Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, growin’
like a breeze
Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong…
Change the names of the places, turn Shenandoah to Brahmaputra, and this might as well have been my song for my trip to the North Eastern Region (NER) during the second lockdown for Covid last year. Trust John Denver to evoke a yearning for home and poison it with the lure of the roads!
I grew up in Assam, a land that the rest of India prefers to simply address as ‘the North East’. The NER in fact comprises eight states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. What most people know simply as ‘the North East’ is a smorgasbord of various cultures and belief systems. In no other region of the country can you find such diversity in cuisine, wardrobe, music, landscape, vegetation, and language. In fact, there are 220 ethnic groups and an equal number of dialects found among these eight states.
But then everyone loves stereotypes. The way most of India perceives the North East is similar to the way most western countries perceive India. People think we are a bunch of people living in the jungle with elephants and rhinos and, of course, militants! There is no denying that there were some such issues in the past, which mostly emanated from how neglected and cut-off from the rest of the country the locals here felt. Even today, there is that feeling of alienation. But the insurgency and the stories of killing, kidnapping, extortion, are not what the North East of today is about.
This may come as a surprise to you. But that is because peace is placid and terrorism sells, especially at the box office. The multicultural fabric of the NER, the peace that permeates the land, and the abounding prosperity are not things that are reflected in the stories told about us. The stories of our people, who are shy but protective about their identity, are often twisted to fit the popular narrative. So, let me give you a quick glimpse of the land that is blessed by the bounties of nature, throbbing with indigenous music and cultures, and connected by the smoothest of six-lane highways and even smoother internet connections!
Riding high
We were in the second lockdown and Mumbai had become extra suffocating, so I decided to shift to my hometown with my family for a bit. It had been a long time since I had spent time there, thanks to my hectic work schedule, and this was the perfect opportunity to get my children acquainted with my roots and my land.
During my stay in Goa in the first lockdown, a motorbike company had roped me in for some promotions and lent me a bike. I love bike trips, but nothing can beat the experience of riding your bike through the forests and terrains of the North East. I had already tasted blood in Goa and couldn’t resist the temptation of asking them for a bike when I went to Assam. They readily agreed and I, along with a few of my biker friends, some of whom I had not met in years, decided to revisit our road-trip days!
Guwahati is very well-connected to Arunachal and Meghalaya; also, you drive for about 15 minutes and you find yourself bang in the middle of lush greenery. In the morning, when the curfew was lifted, we took our bikes and went where the roads led us to, coming back before the next curfew. These were local villages which are often off the map. In an attempt to not rob you of the adventure of finding these hidden gems, I will not name the places. You try your own treasure hunt and let the scenic North East make an Indiana Jones out of you!
Finding the Mising
I think I am more famous in the North East than I am back in Mumbai! My people make me feel like a true star and that also means that I am recognised almost everywhere, even in remote villages, making it a tad difficult to join the people in their daily lives. But I try to stop at local houses for a meal or a cup of tea, and chat with the locals whenever possible, because my ideal trips are those where I get to stay with the locals and be close to them.
One such opportunity came while I was visiting a remote island in Upper Assam. Some 12.4 per cent of the Assamese population are Scheduled Tribes, and you can distinguish one tribe from the other just by looking at their houses; each tribe has its own unique architecture.
In the village of the Mising, an indigenous community that is recognised as a Scheduled Tribe by the Indian government under the name ‘Miri’, the houses, called changghar, are quite unique. Built with wood and bamboo, they are thatch-roofed, two-tiered houses on stilts (and might have been the inspiration behind Baba Yaga’s house on chicken legs… or maybe not!). A fine example of vernacular architecture, these elevated structures not only help keep wild animals at bay but also keep the villagers safe during floods, which are almost an annual occurrence in the Brahmaputra basin. However, there is a catch… these houses have no built-in toilets, so we had to go to the fields!
Run Lola Run
Since I am from the North East, I was interested in what I would call ‘underground travelling’ (with the helmet and the Covid-mandated mask, I could attempt that), avoiding the mainstream touristy spots. I wanted to experience places as they are and not how they are meant for tourists.
One trip took me to a village inhabited by the Morans, one of the aboriginal ethnic tribes of Assam, during Bihu. As we all know, the three Bihus are the most important festivals of the state, but the Morans have their own unique way, replete with rituals, to celebrate them, especially the Bohag Bihu.
I witnessed a ritual that was happening in an open field near the village. There was a hut built in the middle, and a line demarcating one side for the girls to dance, while the boys, who are considered their brothers since they are from the same village, danced and played instruments on the other side.
Surrounding them all was a bamboo fence, outside which boys from other villages had congregated. These boys were considered prospective grooms for the girls and it was up to them to convince the girl of their choice of their attractiveness, together with the band of brothers within the fence. This was done through singing, storytelling, and fun debates. It was quite a difficult task. But the ones who managed to impress the woman of their choice were given the liberty to promptly elope as a couple! Eventually of course, they had to get married!
Ant-man rises
You think of the North East and believe we will force-feed you insects and dogs. But not everyone in the North East gorges on insects; many are in fact vegetarians. Did you know that we serve 101 varieties of saag during Maagh Bihu? I don’t think the rest of India has even heard about more than five varieties! Our food has a lot of ferns. It is a fertile land and vegetables are grown in plenty. And so are animals, fish and insects. Our cuisines reflect this abundance.
But if you want to experiment, there is a wide variety to choose from. In fact, Nagaland serves up the most elaborate charcuterie board of creepy crawlies. Also, fermented food, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, is big in this region. Axone is one such example. These fermented beans have a very strong pungent smell and are really an acquired taste (a taste I have not acquired!).
As for me, I try everything at least once. One delicacy that is common in Assam is fried silkworms. These taste like paneer. Another one I am fond of is an ant eggs omelette. Big fat red ants called Amroliporuar lay millions of eggs on trees. People collect those eggs, fry them, and eat them like regular egg omelettes. On this trip, a few of my band members had been travelling with me, and we ordered these ant eggs omelettes at a roadside dhaba. The guys had not tasted it before and were enjoying it. Suddenly one guy spotted a few ants in his omelette. I didn’t say anything, but waited patiently for the big reveal. When this guy pointed this out to the boy serving the food, he nonchalantly said that ant egg omelettes would obviously have a few ants here and there. The shock on the face of my band member was something I will never forget!
However, recently, when I was offered a rare jungle cat as a meal, I couldn’t bring myself to eat it.
A Jack Sparrow moment
While travelling you often come across places that are off the map. But have you ever been to a place that is on the map but has simply vanished?
We were going to an island called Lika on a small boat. The GPS was pointing to this island, but it was nowhere to be found. Then we learned that the entire village had been swept away in the flood that year. It was a bizarre experience. But can you imagine the plight of the people who called that island home?
Anyway, we were adequately dejected and needed a plan B. The sun was setting and the sky had turned crimson—I had seldom seen such a bloody sky! Suddenly, I heard the boatman loudly talking on his phone. In the middle of nowhere, there was not only a phone network but also the internet! It was decided that we would stay the night at a nearby island and Google showed us the way. We set off, but it seemed that we were drifting on a sea of eternal nothingness. There was not a speck of land in sight. Suddenly, the propeller of the boat got stuck in the marsh of a narrow canal. People jumped out to free the boat. It was pitch dark everywhere. I spotted a swarm of fireflies at a distance. They were coming at us at an alarming pace and light dots were becoming bigger. Before I could understand what was happening, I heard loud screams as people ran towards us. I gulped. We were being attacked by some aboriginal tribe and this was the end of my adventure on this planet… or so I thought.
Once they came closer, I realised that these were in fact my fans! They had somehow got the news that I was coming to their village and had come to greet me; the fireflies were the lights of their mobile phones!
But more poignant was the realisation of how transient life is in this part of the world. Floods are a part of their daily lives and entire villages get wiped out without a trace each year. But life goes on. Just like the river, it keeps flowing, even if it has to change its course once in a while.
A clandestine affair
While growing up, I travelled to many places in the North East, and loved the peace and serenity. But it is only now, after travelling around the globe, that I have come to truly appreciate the beauty and diversity of this land. So, during these trips, I tried documenting the nuances of different cultures and belief systems, the power construct of tribal matriarchal societies, the culinary delicacies, the music etc, in my vlogs. I avoid disclosing locations and routes because I have experienced the perils of tourism first-hand. When you talk about a place, it becomes popular. Tourists throng the place, and suddenly there’s pollution. Yes, tourism brings business to the locals, but the price one eventually has to pay is huge. It really bothers me when, instead of serving local delicacies, roadside eateries start dishing out noodles and Manchurian to cater to the palates of the tourists. Don’t travel to the North East if you are not open to the local experiences and a little bit of adventure!
As told to Ananya Ghosh
From HT Brunch, August 27, 2022
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