AAM ADMI LIFE, REMEMBERED
(Review of  THE GOOD OLD DAYS: A BUNCH OF MEMORIES by Lian Samte) | -Thangkhanlal Ngaihte

I have at last finished reading Lian Samte’s The Good Old Days. Do I enjoy it? Of course I do. It is a very well written book. Do I think others will enjoy it? Well, that’s harder to tell.

The Good Old Days: A Bunch of Memories is a chronicle of an aam admi’s life. It’s a retelling of the life Lian Samte has lived, as he remembered them. The man has been in love with the written word since very young age. It shows. You believe him when he says in the Preface that he write just for the sole desire of it. He was a hopeless romantic, and I think he still is. His column in the zogam.com, he call it Shades of Passion. That’s him. But the life that he describes in this book is a prosaic life.If you are looking for some instant inspiration or something to move you to tears, you may be disappointed. Unlike his occasional columns, however, his language here is uncluttered, simple, straight-forward. Short sentences. Lucid expressions. Just what an English grammar teacher ordered!!

Since this book has no agenda and no arguments, it’s possible to halt in the middle and wonder what’s the point of reading it. In some places, the author is very specific about dates and other inane details to the point of being boring (see chapter V). At others, he totally neglect to provide even approximate time periods (see chapter VII). It would have been easier to navigate the book if the events are arranged chronologically. But, I love this book. Read it and then wait for the life-story to sink in. You will get much to be inspired about.

As he himself said, Lian Samte is someone who choose to look at the brighter side of life. He may not have survived to tell his story otherwise. Early in his life, he had contemplated suicide more than once. He tells of how, in a fit of uncontrolled desperation, he even set fire to the Holy Bible!! (p. 21). There is much in his earlier life that I can relate to. Hailing from a small village in dirt poverty (He said that he actually painted his feet with chalk dust to make it look like he’s wearing school shoes). Finishing graduation in high second class, despite not affording to attend classes. Doing all sorts of odd jobs – from working the jhum to hawking newspapers to cleaning dishes in a roadside restaurant – to contribute to the family meal. Harbouring all sorts of aspirations, from music to martial arts to painting, never excelling in any of them.

His description of his experience of the Zomi-Kuki clashes of 1997-98 is interesting. His exposition on the various meanings and nuances of his name is quite hilarious. Think of him and read how he fight off three guys (‘I had two of them by their necks and kicked at the third’, p.100) and finish a kilo of rice all by himself (p. 104) and you cannot help smiling, if not laughing.

Lian Samte is someone who always follow his heart. He is always so full of new ideas to the point of irritating to some. From this book, you will come to know his many new ideas which he tried to implement wherever he’s placed. The period starting from around 2000 were the most difficult for any job seeker as downsizing was the motto of the government at the time. Mr. Samte got a clerk’s job in Delhi. He came and joined. But left the job inside of four months and return to Lamka. Why? Because he was so homesick!!!!! Hahaha. Isn’t this funny? But, will you laugh if he is your brother and your family is living from hand to mouth? I actually heard people say he was a fool. But, it’s simply that he didn’t like the job and quit. That takes courage and a level of obstinacy.

Most of all, I know Lian Samte to be the quintessential non-conformist. I use the term ‘non-conformist’ in its positive, sociological sense of the term. That aspect of his life, where he follow and stand firm for what he believe to be good and true, no matter what others think or react to it is sadly not reflected in this book. Maybe, it’s because there is going to be a sequel. Let’s hope so.

All things considered, this is a good book, comparable in many ways to the autobiographical accounts of H. Chinkhenthang and T.Gwite which were published in English earlier. I recommend it especially for our tech-crazy kids who don’t know a thing about how their forebears live and earn their living. It was a hard life. But sweet and pure and beautiful and fun all the same. These kids deserve to know how we live those Good Old Days.