12. Tell us about the neighborhood that you grew up in and how it helped shape you into the kind of person you are today. (Yale and the University of Chicago)
Growing up in the valley of Mangan (a village in Sikkim) has given me a unique childhood compared to many people in this century. Since many countries have started developing, natural habitats have started disappearing. There are more cities and towns, a very modern kind of environment. What people in this time don't have is the very rough childhood of a villager. One can say that I am a true villager cause I was raised there ever since I was born. This village is the bone that gives support to my personality.
Mangan is a very peaceful and quiet village. It has a small population compared to the capital if Sikkim which is Gangtok. Out there everyone knows every one. The economy is pretty much domestic and customers have good relationship with the shop owners. In the mist of this little crowd, I was a small 6 years old girl that everyone in the village knew. I was one of those adventures children that went around everywhere to explore from morning to evening. Everyone knew about me, the shop owners, random housewives and husbands, and farmers. I was always the girl who went to a shop and take baki (tab) from the shops. I was always the girl that went to a random house and talk to people. I was always the girl with the dirty clothes and snorty face. And I was always the girl with a big smile on the face after a long day; well sometimes I used to get a good beating cause of my dirty and torn clothes and would have a snorty crying face. But, other than I was a very happy and a lively girl. I used to live with my grandaunt because my mum worked in Gangtok and my dad worked in Kerala. So, my childhood was sent with her teaching me a lot of stuff and she was also a teacher in my school. She was the one who used to feed me food. She was the one who protected me from school bullies. She was the one who beat me if I did anything wrong. She was the one who put me to bed and tell me stories. And she was the one who first gave me a Disney storybook. That was the best and the first girly present I had ever received. She was also the one I loved very much when I was young, it was very hard to part from her in 2002. In a very big way she was a teacher who taught me how to me be. So, my everyday life was filled with people around the village and my grand aunt.
Mangan, my lovely village has helped me become the person I am now. Under all this glamour of a modern girl, there is a girl that wants to dig her toes in the soft soil, soak in the rain, run around barefoot and just be free form any duty and jobs. But Mangan and the people in it have taught me a lot of important things. Like bulling is bad, I have limits as to what I can do, everyone has another face when they are in a certain place or people. And these are some of the qualities I have received from my beloved home village.
Growing up in the valley of Mangan (a village in Sikkim) has given me a unique childhood compared to many people in this century. Since many countries have started developing, natural habitats have started disappearing. There are more cities and towns, a very modern kind of environment. What people in this time don't have is the very rough childhood of a villager. One can say that I am a true villager cause I was raised there ever since I was born. This village is the bone that gives support to my personality.
Mangan is a very peaceful and quiet village. It has a small population compared to the capital if Sikkim which is Gangtok. Out there everyone knows every one. The economy is pretty much domestic and customers have good relationship with the shop owners. In the mist of this little crowd, I was a small 6 years old girl that everyone in the village knew. I was one of those adventures children that went around everywhere to explore from morning to evening. Everyone knew about me, the shop owners, random housewives and husbands, and farmers. I was always the girl who went to a shop and take baki (tab) from the shops. I was always the girl that went to a random house and talk to people. I was always the girl with the dirty clothes and snorty face. And I was always the girl with a big smile on the face after a long day; well sometimes I used to get a good beating cause of my dirty and torn clothes and would have a snorty crying face. But, other than I was a very happy and a lively girl. I used to live with my grandaunt because my mum worked in Gangtok and my dad worked in Kerala. So, my childhood was sent with her teaching me a lot of stuff and she was also a teacher in my school. She was the one who used to feed me food. She was the one who protected me from school bullies. She was the one who beat me if I did anything wrong. She was the one who put me to bed and tell me stories. And she was the one who first gave me a Disney storybook. That was the best and the first girly present I had ever received. She was also the one I loved very much when I was young, it was very hard to part from her in 2002. In a very big way she was a teacher who taught me how to me be. So, my everyday life was filled with people around the village and my grand aunt.
Mangan, my lovely village has helped me become the person I am now. Under all this glamour of a modern girl, there is a girl that wants to dig her toes in the soft soil, soak in the rain, run around barefoot and just be free form any duty and jobs. But Mangan and the people in it have taught me a lot of important things. Like bulling is bad, I have limits as to what I can do, everyone has another face when they are in a certain place or people. And these are some of the qualities I have received from my beloved home village.
(585-words)
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