The Shire, Mizoram

Let me begin with a disclaimer. My only source of JRR Tolkien’s amazing body of work The Lord of the Rings is the movie series. I’ve tried to read the books. I once checked out The Hobbit from the library. I’ve taken the LOTR books from my sister’s shelves. I never could get the hang of the writing style. But I’ve definitely borrowed the box-set DVDs of LOTR and binge-watched in one go.

This is why I never can judge Only Movies fans of Harry Potter harshly although I know that universe well and it hurts me when people are mis- or under-informed. In fact, I could teach it in a university. I feel acute shame when I can’t answer a Harry Potter question, like I’ve failed the entire verse. It’s not a good feeling.

But LOTR? I am a shameless Only Movies fan of it. I also can only picture the characters as the actors who played them. I don’t know any different. I’ve however felt a soul-deep kinship with the Hobbits. I think they’d be the Mizo IRL. Or conversely, the Hobbits are fictionalised Mizo.

The Hobbits are a fun people. They’re also paradoxically remarkably jaded and hence do not trust or welcome non-Hobbits into their fold. Unless they do and when they do, they always overdo it. Think Gandalf; to them, he’s a superstar they would give their lives for; it always seems to be ride-or-die with them. They love grand feasts and are obsessed with tea and snacks. They are oriented to the society and relatives in droves; there’s no such thing as an individual Hobbit. They have a very curious mind but also are incredibly easy-going and hence do not dwell on any single topic for very long. You could distract and sway the Hobbits easily with a nice magic trick. For all their closed-up society and limited worldview, or maybe because of it, Hobbits like to think grandly of themselves and can be pompous little asses, convinced they are right and brave. They’re talented little bastards and if they put their minds to it, can overcome shit to impress even the god-like Elves. 

I guess when they go rogue, they also really go rogue so as to betray their own kind for gold. Think of Gollum and his Precious... But let’s not dwell on Gollum. We’ll call Gollum an aberration although I can think of some I’d say have betrayed our kind for gold. Money, in twenty-first century terms. Maybe in the future, Hobbits also evolve to betray each other easily. You get that with interaction with Others. Manifestation of birds of a feather and all that... That can’t be helped. You win some, you lose some.

I guess one of the most distinguishing features I believe of the Mizo as Hobbits is that wherever in the world the Hobbits go, no matter how magnificent and magical, they always want to come back home to the Shire.

Except for that weirdo Bilbo. There’s always one in the family.