T. R. Shankar Raman

David C. Vanlalfakawma

Sharmila Joshi

Text Editor

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At noon in mid-October, despite the sunrays filtering through the cloud-strewn mountain-top forest at Hmuifang, Mizoram, it remains cool and dark under the dense canopy of evergreen trees. A serene silence pervades the forest – the only sounds are birdsong and the rhythmic
 
 thwack thwack
 
 of a wood-gatherer at work.
 
 She is bent over, absorbed in her task, a small stack of firewood already arrayed around her. Lalzuiliani, or Zuiliani as she is called, 65 years old, is busy gathering wood for her home in nearby Hmuifang village. At her feet lies the maul. Its wedge-shaped heavy blade is fitted at the end of a long wooden handle worn smooth with use. With it, she had swiftly split the logs of the
 
 batlangken
 
 tree (
 
 Croton lissophyllus
 
 ) into 3- to 4-and-a-half foot lengths. The gathered wood, not fully dry yet, weighs nearly 30 kilograms.
 
 As she prepares the wood to carry back home, the
 
 dao
 
 (machete) in her hand blurs in efficient and fluid movements, in a seeming effortlessness that only comes from long years of daily use.

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Zuiliani’s basket of firewood

ஜுலியானியின் விறகு கூடை

ଜୁଇଲିଆନିଙ୍କ ଜାଳେଣି କାଠର ଝୁଡ଼ି

झुइलियानीची सरपणाची करंडी

زوئلیانی کی لکڑی سے بھری ٹوکری

Hmuifang

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चला, पारीची एक सफर करूया

पारीवर तुमचं मनापासून स्वागत

आमच्या वेबसाइटवरील सर्व मजकूर सर्वांसाठी मोफत आहे आणि तो कायम तसाच राहील. जर तुम्हाला आमचं काम आवडत असेल तर तुमचा वेळ द्या आणि आमच्यासाठी काम करा. या कामासाठी निधी गोळा करायलाही मदत करा.

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Zuiliani’s basket of firewood

A wood-gatherer at work in a mountain-top forest in Hmuifang, Mizoram

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