah te pawh mi in thawhlawm an thawh tam in a source a dik lo kan tia kan sawi sel a, an thawh tlem in kan sawi sel bawk si a, a tawk chiah eng zah nge ni ta ang?
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September 7th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Indian nen a kan in an loh na chu maw, kan sakhua in “BHARAT MATA KI JAY ” leh “bande ma ti ram” te hi kan sawi ve thiang a tilo…. chhan chu Hindu sakhua na nen in khungkiah tlat a lawm…mahse Indian kan in tih vek chuan sawi thei tur ah han in ngai phot i la….sawi mai tur mahse rin loh tur ni mai…bla bla bla sawi tur tam lutuk top….
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September 7th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
myself machha i padi ke???
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September 7th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
@RTPA saaptachi. ninga madyanam saptingala??….
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September 7th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Ni e, “Mizo ho chu in racist chuti, khati,” tih ai chuan hriat a nuam zawk fe alawm le. Sawi tur ka ngah, ka sawi hman lo.
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September 7th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
@myself & RTPA: Eppudi irkeringe??? Idli, Sambar saptingla???….
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September 7th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
@Keimah yar ra ni :D…lets stop guys …kan topic nen in hmeh lo e mai…
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September 7th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
“In any case, I don’t think every line should be literally dissected to shreds”
- Ni e.
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September 7th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
“source a dik lo kan tia kan sawi sel a, an thawh tlem in kan sawi sel bawk si a, a tawk chiah eng zah nge ni ta ang? :D”
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September 7th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
a eng a pawh ni se la, mizo ram pawn a piang , a sei lian, a ngaihtuahna leh tui tih zawng te pawh culture hran in a hring chhuah , mihring in ; mizoram a tlawh a , a hmuh dan ania. kan tan chuan darthlalang tha tak ani in ka hria!
@keimah & RTPA ..apadyaa….rendoo peer tamil aa?? indhaa roomyille nereyaa tamil irrukuringalaa??
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September 7th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
I agree with you, Maimawm.
I dont see anything negative when this Canadian student commented that Mizoram is different. We are definitely not similar to other states, specially mainland Indian states, that is for sure and no doubt about it.
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September 8th, 2007 at 2:35 am
well you obviously do not know that many people take part in this type of programme and come back here to boast of saving the poor people that they encountered in their summer holidays or gap year or whatever they call it.
Besides: having worked among over 100 nationalities and over 100 different languages – I experienced many many English accents that people speak(s) And i assure you, Mizos pronounce English better than over 100 nationaities tht I have come across….Keep it up…you do not need any gringo to help you pronounce the words…just say it clearly as it is written….
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September 8th, 2007 at 2:58 am
and I am not judged by the Germans, Austrians, Swiss for having a Mizo accent in speaking the German language…..
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September 8th, 2007 at 6:18 am
As I read all this so many memories came back to me hehe..and Im sure that everyone of you have ur point of reference but I do think that not all people would boast abt their trip i mean in an insulting kind of way. Canadians are pretty nice people…I have a fren who went to darjeeling for one year,there was a time when he has to live in a hut with no heat, no running water, no proper washroom for a month in one of the nearby village there and to think that he comes from a very posh family here but he has so many good things to say abt it, he remembers more of the unity of the people rather than the miserable lifestyle because thats whats lacking here.
People have been neighbors for over 10 years and havent said a word to one another. He also went there to teach but he said he learn twice or three times as much. Im sure the canadian gonna have funny story to tell but Im sure he will admit he discover many positive things abt our homeland. And when he said 100% DIFFERENT, lets not take it literally, I’m sure he meant it in a positive way and of course we are different; lifestyle, religion, color, culture almost in every field..
Abt the pronunciation: Pronunciation is important and its good he teach the people there, we make a lot of mistakes for example hmmm okay take for instance CEMENT, most mizo pronounce it as SEMEN, that could totally embarrassed you if you say that in public(specially since mizos have lots of pride). I dont think he teach “Accent” and I dont think its something that can be taught.
Since I have been here for over 5 years now with no mizo to talk to, I got adapted to the accent here(like it or not) I didnt realized that until I went back home…thats when i started hearing all abt it..but people think Im good in english when I talk but yeah u see how bad I am when i write lolzzzz( what im trying to say is, theres nothing wrong with accent of any kind but when it comes to pronunciation its important)
So guys we shud have a positive look at these kind of things, I personally would like to help anyone however I can..maybe thats the way he knows best how to help!
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September 8th, 2007 at 11:04 am
cucumber hi tamil ho chuan an lam chuan kukumbar an ti deih zuk nia hehehehe…kan Engliash teacher nen pawn kan in hnial phah hrep tawh
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September 8th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
Accent dik leh dik loh chu thu dang-Sap ho Saptawng(English) ka hre fuh hlei thei lo leh Sap hovin ka saptawng an hre fuh hlei thei lo fo hi chu buaithlak tih chang ka nei fo mai….!!!
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September 8th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
benjamin Says:
September 7th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
“In any case, I don’t think every line should be literally dissected to shreds”
- Ni e.
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September 9th, 2007 at 2:14 am
Spikey. you are right..but I hate the people condescending our pronounciations or sadly our people having complex about their pronounciaton and hence do not speak tanylanguages out…I speak many languages, but my base will always we Mizo language cos I am brought up with that…we only have to accept it and gather courage to speak another language.
I have adapted to the accents as well, it does not make me changkang than my people at home, I have to because I live here……but where do you draw a line where one is pronounciating right or not??
Btw: I forgot to mention – like YMA we have many organisations here, and we are called volunteers….yesterday, after it rained continioulsy for over 72 hours, we were filling sand in bags to prevent flood in a village nearby…are we different?? Is Tlawmngaihna just another word in a different language???
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September 9th, 2007 at 2:18 am
* many( not Tany) and forgive me for my English grammer mistakes – I hardly write in Mizo or English anymore…
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September 9th, 2007 at 2:21 am
*be: instead of WE
* pronouncing – NOT (pronounciating right or not??)
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September 9th, 2007 at 6:58 am
whats the word for tlawmngaihna? can we say its on the same line as Selflessness? which basically is , putting others before ourselves. I think Tlawmngaihna exist everywhere around the world but I guess mizos are brought up by this principle and its built within our conscience whereas in other country its an option, a freewill, no strings attach if its carried out or not..but for us its different, its that guilty conscience that tie Tlawmngaihna to our heart and also to our head.
Mizo chu khawharinah te kan lengkhawm a, zanlai deuh tawh takah te poh tanpui ngai an awm chuan kan tanpui. Helamah chuan zan a han in thlah ringot te poh(between friends) ka haw na tur kawng leh i awmna a in ang lo, just call a cab or take a bus an ti mai ani, and no one feels bad abt it mahse for me who has come from a land where refusing to one’s petty request has hardly exist, its pretty hard to swallow..
Tlawmngaihna exist everywhere, but its the difference in the measure that shows it all in the end.
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September 9th, 2007 at 10:58 am
“* pronouncing – NOT (pronounciating right or not??)”
-> “pronunciation”
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September 9th, 2007 at 11:03 am
One white man travels across the world, lands up in Mizoram and says, “Mizoram is 100 per cent different”. White man comes to the rescue of imbecile people, MY ASS!
Hell yes, I went to Canada,and I said, “Canada/Ontario/Ottawa/Kiubek is 100 per cent different”.
What he actually should have said was, “Go to the interiors of India, it’s DIFFERENT!”
I think he would have the same idea if he would have gone to any ‘malaria-infected’ village/town in India..
Fcuk! the nameserver for lawrkhawm is still NOT resolved!
/Off topic banter
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September 9th, 2007 at 11:21 am
I find it helpful for the society that someone’s willing to show altruism (tlawmngaigna) in a different approach. Its absolutely true that most English words are hard to pronounce, and we have to accept the fact that our English (in general) is kinda hard to understand by others. Its easy to deviate and stray away from the notion opined by others about the Mizos. Mahse atha lamin ngaihtuah ila. End of the day, who takes the credit!
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September 9th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Where are you Aryan?…
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September 9th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Kan danglam reng a lom,soitur a awm lo.Huatthu a soi ka hre lo reng2 mizo nupui nei hnamdang pakhat Argentina khopui poh hre lo in a “Kolkota kutdohpoh in tluk lo”hmai chhan a min tih ai khan;a chhiar a nuam deuh a lom.Dravidian oh, Aryan ka tih na,in va han ngai ve?dravidian silence Observe tlat roh,an cry hma chu…..
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September 10th, 2007 at 4:21 am
DUH????
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