Limayanger Longkumer – At 102, he still loves to entertain guests
At 102, Limayanger Longkumer is the oldest man in Mokokchung Village survived by his wife Pangilila and their nine children who have blessed them with many grandchildren.
Despite his age, Lima is someone that can make you feel at home as he openly embraces you with his heartwarming nature. His eagerness to talk or share his story with you would make you feel more like he is your own grandfather than a stranger. And sitting beside him is his loving wife, Panglila, who would sit and supplement to the stories he shares about their past while lovingly helping him in completing the sentence in his mind as his advanced age make him tend to be forgetful.
Like every Naga of his time, Lima, as a young child, would go to farm along with his parents in the village of Mokokchung but that life of his did not last very long. His life took a different turn as he began to dedicate his life serving the society by being a member of the Village Council as well as by being a representative of the church. Lima served the church from 1956 to 1975 as a secretary to his church and later on became a pastor in 1976 which he served till 1979.
According to his wife Pangilila, the two of them got married on February 10, 1949 and ever since, she has seen nothing but greatness in him.
“Because of God’s grace, I am very grateful that we are still together. My whole life I have known him as a man who does everything with love and is always passionate and kind,” she said of her husband of 73 years.
Lima, who was very excited about Father’s Day, expressed how grateful he feels to be alive to this day and thanked God for being kind to him.
“The world has changed now. Our world was quite different from today’s world and although the current generations have surpassed us in both education and knowledge, I only hope that the younger generations will continue to embrace God and stay humble and kind,” he said.
Speaking to Mokokchung Times, his eldest daughter Ponalemla said how she has never known her father to be violent or the cause of any misunderstanding.
“I have known my father to have always served God while I was growing up. I lived with them only till I was nineteen and in my nineteen years of staying together with them and even till date, I have never seen him create misunderstandings with either my mom or any of us. He is such a peace loving person, always soft spoken and someone who always show kindness,” she said.
Longrasemak Imsong – 95 and still smiling
95-year old Longrasemak Imsong is the oldest man of Chuchuyimpang village. Born on January 15, 1927, Semak is survived by his wife Watimenla and his lone daughter, Akumjungla.
After the demise of his first wife, Semak married Watimenla in 1990, the year he got his pension from his job. Semak, in his career, worked in the Dept. of Education and later in the Public Works Department, Mokokchung.
Recalling his childhood, he said he stayed together with his parents and his five other siblings only briefly as he went on to stay with his uncles and aunts. He was initially blessed with two brothers and three sisters but unfortunately, among the brothers, he is the last one to be surviving.
As Semak sits in his chair, he narrates an event he says he could never forget, which was – a meal with about 900 soldiers in Jorhat inside a mess hall during the Second World War which he claims was a part of military exercise.
Adding to it, the tiny bits he recalled about his past included how difficult life used to be without a proper mode of transportation.
“I used to walk on foot to my place posting from Mokokchung Town to villages like Mopungchuket because those days we did not even have vehicles,” he narrated.
“Old days were simple and easy even regarding our belief system. But unfortunately, these days, believers of Christian faith have stopped practicing its true meaning,” he lamented.
“God will bless us with lives depending upon how strong their faiths are. Youngsters today are filled with knowledge but they do not seem to be practicing the Christian faith as they should,” he said, responding to how he thinks the world has changed in his 95 years of experience.
“I am really grateful that God has blessed me with such a long life that I have lived to see myself retire from two jobs,” he said with gaiety.
His wife, Watimenla, who retired as a nurse from Imkongliba Memorial District Hospital, has nothing but praises for the man she has been married to for 33 years.
“I have been married to him for 33 years and I am very grateful that he is always there for me. He really helped me in every possible way he could and although we are old now, the love and care we have is still prevalent to us even to this day,” she said.
“The best thing about him is that, whenever I am stuck with a load of burden, he would still comfort me saying, “Don’t worry about a thing. I am here,” and that is how I feel comforted by him and stop worrying by myself,” she added.
Akumjungla, his lone daughter who has blessed him with a grandchild, sees his father as someone who has always inspired and motivated her.
“My father’s actions have always motivated and inspired me. He was one of the most understanding fathers I can ever imagine while I was growing up. Even today, despite our age difference, he has been my greatest support and my strength. He has always guided me in terms of knowledge, wisdom and really has been my greatest inspiration,” she concluded.