Time to dump the ‘chief guest’ culture

We Nagas love our ‘chief guests’, don’t we? In fact, we love it so much that it has reached ridiculous proportions these days. Every little programme - be it a shop opening, regular school function, sports event, concert and even tribe festivals - apparently require some big shot chief guest to make it complete, so much so that some of our so-called VIPs, particularly the legislators, seem to spend most of their time chief guesting and lecturing at various programmes rather than attending to their jobs.

Even church events are not spared. Nowadays, we often find God relegated to the back bench while politicians and other ‘important’ people take centre stage as chief guest.

8 compelling reasons to start eating cucumbers today!

Organic Cucumbers being sold at a roadside stall in the Chakhesang region of Nagaland, India
www.thatangamigirl.com/ Photograph - Chizokho Vero

Wow, the cucumber is one cool fruit! Yes, cucumbers are fruits and not a vegetable. The general rule is that an edible plant can be categorised as a fruit if it has seeds, but if it is seedless, it is generally a vegetable. In a cucumber the seeds run through the middle of the plant, so botanically it is a fruit.

Cucumbers are made up of mostly water, and so eating them on a sweltering summer’s day is refreshing. We all knew that. But did you know that there are many, many health benefits that make eating cucumbers all year long a very good bet? It is so full of health that it has in fact been labelled as one of the World’s Healthiest Foods.

This Angami Girl’s Life Lessons

Life is a great teacher. There are so many wonderful lessons that we all learn as we journey through life. Ups and downs, joys and sorrows, successes and failures, our relationships, people we meet………..there is always something to learn in every life experience.

Taking a page from the many life lessons written by others, famous and not so famous, here I am sharing some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

Amazing Terraced Fields of Nagaland

A beautiful scenic view of Porba Village surrounded by terraced rice fields. Porba is located in Sakraba of Phek district in Nagaland. www.thatangamigirl.com/ Photograph: Chizokho Vero

No ease in doing business in Nagaland

Nagaland with a score of 3.41% stands second last among the states in India as per the World Bank state-wise report on the ease of doing business.

The report was released by the central government along with World Bank with the aim to enhance the country's image as a friendly investment destination.

Let's mind our cellphone manners please!

There’s no getting away from cellphones these days, is there? They are everywhere – ringing, vibrating, beeping, lighting up. Everyone has one and some have two or three and all have to go wherever they go. We have become so addicted and dependent on it that it has become our 24x7 companion. We grab our phones even before getting out of bed in the morning and it’s the last thing we check before going to sleep.

This Sarah Palin I like

We know her from her outing as the Republican nominee for vice president in the 2008 US presidential election. Our impression of her has hardly been positive with the Americans loudly and constantly mocking her apparently limited knowledge of history and geography, her home-grown style of functioning and numerous faux pas.

Well, I recently saw a CNN interview with Sarah Palin and really liked the person that came through there. When the outspoken politician was asked about the Ohio state bill that would bar women from getting abortions solely because they do not wish to have a baby with Down Syndrome, you could see that she answered from her heart.

Don't look away

Don't look away from me, let's work together, with hopefulness and share our gifts and talents too…………I came across this lovely poem just after posting my last piece It makes good sense to employ people with disabilities. It conveys so much so beautifully and I wanted to share it with you.

It makes good business sense to employ people with disabilities

It makes very, very good sense to employ people with disabilities. I’m guessing that this is news to many people.

Oh, he/she is disabled – this dismissive attitude and perception that a person with disability is incapable of any productive work rule in our society. And this is exactly why there is practically zero employment opportunity for the disabled community in our State.

After my car accident which left me with a spinal cord injury and limited motor functions, I have been fortunate to have had supportive employers and people to work with. But even then, I have faced many situations which clearly demonstrated people’s inability to see beyond my disability.