That Angami girl!

Easterine Kire Cherry trees were beginning to blossom on the way to her house below the Science College campus, Jotsoma. We drove up a steep incline and reached the architectural delight that is her brother-in-law’s handiwork. That Angami girl! Diethono Dee Nakhro now lives in the sylvan surroundings of the woods of Jotsoma, having relocated from Dimapur in the last 18 months or so. Outside her window the wooded areas of the forest reserve are her first view every morning. The sounds of bird calls accompany that scene, though she admits that sometimes birdsongs are also the last thing she hears before she falls asleep, a fall-out from her newspaper editing days when the day ended around 1 or 2 am or even later. That Angami girl! is the name of the blog that she has been writing; it has become very popular among younger readers. The themes are topical and relevant and they reveal who she is and what she dares to take on. But for Diethono, the biggest challenge has been to take on what life threw at her totally out of the blue one evening. A vehicular accident which resulted in horrific injuries to her spine and the morbid pronouncement that she might have to prepare to spend the rest of her life as a near vegetable – it was as though her courageous young voice was going to be snuffed out. But through those dark days, Diethono was surrounded by loved ones who lifted her up spiritually, and even as she gained strength from their support she found the courage to fight back until she could regain an unexpected percent of mobility. When life hands you lemons “For 3-4 months I was completely paralysed. I was unable to make any movement. The only movement that was possible was in my upper limbs but there was no coordination. I had to go through passive physiotherapy,” Diethono narrated. She went on to describe the passive physiotherapy that she went through: “Right at the beginning when the doctors were assessing the extent of my injuries, I was asked to move my toes. Since I could not feel anything I only had the power of my mind to try and do their bidding. I remember grunting and pushing in my mind, and they said they noticed a slight movement in a couple of my toes. That gave a glimmer of hope, but for about three months or so there was really nothing. I could not move anything by myself, so the physiotherapists would move my limbs up and down and turn my body from side to side. This was to keep my muscles from wasting away, and to try and trigger some reaction. During this period I had to work my mind overtime to try and will any part o my body to move. Finally, one day as my therapist was taking me through the routine on my hands, there was suddenly a slight flutter on my fingertips. That was the start and feeling began coming back from then on, and slowly my whole body regained the sensation of feeling. Within four to five months after the initial movement things happened one by one. I could slowly sit up, and then stand upright and after about a little over a year and a half, I was back at work at the paper.” Diethono’s injuries were very severe and she was not expected to make the recovery that she has made. What a testament to her indomitable spirit! This brave, beautiful young woman willed herself to walk again and made a comeback which has not been celebrated publicly. The joy over her recovery has hitherto been confined within her family and intimate friends circle because she is a very private person. The Lemon Tree Helen Keller award recognises a remarkable life and the courage of the person living that life! The Eastern years Diethono had been working as Assistant Editor before the accident at The Eastern Mirror. When she had recuperated sufficiently, the newspaper invited her back to take over as Editor. So her life began again as she went back to full time work as Editor of a daily paper. It meant stressful and irregular working hours to meet the daily deadline for the paper, overseeing reports from the districts, sifting through agency reports, and networking with news sources and myriad little tasks that a daily newspaper is made up of. It even included stabilising the economic condition of the newspaper which is an action that determines life or death for a newspaper. She managed all this in spite of the fact that she was now a 65 percent quadriplegic. While working at Eastern Mirror and in the period after she left the paper, another role was thrust upon her by virtue of all that she had experienced via the accident that left her with the ‘disabled’ label. She was asked to speak at various meets for the differently abled, and visited institutions as well as the Hornbill festival to speak on the need for providing facilities for the disabled, especially easy access to public areas. She bravely spoke on the government’s need to provide the most basic needs for accessibility to physically challenged persons. She has been speaking in different forums including addressing an audience on Disability day at the Hornbill festival, Kisama in 2013. She has also addressed and inspired groups of disabled children in the state, beginning in Dimapur. The round of her speaking engagements has recently increased to include educational institutions in Kohima. With her personal experience of what it is to be newly disabled and her eloquent presentation, she touched hearts wherever she spoke. The talks made the public aware for the first time of an area that had been grossly neglected by local authorities and the population at large: there had been no effort to include those who were differently abled in public discourse and all walks of community life. This is Diethono’s major contribution: spreading awareness about the problems that the disabled face in daily life. At the same time, she does not just harp on the problems; she also takes care to make people understand what can be done to make life easier for the physically challenged members of our society. First awardee in the Northeast And now she is being honoured with the Lemon tree Helen Keller award which is given to disabled persons who are role models. It is a recognition that goes to a very deserving candidate and does the Naga people proud. She is the first in the Northeast to receive the prestigious award for a role model disabled person. When she started writing her blog with the intriguing title, it made readers very curious. Who was this young woman who wrote with such intimate knowledge of Naga life and always had an interesting and unusual perspective on things we take for granted or have come to accept as necessary evils? “Home was always our New Market residence” Born in the sixties in their family home in New Market, Kohima, Diethono spent her early years moving back and forth between her father’s official residences and their New Market home. Diethono’s father was T.N.Angami, the second Chief Minister of Nagaland from 1966 to 1969. His political career began with his election as the first speaker of the NLA. After that he became the chief minister and in the next elections he returned as Minister for two more terms. “We moved from one official quarter to another one,” recalls Diethono. “Our new Market house was a comfortable little cottage. Every time we could move back home we were so happy. That was home, not the big official residences where my family had to live when Father was a minister or CM or Speaker. Our best friends in those days were the driver’s children, cook’s children, and we have stayed in touch since then.” The charming old wooden house from British times which was the official CM’s residence has since burnt down. The tragedy was a well publicised event and Diethono movingly says it was as though a chunk of her childhood had burnt down. Family: a cameo from the late sixties When she was five years Diethono was admitted to the Little Flower School, Kohima where her older siblings had already begun. Back at home, they were three girls and four boys so it was a full house which she describes in her delightful article, “Sunday and family on my mind.” It details rushing through breakfast and fighting over bathroom space in order to get to church on time. In her own words: “The kitchen bustle over and done with, the bathroom rush would begin. You would have imagined that those who managed to wiggle out of the kitchen buzz would have gotten that business out of the way and freed the bathrooms for those who got caught in the organised chaos called Sunday morning breakfast preparation. No, of course not...everyone dashes for the bathrooms at the same time causing a huge traffic jam – seven siblings and two parents when everyone’s at home, though some had the grace to make themselves scarce far away in boarding school for the better part of the year. After much harried chatter, last minute ironing and frantic searches for misplaced stuff, we’d finally troop out of the house in our Sunday best to arrange ourselves strategically into the family vehicle. The family’s transport changed over the years – Willy’s jeep, Mahindra jeep, Ambassador car and son and so forth. “ That endearing picture of family life has altered somewhat with a sister and a brother passing on and the rest of the siblings settling far from the family home. Even Khrieselie, the youngest member of the family is now a businessman in Dimapur. The family home in Kohima was inherited by N.T’s son. Diethono concludes that those were, “Beautiful times, beautiful memories! And it kept our family close and our ties strong. It kept us connected and together through the ups and downs of life. But it was not just our family. Back then, families spent time together...they actually talked and did things together.” Diethono is mother to a son, Khrieto, who she is rightly very proud of. Khrieto is a trained Hospitality professional and has worked for one year at the Le Meridien in Bangkok. He is now looking forward to some further training to become a full fledged pastry chef. Mother and son have a wonderfully close bond. They have weathered their share of storms in Diethono’s accident, and that has brought them even closer to each other. In Jotsoma, her older sister Viseno and brother in law, Ningusalie Talie have opened up their home to her. After her accident, her return to full time work gave inspiration and encouragement to many physically challenged members of the community to seek jobs on a full time basis. Diethono works currently as a member of the Nagaland Commission for Protection of Child Rights. In her blog she writes about life, not just life as a disabled person. She also openly addresses social problems, and her honest tackling of taboo issues have won her a growing following amongst young readers. Her blog can be viewed at: www.thatangamigirl.com Nick Vujicic says: “What is hope? It is where dreams begin. It is the voice of your purpose. It speaks to you and reassures you that whatever happens to you doesn’t live within you. You may not control what happens to you, but you can control how you respond.” I celebrate Diethono Dee Nakhro’s life of hope and invite you to join in.