By Lungmying Lepcha

“Put yourself behind my eyes and see me as I see myself, for I have chosen to dwell in a place you cannot see “ -Rumi 

I used to think that aamik (translated as eyes in Lepcha) is the only way one can perceive life. Aamik in Lepcha means eyes. It is an impactful word among my family members who mostly wear glasses for better vision. I believe it is with the aamik that we are able to peer at the world. 

When I used to spend long hours on the screen, my aunt would frequently remind me to perform eye exercises, complaining that I was too young to have spectacles with thick glasses and that I still have a long way to go. Her complaints made me paranoid until I started thinking about blind people who are creating their own happiness. That’s when I realized that I perceived things not only with my eyes but also with my senses and my soul. 

This photo essay is one such example of the glimpse of what my aamik saw during that period in my life when making up my mind to study was a difficult task.  

Recently we had to give our midterms which didn’t go well. While I was embracing winter on our campus with a heater, I looked up and saw things and corners where I had let my sorrow grow in abundance. My aamik all at once made me see sorrow in my everyday things. This was an accumulation of a month-long process until I finally poured it in the photographs such that they have captured sorrow from my perspective. For example, seeing my friend overcome sorrow with bed rotting as a solution. Another example is that of my almirah which was not latching properly. I had ignored the issue for two months until last night when I cleaned my room and finally figured out a way to fix the almirah. It just took me five minutes with proper thinking and simple tactics. When it was fixed, it made me realise that sometimes we just let sorrow overcome us and that stops us from solving our problems.

I hope these photographs captured from the aamik bring out how sorrow overcomes a student staying in a hostel away from home.

Description of 10 photographs caught in my camera/cellphone.  

1st photograph ( Mystic Mountains : Mt Pandim and all)

I witness these mountains everyday. One can see them directly from our college. These mountains blow in chilly winds to draw us into our beds .

2nd photograph (The onset of cherry blossoms )

The concept of cherry blossoms still in spires awe in me. They bloom on a barren tree after all the leaves fall off; this can metaphorically be compared to how sorrow is followed by happiness.

3rd photograph (Embracing with every click )

My friends captured a few photographs while walking back to the hostel. It was a beautiful evening. 

4th photograph ( Rainbow in a blanket )

I was preparing for my last exam while I was basking in the sun until my eyes fell on my blanket where a rainbow had been created. There is always a rainbow in a grey place but it’s hidden. 

5th photograph (Fallen bloom in my hand )

It is rare to find cherry blossoms fallen on the ground as it’s the early phase of the bloom and finding blossoms on the ground was rare. 

6th photograph (This is how my friend overcomes her sorrow)

7th photograph (A room filled with cold and warmth)

8th photograph (Alignment of shoes, crocs and a contrasting blue polythene)
A warm room presents a contrasting blue.

9th photograph (Dark and light patterns of a used  bedsheet)

10th photograph (A sheet or career holder?)

As a Civil Engineering student graphics play a crucial role in shaping us. My sheet holder and my assignments lay bare upon the almirah overlooking me.

Lungmying Lepcha is a first year student at NIT Sikkim pursuing her BTech in Civil Engineering. Other than the materials needed in construction, she is interested in ethnographic writings.