In the year of 2000, I used to work as an Assistant Teacher in Southbury town in Connecticut for a program called "before and after school". I had to gather up all the children after their school gets over, take them downstairs to the hall, help them with their home work / activities and play games with them.

I loved and enjoyed working and playing soccer with them as it was an uncommon game for them. They were so used to baseball and basketball games and only the majority of the girls played soccer.

They had never seen any Manipuri female before and their curiousity knew no bounds as to where I came from. They bombarded me with questions like if I was from the Phillippines, Vietnam, Mongolia, Malaysia and whatever Asian country names they could come up with.

Finally I had to request them to bring a world map from the library and I pointed out the tiny state of Manipur!!

Boy! I sure was glad to get them off my back for the moment! They found it hard to understand my Indian English so I had to repeat , sometimes many times, the words that I speak for them to understand me but it was great fun working for these children as I love kids!

To get to this place for work, I was dependent on my hubby for the 20 minute ride to and fro as I was not yet licensed to drive. I enjoyed the lovely and beautiful sights of the New England country side during the rides everyday !! Especially the fall foliage!!

It is just not possible to describe it in words!! You have to see it to believe this beauty of nature in all its glory during the fall season!!

I was stuck with no transportation to work during the time when my hubby was hospitalized early in the November month of that year. I had no English speaking neigbours to ask for a ride from. I had to get to work somehow anyway as I was entrusted with the care of all those school children enrolled for that program.

I was very anxious and did not know what to do in that situation. I was particularly worried than ever about those children who were under my care and responsibility as the head teacher was not working that particular day (she was in college that day).

I could not get hold of any other person to relieve me and my boss said that I should have an alternative arrangement/means to somehow get to the workplace and hung up the phone when I tried to sort this out with him

That left me with no choice but to simply reach the school in time. So I decided to clean up the rickety EKAGARI of my stepson to ride to work. It did not even have usable brakes nor any lights of any kind for safety. But I was now more than ever, hellbent on getting to Southbury to work as all the children would be waiting for me at 3 PM sharp !!!

I put on a windproof jacket and then rode that bike for ... god knows how long!! I started at around 11am from home. It was an uphill road with not a soul around, that I took to ride on that Ekagari!!

Well, at least six long years of my ekagari riding experience to my Adimjati High School came in handy that day!! Thanks for that!!

Anyway, I kept asking people for directions, (if there were any one on that roads on the way ). I reached my work place after 3 gruelling hours, just in time for the children.

Boy!! was I glad and relieved at last to reach there anyhow for these children!! I then told them of how I came to work as I was their responsibility and that I did not want them to be without a teacher that day!! I was very happy to see their smiling faces and that was all I needed to let all my exhaustion and tiredness disappear!

Then after all of them were picked up by their parents, I had to worry about my ride back home in the dark. One of the maintenance guys in the school building could not believe that I rode that rickety Ekagari!! He then came over to help me, though not until after he called me a crazy woman to be riding that bike!!

He attached his small flashlight on my Ekagari handle as a safety measure. All the while he was muttering to himself under his breath but I am not sure whether it was a curse word or not but I heard him say "Crazy Asian woman!"

I knew he meant well but he was working the same shift as me so his hands were tied. He could not give me a ride to my home as it was very far so he drove me half way on the dark backroads! He was very, very concerned at my decision to ride back on that Ekagari !! But I had to thank him profusely and shoo him off as I did not want to be a burden on anyone. He had to be back at his job too!!

I said a small prayer and started my trip back at 6 PM. I would have been scared back home in that situation but this was not Manipur and I had to muster up all the courage and our famed Manipuri strength for that dark and lonely ride that night !! All the cars which came behind me were very restless to get past over me as they did not want to get into any kind of accidents!!

They were cussing their hearts out to see an itsy-bitsy woman ( they always call me that due to my small built) like me on that unsafe Ekagari...!!! I did not mind as I was now more worried about getting back home soon and also to pay a quick visit to my hubby in the hospital!!

So I let them all take it out on me if they wanted as it did not hurt me!! But it was making me ride harder and determined to get back home in one piece and be ready for the trip next day to work...same EKAGARI and the same route ..as I did not expect my hubby to be discharged from the hospital that soon!!

The next day I was able to reach my work place in two hours as I already knew the roads. All my students had already told their parents about my Ekagari ride so they all came to see me to say thank you. They could not believe their eyes to se a pint-sized woman like me could do that!! I give credit to my Manipuriness for that!

I did not think it was a big deal but these kids were very proud to tell their other friends in their class how I came to work for them!! And for the next four days ..that Ekagari was a museum item for them!! I was a little embarassed at all those halla-gulla about the whole thing!! C'mon guys, I was just trying my best to get to work for my bread and butter!!!

Well it was an experience in itself ...that ride!! I would not have dreamt nor planned it for any kind of a normal actvity. I am proud to say that being born and raised in Manipur had instilled with all our Manipuri values that I was able to get to work in that situation for over five days with that Ekagari even to the extent of being called crazy by all !!!

Who knows better than me if I was crazy or not!! I was just trying to get to work by any means as I had no ride nor any anyone whom I could ask for help!!!

To be continued............!!

NB: Ekagari means a Bicycle in Manipuri. Hulla-gulla is an Indian term for the "all the excitement that something kicks up".