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Sri Sri IswarHatiSatra Of Sualkutchi

2012-01-12T13:53:00.002+05:30

The Institution of Satra/Xatra is a unique feature of Vaishnavism in Assam. The Satra, or Vaishnavite Monastery, is an institution which was established by great social reformer Sankaradeva and Madhavadeva.Satras soon became centres for education and symbol of the art of harmonius living in Assam. Today, the number of Satras in Assam is well over five hundred.Couple of months back we visited Sualkutchi to see the Annual Boat Race.As preparation for the race were on way we were invited to the house of Mr .Hemchandra Bharali and Mrs Dipali Bharali . Mr . Bharali had served for Govt as an Asst . Director Of Sports and Youth Welfare Dept .He is the key member of the race commitee.During conversation I expressed my desire to visit Majuli(abode of the Assamese neo-Vaishnavite culture) someday to see the Satras there.Hearing this Mr . Bharali suggested that we visit three hundred and fifty years old Sri Sri Iswarhatisatra which is famous for it's great wood carvings and paintings.We readily agreed to it and soon followed Mr. Bharali as our guide.(In the picture : Mr. Bharali ).

A Satra has been defined as:-ekanta vaisnava yot nibasa karai . jibako saran diye, tak Satra kai - which means Where the single-minded Vaishnavas reside,where they offer shelter to the souls, that place is called a Satra.They are of great importance because of the fact that they contain manuscripts, artifacts and antiques of immense historical value.

Here we were introduced to the present Satradhikar or the head of the satra.. The bhakats, monks, live here under the guardianship of the Satradhikar .All important activities are conducted under his guidance and supervision.He told us that by calculating working years of different Satradhikars the estimated age of this Satra is over three hundred fifty years old .In the Satras, the Nama Prasanga/prayers are generally held three times a day.The most sacred space is the Manikut . It is the sacred room where the Guru Asana (sacred throne) is located. Manikut literally means 'house of jewels'. It is also here that the other-Satra valuables, wood carvings, metal works, ancient manuscripts etc. are housed. It is a sacred area and beyond a certain limit general devotees are not allowed in.I have pictures of Manikut entrance but not sharing it here on request .

These Instituitions work both as the hub of religious learning and as residential schools.Here is a view of the assembly hall .The hall always faces the east.

Satras have always encouraged the arts and crafts, like dance, drama, music, book-illustration for the beautification of the Satra interiors .The above carving depicts the scene from Ramayana .Those who are familiar with Ramayana can see the war between Laxman and Kumbhkaran , Hanuman bringing Sumeru Parvat ,Lord Rama and Lanka king Ravana.

Doors with carvings of lion motifs are called Shimhaduar .The doors had beautiful brass work on them.Wish that the ripped paint and the dirt over the paintings were taken care of.We were told that soon this site is going to be developed as a tourist destination.

Another panel depicting Sita Haran by Ravana ,the fight between Jatayu and Ravana and Sita at Ashok Vatika.

This is how the complete wood walls of the main prayer hall/assembly hall look like .The walls are usually left with railings or perforated wood carvings of devotional imagery, which allows light and air at the same timeThe floral carvings look gorgeous on closer look For many days I repeatedly kept on looking at the pictures of these amazing art work.

From Ramayana : Lord Rama ,Laxman and the fight between Sugreeva and Baali. Because of time limit as we had to go to the Boat Race venue we could not see the carvings on the other side .

These are the pictures of founder Satradhikars.As told by the present Satradhikar they are kown to have lived very long life .

Later 'Bhakats' invited us to their kitchen for some light refreshments.Though the term 'bhakat' means any devotee -Many devotees live outside the Satra and generally lead a family life.The celibate Bhakats known as Kevaliaa which popularly applied to mean those devotees who either hold office of the Satra or lead the life of a celibate within the Satra campus.We were served Chira ,Curd topped with delicious cream and generous amount of sugar .

info courtesy :attribute to sankardeva.org.

Pukhuris or water tanks are used either for sacred or utility purposes. Each tank or pukhuri is allotted for a specific purpose such as rice washing,bathing etc. The environment around had a number of flowering and fruit bearing trees, which provide ample shade. The height of the main structures do not exceed those of the trees around them.

Soon we had to rush as the procession towards the boat race was about to begin.We left the premises with a promise to the villagers that if possible we will visit this beautiful Satra again so as to see the interiors of the assembly hall which we missed this time.

I will be away for a week visiting our ancestral village for celebrating Magh/Bhogali Bihu (harvest festival).I wish you all A Very Happy Bihu.

(This new feature of reply thread in blogger comment section is great , go to comments- settings and choose Embedded option in Comment Location)

Merry Christmas And Happy New Year

2011-12-24T11:34:00.005+05:30

Merry Christmas And A Happy, Healthy And Prosperous New Year To All My Friends. May this new bring for you promises of new dreams to fulfill, new goals to reach and new joys to discover !

Please Pray For My Friend Gigi Hawaii

2011-12-15T11:53:00.005+05:30

“Gigi-Hawaii” is a blog nickname for Glenda Chung Hinchey, a third-generation Korean-American, born and raised in Hawaii. She graduated from the University of Hawaii (BA Sociology) and then traveled solo around the world for seven years, living in California, Thailand, Europe, and New York. She taught English at Thammasat University, Voice of America, and AUA Language Center in Bangkok and was a graduate student in music at Columbia University. A former Hawaii Public Radio commentator,
she has published an anthology, three memoirs 1 .Like a Joyful Bird: A Memoir 2. Love, Life, and Publishing: A Second Memoir 3. Look for Me in Hawaii: A Third Memoir, and many newspaper columns. She lives with her husband David in Honolulu. They have two daughters, a son-in-law, and two lovely grandchildren.I met Glenda two years back through her beautiful blog gigi -hawaii .We are regular at each others blog and many of you must have noticed her in comments.She is a warm ,wonderful ,bright and an inspiring person. Above all she is a great friend .

About a week back Gigi had to go to the emergency room as she could not close her left eye and the left side of her face dropped. The diagnosis is Bell's Palsy. This is her second Bells Palsy attack ,she previously had it in 2004 on the right side of her face. E.R.doctor referred her to neurologist. She is going to see her neurologist on Thursday.

I have been praying for her and would also request all my blogger friends and who so ever is reading this to wish and pray for her fast recovery and complete cure .Thanks.

Magical Mayong Pabitora Festival 2011

2011-11-28T08:45:00.011+05:30

The picture at the entrance gate shows King Of Mayong and his parliamentarians

Mayong a small and beautiful village near Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Morigaon district is situated about 40-45 km away from Guwahati. Mayong is famous for its history of magic,sorcery and herbal therapy. During the medieval period in ancient India, Mayong is said to remain the Indian Capital of Black Magic and Witchcraft. Mayong is full of supernatural stories. .Except for the few most of the magic secrets and spells were not documented but passed
from mouth to mouth from generation to generation.It is said that people came from far off and abroad to learn magic here. Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is mainly famous for its great Indian one horned Rhino. Besides Rhino the other animals are Leopard, Wild boar, Barking deer,wild buffalo etc. Assam’s Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is also home to more than 2000 migratory birds and various reptiles. It is also an Important Bird Area ...(info courtesy wiki).

Pics showing the main entrance of the sanctuary ,the way to the event and an interesting cycle parking area.

To highlight the significance of flora and fauna and other historical aspects of Mayong-Pobitora for the first time, Morigaon district administration in association with local people of Mayong Pobitora and supported by Assam Tourism Development Corporation successfully organised the Mayong-Pobitora festival 2011 at Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary from November 25 to 27.Live exhibition of the rural life of Assam , magic practitionary,cultural procession , traditional food and handicraft,Kayaking events,boating ,elephant safari ,sighting of rhinos and migratory birds were the main attraction of the event

We noticed some migratory birds on our way from car parking towards the event area.

The festival was inaugurated on 24th Nov but because of Friday being a working day we could not attend it .On inaugural day a cultural procession was headed by the King of Mayong, Tarani Kanta Raja, and Kanak Chandra Deka Raja of Raja Mayong village. Along with them, Braja Kanta Deka, the Raja of Hati Murai Mayong, was also present. Around 200 people participated in the cultural procession.On Sunday which was the concluding day of the festival me and my husband visited the place.After about an hour and half beautiful drive we reached Mayong.The day was sunny and pleasant.The crowd was huge but very well managed by the organizers.

As we entered the venue the first thing that we saw was this competition of traditional game where the players eyes are blindfolded while they hit an earthen pot with a stick .People from electronic and print media were present in big number.Villagers were kind and sweet enough to give me a spot from where i was able to capture these pictures.Out of about six participants i saw only two girl succeed in breaking the pot .

In the pics ..Bejs/Magic practitioners feel that this event will go a long way in promoting old tradition of magic.

As we moved further we saw people seeking advice from Tantriks/ magic practitioners ( Bej - in local language).Must read this interesting link if you want to know more on this : A spell of ancient Mayong magic in Pobitora rhino land

Work of famous local artists were showcased in this handicraft exhibition .Beautiful wood carvings , masks , paintings and other exhibits were on display.

Look at this beautiful bamboo art work .

The historical remainsof the ancient Mayong kingdom displayed by the conservation society of Mayong.The volunteers told us that some of these were gifts from Britishers .

Mayong central museum and emporium in the village has preserved some of the ancient manuscript of Black Magic and Ayurveda.You can see old manuscripts ,silver jewellery, coins and other relics.

Displayed here is one Palki /Dola (Palanquin) used to carry brides .The thick net was used to trap Tigers and Deers. An armour made of Rhino skin .Traditional brass utensils used in King's kitchen.

I faced one on my worst fear here .... this friendly TV camera and reporter caught us and we had to say few lines about our experiences at the event .Hope they don't air it .

It took me sometime to recover from that interview shock .We avoided going to the shops that sold local hand loom ,woolen clothes and other items.The other ground was completely dedicated to the ethnic -food. The area smelt of smoked/grilled meat from pork ,mutton ,fish to chicken .Chandan tasted some mutton while i stood there only to take some pictures.

Other neighboring villages had also participated.Ethnic food of various origin like Assamese ,Deori ,Karbi ,Nepalese was being cooked .The stalls were jam packed.
Post Updated on 29.11.11: Many of you want to know about that white ,round idli like snack in the above picture.This delicacy is known as Tekeli Pitha ,click here to know more about it .

On walking little further we saw this pretty and small lake where visitors enjoyed boating .

The event beautifully covered the traditional and cultural heritage of Assam .

An old way of extracting oil from mustard seeds on display .

For wild life enthusiasts elephant safari and jeep safari was arranged .

Traditional Assamese Jewellery designs , bamboo jewellery(unique of NE).

Brass metal traditional decorations ,wood carvings ,bamboo and cane furniture.

We had our lunch at this small resort nearby which offered veg and non veg buffet priced at Rs 150(veg) and Rs 250 (non veg).The food was good and was served in this tent very neatly and cleanly.I was surprised to find there a spacious and squeaky clean toilet .

Some more colors of the festival. The above picture of 'My Room' is featured in my dear friend Clytie's beautiful blog Random Hearts.Thanks Clytie.

After spending more than three hours we headed back to Guwahati .We bought two flutes for my kids and really regret doing it now .They played the thing the whole evening.

Here are some pictures of the lovely sights on our journey back to home .

Durga Puja(Sharadiya Navratri) In North East India

2011-09-29T21:24:00.008+05:30

A Very Happy Durga Puja (Navratras) To All Of You .

Sharad Navratri is widely celebrated in different ways throughout the India.In Sanskrit the word Navratri means nine nights.In the North East part of India it is celebrated as Durga -Puja.The dates of Durga Puja celebrations are set according to the traditional Hindu Calendar in the month of Ashwin which is the beginning of the winters.It falls in the months of Sep -Oct.As Durga Puja represents celebration of the Goddess as Shakti ,all her nine different forms are worshipped during these nine days.I would like to share my experiences on how i have been celebrating Durga-Puja all these years living in three different states of North -East( Assam,Arunachal-Pradesh and Meghalaya).With its religious significance this festival
has turned into a huge socio cultural event here.People participate in this celebration irrespective of their religion,backgrounds and beliefs.

You know the Puja is near when you find these Kumars (potters) engaged in making the clay images of the ten handed Goddess that we all worship later.The tradition of clay image making in India is as old as from 18 th century.The above picture is of Lachit Nagar area ,it is the hub of this art here in Guwahati. This job is very hard , lengthy and back breaking .The artist hardly noticed me when i clicked this picture.At a later stage these idols are decorated with beautiful clothes and jewellery.Beautiful pandals are build in different areas of the city(pandals are temporary structure made with bamboo and cloth ,these pandals are used as temporary temple to worship the goddess).While some of the pandals are simple structures, others are often elaborate works of art with themes that are based on history, current affairs and sometimes pure imagination.Pujas are mainly financed by the local people and communities, now a days we see some corporate houses coming forward as sponsors .In many part of Assam and other neighboring states the festival is celebrated in community prayer halls or Naamghar too.

The shops and malls are fully packed up from twenty to twenty five days from the festival as people shop for new clothes for themselves and their relatives.Lot of gift exchanges happens amongst friend and relatives during this time of the year.The festival starts with Mahalaya ,it is the day of invocation of the goddess to ward of evil from this earth.She is invoked by the chants of mantras and other devotional songs.We also pray and pay homage to our ancestors on this day.It is on the sixth day or Mahasashthi that the idols are inaugurated on pandals.It is said that Goddess arrives on this day to Earth accompanied by her children.Amongst the chanting and beats of drum the face of the Goddess is unveiled this day.The main puja takes place on 7th,8th and 9th day which are called Mahasaptami,Mahashtami and Mahanavami.

The above picture is of a Naamghar which has been celebrating the festival since 1935.The picture below shows the unvieled faces of the Goddess and the other Gods which are Ganesha,Laxmi, Saraswati,Kartika.You can see the very familiar pose of Ma Durga unleashing her wrath on Mahishasura a demon .It signifies the victory of good over evil.

Expert priests are appointed to perform the rituals as the whole process is very detailed and complicated.Now the next three days consists of chanting of mantras,shlokas ,aarati and offerings.Red being the favorite color of the Goddess ,one finds the head priest always dressed up in red.On the 7thday Mahasaptami before the dawn nine types of plants are worshipped as a symbol of ma Durga.These nine plants are of Banana, Cola-cassia,Turmeric,Wood Apple,Jayanti,Pomegranate,Arum,Rice and Ashoka.A tree is dressed up as the goddess and is installed besides the gods and is worshipped.

As the priest continue with their rituals,crowd starts gathering up at the venue for offering their prayers. A welcome speech by the organizers announces the timings of different rituals and other cultural events .Durga is worshiped in the form of cosmic knowledge -Mahasaraswati.
Traditional drummers are called from nearby villages/areas. They are an integral part of puja.The beautiful images ,the sound of sankha(conch shell)the chanting of mantras,beating drums , the smell of scented flowers and incense sticks add a lot of charm to the rituals. Inside the hall/pandal ladies gather to sing durga-naam( devotional songs for the goddess). The whole community becomes one family during this festival. During evening hours aarti is performed-it is one of the main attraction as the priest offers the light from the wicks soaked in ghee to the deity in a rhythmic dance like manner .The drummers play the drums non stop throughout the aarti.Aaarti is done in the spirit of humility and gratitude.It symbolizes five elements,earth,wind,fire,water and ether.

On the 8th day or Maha-ashtami ,devotees gather again to offer pushpanjali (flower-offerings).Kumari puja is performed where little girls are worshipped at the goddess.Important sandi puja is performed later to interlink ashtami and navami .

It is also the time when we prepare Boloy,a yellow colored holy wrist band made of cloth which contains rice grains,mustard seeds,aparajita leaves and durva.Boloys are distributed on the day of Dasahami amongst the devotees. You can see yellow cloth and the ingredients that are used in making of a Boloy. On morning hrs outside the pandals/prayer halls one can notice many stalls where ladies group sell their home made sweets ,clothes and other handicrafts. To encourage the young kids for more active participation various competitions are held .After aarti and prasad distribution people enjoy cultural evenings.Evening also includes visiting various pandals of the city/town. The 9th day or Mahanavami is the concluding day of puja.As usual chanting of mantras and puja is offered to the goddess.A bhog is offered to the goddess which is later distributed amongst the devotees.Another attractive feature of puja is Khichuri prasad on the day of navami .It is a dish made with a mixture of various lentils and rice grains. Dashami or the 10th day is the day when the devotees bid a tearful farewell to the goddess.It is a very highly emotional day for all. Goddess is prepared for her departure -- sound of drums,chants,devotional songs and offerings of flowers and the rice grains are showered at the images.

As the goddess is finally lifted the roaring sound of Durga Ma Ki Jai almost deafens ones ears.Moist eyes are norm .Finally the idols are carried in a procession around the locality and immersed in a nearby river or pond.Devotees bid her farewell with an invitation to come back again the next year. With tearful eyes and songs we say goodbye to her !

Will be away for two weeks from blogger as i am visiting my mom and my brother's family .Until then Happy Blogging .

Related Link : do check this link if interested to know more on Durga Puja Evolution Of Durga Puja

Finding Them A Home

2011-09-21T14:15:00.008+05:30

It is with great pleasure that i introduce you to one of my closest and dearest friend Rupa. Ruprekha Mushahary is working with ICCW (Indian Council for Child Welfare), New Delhi, as a life member as well as the Secretary of the Council's Assam State Branch. She passionately works for child rights and causes. Being a keen observer of the world she believes there is so much to learn and so much to do that there is no time to lose. Her hobbies include reading, writing, traveling, gardening, blogging, needlework/embroidery and of course cooking.Her interesting blog Feelings is also a treasure trove of Bodo indigenous recipes.I thank her for sharing here a true story that is most close to her heart.

Finding Them A Home

pic courtesy : photohome.com

I had almost completed my walk in the morning that day when the phone rang in my pocket, jerking me out of my reverie. My hand mechanically entered the pocket of the sweat shirt I was wearing, but 'wait', I told myself, should I or should I not answer the call ? Being too sure of the fact that a call in the wee hours of the morning or middle of the night can carry either a very good or a very bad news, hence, my reluctance to pick up the phone. The last time I received a call at 3 in the morning was not one to cheer me in any way..

Perking myself on the cane sofa of the balcony where I usually take my much needed morning cup of tea after the walk, I reached for the phone. I could still hear the pounding of
my heart clearly. Now I could see that the calls were from Anita, the coordinator of our SAA, Sishu Greh. A message from the coordinator of Child line, Sanjeev too was waiting, which relieved me of all my worries instantly. I knew why Anita kept calling. "A new born (girl) found in the municipal garbage dump, serious, big ants found feasting on her head, neck and legs" was what the message said. I jumped out of my sofa, one more baby, how wonderful it feels to be a mom ! I Stood up, to get started, had a long day ahead . I only prayed that God be kind and let the baby survive !

As I drove to the hospital that morning to see the baby which was by then rescued and shifted to the hospital after informing the CWC(Child Welfare Committee), I was wondering, what might have happened to the mother, what made her throw the child away to die on a cold winter night ! Was she unwed, was the child taken away from her by force, had this sad incident occurred only because it was a baby girl ? The baby was in a critical condition with some portion of the head injured severely and wounds of insect bites all over her tiny body. Passing by a garbage dump I shivered at the thought of the baby lying there the whole night. My heart cried out. I realized my vision was blurred with tears, so slowing down the car I wiped my eyes and said a prayer "My good Lord, just save this child, give her life and I promise you, she will never be without a home."

While wondering why had the mother left the baby to die in a garbage dump, the face of Dipali came to my mind which softened my heart. The faraway look in her eyes always disturbed me, as if her eyes searched for someone in particular in the distance. She rarely smiled. I saw a faint smile the other day when I once wore a saree on one occasion and probably mistaking me for her mother she pulled the pallu of my saree calling out "maa...maa..". Turning around I had picked her up that day in amusement, asking her to say it again. Smiling the same faint smile she repeated once again, but soon went back to her original quiet smile less self again.

Dipali was not thrown away by her biological parents like many heartless ones in the garbage dump or abandoned in the hospital. Her helpless, young mother who was under aged to bear a child was betrayed by her lover and left her to fend for herself once she got pregnant. She lived for sometime with her father and step mother, but was soon thrown out on the street with a year old Dipali in her arms as soon as her father died of an accident while at work. During this time she had befriended a man who wanted to marry her but wouldn't take Dipali in. After a lot of pleading he did finally let Dipali too be carried along when she entered her husband's home. But soon he started torturing both Dipali and her mother. When it became unbearable she came to us with Dipali to surrender her, perhaps that was the only option left before her. There was absolutely no alternative. After a month long counseling and producing before CWC, the procedure was completed and Dipali was surrendered for ever. In just all of eighteen months, Dipali's world came crumbling down in such a harsh manner that she probably couldn't react to the situation. With the same faraway look in her eyes she kept staring towards the road as her mother left, never to return to see how her daughter grew or how she looked in the last two years. Dipali never got an opportunity to smile. Although in Sishu Greh she gradually learnt to smile her faint smile, her lost faraway look remained in her eyes, no matter how hard we tried to cheer her up.

Parking the car out side, I ran up the four flights of stairs to the floor where I was told the baby was kept. Could barely make out anything as I looked through the glass door of the ICU, she was just a tiny bundle with a bandaged body and several pipes going in and out of her. Oh, what had the little thing done to suffer so ! The doctor assured me, he would do his best, yet probably unsure of himself, added, "...but you never know, outer injuries have been tackled well, although only the test reports will confirm of any infection or inner injury." Two days later I was informed she was suffering from jaundice too. There was nothing we could do but pray and wait, never losing heart even for once.

After almost a month finally she was allowed to leave the hospital and come home, come to the home where we bring them up with all the care and love these infants were denied by their biological parents for reasons best known to only them. Carrying her in my arms as I came out of the hospital to get into the car, she saw her first sunlight and shut her eyes hard finding it too bright. I choked in happiness, planting a kiss on her eyes I sat in the car securing her on my lap, holding her firm, and whispered in her ears, "you are safe now sweet heart .... "

Everyone in Sishu Greh was over enthusiastic to welcome the newcomer in their midst and in finding her a suitable name. Supervisor, helper, ayah all flocked around the baby with their usual chirpy and loving inquisitiveness. Mira said, "Mirinda", Latika said, "Lata", "Ah, so you want her name to match yours, no, Mala sounds much better", said Malati. Amused at their quest in finding a name for her as they playfully argued with each other, I sat smiling, listening to them. Finally they seemed to give up and decided I might as well come to their rescue finding her a nice name. The first name that came to my mind was Tora, as the irresistible sight of her blinking her eyes once in the bright sunlight and closing hard like a small yet bright twinkling star was still fresh in my mind, Tora was all I could think of, so, Tora she would be !

I carried Tora around to introduce her to Junak, the naughty fellow who was now a year old and everyone's pet, Lily who won us all by her pretty smile at barely seven months of age, Dibya showing off her two little teeth with pride when lifted up from her cot and Naina, at nine months had already found loving parents, home, grand parents, who came often to play with her till all papers, formalities were completed and Naina could be finally taken away to her home where she can grow well, never to be thrown away or abandoned .

All this while two and a half year old Rahul,jumped around Tora cheerfully and would not leave Tora's side even for a moment. I could see that a bond had already been established, a bond that was out of any human power to decipher. He pulled me towards the cot which was waiting for Tora, ready with fresh new sheet, small side pillows and blanket in pastel hue. Oh how I love this sweet fresh smell of the baby room ! He gestured me to put Tora in the cot with his tiny pink fingers. Doing exactly the way he had directed me, like an obedient student, I lifted him up now in my arms after laying Tora gently down on the cot, kissing his pink fingers.

My mind raced back to that particular day looking at Rahul's full round face with chubby pink cheeks, eyes now smiling his brightest inquisitive smile, all exited at the arrival of a new baby. How could I forget that day when our Childline team had rescued a new born baby boy from the railway tracks and had brought later to Sishu Greh, whom we fondly named Rahul. It was a humid summer afternoon, although it had been raining for the last two consecutive days. Most of the roads in the city were over flowing with flash floods, electricity was almost non existent and poor telephone net works played havoc with our lives. That was the day when following a phone call, our Childline team with the help of Police personnel had set out to rescue the baby, lying on the railway track for God knows how long. Walking several kilometers in that heavy downpour wading through water, the team rescued Rahul. During his treatment in the hospital and the following months of care at Sishu Greh were like ages, but slowly yet certainly, Rahul did recover, to be fit enough today to welcome yet another beautiful 'God's gift' who was unwanted/abandoned by the person who brought her to this world, to our home of love, care and life, Sishu Greh.

While many Rahuls, Junaks, Nainas and Toras happily grow up in Sishu Greh, under the loving care of a trained team of doctors, nurses, supervisors, helpers and ayahs, another team gets down to some hectic job of planning their future in a new home with adoptive parents. Sishu Greh is a Special Adoption Agency(SAA), as per provisions of the JJ Act, licensed by CARA(Central Adoption Resource Authority), for in-country adoption, under the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India.

Through a systematic procedure and guidelines notified by the Government of India, we move forward with our aim of turning these orphaned, abandoned, surrendered children into the legitimate children of their adoptive parents with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities that are attached to a relationship.

We go through endless number of PAP(Prospective Adoptive Parents), give per-adoption counseling to couples, followed by registration, submission of documents, our team's home visit and finally selection of PAP. Then the selected couple is invited to Sishu Greh to mingle with the children and pick the child of their choice. The rest of the procedure then follows, medical test of the child again if the PAP so desire, per-adoption foster care after signing of deed between PAP and SAA, filing of petition in the court of the Session's Judge within ten days of pre-adoption foster care and appearance before court on evidence date. The formalities are complete once the honorable Judge gives his order for legal adoption. Our job doesn't end here, even after two years of follow up when we practically have nothing left to do with a child, as he/she gradually settles down in the new home, with his/her adoptive parents and the family as such, the bond that binds us together doesn't get snapped so easily.

Our Tora soon grew up to be a sweet little darling, winning everyone's heart with her twinkling eyes, the habit of shutting her eyes hard, pressing both the eye lids remained with her, making her smile irresistibly beautiful now. How time flew, soon Tora was a year old, and as per procedure left us for her new home with her adoptive parents. I couldn't witness the moment of her departure from Sishu Greh, couldn't put her on the lap of her adoptive mother with these very hands which so lovingly, carefully brought her from the hospital a year ago, these very eyes which were fixed tirelessly on the bandaged bundle that lay in the tiny cot of the ICU of the hospital from outside the heavy glass doors. Why, why did I feel the way I did ? Wasn't it what I wanted, wasn't it why our whole dedicated team worked so hard ? Didn't we want a home, parents and family for every Tora, every Rahul ? Then why did I cry every time when each of them left ? This was one of those days I would quietly sneak out, shut the door of my room and weep like a child in sorrow of losing, yet, blissfully happy and contented in finding a home for a child, till exhausted I fell asleep. "God, do keep the twinkling smile on her face always."

Dipali's look still says she waits for someone, yet forces a smile when someone appreciates her drawings, which she paints mostly with black or pale shades. Tora visits us with her parents on occasions like Bihu or Durga Puja bringing lots of gifts for new babies in the Sishu Greh. She is looking prettier with each passing year, and God, couldn't believe my eyes, she looked so much like her adoptive mother ! Rahul cannot visit too often as his father is posted to another district now, although he mails me the pictures he draws in the computer. Last time Naina visited us, she insisted that we attend her birthday party and we did. Her happiness knew no bounds seeing us at her home. "Junak came first in his class this year, after all he is my son", declared his proud father. This is bliss, ultimate bliss, I told myself.
The journey continues .... bless those parents who give a home, a family and lots of love to these Toras, Rahuls, Dibyas and Nainas.......

Post Updated on 22 .09.11
Ruprekha replies :: Thank you all for your kind words of appreciation. While writing this piece, I was wondering where to start and where to end, as during my association with this organization over a decade now,I have come across so many children each having a different tale to tell. Every day some where some one is abandoned or orphaned. On the other hand, there are so many parents who want to adopt a child but actually do not know how to go about it the right way which is adopting legally. Govt of India is giving utmost importance in this field to curb child trafficking and abuse. Our effort and main concern is to hand over the baby to the right parents, the right way.

Naw - Khel : The Annual Boat Race Of Sualkuchi 2011

2011-08-31T03:26:00.007+05:30

Apart from it's silk Sualkuchi (also known as The Manchester Of The East ) is also popular for its annual boat festival.Sualkuchi is among the places where this indigenous sport still survives.This race is organized to commemorate the death anniversary of Srimanta Sankardev ( 1449 -1568) .He was a scholar -saint and a great social-religious reformer. Srimanta Sankardev is considered as a colossal figure in the cultural and religious history of Assam.In the year 1965 a rowing competition committee was formed not only to revive this old age tradition but also to strengthen the harmony ,unity and integrity amongst the people belonging to different cast and communities of the area. Both Hindus and Muslims participate

in it with equal enthusiasm.


A View Of Mighty Bhramaputra From Babaji Parbat Gondmow Assam Tourism Cottages Sualkuchi

We had planned for this in advance .Tuesday is a working day for us so to adjust the work load we worked overtime for the past few days.I had contacted Kishore Bharali a young energetic and extremely helpful member of the organizing committee through a cell number provided by the regional language newspaper .He told me that the race would start at around 2 in the afternoon.He asked me to give him a call once i reach Sualkuchi.Our destination was just an hour away from Guwahati. As we started early from Guwahati ,we had some time in our hand to visit this hilltop named Gondmow ,a tourist spot just three kms before Sualkuchi.The view from the hilltop was a pleasant surprise .Later at Sualkutchi we came to know that very few people know about it .

Saraighat Bridge Guwahati : A View From Gondhmow Cottages Sualkutch

The day was probably one of the most hottest day of the year .The Sun was too bright so we had a very clear view of Saraighat Bridge .We left the place after ten to fifteen minutes .

The lanes of Sualkutchi are very narrow and are often used more by pets than by the people.

I walked most of the road while Chandan drove very slowly .It was my job to clear the road by patting away these beautiful creatures .I missed my kids ,they would have loved to help me.

Kishore gave us directions through the phone .After initial greetings he took us to the house of this wonderful couple Mr .Hemchandra Bharali and Mrs Dipali Bharali . Mr . Bharali had served for Govt as an Asst . Director Of Sports and Youth Welfare Dept .He is the key member of the race committee .He told us a lot about this race .What i understood from him was that the idea of this race is based on the principles of Sankardeva who was a great social reformer. All the existing communities/tribes have different festivals of their own to observe. This race is a common event that can be enjoyed by all the people irrespective of their caste ,community and tribe .Because this year Eid fell on the same day as Sankar Dev Tithi there was no participation from Muslim community .Number of participating boats were very less this year because of that.

Women used to participate the event before but not anymore because of lack of interest .How sad. According to Mr. Bharali another worrying and alarming reason of less participation was the changing level of the depth and banks of Bhramaputra river . For the last few years the water has been shallow and not enough for using bigger boats he said.After some nice refreshment offered by Bharalis we joined this procession which lead towards the venue . Can you locate me ?

All of them sang Naam ( devotional songs ). I have got great video clips that i will upload on You tube and update the link to this post at a later time.

The chief guest a high official of State Bank Of India ( a co sponsor of the event) opened the event.

The venue , the banks of the river Bhramaputra was packed with the spectators as well as the participants.We saw TV Crew of some of our popular regional TV channels .

This is cameraman Manab from NE Tv news channel. He was busy adjusting his camera but spared a moment to smile for my picture.

Colorful audience .

Anna influence was noticeable here (my non Indian friends might not know about Anna ,they can check the link if interested ) . Many of the participants wore Main Anna Hun (I am Anna )Caps .

Each boat had either a coconut or some fruit plus incense sticks lighted on their boats.

On the left side the committee was having a tough time hoisting the event flag because of a sudden occurrence of strong wind.The wind was so fierce that it caused big ripples on river water and my camera too fell of my hands. The volunteers tried their best to retain the tent but that too finally fell .

We saw women running back to their houses ,the reason was to collect the washed clothes from clothesline . But soon they joined back .

Boats started taking positions .There were several rounds of race.The wind was not favoring the event but the participants were least bothered.

The cheerful crowd roared every time a new rounds started .

I no longer took pictures .Here is a video clip for you to see one of the round.The clip takes little time to appear on the post .

After spending more than two hours we decided to head back to Guwahati so as to avoid the expected traffic jam once the event was over. We had such a great time there .

One final shot from the venue of this plane which was about to land at Guwahati airport .

Sacred Grove : Law Lyngdoh At Mawphlang

2011-08-16T01:46:00.007+05:30

Sacred Grove Mawphlang

As a part of their cultural and religious beliefs the people of Meghalaya practice an age-old tradition of preserving primary forest patches near their settlements .These forests are a deep insight into the history and religious beliefs of the people of Meghalaya .A Sacred Grove is a rich patch of undisturbed forests that serve as a natural habitat for many endemic, rare and valuable plants. I had never heard of Sacred Groves until few years back . Located about 25 km from Shillong after an hour of beautiful drive one can easily reach Sacred Grove of Mawphlang , one of the most famous grove that attracts botanists and naturalists from all over the world.This grove has also been named as Nature's Own Museum as it has a varied form of plants,flowering trees ,orchids and butterflies.Sacred groves serve as Gene Bank of the ecosystem in modern times .

This young boy named John at this ticket check point stopped us .The grove is open to visitors on all days from 9 am to 4.30 pm .After issuing the tickets John drew our attention to this sign board .Most of the forests of Meghalaya are owned by communities or individuals.

Khasis have very strict rules and regulations for those who enter the sacred groves and they have been following this for ages.They believe that their Sylvan deities live inside them so any harm procured to the plants or the animals would offend them.No one is allowed to enter SG without prior permission.Vehicles are not allowed after a certain point.Littering is strictly prohibited in and around them.Cutting,peeling ,chopping of any tree or plucking of flowers ,orchids is not allowed.One can not enter the SG without an authorized guide.Hunting ,trapping or killing of living creatures inside the grove is strictly prohibited.

We also saw another new sign board ready to be installed .It too had many important points to follow. John agreed to be our guide for the tour . He asked for Rs 150 /hour ,to which we readily agreed. .John knew few English words and fewer of Hindi .Pranab and Chandan had little knowledge of Khasi words.Together all of us made an interesting team.From the check point John boarded our car , after covering a distance of approx 100-150 mt he asked us to stop and park the car in the nearby grassland.

As we got down he firmly instructed us 'Chalo' ( meaning Walk -- his favorite word through out the tour).We could see SG from distance , the grove proudly stood in sharp contrast to their surrounding grasslands .These groves have an outer edge of a densely grown Castanopsis kurzii trees, which forms a protective hedge which stops the intrusion of Khasi pine which otherwise dominates all areas outside the sacred groves.The contrast is clearly visible in the picture above.

We noticed several ancient monoliths ( Mawbynna in local language) erected in the memory of the departed respected community members.

After ten minutes walk we reached near the entrance of the grove which would have been difficult to guess or locate without John's guidance.

As we entered the grove it felt like stepping into another world .Words fail to express that feeling ,it was magical. The tall trees cover the area like an umbrella .There was a considerable difference in light ,it was dimmer. The forest really looked untouched .It strongly reminded me of the Florida Disney world Dinosaur ride.There was one strange thing though ,we heard no bird chirping .

As we looked around in complete amazement John's CHALO startled us .Where are you taking us i asked him in broken Hindi "Kidhar zata ?" To which he replied Bhagbaan ( we assumed that he meant 'Bhagwaan' the Hindi word for God ).I once again asked him "kitna dur "( how far it is ) to which he replied "dus minute"(ten minutes).Later we realized that everything was just 10 minutes away according to John.He knew the path by heart .He stressed that we do not loose each others sight .

The trunks ,branches of the tree and shrubs were loaded with many ferns ,orchids ,lichens and mosses

.The green Foliage of the Sacred Grove changes from deep green to light green, depending on the seasons and availability of rainfall.John told us the best time to come here is spring when the forest is covered with blooms.

John pointed at this plant telling us that the snakes come here to eat this fruit . I was not very sure if the information was true .Chandan asked him what would happen if one tries to eat it .John pointed at a monolith nearby . His answer was loud and clear.

Many monoliths were scattered through out the forest .The vertical ones are for men, while the horizontal ones represent women.John described each monolith with words like father ,mother,son,daughter .( which meant male ,female ,male child ,female child).

We saw many beautiful orchids there .

Nobody collects anything from the forest, not even fallen branches of trees .The humus-covered grounds likewise harbour myriad varieties of plant life, many of which are found nowhere else.

John showed us this spot which we at first thought was again a cluster of monoliths.He said 'ye bhagabaan'( meaning here is the Gods/Diety). All three of us removed our shoes ,sat down on the ground in front of the dieties and paid our respect .

We spent about forty five minutes inside the SG exploring more .John wanted to show us something more .As i saw Chandan and John leave the SG ,it almost felt like i was looking at them through a secret forest window .Once again bright light hit the eyes and we were back to our usual world.

We had no other option other than to follow John's 'Chalo' .Only 'dus minute'(ten minutes).It took us more than twenty minutes to reach the spot he wanted to show us .We crossed this ground where local festivals are celebrated by the villagers.

We looked back at our car that was very far away .Soon we reached the highest point over a cliff from where this beautiful view awaited us.

The point offered a breathtaking view of villages nearby .We had many rounds of 'Dus Minute Chalo' afterwards . Saw many similar views over the area .

As we moved back to our car i once more captured Sacred Grove in my camera .

We thanked John for his company and dropped him at the check point .There are many sacred groves in Meghalaya hills.I hope they remain untouched and protected and not fall prey to urbanization.Sacred groves harbor great genetic diversity. Sacred groves act as "lungs" to the surrounding areas as well, providing much needed environmental cover.

A Day In Mawlynnong - The Cleanest Village Of Asia

2011-08-07T00:19:00.014+05:30

Contd from Part 1 Shillong to Mawlynnong
Part 2:Living Root Bridge Of Riwai
Part 3 :Sky View Mawlynnong
Mawlynnong of Meghalaya has won the acclaim of being the cleanest village of Asia in 2003 by Discover India Magazine and also the cleanest village of India in 2005.Cleanliness is almost like an inborn trait of the residents of this more than hundred years old village .All its residents can read and write .As you can see in picture - bamboo dustbins called Thapa in local language are placed in every nook and corner of the village.Every single piece of litter and fallen leaves /flowers are collected here which later are shifted to a pit to be used as manure by the villagers.The village has a very strong and strict council.Smoking is completely banned here.

The main occupation of the villagers is agriculture and also selling of broom sticks. They mostly grow areca nut. About 82 to 85 families live in Mawlynnong.

Lush greenery all around ,beautiful flowers makes this village a picture perfect place.Like i said in my previous post ,it was like visiting a well maintained Botanical Garden.The council has imposed a fine for anybody found guilty of throwing litter or cutting tress unnecessarily .Each and every house goes through a strict inspection at regular intervals for their sanitation facilities by the village council.I loved walking on these narrow pathways surrounded both side by trees and flowering plants.

The cute looking bell at local school.

There was this board mentioning that the village is adopted by this particular bank.As a response to many queries regarding travel information i am providing here few link .1: Ri Kynjai -Serenity by the lake : it is one of the best resort of the state praised by many for it's beauty and good services.You can check their rates and eco -tourism based packages 2 :The official tourism website of Meghalaya 3:Hotel Polo Towers : a four star hotel that also offers great eco-tourism based packages I am sure that there are more such options available. I also highly recommend this article written by internationally renowned photographer Timothy Allen , here is the link Timothy Allen : Living Root Bridges .Henry (i will tell about Henry later in my post) suggested me this link.

The local church which is under some repair work at present .

We entered into the church campus and looked around.

Saw some women most probably local volunteers chatting after performing their regular sweeping and cleaning job .Through out our visit we never heard any loud voices.Residents were very polite and soft spoken.

Beautiful little cottages - some had installed modern amenities like dish tv antenna .

We tried our best but failed to find any litter anywhere.The place was impeccably clean.My blogger friend Irfan had been to Mawlynnong few weeks back .I thank him for sharing with us his views on that trip here .This is what Irfan expressed -"Honestly speaking before reaching Shillong I didn’t had any idea about Mawlynnong. All I knew in Meghalaya was Cherrapunji as the wettest place of world and some near by tourists places. It was only after reaching Shillong that I came to know about Mawlynnong, “the cleanest village of India”. And the adjective “cleanest village” made me curious to know little more about the place.Because when we think of village, there comes an image of being muddy, dusty and unkempt struck by poor hygiene. Therefore something like cleanest village, that too in such a remote area of India was simply unimaginable to imagine.

The trip to Mawlynnong was just like any trip with in Meghalaya – SPECTACULAR! Breath taking beauty around every turn and in between one can enjoy the views of rock formations, streams, water falls, river beds and the best of all – Lazy village scenes.Once we reached Mawlynnong, I was immediately awe struck by its cleanliness and aesthetic beauty. On first view it was like a fairy tale place that too in India. The view from the 80 ft high bamboo platform is something which has been captured on my mind’s eye. Though it’s not that easy to goat the top and come down but once you reach at the top then it’s a breath taking moment for any body. Imagine yourself swinging with the wind at a height of about 80 ft from the ground. Believe me it’s a life time experience".

lWe also saw many pineapple plants .The area smelt of pineapple and jack fruit.

To sweep the roads ,clean the drains and water the plants the village council have specially appointed hired help but the free volunteers i.e.residents of the village take turns to sweep the road .We saw this little girl cleaning the playground behind the church.This was such a contrast to the behavior of some of our city kids who in spite of going to expensive schools throw chocolate ,candy ,chips wrapper just anywhere.

Here we met Henry the best guide and the most helping person around the village.He greeted us with a great smile and asked where have we come from.After knowing that we were there for few hrs he suggested us to come in the month of September for trekking experience.If you ever plan to come here and want to know more about local site seeing ,trekking and also about accommodation ,you can contact him here at this number -09615043027 ( *speaks English/Khasi ). For accommodation you need to call him at least ten -fifteen days before you plan to visit the place.He has helped me many times with information while writing this series.In fact last week he was the one who suggested me to look for Timothy Allen's article .I can't thank him enough for that.Timothy Allen too has mentioned him very fondly in his article .

I loved this cutting tool which was unusual in shape hence took the picture.

He took us inside his kitchen and showed this barrel like bamboo made thing that they use to dry their washed clothes when there is no Sun in rainy days.

The heat from the kitchen wood fire helps the drying process he explained.I have seen something very similar in Arunachal Pradesh where people keep their meat mostly goat and beef over the kitchen fire to give smoky flavor .

A tea addict that i am i was delighted to see this board.

The board lead us to this tiny cottage .The villagers also rain harvest .We saw few water reservoirs like this there.

Because they were hungry Chandan ordered lunch for three of them .It was Monday ,my fast day so i just ordered some tea.The cook asked us to wait for twenty minutes as everything was freshly prepared there.

With their permission i peeped inside the kitchen and was happy to see a clean and nicely arranged working area.

I still think about the tea that i had that day there - it was perfect .While three of the men waited for lunch i was busy looking around .It was then that i saw Brian standing nearby the guest house.We greeted as we saw each other .He asked me where have we come from and thus the conversation started.I came to know that he was living in Mawlynnong for the past one month .He had arranged a photo contest for the villagers where they can use his camera for clicks and the prize was a basic digital camera.Soon Chandan too joined us in conversation.

After talking for sometime came to know that we had one thing in common -- both of us were bloggers.Let me tell you more about Brian .He is a fresh off finishing a Masters from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. After two years in Washington, DC,as he says in his words " i am shaking the ants out of my pants with a trip to northeast India and southeast Asia".Recently his write up on Bhramaputra Dam was published in our local daily Assam Tribune (4th June 2011).You can read more about his Indian and other travel experiences in his interesting blog(do check it) which has an equally interesting name Jalebi Yatra.Why he named it so .....

To which he replies -"Literally, ‘sweet journey’. Yatra means journey, often to a religious pilgrimage site. Journeys have paths and, if my past paths indicate future ones, then the circular, overlapping shapes of the Indian sweet jalebi is a good representation of my likely path on this journey. I also love to eat jalebi and expect to have many along the way".After exchanging contact details we said bye to each other and shook hands twice one as farewell and another for our common love towards North East .Right now he is in Thailand , got a mail from him this morning where he told me to feel free to use his pictures on my blog .Thanks Brian.

The lunch was ready - it had chicken curry ,a mixed vegetable preparation , a tomato based chutney with lots of fresh coriander and some rice and dal .The food was simple but cooked and served very neatly.We paid a total sum of Rs 270 for the tea and lunch.Very reasonable.Now we wanted to see Machaan the tree house we had heard so much about .

This lovely lady from a nearby house smilingly offered her help by sending her cute little daughter to guide us to the Machan.

Here emerged sweet Theba ( she had a long name ,i shortened it) .

Awed by her manners and confidence we followed her .

She pointed at the board .Before she went back to her mom i gave her the biggest chocolate bar that i had with me and in a very sweet voice she thanked me .

From distance Machan looked like this .It is also a guest house with a bamboo double bed ,clean linens and a clean bathroom too.

This is the entrance

A connecting hanging bamboo bridge

I noticed these decorations at many houses in the village.

The dining hall ... the smiling care taker .

The tree house is suspended approxm 60 -80 ft in the air constructed and supported by bamboos .This is the extended balcony again connected by a hanging bridge to the machan.

We sat there for only few minute as the day was too hot and sweaty.

Mrs and Mr Saharia .

We moved back to the parking lot where noticed many cars .We rushed to see the natural balancing rock .

Balancing Rock (Maw Ryngkew Sharatia) was an ancient Khasi shrine that pre-dated the advent of Christianity in Meghalaya.

A beautiful natural phenomenon of a boulder balancing on another rock.

Another strange thing that i noticed was that some tree had this foamy appearance .Chandan,Pranab and Dulal all brought up in Shillong told me that they always kept away from such trees in their childhood as the elders told them that it was 'Jokhini's Thui' meaning Witches Spit .lol.

The day light was getting softer and it was time to head back to Shillong .Soon we left Mawlynnong

(a cavity or dent in the rock) with a wish in our heart to come back again for the trekking experience we missed this time.

Sky View : Mawlynnong

2011-07-28T12:35:00.006+05:30


A Welcome Message At Parking Place : Mawlynnong Contd from Part 1: Shillong To Mawlynnong Part 2: Living Root Bridge Of Riwai It was almost two in the afternoon as we reached Mawlynnong .The first thing that catches your eyes is beautiful flowers and well maintained colorful plants everywhere.It is almost like stepping into a gorgeous botanical garden or a beautiful place from fairy tales.Mawlynnong is also called God's Own Garden.

Parking Place For Visitors

We were the first ones to visit the place that day .It was clean and empty .We parked our car and looked around .

This is Sumer a resident of the village busy cleaning the fallen leaves.

We saw this young boy collecting fallen leaves from the area .As he got up we greeted each other .His name was Sumer.

He took us to the verandah of this community hall .Here visitors can offer donations which is further used by the residents for the maintenance of the infrastructure of the village .To our surprise unlike other places they were not very eager to collect the donation.Instead he advised us to go straight away to the Sky View as the weather was most suitable at that time.Sky walk is a 85 feet Bamboo structure made by the locals, which offers a bird's eye view of the village and a panoramic view of Bangladesh plains.Post updated In response to Balachandran's comment : this structure is designed by a forty five years old school teacher named Rishop Khongthongreh .( thanks to Henry who is constantly helping me over the phone with the queries - i will introduce him to you in my next post).

Suddenly emerged this lovely Kong( a term in Khasi language to lovingly address a lady ) who was kind of expecting me to take her pictures .Which i did later.After few pictures she very politely asked us in English to follow her .

A Dent /Cavity On The Rock :Mawlynnong

The path was narrow and was made of flat stones.We noticed and photographed rocks like this ,the rocks had cavities or dents on them created by the rain water .Later we came to know that the word Mawlynnong comes from the Khasi term which means A Dent /Cavity On The Rock.

The shade and the gentle breeze offered by the surrounding trees was bliss.

Sky View : a bamboo and cane structure that offer a bird's view to the village and Indo Bangla Border

Kong pointed at the sky view and asked us to take a picture .She was well familiar with the best picture spots.Good for us

Ticket Stall

Before we started Kong advised me to leave back my scarf as she was scared that i might trip over it while climbing the bamboo bridge.

This is the entrance that lead us to the bamboo platform built on the highest branches of the area.

The smart design and craftsmanship was outstanding .Though the structure looked rickety it was very strong and safe to walk.

Bamboo canes are tied together with the help of cane ropes to make a sky pathway.Not even a single iron nail is used her .Very eco- friendly.

All of us were busy taking pictures and videos.

The initial climb was little steep that required holding the sides of the bridge with both the hands.

Branches touching our cheeks while crossing one tree from another was a never to forget experience.

Another view as i looked back to see how high we climbed.

Never stopped gushing at the amazing skills of the locals. .

After Chandan ,Dulal was next to reach the highest platform .

Pranab was right behind me .

Not admitting but he was panting for breath and so were we.

The first view from the top .This is the plains of Bangladesh .It was the highest point of the forest.

me and Dulal

After few pictures i told Chandan that i was feeling little dizzy .Very firmly i was holding the bamboo wall.To my surprise all three of them said that they too were feeling the same .Later we realized that it was not us but the platform that we were standing on was swaying with the wind . Scary ...nah !!

We started counting and found that the whole structure was standing on the branches of five to six trees.

The extra retention

Looking down we saw nothing but the surrounding tree tops.

Time to go back .

The way back was much trickier than climbing up .

A view of the platform from next level.

The walk was completed.

Now we walked towards the village through this beautiful king's way. I knew i was about to see the most cleanest village of Asia and meet lovely residents of the same but not in my imagination expected to meet a Blogger and that to from USA who has been living in the village from last one month.Contd

A Message : i have been receiving lot of queries through mails and also few phone calls for more travel information on Mawlynnong .Please give me some time ,i will try to dedicate a section on the same on my next blog post . At the same time would like to make it clear that i don't own a traveling agency nor do i am directly or indirectly linked to any that i might mention in my post.

Jingkieng Jri : Living Root Bridge Of Riwai

2011-07-19T18:27:00.004+05:30

Thatched cottages in Riwai Village

Contd from the first part : . It took us a little more than three hours to reach Riwai Viilage which is just two km before Mawlynnong .The outside temperature at 31C was pretty hot for Meghalaya .Sun was sharp .Pranab did a good thing to bring a Sun Cap .We parked our car near first way to the living root bridge (another was just few mt away) .We had heard so much about the living root bridges of Meghalaya and finally we were about to see one . There was this small sign board which pointed at the narrow pathway to the bridge.

To quench the thirst visitors can buy fresh and very juicy Pineapples if they want .The local sellers peel ,cut and beautifully serve it on a stainless steel plate with some red chilli flakes and salt . Pineapple is one of the major fruit crops of Meghalaya.The area smelt of ripen Jackfruits which we saw in abundance here.

Villagers occupied with their daily work hardly noticed the visitors until called . They were polite,friendly and readily agreed to let us photograph them.Broomstick has always been a fence crop here and most of the villagers are engaged in the business of making and selling brooms. A biodiversity paradise that Meghalaya is ,it is home to a large number of medicinal plants .

ticket stand

This is the place where we bought entrance tickets .A village teen issued us the ticket .The fee was 10 Rs /head .The spot is managed by village authorities and thankfully there is no govt interference here.

stone pathway

We followed a stone pathway .These kind of path are known as King's Way . Khasi villages are inter connected through these.At some places we saw the old stone path was replaced by new stones. We met some visitors who after seeing the steps gave away the idea of going to the bridge . How sad ,they had no idea what they missed .

The beauty of the path and it's surrounding took my breath away .I kept on looking back and around .Walking this path barefoot i felt so alive .After walking for ten to fifteen minutes we heard the sound of river water splashed against rocks.We were about to reach this fantasy land .It was like a place from the movies Harry Potter / Lord Of The Rings.

living root bridge Riwai : view as you approach

First glimpse of the bridge almost stopped my heart beats .I was looking at one of the most extraordinary piece of art and engineering work done by human and nature as a team.As an old tradition Khasi's have been growing / creating living root bridges to cross the rivers.Most of these bridges are fully functional and are being used till date.Khasis used/use Rubber Plants (Ficus Elastica) for it as the tree grows many secondary roots.Some of these bridges are over hundreds year old.

Thanks to Pranab for this picture : stone path on the bridge

The process is long and takes great deal of care and patience .Rubber trees on the banks of the river are selected. A root guidance system is used by hollowing out a Kwai/Tamul (Bettel Nut) Tree trunk .This hollow helps in containing and guiding the young and soft roots of the rubber tree from spreading out till they reach straightway to the other side of the river.They are further allowed to take roots in the soil .As the time passes by they become strong .Later stones are added to the gaps in between to create a path .The whole process takes ten to fifteen years the bridge to be fully functional.Some of these can bear the weight of up to fifty people at the same time.

a view from the back

The roots are naturally self-renewing and self-strengthening as the component roots grow thicker.As a rule if any villager notices a new root they carefully arrange it accordingly.

stone and root path over the bridge : thanks to Pranab

There are many such bridges in the state .One of the most amazing and hugest is in Umshiang's Double Decker Root Bridge.

A top view : image courtesy Pranab

We almost forgot about Mawlynnong. Took lots of pictures .There were not more than six to ten visitors there.But we did notice many villagers passing through .Even the concrete bridges shake a little when the vehicles or people pass over it but not this one .

Look at the roots : nature's brilliant art work.Even after so many days i still have a dekho at my album at least twice.

This is how the bridge looks from the front .A better view could have been captured from the river down .But we skipped it as we had already spent a lot of time there.

Some parts of the bridge looked like beautifully designed picture frame - each one of us took the opportunity to pose .

As i mentioned earlier village rules prevail here ..... read the warning .

How we wished that we had more time in hand .We moved back to where we had parked our car .The way back was little tiring as we had to climb many steps .Took some rest in between.

We had some company too.

Now we moved towards Mawlynnong : a km or two and we reached there ....
To Be Contd

Shillong To Mawlynnong

2011-07-16T19:07:00.006+05:30

Upper Shillong

Mawlynnong was on top of our travel list for last couple of years . Had to hold our plans earlier for various reasons .Finally came the day when the time was right as everything was perfectly placed. We were on a five day trip to Shillong.My mother -in-law and dear Suniti ( our housekeeper Dulal's wife) offered to look after my kids for the day so that Chandan and i could visit the place. Pranab ,Chandan's childhood friend and Dulal accompanied us to this unforgettable journey. Mawlynnong is an over hundred years old village situated in the pristine East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya ,India. In the year 2003 it earned the distinction of being the 'Cleanest Village Of Asia ' declared by Discover India Magazine .Though this beautiful and little village attracts visitors from all over the world throughout the year i would still prefer to call it under explored . A large part of North East India still remains undiscovered and there are very few travel guides to help the visitors coming to these parts .I will be posting my travel experiences through my pictures as a

Beautiful paddy fields in outskirts of Shillong

series. In my view Meghalaya is one of the most beautiful , peaceful and safest place in India. No inner line permit is required to travel here. The nearest airport and railway station is approx. 128 km away in Guwahati . The state capital Shillong is well connected to rest of India through regular buses/taxis from Guwahati(Assam) .Mawlynnong is situated about 90 km from Shillong. Except for Sundays ,rest of the days it is well connected from Shillong through private taxis/sumos (at Khasi Hill Sumo stand Bara Bazaar). It takes about two and half hrs to reach there . We had our own vehicle and it took us about three hours to reach there as we stopped at many places throughout our journey.The drive was extremely picturesque.

Meghalaya has many rivers. Most of these are rain fed and are therefore seasonal

We started our journey at 8.30 am .Being the most wettest place on earth Meghalaya is known for its unpredictable weather .Raincoats or umbrellas are must.We carried along drinking water ,some fresh local fruits and a good stock of snacks like biscuits ,sweets ,dry nuts and chocolates .The scenic drive from Shillong to Mawlynnong offers a spectacular view of changing landscapes .

The road diversion : right goes to Cherapunji and the left to Mawlynnong

Starting early was a good move as we had enough time in our hands to stop at every beautiful view. The cloud covered mountains below prove that it indeed is The Abode Of Clouds , the literal meaning of the word Meghalaya .

cloud covered mountains

We were lucky to have a clear view of beautiful surroundings as in monsoons most of the times it is obscured by thick clouds.

Beautiful waterfall cascading down hill slop

The state possess numerous waterfalls with mesmerizing surroundings .The heavy rainfalls have created many natural rock formation and waterfalls ..Meghalaya has some of the thickest surviving forests in the country and therefore constitutes one of the most important ecotourism circuits in the country today.

A small but beautiful church

We came across numerous churches on our way .I clicked this picture from moving car.The state has a Christian majority with 70% of the population practising Christianity .One of the unique features of the State is that a majority of the tribal population in Meghalaya follows a matrelineal system where lineage and inheritance are traced through women.

Rock textured hill

As i mentioned earlier the landscape abruptly kept on changing ,it was like nature's own slide show .

The Church At Wahlyngkhat

I had to share picture of this beautiful isolated church . We stopped here and spent good twenty minutes ,exploring the area around . I have a tip for those who love photography ( not on photography skills) ,please bring extra batteries as one is not enough.

The weather was getting warmer. We were about to reach Pynursula .

We halted here to buy more bottled water .It is a very small town and half way point of the journey.Those who travel by private taxi services get a fifteen to twenty minute tea break here.

Road to Pontung Villge

The road which leads to Pontung village also is the road towards Dawki .The road was under heavy construction .It was bumpy but not uncomfortable but same could not be said for private taxi/sumos who follow a faster speed.

After driving another 15 km we reached to this diversion .The way straight was towards Dawki and the right lead to Mawlynnong .Now the road ahead was very narrow . Both sides of the road were covered with ferns and thick shrubs.

Crossed this rusty old bridge over a small river .

Another breathtaking view .

The road had many diversions and with no sign board we took a wrong turn .We met these two good men who explained us the direction in fluent English.Throughout our journey whenever we asked for direction ,the response was in English.I almost forgot to mention that these gentlemen(don't go by their clothes) were here for fishing and they had the most advanced fishing equipments with them.

Finally we were about to touch the prettiest village we had heard so much about .

As planned we decided to see the Living Root Bridge of Riwai first.It was one of the most amazing thing that i had ever seen in my life

the one way distance between Shillong and Mawlynnong as per our car meter

To Be Contd. Click on the links below for next parts :

Sky View Mawlynnong

Living Root Bridge Of Riwai

A Day In Mawlynnong : The Cleanest Village Of Asia

Bordoisila

2011-07-07T11:55:00.005+05:30

had tried to capture the arrival of Bordoisila March 2009 from our terrace

It was a Saturday most probably in the month of March approximately thirty five years back.My dad was newly posted to this small town of Assam.The town had a tiny market comprising of not more than five to six shops.I still remember it had a small general store ,one tea shop ,a vegetable stall and another meat and poultry shop. It was a ritual to visit the nearby town Tejpur which was just forty kms away every Saturday for our weekly shopping.We were returning to our house after one such very initial trip.The weather was bit cloudy but pleasant .All of a sudden the sky turned almost black .A fierce and strong wind changed the whole weather in few secs.There were thunders and lightening in the area and we could hear and see the flashes of thunderbolt .Soon it was accompanied by heavy downpour .It was impossible to move further . My dad parked the jeep on the side of the road by positioning it in such a way that it faced into the wind.The jeep was shaking badly and all three of us (me ,my sis and brother) were pretty scared .My dad was cool though .He looked back at us and said ," don't worry ,it's Bordoisila ,she is visiting her mother's house .Everything will be fine in few minutes". Thousand questions cropped up on my mind ..who is she ?why is she so angry ? why is she doing this ? But at that moment
i was too scared to ask any question.Soon the weather calmed down and we reached home safely. Later that night mom narrated us the legend of Bordoisila. All this time i was waiting for the right pictures to write this post .I am posting it today even if the pictures are not right , will update the post later once i have them .

Bordoisila is a wild ,fierce wind which announces the arrival of spring season in Assam.It occurs in the month of March -April ,just before Rongali/Bohag Bihu one of the most famous festival of Assam.The wind carries dust,dry leaves,twigs and plastic wastes in case of cities/towns and anything that comes on its way.It is soon accompanied by huge mass of dark clouds and heavy rainfall .It softens the dry fields .Many times it leaves behind a trail of destruction.

The Legend Of Bordoisila :

Legend has it that just like a young, married woman would hurriedly, fly back to her mother destructing literally anything that comes her way; Bordoisila comes to Assam. The meaning of the word "Bordoisila" still draws a lot of controversy. People from upper Brahmaputra valley may define it as derived from Ahom word "Sila" means a kind of kite. "Bordoi", could be her name. Then down the valley they say "Bor-" means big, "-doi-" means water in Bodo language and "-sila" from 'Shikla' in Bodo which means girl.The Bodo word for Bordoisila is "Bardwisikhla" which breaks down to "Bar-" meaning wind, "-dwi-" means water and "-sikhla" means girl in Bodo language. It represents the mythological Goddess of Nature, and it marks the beginning of the festival month of Bwishagu (Spring season).

As a traditional belief in Assam people offer her a special comb to comb her hair and a wooden stool to sit her on.The comb is made of Bamboo and is called Kakoiphoni ,it was used for combing hair in ancient times by Assamese people .The stool is called Borpira .Some keep in their courtyard a bamboo strainer which is used for clearing dirt from the grains specially rice .It is called Salooni ( as the word Chalni in Hindi).Many throw rice in their courtyard ( sutaal) to calm her down.

Bordoisila returns from her mother’s home after the end of the month ‘Bohaag’ (April – May) which is the first month of the Assamese calendar , and the same is repeated again. This time instead of being angry she becomes emotional and burst out into tears. Blame it on Global warming or other climatic phenomenons ,it's frequency and occurrences has seen some drastic changes over the years .If i am not wrong Bordoisila never showed up in it's true spirit here in Guwahati this year
Updated : Thanks to Rupam Sarma for providing me the picture below

Sharmin Assam Foodie

2011-06-26T14:10:00.004+05:30

Sharmin

It's an honor to have Sharmin as my guest writer today.

Sharmin, is a freelance writer and stylist based in Dubai. Her work has appeared in several magazines, with a focus on health, beauty, travel and the culinary arts. She has published more than 200 features till date. Her passion for food from Assam, where she hails from has led her to create the Assamese Cuisine And Recipes fan page on Face Book, which currently boasts over 12500 members. She also enjoys travel and photography .

I first met Sharmin through my blog .Few mails later realized apart from our love for Assamese Cuisine we also shared a common 'Shillong Connection'. It was then that i came across her popular fan page on Face Book .On asking her that what inspired her to start this page her answer was - away from Assam ,and with no access to any Assamese cookbook ,I realized that there was no barely any resources on the web on Assamese food and with the modern kitchen in use, many traditional recipes were no longer used.The page was created to show case our wonderful cuisine to the world and to preserve some of out ethnic recipes for generations to come .I believe, food connects us to our culture, It reflects our history . It is is everything we are .Since than she has my greatest admiration for her work and for the person she is.Today she shares with us this wonderful
photo feature and recipes related to Bora Saul , an integral part of Assamese Cuisine. Thank you Sharmin .

BORA SAUL

johabora saul

Bora Saul, a variety of sticky rice found in Assam, plays such an important role in Assamese culture that it is not surprising to find many festivals and traditions revolve around this particular rice. Bora rice is believed to have been introduced to Assam by the Ahoms. During the Ahom reign in Assam, a sticky rice mortar was made by adding Egg and Black Lentils to mortar materials. The resulting material was used in Ranghar (meaning Amusement House), a double-storied pavilion located in Sibsagar, Assam and many other structures. The grains can still be found in its original form even after hundreds of years of its construction.

Types

There are over forty types of sticky or glutinous rice in Assam. They are classified into two groups, Bora and Chokuwa, based on their Amylose and Amylopectin content, starches responsible for their sticky quality. Birain is also another class of glutinous rice, popular in Barak valley of Assam. This group of rice is called glutinous in the sense of being glue-like or sticky and not in the sense of containing gluten. They range from Black, Red to White. Popular varieties of Bora are, Bogabora, Johabora, Rangabora, Kolabora and Rupahibora.

kola bora pitha

Uses :No Assamese festival is complete without snacks made from Bora Saul. The rice is ground to make rice flour.This flour is then made into snack items called Pitha , which are an integral part of the festival called Bihu .Snacks such as Hurum, a type of puffed rice ,Cheera a type of beaten flat rice and Mah Korai ,a combination of black lentils ,sticky rice grains,sesame seeds and nuts made fropm Bora Saul ,Sunga Saul ,anothetr Assamese favorite ,are all an inevitable part of Assamese festivals.

bora saul with jaggery and cream

Sticky Rice is also served as dessert, where cooked sticky rice is combined with sugar or jaggery and curd made from buffalo milk. In certain parts of Assam it is eaten for breakfast with sugar and curds or mustard oil and salt.

It is also used for preparation of indigenous rice beer. The thick, milky alcohol can be enjoyed with a meal or by itself. It is said to have medicinal and curative values. It is also offered to deities by certain tribes and is an essential part of their certain religious and cultural ceremonies.

Recipes

1 : Maah Korai

mah korai

Ingredients

1 cup White sticky rice (Bora saul)

½ cup whole black gram (Mati dail)

3 tbs white Sesame seed

1 tbs grated ginger

1/2 cup peanuts

1/4 cup chopped toasted coconut bits

Salt, to taste.

Dry roast the ingredients

separately,

other than the coconut.

Mix together in large bowl.

Season with salt and serve.

2 : Til Pitha

til pitha

Ingredients

500g Sticky rice (bora saul)

200g jaggery, grated

200g Black sesame seed.

Soak the rice for few hours

until soft .

Drain the excess water and

grind the

rice to a fine powder.

Sieve, cover with a damp

cloth and

keep aside

Toast the sesame seeds and

crush them

while still warm.

Mix the sesame seed with

the grated

jaggery.

Heat an unseasoned griddle

(tawa)

Take a handful of rice power

and

spread it in sweeping motion

to form a

disc of roughly 4"diameter.

Sprinkle sesame and jaggery mixture in

the center. Roll into cylindrical shape.Move it to the side of griddle.Remove when crisp.Serve with tea.Black sticky rice (kola bora saul) can be used to make the above recipe, although not common.

For more recipes from her you can check here too ... Easy Eats .

UPDATE :Because many readers wanted to know if Bora Saul is similar to Thailand Sticky Rice ,Sharmin sent me this picture where the similarity is quite evident .I am adding same picture to the post .

Bless You My Darling - To Mamta With Love

2011-06-20T18:21:00.004+05:30

Bless you, my darling, and remember you are always in the heart - oh tucked so close there is no chance of escape - of your sister. ~Katherine Mansfield

A sculpture from Goa with real gold paint .

It all started with an album uploaded on facebook by my dear sister Mamta .The album displayed few of her conservation work .It was flooded with comments in no time .Partha S Mukherjee who is an active member of International Council Of Museum ICOM commented : Good job! I hope you have kept a detailed documentation of all the restoration work you have done so far.The comment caught my eyes as it echoed my
thoughts.As I am always fascinated by her and her work ,I called her up later requesting her to think about it seriously .She took the call and now for the last ten days both of us are working together online on this.Initially i got myself involved just to support her but as the time passed the beauty of it got me totally interested in her work .Now i am totally hooked . The documentation will take months to complete.In this post i am sharing with you few things about Mamta and glimpses of her work as an art conservator.

paintings by Raja Ravi Verma:before and after restoration

Mamta completed her masters in Conservation and Restoration of work of art from Delhi's National Museum Institute of History of Art ,Conservation and Museology after doing her Bachelor Of Fine Arts in Sculptures from Fine Arts & Craft College Lucknow .Later she did her internship on sculpture art at National Museum Liverpool ,London.She is married and has got two kids .Right now she is working as visiting faculty and organizing seminars ,preparing policies and database and keywords under the HOD conservation.She is also associated with Jamia Milia Islamia University and Conservation Lab National Museum Institute Delhi.She is a freelance sculpture artist and art conservator.

A Damaged Tanjore Painting On Wooden Base Done With Gold Leaf And Original Stones

This profession is devoted to the preservation of cultural heritage for the future.It includes examination,documentation,treatment and preventive care.All this work is supported by research and education.The goal is to keep the property in its original condition as possible for as long as possible.The antiques she works on are mostly owned by Royal Families and other Art Collectors.

The Same Painting After

Working on these kind of antiques and original work is a huge responsibility as most of the art work is generally appreciated in value and are collectibles.

This Is The Original Vintage Film Poster Of The Classic Hindi Movie Guide

This is one of her most favorite work (up)

Above : Wedding Doli /Palanquin Of Celebrity Ritu Nanda (Raj Kapoor's daughter)

Above : An Oil Painting By Famous Painter Raja Ravi Verma ( 1848 -1906)

Raja Ravi Verma was an Indian painter from princely state of Travancore Kerela. He is considered among the greatest painter in the history of Indian Art.His paintings fetch amazing prizes in the art market .

Above :The same painting after restoration

Above :Silk Cloth Painting :Before

Above :After

Above : This broken glass painting is owned by Nafisa Ali .It was restored successfully .This kind of work needs lots of patience and hard work.

Before Restoration:Thanka Painting

After Restoration

This Picture Needs Some Real Good Restoration .Here is Mamta and our former President Abu Kalam Azad shaking hands .She had done a project on conservation of dome painting at President's house ,Ashoka Hall ,New Delhi.

At Liverpool :her topic was laser cleaning of stone sculptures .She is the first Indian who learned it from Father Of Laser Cleaning ,John Larson.

Mamta i am proud to have you as my sister.May God bless you with all his love , luck and care.

I hope you love this surprise post.

River Dolphins Of Kulsi In Assam

2011-06-06T02:25:00.013+05:30

This post is also published in 1. ektitli.org
2. Clay clubmahindra blog

River Kulsi

Happy World Environment Day

This year we planned to celebrate the Environment Day by visiting Kukurmara a very small township at 40 kms west of Guwahati .This place attracts a lot of visitors because the river Kulsi here(one of the tributaries of river Bhramaputra) has the presence of approx 30 odd fresh river Dolphins.Around the world only four species of fresh water Dolphins are found ,one of them being in India River Dolphin -Platanista Gagentica Gagenticahave the status of National as well as state aquatic animal of Assam.It is called Xihu (pronounced Khi-hu) in local language.In the year 1996 the IUCN(International Union For Conservation Of Nature)
gave them the status of 'Endangered Species'.

We reached Kukurmara town in about 90 minutes.The picture above shows the way which deviates from the highway and leads toward the peaceful and an isolated spot where the Dolphins are mostly seen.Sand mining ,poaching ,fishing and the scarcity of food are the constant threat to their numbers.The oil extracted from Xihu is believed to cure Rheumatism .

The road ahead was very narrow .Most of the people living in this area are very poor .As we parked our car in an open field we saw two men standing there.We asked them about the spot ,without any question this man(the picture below)named Moni Kalita became our voluntary guide.

We followed him

and walked some more as the site was nearly half kilometers away .On way i asked him if they killed Xihu for eating ,he replied that it is considered bad luck if someone kills this creature.'Xihus and we live like good neighbors', he said.

He took us to the best spot and within few seconds after we reached we saw our first River Dolphin.After that there was no stopping ,it was amazing.The hardest part was to capture them in camera as they are pretty fast ,they just disappear in seconds.Moni told us that visitors from around the world come here carrying huge cameras and choose this very spot .

Me and my poor tiny camera. I managed to click pictures like this .It is not full and clear but i am sharing it anyway.

There were some very curious and interested audience - Gauri (daughter),Kaustubh(son) and this girl named Geeta .I could tell that they were having a great time.They asked many questions like what these fish eat and why they jump over the water .Moni explained that these Dolphins jump up to get some air and they eat small fish .

We saw them in couples - these two Dolphins were very big in size .(bad picture ,sorry).

I managed just one shot where the mouth of the fish is visible .I have zoomed it ,look at the picture below.

For a great picture click here .

Unlike us most of the visitors coming here hire a boat to see the Dolphins.We saw one such boat coming towards the spot.

The boat stopped nearby .The group tried to take the pictures but gave up later realizing that it was almost impossible to do so.

This boat man shouted when he saw the camera in my hands "Baido ,mur chobi lobi ,magazineot dibi de,mur bor mon zaye "(meaning ...hey sister ,click my picture and give it to some magazine ).I promised that i will try my best.

We sat there for almost two and half hours .We sure felt that we saw more than 30 Xihus(may be there number increased) .By that time the group got very friendly with each other.I am glad that we met them as they were so helpful and friendly .Later they refused any tips too.After shaking hands ,few hugs and saying thanks to them we moved back to our car.

On our way back we saw these cows.One of the boatman left his boat unattended so these cows took the chance until

the man returned and chased them .

We walked back to our car.Had some light refreshment we had brought along.

On our way back we saw this very disturbing sight of 'Sand Mining '-one of the main reason threatening these beautiful creatures.To ensure their survival there is a need to take strong protective measures.

A Wedding Card

2011-05-28T12:59:00.006+05:30

Received this 'Biya -Chithi '(wedding card) two days back .Chandra Master's son is getting married .Chandra master(he is a teacher) is one of the many 'village cousins' of my husband.Though my husband's family lived in Shillong for three generations ,they originally hail from this tiny village named Namkhola in Assam. Every third person of this village is a Saharia and most of us are related to each other in one way or another.

The card is printed in Assamese script and is very simple as per the choice and budget of the family .Like any other Hindu wedding card the invitation provides the names of the bride's and groom's parents and their respective places of residence.It is a common practice in villages to mention the name of every possible close relative in the card along with the name of the host.This card mentions nineteen names altogether .Most of them are brothers,sisters,aunts,uncles ,brother-in-laws,sister-in-laws and even nephew and niece of the groom.We try our best to attend any

such marriage but are going to skip this one as the kids school are open.My kids are disappointed as they always look forward to go to Namkhola. .

To make up to this I spent most of my evening along with my kids looking at the old pictures of our previous trips to the village.We stopped at each picture , talked about it.They asked me questions and also expressed their own views on them.It was almost like we made a pleasant virtual trip to the village.I am going to share few pictures here in this post.Namkhola(Mangaldoi Distt.) is almost two hours away from our city Guwahati .As we approach national highway we see these beautiful trees on both sides of the road.The tree with red blooms is called Krisnachura while the one with yellow is Sonaru.

Assam is known for its natural scenic beauty.

We always cross this Buddhist monastery on our way .The monastery is situated on top of a hillock ,the main building is not clearly visible from the road down but we do see this huge Buddha statue through this Bamboo groove.

As fish is one of the most integral part of an Assamese meal ,we often come across this sight of women catching fish for the meal.

During winters we get to see a large population of migratory birds visiting this part of the world . Bird flu scare never effects the enthusiasm of the bird watchers here.

This bird is called Hargilla (means the one who swallows bone) or Bortukula .These birds are rarely seen now a days .I don't remember seeing one in my last two three visits.

This is a Martyrs Memorial situated at Patharighat : it was a benchmark in the history of Indian Freedom Struggle.On 28 Jan. 1894 ,as a retaliation against the exploitative increase of land revenue there was a farmers' agitation at Patharighat. Unarmed but resolute they fought the British Military might .In a desperate attempt to curb the agitation British Authority massacred people,140 people achieved martyrdom and 150 were injured.The martyrs irrespective of their cast and creed were buried in a mass grave here.

No matter how many bus ,car ,taxi services are available ,we always see these overcrowded vehicles.

This is a very famous temple of our area .It is named as Khotora Mandir .The temple is always full of devotees who visit from nearby villages.And once we cross the temple we know that we are just fifteen minutes away from our destination.We have a RCC house there but the majority of villagers still live in huts like the one below.Will show you around our village some other time.

Have a happy weekend .

Discussing Bhut Jolokia With Jay Cheshes

2011-05-17T01:41:00.010+05:30

Bhut Jolokia (King Chilly)

I completed two years of blogging on 21st April (last month).Blogging has been a wonderful experience.I met wonderful people through it.I just never thought that i would have so many friends across the world .I take this oppurtunity to thank all my blogger friends for their constant support and encouragement.The time i was away from blogger i discovered a whole new world of non-bloggers who are interested in what my room tells about North East India.Jay Cheshes is one such person.This post is not about me ,Jay or Indian hospitality ,it is like one of my closest friend said " is the glimpse to the bigger things great blogging can lead to ,a good example of what social networking is all about.'
Few weeks back i received a mail from him which said "I found your post online about Bhut Jolokia (written in 2009). I am an
American journalist working on a story about the peppers. I will be traveling to Guwahati on May 16th to report my piece and am looking for local contacts who might have knowledge of the area and the peppers. I thought I would touch base. Might you be available to meet with me while I'm in town?'' Jay Cheshes is an investigative reporter and food and travel writer based in New York.His work has appeared in Fortune,W,Radar ,New York Magazine and the New York Times amongst other publications.He also writes a weekely column on New York restaurants for Time Out New York.Right now he is here on a week long tour where he will travel to different parts of Assam exploring more on the subject. After few mails we decided to have lunch together at my place this afternoon.

(Jay reading more about Assamese Traditional Cooking )

Yesterday my husband bought few Bhut Jolokias from our local vegetable market .He also bought few other varities of chillies so that Jay can have a look .After exchanging few words as we met Jay expressed his desire to have a look at Bhut Jolokia as he had never seen it in real before.He asked if we have used it in any of the dishes we cooked for lunch.Before coming to Guwahati he travelled to Jaipur ,Agra and Delhi and had caught a stomach infection . I was aware of that so purposely avoided preparing a spicy meal.I asked him if he wants to taste it may be a chutney can be prepared, to which he agreed gladly .We talked a lot about Jolokias and also many other topics related to Assamese Cuisine.He read some of my old posts related to the topic.I showed him my post on how Khar (organic soda) is made in most of Assamese household .After learning about its beneficial properties he wanted to taste it .Ma made an additional special Assamese Rice- Dish known as Khar Bhaat .

Jay wanted to learn more about the use of BJ in local cuisine .I mentioned the name of renowned Chef Atul Lahkar .Jay wanted to know more about him so I showed him this article A Moment With Chef Atul Lahkar published yesterday in Fried Eye .He asked if a meeting could be arranged with the chef .I called up Pramathesh Borkotoky who is editor-in- chief of Fried Eye . PB provided me chef's contact number .I talked to the chef and told him about Jay's purpose to visit Assam.It was very sweet of Chef Atul Lahkar to invite Jay for dinner to his restaurant 'King Chilly' .

Finally it was time for lunch .It was a traditional Assamese meal(my mother-in-law had cooked it) containing fish,chicken,green vegetables ,aromatic Joha rice ,daal and chutneys.He noted down the names and ingredients of each and every dish ,took lots of pictures and notes. Jay loved the food specially vegetables and Khaar Bhaat .After lunch Chandan gave him a guided tour to our kitchen garden where we showed him different kinds of herbs and green vegetables used in Assamese cuisine .The tour involved plucking ,smelling and tasting few of them . He tried Neem leaf which is very bitter in taste.Soon after we rushed to our living room where two plates full of assorted local sweets waited for us.Jay wanted to buy some local hand loom wear as a gift for his designer wife .I gave him few tips on the same .

After few minutes we said goodbye to each other as we had to rush to our work .As I write this Jay just finished having a delicious soup (we talked over the phone few minutes back).He was served pork made with dried bamboo shoot and bhut jolokia ,pork with lai saak (a green vegetable) and Chicken made with sesame seeds .Chef Atul had cooked this chicken dish for famous Chef Gordon Ramsey and Ramsey had loved it.
Jay will be leaving for Kaziranga tomorrow and than to other parts of Upper Assam which he mentioned as' Heart of Bhut Jolokia .I wish Jay all the best for his story.

A Fun Evening With Labu Senapati And His Bonsai Collection

2011-05-09T00:29:00.003+05:30

There are really three types of people :those who make things happen ,those who watch things happen and those who say "'What Happened " ?

Labu Da as we fondly call him has been a close family friend for many years .Our families share a common 'Shillong Background'.A former AIR( All India Radio ) announcer Labu Da is a man of many interests and talents .It is his love for the nature and environment that brings out an outstanding artist , designer ,craftsman,painter ,photographer in him. He designed pavilion for NEDFi which bagged special commendation prize in International Trade Fare . He is also an avid Bonsai collector .This living art form has interested him since his childhood days .Over past fifty years he has amassed a huge individual collection of over seven hundred Bonsai .All the plants in his collection are his own creations.

.We always meet each other in various functions ,festivals and social gatherings.On one such occasion he invited us to his house for a chit chat .Last Thursday we visited his house .His beautiful house looks like a mini Botanical Garden.His living room wall is adorned by this eye catching art work (the second picture ).He made it with the cross sections in different sizes of a dried tree branch .After a brief chat he took us to the terrace of this double floored building which stands just few metres away from his house .

This beautiful forty eight year Bonsai welcomes you as you step into the terrace . Labu Da explained us a lot about Bonsai -like how they are created ,developed and maintained .It was enlightening as well as amazing .Taking care of such huge collection without any help is not an easy task.

Here is another one of the oldest from his collection - if i remember right ,this too is nearly forty eight years old.His collection represents most styles of Bonsai .

This one with pretty pink flowers .

I thought of counting all of them but after few hundreds i gave up .

My son found a way to entertain himself while we talked .

Here are more and some more ...........................................

This particular style is known as Landscape Bonsai.After spending more than an hour we came back to his living room .Aunty (his wife ) arranged true Assamese style evening tea snacks for us .

Just before we sat for tea ,Labu Da showed us this beautiful calendar titled 'Dreamz -2011 " which he made by himself .It contained twelve pictures of faces of tea tribe youngsters of Assam working in various fields like agriculture ,medicine ,sports etc .He made only three copies of which two he gifted to his friends.

We talked a lot about different hand work .When my mother -in-law told him that she learnt American Quilting art during her four year long stay in USA , Labu Da brought out this attractive hand stitched stole -do i need to tell that he did it himself.

The dining table had this very innovative plant arrangement -- it had mint leaves ,curry leaves ,masundari leaves ----all these plants are frequently used in Assamese cuisine.

We had such a good time - one evening that i will never forget .

I A Bak

2011-04-28T11:45:00.004+05:30

Just to let you know that i a ba k to blogger--- ost of the keys of y laptop ha e stopped working -i proised a post this week to y dear friend Shilpa-so before y laptop opletely stops working here is this post -and also y dear hubby feels that i a better person(read less nagging ) when i blog- he desperately wants e to go bak to blogger- so he is buying e a new laptop for e in a day or two - till than njoy pi ture of this pretty flower fro our garden-

New Year Wishes - From Delhi

2011-01-04T21:39:00.002+05:30

(A Shot of Qutub Minar ,we visited few days back)

I Wish All My Friends A Very Happy New Year .I am on a break from blogger as i am spending my winter break at my parents' .Borrowed my brother's computer for few minutes to update my blog.

Will see you all in a week or so.Take care ,be happy :)

Bilahi Tenga :Assamese Cuisine

2010-11-18T18:17:00.002+05:30

This post was previously published in N-zine ( Food and Beverages issue ).

( In the pic:Fish and Tomato Tenga )

Assamese cuisine is characterized by very little use of spices but strong flavors mainly due to the use of endemic exotic herbs, fruits and vegetable.One of the most popular dish from Assam, the Tenga , is an indispensable part of a proper meal in Assam.Meal is served in courses here.A traditional meal in Assam begins with a Khar an alkali dish and ends with a Tenga, a sour dish. These two dishes characterize a traditional meal in Assam.Now let me tell you what does the term Tenga-Anja means :It is a sour dish, normally a curry made with various soring agents like Tomatoes , Lemon(kazi nemu ..a local variety), Thekera(Mangosteen), AouTenga(Elephant Apple). A tenga dish can have various versions .Many of these souring agents are not easily available outside Assam.Keeping this fact in mind and focusing on the easy availability of the ingredients I am going to share here two very simple recipes one a non veg i.e.with fish and another a veg version i.e.with Masoor Daal(red lentil) with Tomatoes being the basic souring agent.Tenga is making its presence felt internationally too,recently British Celebrity Chef included fish tenga among one of his hundred favorite recipes(though his recipe is nowhere near the original tenga ,that's another story).Check for the links on some interesting news related to tenga and assamese cuisine

1:Tenga gets a global twist.

2.Gordon's recipe

3.Aromas Of Assam( on news on 12.09.10).

Belahi-Macchor Tenga Anja:

ingredients: 5-6 tomatoes (preferably ripe)

: 5-6 pieces of rohu fish(any carp)

: pinch of mustard seeds/fenugreek seeds

:mustard oil :turmeric powder

:lemon juice 1-2 tbsp(optional,i use it only if the tomatoes are not sour enough)

:salt

Method : Cut tomatoes into small pieces like shown above.Apply turmeric powder and salt to the fish pieces and after keeping them aside for 5-10 mins . Light fry them . Heat very little mustard oil(you can use any refined oil too but it tastes better with mustard oil) on a pan . Add mustard seeds , as soon as they splutter add tomatoes .(If you choose to use fenugreek seeds ,remove the seeds as soon as they are done spluttering).Cover the pan and let the tomatoes soften upon a moderate heat. Once tomatoes soften add turmeric powder and salt to it-mix well and cook covered for another 2-3 mins..

Now add a cup and a half of hot boiling water to the tomatoes and let it simmer for 2-3 mins.Add fried fish to the mix and simmer it for another 5 mins.Your delicious Fish Tenga is ready.Many add chopped coriander and slit green chillies to it as garnish-i don't use it as my folks love it just like this.Serve it with plain boiled rice (please ,please don't eat it with fried rice of any kind).

Masoor-daal Boror Bilahi Tenga

Ingredients: Masoor daal (red lentil) 1 cup

:5-6 Tomatoes finely chopped

:mustard oil /refined oil for frying

:Turmeric powder

:lemon juice 1-2 tbsp (optional)

:saltMethod: Soak the daal in a bowl.Masoor daal needs very little soaking time (about an hour ), once you notice the splits in daal ,consider it ready for grinding.

You can grind it in a mixer/blender by adding little water at a time,if the paste has too much water ,boras will not turn out well.I use a stone grinder most of the time and occasionally a blender if i am in hurry.The reason for using a stone grinder is to keep the texture little coarse ,i feel that the boras taste better this way.

The preferable texture of the masoor daal mix is shown here in the picture.Now add 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder and salt to taste .Mix well.Heat oil in a pan -add the mix to the oil with the help of a spoon ,one at a time.Fry them upon moderate heat to avoid fast cooking as high heat results in a burnt exterior and an undercooked inside.

Fry them on both the sides until they turn light golden.Remove boras from the heat ,keep aside.Add some fresh oil(little) to the pan,once heated splutter mustard seeds on it.Throw in the finely chopped tomatoes to the it.Cook it covered till the tomatoes soften.Remove the cover and add turmeric powder and salt to the tomatoes.Mix it well .Add two cups of boiling water here (we need more water here because once we add boras,the water is sucked up by them),simmer it again for 2-3 mins.Now its time to add boras -do it gently.

After boras are added ,let it simmer uncovered for another 3-4 minutes .If you want you can add lemon juice to it after removing the pan from the heat.If you like garnish it with coriander leaves.Serve it with plain boiled/steamed rice.

Jayanta Bhattacharya :Creatively 'Art'rageous

2010-11-10T20:28:00.003+05:30

( In the picture -Coin And Building )

Jayanta Bhattacharya is a well known name in the field of art in Noth East of India.Being immediate neighbors Jayanta and I usually bump into each other .I mostly see him working on his canvas or taking an evening stroll .Whenever we meet we talk a lot about his ongoing exhibitions,future tours and his latest work . Time to time he invites me to have a look at his work.He even shares some of the finest books related to art . On one such meeting last week he invited me again .Next day as i was about to leave my house i saw the crew members of the most popular regional TV channel making their way to his house and i remembered that he had mentioned that he is going to be interviewd by famous art critic and writer Mousumi Kandali.I decided to wait for a day and visited him the next day . By his permission i am going to share with you some of his art work and the conversation we had that day.

(Black Goat - he is presently working on this painting)

Born in Tuichindrai ,a small tribal village of Tripura,Jayanta grew up in a lower middle class joint family.He grew up at a time (80s) when the state was passing through turbulent times due to the community clashes between the Tribals and Bengalis of Tripura.The continuous riots,curfew and violence had a profound affect on Jayanta who was then only a child.Later in 2002 he passed out from the Govt College of Art &Craft .During college he started writing for local newspapers ,published magazine like Muktodhara and also initiated workshops and street exhibitions.His restless mind made him travel the country like a vagabond.He visited Shantiniketan and many other places.Not having found what his mind knew not ,he spent time with in the interior tribal villages of Tripura ,isolating himself from the rest of the world.He kept no contact with anyone .He lived amongst them and was deeply affected by their lives and their art forms.In 2004 he came to Assam and took an art teaching job in a very prestigious educational institute of Guwahati .Seven months back he left his job so that he can devote more time to his only passion-painting !

(The Road -Black Pitch &Metal)

This is how Mousumi Kandali speaks about his work . Moushumi is a renowned writer,art-critic and translator.

'Abstracted thoughts.Innate lyricism.Minimalistic rendering with layered sparks of sensuousness and eroticism hidden beneath. And reflexive gestures about the socio-political implications of our space and time overwhelmed by violence, turmoil and hostile social systems. These are the underlying artistic currents and undercurrents I experience whenever I see the works of Jayanta Bhattacharya. For my curatorial exhibition of the North-Eastern artists for the Octave Festival organised by Rastriya Lalit Kala Akademy and Govt. of India ( Trivundum,2008) young turks Jayanta Bhattacharya and Mrinmoy Debbarma were my choice of artist alongwith the senior artist Dipika Saha from Tripura. I included Jayanta's "The Road ",an experimental sculpture-installation.This work ( Black Pitch & Metal) has captured the uncertainty and terror of our time very meaningfully with certain motifs like the manhole, impressions of bare feet and boots and strains of bullet marks'.....

(Untitled Painting)

In Jayanta's own words-- "There is nothing much to say about myself.Compared to the endless spectrum of ever changing human civilization,my quantum of experience is minuscule.By birth i have been naturally acquainted with certain words - certain sensations were within me ever since birth and now they are a part of me.I feel myself bound and tied down by the troubled and restless mental state created by today's world.

(Titled :Dragonflies over a smoked city)

Through these turbulent times ,i walk across the busy footpath,the over bridge above ,the railway track,shopping malls,playgrounds and parade grounds.I watch the setting sun through the small window of the city bus.As i walk along the road in the scorching sun ,my eyes fall on the cut pieces of watermelon ,sparkling a bright red.

(Titled :Mahishasurmardini)

Sometimes the sounds of shots ringing in the night air jolt me out of my dreams.I remember ....years ago ,i had gone with grandma to cast my vote for the first time.Some elderly people had thrust chocolates into my hand then.Grandma ,me and an endless road....

(Mural by Jayanta)

The road to dad's office would be strewn with the yellow flowers of the Golden shower trees.On that yellow road,i had ,at times walked with my dad.....dad ,the golden yellow flowers,the road and me .The rat-a-tat-a tat of bullets wake me up and through the haze i see a road ,shells of spent cartridges,boot marks and some dry leaves....rustling."

(Untitled )

Later he talked a lot about Tracey Amin ,he suggested me reading more about her .Further he told me about the works of Antony Gormley and Anish Kapoor .He gave me two books to read from his personal collection one is A World History Of Art and the other The Contemporary Art Book.He is into short movie making too .What i really like about him is that despite being so good in his work,he does not give himself any airs.I wish there was someone better than I to tell you his story.

Narayanan Krishnan ...CNN Heroes Awards

2010-10-28T07:25:00.008+05:30

Narayanan Krishnan
Image Courtesy...Google images

Received this mail few minutes back from my dearest friend Romita Laishram --- i found this story very inspiring so thought of sharing here

New Delhi: If you had not heard of Narayanan Krishnan, as I had not, it is a collective failure. This is one of the most incredible stories of personal commitment.

Narayanan Krishnan, all of 29 years old now, does what he was professionally trained to do as a chef. Feed people. Only Krishnan does not do this in the swanky confines of a 5-star hotel. Every day, he wakes up at 4 am, cooks a simple hot meal and then, along with his team, loads it in a van and travels about 200 km feeding the homeless in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

Krishnan feeds, often with his hands, almost 400 destitute people every day. And for those who need it, he provides a free haircut too.

According to CNN, eight years ago, this award-winning chef with a five-star hotel chain was all set to go to Switzerland for a high-profile posting. On a visit to a Madurai temple, he came across a homeless, old man eating his own human waste. That stark sight changed Krishnan's life.

Much to the dismay of his parents, CNN says, Krishnan abandoned his career plans and decided to spend his life and his professional training in looking after those who could not care for themselves. He has provided more than 1.2 million hot meals through his nonprofit organisation Akshaya Trust, and now hopes to extend this to shelter for the homeless too.
Krishnan is the only Indian in a list of 10 heroes that CNN has picked worldwide to honour. One of them will be chosen CNN Hero of the Year, selected by the public through an online poll. If many Indians get together to vote for this inspiring man, he can win by a long mile.
If Krishnan wins he will get $100,000 in addition to the $25,000 that he gets for being shortlisted for the Top 10. Akshaya Trust needs all the monetary support it can get to build on Krishnan's dream. Let's help him get there.

To see his story..

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/04/01/cnnheroes.krishnan.hunger/

Please vote and send to all friends and family .. This is truly a remarkable initiative ans we can help this do better by garnering more votes for him

Vote for Krishnan here. (http://heroes.cnn.com/vote.aspx)The poll continues through November 18 at 6 a.m. ET.

Theme Titanic And Lotus Temple - Durga Puja Guwahati 2010

2010-10-21T21:42:00.003+05:30

A Durga Puja Committee (Shantipur) in Guwahati paid a special tribute to the ocean liner Titanic on the hundredth anniversary of the sinking of the ship.It took nearly four months to make this pandal.Not only it let out the smoke but also hooted at times.The inside of the pandal was centrally air conditioned for the comfort of the devotees.
Have a look at Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet ) and Jack Dawson (Leonardo DeCaprio) .Heat and dust of Guwahati made them look and dress little(lot) different . Rose was dressed in a pink top and white knee length skirt while Jack chose a dark cotton full sleeves shirt and stone washed denim .
Have a closer look .They look little uncomfortable and surprised - thanks to the huge crowd of pandal hoppers .
A crew member .
Ship anchor .
Here is another pandal(Latasil area) themed as Bahai Lotus Temple of Delhi .This pandal had a mela (fair) like feel.
Kids enjoyed a ride on this manually operated merry go round .My six year old daughter had a tough time fitting into that small sized plastic cars but was happy anyway.
There were many stalls selling toys and snacks too.

Twenty Eight Handed Goddess Durga Of Bishnupur--Guwahati 2010

2010-10-14T17:35:00.000+05:30

In the North East part of India Sharadiya Navaratri is celebrated as Durga -Puja.The dates of Durga Puja celebrations are set according to the traditional Hindu Calendar in the month of Ashwin which is the beginning of the winters.It falls in the months of Sep -Oct.As Durga Puja represents celebration of the Goddess as Shakti ,all her nine different forms are worshiped during these nine days.With its religious significance this festival has turned into a huge socio cultural event here.People participate in this celebration irrespective of their religion,backgrounds and beliefs.Beautiful pandals are build in different areas of the city(pandals are temporary structure made with bamboo and cloth ,these pandals are used as temporary temple to worship the goddess).While some of the pandals are simple structures, others are often elaborate works of art with themes that are based on history, current affairs and sometimes pure imagination.Pujas are mainly financed by the local people and communities and as it is in trend many corporate houses too sponsor this event.

Right now my city Guwahati is celebrating puja like never before .There are elaborate puja pandals and glittering lights all around.To avoid the traffic jams and overcrowd me and my family chose to visit pandals in morning hours only .Today is Mahasaptami (7th day of navratri),we started our round by visiting this puja pandal which has made a 30ft high idol of Ma Durga.Bishnupur Durga Puja Committee is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee this year.Making of the idols started right here at the same spot since the month of May this year.A huge crowd is flocking the pandal to have a look at this amazing idol .... at least i have never seen such a huge and beautiful idol of Goddess Durga ever before.

In this pandal Goddess Durga is shown in Mayatara form.She has got 28 hands here.After killing and destroying all the demons and evil forces when Ma Durga was still very angry ,28 sadhakas (devotees) approached her for eternal calm ,peace and prosperity.Ma Durga then rose with 28 hands to fulfill the wishes of the sadhakas with 28 lotuses in her hand.We asked the volunteers there that how are they going to immerse the idol on the day of Dashami(tenth day of the festival)....they said that fire brigade will help them here by splashing water on the idols using several trucks at the same time.Very clever !The committee also displayed Navdurga i.e.nine forms of the Goddess Durga
.
Navadurga : nine forms of Goddess Durga

.Shailputri :she is the daughter of the mountain Himalaya

.Bhramhacharini : that who observes penance and good conduct.
.Chandraghanta :There is a half circular moon on the forehead of this form of Durga.
Kusumnanda :this form creates universe by mere laughing.She resides in solar system.
Katyayani :she took birth as the daughter of one rishi named Katyan who had observed penance with a desire to get Ma Durga as a daughter.

.Skandamata :After getting married to Lord Shiva ,the daughter of Himalaya had a son named Skanda-hence Skandamata.
Kaalratri: she is black like night.
Mahagauri and Siddhidhatri : Mahagauri is as fair as conch ,Moon or jasmine.There are eight siddhis :this form is worshiped by yogis and also devotees to attain best religious fruits.
There are more posts to come... i will try to post the pictures of a pandal whose theme is Titanic.

I WISH ALL MY FRIENDS A VERY HAPPY DURGA PUJA - i wish for you blessings of joy,prosperity and good fortune .

A Trip To Sualkuchi -- Manchester Of The East

2010-10-08T00:02:00.001+05:30

(In the picture :the entrance gate of Sualkuchi )

A week back we took a trip to Sualkuchi ,the silk village of Assam.It is one of the world's largest weaving village often called the Manchester Of The East. It is situated on the north banks of the river Brahmaputra and is approx. 35 kms from my city Guwahati.It is a thickly populated village.Weaving is the major occupation of the people of this village.In Assam weaving comes next only to agriculture in terms of employment generation.The purpose of my visit was to buy few Mekhela Sadors ( Assamese traditional attire for women) and also to show my kids what weaving is all about.We have a fly shuttle loom at our house ,it is my mom-in-law's.Presently it is disassembled as the weaving room is still under construction.

(In the picture-our regular shop from where we buy our stuff)

One can easily find a vast range of silk in Guwahati itself ,but buying from the shops in Sualkuchi is all together a different experience ,you can even order a saree /mekhela sador in colors and designs of your own choice.One more important thing is that the stuff is cheaper here than the other places.
(In the picture : display of shop-owner's favorite designs )

The golden muga,white paat and warm eri are three unique varieties of silks that Assam produces .The aesthetic and artistic sense of the weavers here is remarkable.On Jan 9 1946 ,Mahatma Gandhi visited this village.One artist presented him a piece of pat cloth where his face was woven-the weaving was so fine that his smiling face showed even his two broken front teeth .Mahatma Gandhi remarked that weavers could weave dreams in their cloth.Mr.A.P.J. Kalam is the first President of India to have visited this place on 17th Oct 2006.
(In the picture - Dipu the salesman showing me a 100% pure paat -muga mekhela sador)

I wanted to buy a 100% pure pat-muga mekhela sador .Dipu showed me this one -i really loved the design and the texture but wanted few color changes .I ordered them one as per my choice .This particular piece is expensive because of its purity of the silk yarn used.Unlike other silk it can be hand washed and has got a muted glaze.I was surprised to find a very high rise in prices this time.I was told that it is due to the price rise in the silk yarn at Bangalore (silk exchange) from where the mulberry silk is supplied to Sualkuchi.The tassar yarn comes from Bhagalpur (Bihar)and Chattisgarh (Jharkhand).
Here are few colored paat-silk sets.

My daughter was not happy with my color choice ,she wanted me to buy one of the pinks and dark blues.

(Here are few more mekhela-sador sets )

The lack of a government policy of supplying raw silk yarn to weavers here through a controlled market network has pushed the local weavers into the grip of both middlemen and the business men who control the entire raw silk yarn market.It is very sad that many loom less weavers are now loosing their job. Because of a sudden decrease in purchasing capacity,master weavers have decreased the numbers of loom they keep .

(One of the set that i bought that day.)

After good one and half hour we finished shopping.Later we requested the shop- owner to take us to their factory .Dipu ,the salesman wanted us to wait for one more hour as all the weavers were on their lunch break. He said that kids would enjoy the trip more if they see weavers in action .It was already too late so we decided not to wait for the weavers.We all followed Dipu-a narrow lane took us to the factory which was almost 100 mts away from the shop.

After 10-15 minutes walk we reached there - it was a three storey building.We climbed the first floor and reached this room where there were 15 nos of looms.The second floor had another room containing 20 looms.

This sight welcomes you through the main door.Honestly,the room was cramped and extremely hot.Dipu gave us a guided tour of the room. This is a traditional fly shuttle loom.
Silk thread spools (mohura is the assamese word for it) were spread all over the floor .
Some more colored silk yarns ...
Look how closely packed are all the looms ...
Thees are shuttles(maku is the assamese word) made of buffalo horn .
Paat silk thread basic spread ,on which designs are created.
These are hard paper cards on which different patterns are marked - these are used as guides for weaving the designs on cloth.
This is a bridal wear ordered by an NRI couple for their son's wedding .

Finally Dipu explained and demonstrated how weaving is done on the loom - my kids looked very attentive while my son was excited by the sound of the loom my daughter asked Dipu few questions .The trip had made kids tired and hungry.I always carry home made lunch packs, Dipu took us to this food-joint and left for work.We invited him for lunch but he was in rush .We all thanked him for giving us his time.

(Park Fast Food Joint .... the board looked pretty interesting )

This is Hotel Park...it is a small fast food joint ,we had our lunch and also some rolls from the joint .The place was clean and the snack we ordered was good too. The joint doesn't serve any tea or coffee but we had a flask full of home made tea and disposable cups with us. After an hour we left for Guwahati.We bought some local vegetables on our way back.If you ever visit Assam, i highly recommend a visit to this silk village .

Kashmira Kakaty : In Lost Land Of The Tiger

2010-09-24T18:43:00.004+05:30

If you remember one of my most favourite post Kashmira Kakaty And Her Extraordinary Story Of .Discovering Wild Cats ,well ,my friends see her in this clip of the series Lost Land Of The Tiger (BBC),a new three part nature series ended on a high of more than 4.7 million peak viewers during the most important 9pm to 10 pm slot in U.K. .A rare leopard is photographed by a camera trap by this research team.Enjoy the clip and have a great weekend.Proud of you girl !

See this video

Modern Cookery Illustrated And A Red Car

2010-09-13T19:56:00.003+05:30

Our house in Shillong is being renovated .While clearing things out of her old-bedroom my mom-in-law found a lot of old things - most of them were dumped but few were saved . Knowing that i love reading old books she gifted me this book named 'Modern Cookery Illustrated ' written by a British writer Lydia Chatterton.It was first published in 1938 .Mine one (proud owner ) is a 1946 reprint.It was in a pretty bad shape .Before sending it for binding i clicked a picture of in the exact condition it was found.Now a days i spend a lot of time reading it-the book is fascinating .It is a book written almost 72 years back .Most of the kitchen gadgets featured in this book which were the' most modern thing' then are no where in scene now a days.Here are few interesting pictures and infos that i would like to share .

( In the picture:A thermostatically -controlled gas cooker and automatic water heater which can be used alternatively with the domestic fired boiler).

The writer talks very passionately about cooking.These beautiful words from her caught my attention -she says-"As a small child the kitchen was to me Aladdin's cave,where just ordinary things were turned into beautiful dishes.How well i remember my first attempt at cooking when i was allowed a piece of dough to make a 'Bunny Rabbit'.When Mr. Bunny was ready for the oven he looked sad and grey.But Oh !when he emerged from that 'cavern of mystery' with his lovely brown coat and fierce currant eyes.Not one of the most successful dishes I have created since then has given me a greater thrill nor tasted quite so good."
(In the picture:High Pressure Cooker)

She sounds very excited about Pressure Cookers and thinks that they are 'too good to be true' and suggests for gifts for the 'house proud wife' or 'a bride to be'.The design of our modern day cooker looks a lot different than its 72 yrs old version .Today even i consider it as a good gift option for friends and they are not always women.

(In the picture:a container of the Vacuum Freezer )

She tells that how the Refrigerators-once only heard of in mansions and hotels ,are now installed as a fitting in many of the new flats.Also on how the milk and cream never go sour,butter can be served in hard slices,salads are crisp,drinks are cold.How refrigerators can be run on electricity,gas or oil.Vacuum freezers were an excellent choice then because electric/gas refrigerators were possibly not within reach of the majority of people.

I got interested as it was the first time that i came across the term Vacuum freezer.There is a long description in the book explaining it.What i understood was that there were two sections in a VF where the the dish to be frozen was kept in the center section and the outer section was filled with three parts ice and one part freezing salt.Sounds very tricky eh !

Here is a vegetables chart -it is included in Marketing Chapter which consists of 15 good pages.There are many great shopping tips which i found are still helpful in modern days.She advices forethought,judgment and common sense while shopping (hmmm....) .
Here comes another story of this red toy car- 'it was' oh sorry' it is 'my husband's.It was gifted by his aunt when he was 3 yrs old.As a newly wed when i visited our Shillong house for the first time -after a guided tour of the house while i was busy unpacking things i saw my hubby looking for something inside the chimney above the fireplace of our room.After few secs i saw a very happy man holding this red car in his hands.It was his hiding place which only both of us knew until ma found it while cleaning.Unaware of its importance to him she gifted 'The Car' to my son .I will never forget that expression on my husband's face .It was hard to decide if the situation was funny or sad.After we came back ,one fine day the car was nowhere to be found-sooner my son forgot about it.I found it this morning when i was arranging ironed clothes in my hubby's wardrobe.

Have a great week my friends !

Fresh Bamboo Shoot

2010-09-05T00:54:00.002+05:30

A bamboo shoot is a young culm harvested at the time, or shortly after it appears above the soil surface.Most bamboo species produce edible shoots. In many parts of North-East India, bamboo shoots are an integral part of traditional cuisine – fresh, dried, shredded or pickled.In Assam it is called BaahnGaaj (the fresh form) and Khorisa(fermented and dried form).Bamboo shoot when consumed fresh have a far superior taste and texture- it has a crunchy and subtle flavor.It is a purely seasonal thing .Though they have already made an appearance in the local markets of Guwahati (my city), i bought it from a roadside vegetable seller on National Highway (on my way to Shillong).Look at the picture above--they look very fresh and tender.I bought three shoots for 20 Rs. Let me share few things about the pre-cooking and preserving process of Fresh Bamboo shoots with you.
Bamboo shoots have high nutritional value,low fat and are a good source of Vitamins,cellulose and amino acids.To know more about its nutritional value click here.The shoots we get to buy here are already devoid of their hard peels (sellers do this job).Bamboo shoots are naturally bitter .Therefore to remove this bitterness and to make it easily digestible ,it is very important to parboil them before their consumption.I will show you how i do it in my kitchen.After washing it properly in running water,i slice them into rings of medium thickness .After immersing them completely in water i add two to three red chillies(as you see in the picture below) .It was a tip given to me by one of the shoot seller only,she said that this helps in loosing the bitterness and in retaining its natural color.I boil it uncovered for 20-25 minutes-if a skewer easily passes through the shoot,i consider it done.After putting off the flame i keep it aside for cooling down.Once it cools down ,i wash them once more with drinking water .
After that once again i immerse it in water and store in refrigerator in an air tight container.It is very important to change the water daily if you want to retain its freshness.This way it can be kept for two weeks.(see the picture below).It is now ready to be used in your meat/veg curries or for stir frying.
Here is Khorisa which is a fermented and dried form of bamboo shoot.It is pungent smelling and is a bit sour in taste.Tastes very good if added to mashed potatoes(aalu-pitika) or fish curries.
The very same day that i bought the shoots ,i used it for two different dishes .The first one was ' boneless chicken with vegetables and sliced bamboo shoots' (the picture below).I am a vegetarian so i don't know how it tasted...my kids and husband loved it though.

Second dish was almost same with the chicken replaced by Tofu (one can use paneer/cottage cheese too).If you don't get fresh ones you can use canned one which is more convenient but little less in taste and texture.Is Bamboo Shoot a part of your cuisine too ?

Tiny Visitors

2010-08-31T01:00:00.000+05:30

I would like to share the pictures of these tiny and unusual looking creatures who have been visiting our garden this monsoon .Look at the picture above- this bushy and colorful fellow loves to stick to the leaves and moves in an extremely slow manner.It looks very beautiful in real,at least i don't find it as creepy as my daughter thinks that it is.As a precaution we keep a safe distance from it so as to avoid any possible allergic skin reaction.Have you seen something like this before ,if yes,please share your story and the name as well.

Look at this one...this creature keeps on hovering mid air and makes a remarkably audible humming sound.At first my husband was quite sure that it was a Humming bird but we all know that humming birds don't have antennas like this little fellow has.It visits us only at early morning hours and hovers around this particular tree only.

Have a closer look ,the antennas are clearly visible.We really wanted to know what it was so i shared these pictures in one of the social network group too -- only one of my friend suggested that it might be some kind of moth.Many felt that it looked a lot like Humming bird in fact its a perfect Humming bird look alike.Following the response from my friends i typed two key words Hummingbird +moth and googled it and found out that it might be a Hummingbird Moth.Have you seen a moth like this before,if yes,please share your views here.