Passing through the forest, we soon set our eyes upon the

dreaded warriors that had been so long the subject of my waking

dreams and I could not but involuntarily exclaim:” What

splendid fellows!”—THOMSON 1885, 160

At first sight it looked strange that there were men and women walking alongside the roads with heavy loads – closer look revealed that each tribe’s person was carrying part of their hut, walls, doors and roof strung to their shoulders. The elders were in the front followed by women. Adolescent boys and girls were herding cattle. These are the Maasai pastoral nomadic tribes of Kenya. They walk for miles carrying their homes on look out for fresh pastures where they will re-assemble their homes in a circular formation. The circle of huts (known as Enkang in Maasai – Maa language) is surrounded by acacia thorn bushes which act as barbed wire to keep wild animals at bay.

Maasai ancestors originated from North Africa, they followed the course of River Nile conquering many tribes on the way to eventually settle in the lush green valleys of escarpment in Kenya and Tanzania. The rift valley known as the escarpment was result of volcanic action that created Mount Longonut, lakes and massive sunken valleys. The lava provided fertile pastoral land where they graze their cattle. Their migration continued to south of Kenya to Tanzania. Today, their homeland is bounded by Lake Victoria to the west and Mount Kilimanjaro to the east including picturesque Ngorongoro Crater which also shelters one of the most beautiful wildlife lion country havens.

They are very tall, handsome and almost sharp Arabic features. The warriors carry spears and a double edged flat knife called Simi. Originally, they wore animal skins. Indian traders who migrated to Kenya introduced them to blankets – selling these from their shops called Duka in remote areas. Maasai men are hunters and women/girls role is as gatherers. It is a male dominated society and polygamy is a norm. Additionally, circumcision rite brothers have a right over each other’s wife. Maasai men have pierced ear lobes and these lobes have been stretched until a hand can be put through. Sometimes to stop from dangling they wrap it around the ear.

Women, remove gourds from jungle vines, clean these and use as storage utensils for milk and honey. Apart from these roles girls also build huts and perform domestic cooking chores. Women and adolescent girls construct their dwellings known as Manyatta. It is constructed using branches for wooden structure and plaster is made of cow dung and mud. The walls and roofs are detachable which can be carried with them to their next stopping place.

Tribal hierarchy is led by the Maasai elders who often organise bonding ritual blood drinking sessions within the tribes. The cow’s jugular vein is pierced with arrows and blood is collected in gourds which are passed around the men folk. Adolescent boys and girls romp together. However separation of sexes occurs when the boys gather for manhood ceremony. These are communal circumcisions and the participants acquire the title of Moraine. This is the right of passage to adulthood. Those who are circumcised together also become brothers with right to each others wife. In the old days they had to prove their manhood by killing a lion with a spear single-handed. Nowadays this is illegal and banned. However, the practice of lion hunting is still existent but in search of lions that prey on their livestock or threaten a particular area of inhabitants.

Cattle are integral part and parcel of Maasai lives. They believe that when the earth and sky split, God bequeathed cows to them. As all the cattle belong to them according to God’s edict, it therefore follows that rustling and stealing herds from other tribes in not sinful. They believe that they were placed in the centre of universe by God as the chosen people.

The material wealth is measured in number of cows a man owns. A woman’s worth depends on how many cows will her father demand for dowry. Since Maasai practice polygamy, a man with many wives is considered wealthy because he has been able to get many wives by parting with his cattle.

“The traditional Maasai calendar has no designated holidays. It is divided into twelve months belonging to three main seasons: Nkokua(the long rains), Oloirurujuruj(the drizzling season), and Oltumuret (the short rains). The names of months are very descriptive. For example, the second month of the drizzling season is Kujorok , meaning “The whole countryside is beautifully green, and the pasture lands are likened to a hairy caterpillar.”*(source – Everyman.com)

Having read about the Maasai tribesmen, their culture and traditions in our geography lessons, our teacher arranged for a field trip for us to live amongst the Maasai in a Manyatta for a week. We set off from Nairobi and travelled through the picturesque rift valley. At the bottom of the rift valley is a church built by Italian prisoners of war. Though missionaries tried to convert Maasai, they have steadfastly refused to yield their beliefs, culture and traditions. This church has never been attacked by them.

Further on past the church – one is travelling at the floor of the rift Valley – past Mt Longonut. It is about 1500 meters high. We stopped here to climb the mountain which is easy climb and has a crater at the top. Next to the mountain is Lake Navivasha. It is a beautiful fresh water lake. Nearby is Lake Nakuru which is home to the flamingos. Maasai legend states, “the day these lakes dry, the mountain will erupt spewing out red hot lava” – the lakes keep the lava cool. We walked around the crater looking down into the depths from where lava emanated once upon a time. Wild animals live in the crater. Our first encounter was with Maasai warriors who appeared out of nowhere with menacing spears whilst we were descending. This apparently turned out to be the advance guard sent by the Manyatta elders to escort us.

We were naturally treated with great curiosity by Maasai women and girls. Though men and boys were curious but it would be against their tradition to show it. Women and girls, touched and felt our hair as they had never had close encounter with straight hair men. After customary exchange of gifts, we sat down for a feast. Two goats were slaughtered to honour the guests. I declined to drink blood. Maasai girls built wooden fire on which the goats were roasted. They also made a maze meal for us called Ugali to be eaten with meat. The roasted meat is known as Nayama Choma. Each one of us was given a knife to tear the meat of the goat. This communal eating was great bonding session. Home made brew blew our heads off. Indians had introduced them to vegetable salad which they call Kuchumbri.

Staying in these huts, each individual hut is called Enkaji was quite an experience. At night it was scary as it appeared all the wild animals in the jungle howled relaying messages about presence of strangers in Manyatta. We went herding with Maasai Moran – circumcised boys who are now considered as men. They were surprised that at our ages, we hand not undergone this ceremony. We saw women create elaborate designs of beads, necklace and wrist bands. They also mix lava rich red soil with ochre to anoint their skins and hair. It is in reality really sun cream – protection against the sun heat and rays. They also introduced us to their dance – standing in circle, chanting and jumping sky high – as they continued jumping up, it induces a trance. We were quite dizzy trying to keep up with them.

We returned with pleasant memories of encounters with the Maasai. Males do not display emotion which would be akin to admission of weakness of character. Some women and girls wailed. Some asked us to return to make a baby for them with long straight hair. We returned to Nairobi taking a detour via the house where Joy Adamson and George Adamson of Born free fame lived. Their residence abounds with bushy tailed colobus Monkeys. The bottom of the garden borders with another lake called Crater Lake. During our visit George was away on safari and she met us. She was very pleasant lady though had fame of being very cantankerous towards humans.

In 2008, I travelled through the Maasai Land, climbed Mt. Longonot our favourite childhood haunt, went past several Enkang – but the one where I stayed had moved on to fresh pastures with their huts – Instead, I saw that the Maasai were now trading handicrafts made by them, selling to tourists, refusing to have a photo taken unless they were paid in cash. They also only accepted American dollars – spoilt by American tourists. Maasai now go to rural schools and some have started wearing western attire. However, hardcore of the Maasai tribe still retain their culture, traditions and beliefs and have refused to convert or move to the cities.

My nephew has purchased a farm in the Maasai area. It was during this visit that we were warned that two rogue lions were at large. One Maasai girl who had been herding cows and sheep witnessed lions kill one sheep. She ran to the village and another Maasai girl who was on vacation joined us for the lion hunt. She was now working as a receptionist in one of five star hotels in Nairobi city. Though she was adamant about Maasai traditions, beliefs – her role in their society had changed with education. Others will follow the suit. One of the most prominent Maasai is Cabinet Minister of Kenya – Professor George Saitoti.

In the Maasai lands one also find some cafes for the tourist trade – The favourite snack is Maru’s Bhajia pioneered by one Gujrati trader in the 1930’s. Several Gujrati shop owners selling provisions in this area speak fluent Maasai language. Exposure to them has also changed Maasai cuisine- they utilise similar tadka to prepare some dishes. Tadka cuisine is called Karoga cuisine.

My close encounter left a lasting impression on my mind of these fearless warrior tribes.

Their pastoral lands are now being acquired by developers who want to spin out high rise apartments to carter for growing urban population. This development not only cuts through their lands but also migration routes of wild animals. Maasai too are one of the tourist attractions nowadays and earn money by performing traditional dances for the tourists. Part of the dance routine is to invite one of the tourists to pretend being a Maasai and dance like them.

In large cities like Nairobi, Maasai are in demand as low paid – night watchmen. Their reputation as fierce warriors with spears provides a backdrop to employ them. Little can a spear wielding night watch man can do faced with armed robbers wielding guns and machine guns.

A traditional dance that has been debased to appease the tourists. Maasai warrior appear to be irresistible to western women, and especially sophisticated white European women from many parts of Europe and America, who carry off their lovers to the west by marrying them. They have glare of publicity in tabloids but most marriages flounder with the ex-massai lover heading back to where he belongs.

Let’s hope they continue to resist change.

One day we may have to launch a campaign to save the Maasai culture, traditions and beliefs.

India Sixties and beyond music.

The sixties was an eventful time. The decade was marked with the success of the first man on space – Yuri Gagarin. It was the period of emergence of Che Guevara, John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr and their tragic deaths. Of the most severe and deadliest earthquake recorded in the recent times- The great Chilean earthquake ; Of cultural revolutions and social upheavals;of the rise of feminism and gay rights. Yes, the period was aptly called the Swinging sixties. It was in the sixties when a cultural revolution of sorts was noted in India when Beatles sang Norwegian wood,  a raga rock, inspired by Ravi Shankar and rise of some talented beat groups in the mid sixties like the Mystiks, Flintstones etc. What started back then with small baby steps is now an altogether snazzy scene in itself. But in the razzle dazzle of todays music scenario many youngsters have lost the connecting threads of history to our glorious times of the sixties and seventies. India sixties and beyond music is one such initiative that deserves applause in large measure for its attempts to preserve and promote those moments from history when the rock music industry was trying to carve a place for itself  and its future musicians  . And the promising scenario that it now boasts of is in fact due to the strong foundation that founders such as late Amit Saigal, editor of Rock Street Journal and magazines like Junior Statesman had built up back then.

India Sixties and beyond music is a facebook fan page started by Joseph Pereira, a journalist, music enthusiast, musician, music historian and author of books like Legends of Golden Venus. Indian by origin and now based in Singapore, Pereira had always been fascinated with Indian rock scene, an interest fueled by stories narrated to him by his cousin brother about the Indian music scene back in the sixties and probably that was when the germ of an idea for the fan page was formed. The memorabilia and information that the fan page boasts of in its archive is truly a treasure house. Fried Eye had the opportunity of interacting with the innovative Mr Pereira which we are sharing with you today as a part of our theme Music – A broader perspective.

FE- India sixties and beyond music- how would you describe it? A hobby? A passion ? a commitment? A project? Or everything ?

JP- It is to give Indians a sense of pride in their music scene. To let them know it is coming close to half century now. The bands and singers that started out in the early sixties and onwards into the seventies, eighties, nineties, and the first twelve years of this decade. Each generation gets inspired by those who came before them. Even the present generation take their cues from the Western scene. But surely they must have been aware of Indian musicians who have come before them and performed and recorded. They have added to the scene.

FE-You have mentioned in interviews of being fascinated by the music scene of India in the sixties. What exactly was the clinching point or the deciding factor that made you go ahead and form the fan page ?

JP- I knew there were blogs and other pages on the Net. I have seen them and I just decided to start one and add to it.

FE-What can a fan expect from the page?

JP- Initially we started with the page with visuals and links to songs that are on the Net. Then I set about building up data on the bands and singers. That will take a lot of work as I try to make contacts with musicians and get their stories down. Then we also mention current happenings when we hear about it especially if it is mentioned on the Net. I cannot compete with Rock Street Journal and the mainstream dailies. We just add another channel. Hopefully it builds.

George Harrison recording Wonder Wall in Bombay in 1969

FE-The normal course of action is a website leading to a fan page but here, you have started out on facebook first. You plan to chronicle a book on those lines too. Do you have any future plans of a website catering to a greater audience on this theme?

JP- Books will be done by other scholars and researchers. I am just trying to create excitement and awareness. Think of the Western scene where even stalwarts of eons ago like Beatles and Rolling Stones are dissected. We try to do similar for the Indian scene.

FE-As a suggestion you had mentioned , about selection criteria. I am genuinely intrigued. Is there a selection criteria for inclusions into the archives? If so, may we know what they are?

JP-No selection criteria. Initially I started the page titled India Sixties Music. Then Radha Thomas who sang with Human Bondage in the sixties suggested opening it up to include music that came later all the way to the present. I agreed to that and we changed the title to India Sixties And Beyond Music.

FE-Is India sixties and beyond music a one man show ? (other than the fans of course)

JP- Yes it is. It is one man now. But I have many mentors and friends who encourage and give help. I am grateful to them. I have also made many friends in India because of this site and I think that is wonderful.

FE-What I meant to ask was is there any other person officially on the team other than yourself? And If somebody wanted to volunteer to be on the team…

- I would welcome additions to the team because one single person could not possibly cover the entire Indian music scene.

FE-What were the challenges that you had faced on the project? Information? Manpower? Finances? Response from the people in general? Cynicism?

JP- Initially information. Because I am quite remote being in Singapore. But the net is a great help and there is much information on the Net and music on You Tube. I have made contact with a German who has an amazing blog titled www.hindustanivinyl.com

He made contact and made available some rare recordings on the blog. He sells Indian records but has been generous enough to share songs by artistes like Cavaliers, Raja Andrews And The Nawabs, Savages, Usha Iyer etc

Manpower is not a problem unless it grows really big. It is doable for now. The challenge is to keep it going. The response has been encouraging. I have had comments like “About time” and “More please”. Discussion about bands and music would be great to keep dialogue going. Then there have been people asking for information on a particular act and that gets me going finding information. I don’t really detect cynicism yet. It will come though.

FE-Any legacy if not passed down to the next generation becomes lost in history. And the gen next is a restless , inquisitive lot. How do you plan to involve them and hold their interest? What newer things can we expect from the page?

JP-Your first statement holds true. Once it gets too remote it loses touch. That is when it diminishes and vanishes in the mists of time. Capture it, documents it and then pass it on. More discussion, more suggestions and perhaps give the young generation a desire to be a journeyman musician. Musicians are called I think. Like people of the cloth, medicine, law, journalism. You cannot explain why.

FE-Fascination seems the primary response you had for India sixties music scene. Now that you have reached out, collected memorabilia, extracted data, observed and discussed about it, add to it you have done a similar project on the Singapore music scene of the sixties, a musician yourself-could we have a detailed dissection about the India sixties and seventies music scene? How different is the present scenario from the times back then?

JP- In the present days resources abound. In the old days meaning the sixties people learned to make do. For example, India had an import ban on music equipment and instruments. This resulted in people in bands resorting to home made amplification or amps made locally. But it created an opportunity for home grown luthiers to practise their craft. Meaning made in India instruments. Before the electric bass made their appearance, six string guitars were used in which the designated bass players played bass riffs. Of course they sounded tinny. Because they did not have the requisite bottom. In spite of handicaps like the above mentioned the bands persisted. Records were hard to come by and there was much sharing. In those desperate circumstances creation was all the more precious and remembered in that back drop becomes more poignant.

Hearts were big then and desire desperate. I needed to be in a band, I will sell my soul to learn an instrument. These are just touchpoints. I will need many hours and many lines in order to dissect the scene in a question. That is what the site is for. To do that. Dissect the scene ad nauseam. Out of that comes understanding and lessons for the present.

FE -Can we expect a bigger picture in the future? Like the general all encompassing Music scenario of the world? A kind of database, archives of the evolution of western music since the early twentieth century?( I ask this because in one of your comment thread in facebook, I read someone, a student of music I think expressing the need for one as there was hardly any organised content regarding this)

- That would be nearly impossible. At best one could do countries. Even a sub continent like India with over a billion people would theoretically have a huge scene. Look at the different states in India all having their own scene. Geographically it is wide. To cover it in depth requires work and resources and time. Best to start with a smaller area defined by time. Like India Sixties and focus on that. Another expert on India Seventies, another on India Eighties, another on India Nineties and so forth. Then cover it thoroughly. The resources are there and it is easier to reach out. But a World Database is a nearly impossible scenario. Lofty but impossible.

Well Mr Pereira certainly have overcome two humongous tasks that he had set out to do. (He has done similar research on the Singapore Music scene too) and though he humbly states that it is near impossible to create a world database, seeing his determination and dedication, it will not be surprising to see him exactly do that. At least our best wishes are certainly with him.

You can follow India sixties and beyond music fan page by visiting it through this link

http://www.facebook.com/pages/India-Sixties-and-Beyond-Music/147952891964475?ref=ts

Nagaland has always been touted as the Land Of Festivals…and now they have a brand new catch phrase – “Festival Of Festivals” as the state machinery referred to the annual Hornbill Festival held from 1^st to 7^th December.

The Hornbill Festival, held at the Kisama Heritage Village, certainly is a fest for the eyes – a riot of colours and costumes. Nagaland has an amazingly colourful culture and unique tradition…and this, coupled with a sense of the exotic and mysterious, draws in the crowd by the hordes especially during the Hornbill Festival.

What had initially started as a five day event 11 years back, has now graduated into a seven day event….and by the look of it this year, it has all the potential to grow into an even bigger event.

Not for nothing is Nagaland called “The Land Of Festivals”. There are 16 major tribes and numerous sub tribes in the state and every month one tribe or the other celebrates its festival.

The Hornbill Festival brings all the tribes of the state under one umbrella to showcase their rich culture and tradition. Of course the rituals are not as elaborate or as spontaneous as those held at the villages and at particular times of the year where the whole village participates in the rituals. But the Hornbill Festival lets you see the festivals and customs of the different tribes through a very wide window indeed.

Don’t get me wrong when I say that the rituals are not spontaneous. They are performed with a great deal of zest and pride. As Mr Yitachu, Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism, explained, “…a particular village that performs at the Festival might get its next chance after about 40 or 50 years and some even more. Each tribe is represented by a particular village each year and since the bigger tribes like the Ao and Angami have many villages, it would take a very long time indeed for a particular village to perform again at Kisama”. Many of the present day performers would not live to get the privilege to perform again at the festival and thus the pride.

The primary focus of the Hornbill Festival is to bring all the tribes of Nagaland in one platform and create a sense of unity among the different tribes and also to resurrect some of the culture and tradition that were dying a slow but sure death.

Although an overwhelming dances and rituals were based on agriculture and fertility, the warrior tribes like the Konyak, Chang, Yimchunger, Sema and a few other displayed some amazing war dances and head hunting rituals that were practiced in the days of yore…complete with log drum beating, mock fighting and torching of other villages.

The 2^nd day of the festival was meant for performers from the rest of the North Eastern states and what a fantastic show they put up throughout the day.

But if you think that the Hornbill Festival is all about dances and more dances…you are mistaken. There were ethnic Naga cuisine, exquisite handicraft and handloom, kids carnival, night bazaars, music – both traditional and contemporary, a superb show of fusion music comprising musicians from all the states of the North Eastern region, literary fest, fashion shows, beauty contest and fun events like climbing a greased bamboo pole, pork fat and Naga King Chilli eating contests which saw a whole lot of contestants crying “FIRE”!!

Stalls with Naga cuisine drew crowds like moths to fire. The lifting of the Protected Area Permits for foreigners resulted in a huge number of western tourists flocking to the Heritage Village and making a beeline to the ethnic food stall. Never mind the fire chilly, they had the sweet rice beer to wash it down!!!

Music is an integral part of Naga culture and the Rock Contest held as part of the festival was a huge draw. The contest, held by the Music Task Force set up by the Government to promote music in the state, is probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest, of its kind in the country. I am sure the bands didn’t mind the freezing cold as they performed under the open skies for the top prize of Rs 5 lakhs!

The other big draw was the Peace Rally to commemorate the battle of Kohima. The WWII Jeeps and their crew on period costumes drew in a lot of crowd. The Chief Minister Mr Neiphiu Rio in one of the jeeps led the rally. I guess his security guards must have had the jitters because the participants including the all women team, were carrying period guns and one could hardly make out the difference between the real and a fake gun!!

Seven days were over in a flash and the finale was a grand affair with each tribe lighting a bonfire. As the sun dipped over the hills at Kisama, the bonfire lit up the arena and the skies were filled with the war cries of the tribes as they all danced around the fire.

“Till next year” they said and by the look of it, it certainly is going to be a tourist magnet…definitely, a bigger magnet!

   You can read rest of the articles from the Chain reaction series here

“You are a software engineer and you want to pursue movies and so you join Pune film institute but you know you weren’t wrong to do so when you top the final exams.

While the world plays safe and proceeds in a sure conventional way for their debut, you make your debut film on an offbeat subject but you know you weren’t wrong when you walk away with almost all the best directorial debut awards of India ( Gollapudi Srinivas National Prize for Best Debut Director, Aravindan Puraskaram for Best Debut Director and  Best Picture at International Film Festival of Mumbai) and earn international acclaim all over the globe.”

A genius in the making? A maverick? …

We are alluding to director Anup Kurian who created quite a ripple in 2004 in the national and international film festivals with his offbeat debut movie Manosarowar, and who will be again gambling with The Blueberry Hunt this January which has Naseeruddin Shah in the lead. The movie is a thriller but as is expected from an innovative person like him, it has a different brand of different-ness. If we go by the fact that he convinced an actor of Naseeruddin Shah’s caliber to act in it, then we can safely assume that he isn’t wrong this time too and in fact, has more chance of a mass acceptance, which was not that pronounced in Manosarwar, his first. Especially with some brilliant marketing strategy this time, noteworthy of which is the graphic novel of the same theme available and published in sequence in their fan page in facebook (a first in india), The Blueberry hunt is creating quite a buzz among the people.

Fried Eye managed to contact Mr Kurian for a brief and candid chit chat , where he spoke to us a little about the much awaited movie The Blue Berry hunt , the excerpts of which we are sharing here. We also had the opportunity to catch up with Baburajan, the illustrator of the novel about this ‘novel ‘ concept of promotion and who was very accommodating and entertained our curiosity about the movie and graphics.

Mr. Anup Kurian- Director, Manasarovar and The Blueberry Hunt

Q. 6 years from your last film, where was Anup Kurian in between?

I was all around the world. Traveling, working etc. I sold cakes in Toronto and Ontario, wrote software for some American companies in Portland, Charlotte, Chicago etc.

The way ‘Manasarovar’ turned had a tremendous impact. I had to make sure another film I make is unique, can attract top talent and be do-able with my resources. All of this takes time.

But I guess the gap between films will be lesser from now onwards.

Q. Your last film Manasarovar, had a different kind of story and it was well appreciated. Despite all this, it did not make a good business in India. So, what are your plans for the The Blueberry Hunt?

A-Theatrical collections do not signify the quality of a film.

We could not afford or manage a good campaign for Manasarovar – It was released with zero publicity. Whether the film is good or bad, it needs good publicity and a good campaign to attract viewers to theaters.

Also, a film can be good, but it may not work in theaters. The opposite is also true. ‘The Blueberry Hunt’ has Naseeruddin Shah – a star in his own right. The film automatically gets a bigger visibility. Plus we are better prepared with the Print and Advertisement campaign for TBH. A lot of our prospective audience is coming to know about the film through Facebook campaign where we publish a graphic novel based on the film – Such platforms did not exist when we made ‘Manasarovar’.

Q. Is this a niche film made for a niche audience?

A-Now a days what audience a film finds is purely depending on the amount of money spent on advertisement. More the money, more the audience knows about the film. So, there is no niche audience we are targeting with TBH

Q. How did the idea of a Graphic Novel for the film come?

Baburajan – our illustrator – created an amazing title sequence for The Blueberry Hunt. That was when this idea of a graphic novel occurred.

Both myself and illustrator Baburajan are big fans of the graphic novels. The Blueberry Hunt had a story line which could translate well to the format.

I wanted the graphic novel to be a separate entity, a work of art which can stand on its own two legs. So the same care we gave for making the film is given to the graphic novel

And that was a cue for us to shift our focus on Mr. Baburajan, the man behind the red hot graphics of The Blueberry hunt graphic novel in facebook and we literally Hunted him down for an at length interesting discussion

FE: What led to your interest in cartoons and illustrations?

BM:Since my early childhood I had the habit of drawing. My father used to buy many Soviet union children’s books for me to read and the illustrations in them really throbbed my mind. Those pictures had great influence on me and I still do believe that Russians drew great illustrations for kids – all around the world. Beyond any doubt this was the one reason which made me enter into the field of illustrations and so on.

FE: Our readers would like to know about you and your work before TBH.

BM:I had worked with many companies before I did TBH graphic novel.I had worked 6 years as a story board artist in Young and Rubicam at Dubai and I worked as a 2D animator in Toonz animation ,Trivandrum technopark. Now I am a fulltime freelancer. Graphic stores really thrill me and that is what I am doing now.

FE:How did the collaboration with you and Mr. Kurian happen for TBH?

BM:I had been for the shooting location with my colleagues Shibu and Mathukutty who had done the art direction for Anup Kurian’s film. I was quiet interested in doing one of that kind myself and when I found that this story suited for a graphic novel , I forwarded a suggestion to Mr.Kurian. Hence Kurian allowed me to do the graphic novel of the movie TBH , let me say quiet independently.

FE: Red is an evident colour in the graphic novel of TBH. Why so red?

BM: The nature of this story compelled me to use the colour red exclusively. The title illustration of the movie had also been done by me, and that was also in red. So I chose red

FE: You have been doing illustrations for a children magazine. How different was the work for TBH?

BM: TBH graphic novel is exclusively for elders. When the subject is so ,wont be picture too? Angles,beauty of picture and all were done that way. The difference from children’s illustration is that the picture for children must be exciting,curious and simple. Different columns shall be there ,and the way of narration must be simple.

FE: Graphic Novels in India has seen a sudden boom in popularity. What are the trends that are going to rule in the near future?

It is not advisable to use stereotypes in graphic stories. Different experiments in illustrations,diversity in narration,change in production will create interest among artists and readers. Definitely this treatment will bring popularity for graphic novels. I think in India we have a great possibility in this field -movies,literature,experiences and so on.

Fried Eye says- Well, it will be interesting to see how the audience receives the Movie and the novel next year when it is released and judging by the marketing strategy and response of the fans to the concept, it seems to be much anticipated. Maybe if the movie strikes gold then we will see a surge in some more innovative ‘graphical’ techniques by the industry , which will be a welcome change from the regular flashy bollywoodish promotions.

We, at Fried Eye are extremely sad at the demise of Mamoni Baidew. Below, we present almost verbatim an interview that baidew  gave for the Silver Jubilee magazine of Christ Jyoti School, Nagaon. We are extremely grateful to Junak Kashyap (at present studying in Tezpur University) for providing the interview and the pictures.

Mamoni Raisom Goswami, a Jnanpith Award winner is the most famous littérateur of the present day Assam. Her keen interest in bringing peace to the North-eastern region and efforts directed along this direction are widely appreciated by the political analysts across the country. The following is an excerpt from the exclusive interview with Mamoni Raisom Goswami by Junak, Prantrishna Bharali and Mr. Rajom of Christ Jyoti School.

Prantrishna Bharali (PB): You were born on a special day, the 14^th November which is celebrated as Children’s Day throughout India. Would you like to share with us some of the special memories of your childhood days?

Mamoni Raisom Goswami (MRG): Yeah.Yeah.. you know my real name is Indira Goswami. This was given to me by my father. He always wanted to remember Indira Gandhi, the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru and 14^th of November itself was Jawaharlal Nehru’s birthday. So, in his memory, he kept my name as Indira…(laughs). But my mother was very fond of me. My relationship with her was tremendous. She lovingly called me Mamoni.

PB: How were you as a student?

MRG: I was a very disciplined student. I was very fond of my teachers and they were very fond of me too. I was not very lovely but lovely to some extent. I received my early education in Latashil Primary School and then I was in Pine mount school, Shillong. In pine mount School, we had the Bible course. But the Hindu, the Assamese and the Muslims were exempted from the Bible class. However, my father said that I would learn about Christ if I attend the Bible class. I was the only Hindu girl attending the Bible class with other Christian students. When I was in Class VIII, I scored the highest marks in Bible class and thus I developed a love for Christ. At that time I was a painter too. Once I painted Christ’s picture very beautifully. Do you know what my teachers did? They took my painting and showed it to the whole class. They all clapped and I was very happy that I could paint Christ so well.

Junak Kashyap (JK): What did you like in Christ’s life most?

MRG: Christ taught me a lot. I learned from him the value of sacrifice. He even donated his blood stained shirt to the people during his death. It was Christ’s life that instilled in me the value of sacrifice right from my childhood.

Rajom Bora (RB): Ma’am, you’ve been involved in the teaching profession since long. What are the differences you find between the modern education system and that of the olden times? Do you think the same ‘Guru Sishya’ relationship of those days exists between teachers and students nowadays?

MRG: There exists a vast difference between the present day education system and that of the past. Today, we do not find the same teacher-student relationship that existed in India in the olden times. Sadly, due to lack of spirituality among the present day students, this kind of relationship no longer exists in the world. The teachers do not have sufficient time to spare for the students.

JK: Ma’am, earlier you were a teacher in the Sainik School of Goalpara and now…

MRG (Interrupting): No, actually in the beginning I was a teacher in St. Mary’s school. The management was well pleased with me and I was invited by the sisters to teach the students of their school. That was my first teaching experience. Then I got married, but 18 months after my marriage , my husband died. I was broken-hearted after his death. My mother wanted me to go to America but, I rather insisted on staying in Assam itself rendering my service in one way or the other. At that time I was offered the post of a teacher in Goalpara Sainik School and I gladly accepted it. In Goalpara Sainik School, the post of an English teacher and that of a History teacher were vacant. But I had completed my M.A. Only in Assamese. But, as soon as they saw me they were so intent on taking me as a member of their staff and I was appointed an Assamese teacher there. Actually I am glad that in my life wherever I went for an interview, I was always successful.

JK: It is completely out of my curiosity that I am asking this question. Ma’am, what other profession would you have engaged yourself in, if you were not a teacher?

MRG: Oh! I wanted to be nothing else, but a very good person. I wanted to marry a very good person and be a good wife to him. And by being a good wife, I wanted only to be a writer and nothing else. I think, writing was in my blood.

JK: What kind of a feeling does spending time in the midst of children give you?

MRG: It is lovely you know. Nothing gives me more pleasure than spening time with children. Children like me very much and that is why you find a lot of children coming to my house even at this age of mine.

PB: Do you think the modern educational scenario requires any renovation to keep pace with the changing time?

MRG: Of course, I really do. I think that the syllabus should be prescribed in such a way that it keeps pace with the syllabus prescribed by the centre.

PB: Are you happy with the syllabus of SEBA?

MRG: No. No, I am not at all happy with the current syllabus of SEBA.

[Editor's Note: At present SEBA has decided to follow the NCERT syllabus and it has been implemented with moderate success.]

PB: What kind of changes would you like to see then?

MRG: Actually, you see, states like Kerala and countries like England, teach their regional language in such a way that if you go to England and meet some of the students or teachers there, you will find that they will not like to hear you speaking about Shakespeare. They would like to hear from you about Sankardev of Assam and so on which means that they want to hear something new. But they are very conscious about their own culture.

JK: In many interviews toppers remark that language is no barrier in the pursuit of higher studies, What do you have to say in this regard?

MRG: Mother tongue is obviously necessary but English is a must for all of us. Now spoken English is taught from the 1^st standard, onwards. If you complete your studies throughout in Assamese, you become a master in Assamese. From the beginning, both mother tongue and English must be taught.

PB: Which route do you consider is more promising- writing in mother tongue and later on having it translated into other languages or writing directly in English like Jhumpa lahiri and V. S. Naipaul have done for a rewarding career?

MRG: Writing in English is always much better to attract greater number of readers. But writing in mother tongue is more convinient as it helps you to express yourself properly. But I have written poems always in the English language.

JK: You’ve gone to several countries of Europe for studies in Ramayana. Could you please tell us about your research on the Ramayana which earned you international acclaim?

MRG: Yes. Yes, but more than European countries, I actually went to South-Asian countries like Mauritius. People there are very poor and lead a miserable life. The Ramayana was a great source of inspiration for them. They compared their lives to that of Rama. Just as he went into exile for a period of 14 years, they belived that they too were on exile and always hoped that they would return one day to a good life. Thus the Ramayana has become a great source of inspiration for them.

PB: Do you think that the modern generation is promising?

MRG: Yeah..yeah. The modern generation is very daring and promising, much more brilliant and intelligent as compared to other generations. But I think that there is one thing lacking in them and that is spirituality, the quality which people possessed in olden times. There were namghars (a place of prayer and worship of the people of Assam.) where the Bhagwad was recited which aroused a spiritual awareness in us. But now how sad!, it has all vanished. Without spirituality, it is very difficult to become real human beings.

PB: How can spirituality be inculcated in students?

MRG: Mother is the best teacher in the whole world. She has to play a great role in this regard. And the schools should take the initiative in inculcating spirituality in students through the teaching of Moral Science and so on.

JK: What is your opinion regarding the exodus of Assamese students to other cities like Delhi and Bangalore?

MRG: Yes, Yes, I understand, that’s a very good question. Nowadays, everybody wants to go out. Crores of rupees are being spent on the education of the students by the government. It is a pathetic situation. But it has a brighter side too.

PB: What have you learnt from your life?

MRG: The great thing I have learnt from my life is that first of all, we have to be a good human being. It is a futile exercise to crave for name, fame or other material things. They are meaningless and can’t give you everlasting joy.

JK: Being a member of the PCG, you are now acting as a mediator between the Government of Assam and the ULFA for peace negotiation. How far do you think that the process of negotiation and dialogue can help in solving the problem of terrorism in state?

MRG: Yes,Yes, that is the only way forward. Only dialogue can help in sorting out these issues. Actually, these boys want independent Assam. They argue that it was not a part of India. So they do not recognize Assam as a part of India. But it is not the Same Assam now. Why did these boys become terrorists? The answer lies in problems such as unemployment, poverty and unlawful occupation of their land.

So, dialogue is the only way to bring them back on track. I am not a mediator , as you think between the government and the ULFA; I am rather trying to find out a term for myself.

JK: (interrupting) Might it not be appropriate to cal you a ‘messenger of peace’ then?

MRG (Smiles): Right now, I am working in the MIL department of Delhi University. Dr. Manmohan Singh is also very closely associated with Delhi University. He is a very noble person and a good friend of mine.

And then to continue with your ideas of ‘messenger of peace’. You know, there was a lot of blood shed in Assam and I wanted to write a book on it. Everybody knows that I always write books on the marginalised. I never really write a book without having a personal experience. So I went to the houses of Paresh baruah and his brothers and sisters, Rajkhowa and of many others. It was then that I realised the ground reality. They led such a miserable life. Some of them lost their loved ones in encounters. I also realised that writing books was not the solution to this problem.

When I recieved the Jnanpith Award, Paresh Baruah telephoned me. They loved the Assamese language very much and congratulated me on enriching the language. I was surprised that a person who never recognised the Constitution of India was slowly coming back on track. So, I seized the oppurtunity and told him that Assam would never develop with all these disorders around. Paresh agreed with me that there should surely be development in Assam. At this, I tried to initiate the process of dialogue, which was at first opposed by the ULFA. However, I continued with my effort and started contacting many politicians. Dr. Manmohan Singh promptly responded to the offer and supported me in my endeavour to start a process of dialogue between the Central Government and the ULFA.

Subsequently, I wrote several letters to the ULFA. Although, the first letter was not accepted, the second one, which sought to settle all the core issues was amicably accepted,

In this manner, I initiated the dialogue between the Government and the ULFA. I have the honest feeling that I was successful to a great extend. I am happy that the people who never respected the Indian Constitution came forward for interaction for the first time. I have the sense of satisfaction that I could contribute my share of effort towards the solution of one of the major problems that has rocked Assam in recent years.

PB: Do you have any future pkans to complete your unfinished autobiography ‘Adhalekha Dastabez’?

MRG: Yeah…actually, I have decided to make 10 more parts of the book. I have published 2 parts already.

[Editor's Note: Sadly, this will remain unfinished.]

PB: What is the secret behind your reciveing so many awards?

MRG: Awards…yeah. My books are being translated into so many other languages because of which people are able to read my books in their own language. I had starting writing from the age of 12 and till date, I have not left my pen. Many of my books are in various universities of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

JK: What is the final message that you wish to give to the students especially of Christ Jyoti School, Nagaon?

MRG: I would like to repeat what I said earlier that whatever you become in life, you must alwyas try to become a good human being. You must always try to develop human qualities in you.

Many moons ago when the forest had an abundance of wild animals and the trees grew thick and tall, Thrungsanwu and a few friends went to the forest on a hunt.  As is the practice, the hunters spread out to cover more ground. They had ventured into some virgin forest where no hunter had gone before. Thrungsanwu was cautiously following the fresh footprints of a bear which led to some dense vegetation. With his well used muzzle loading gun at the ready, he slowly crept through the dense undergrowth and the huge trees. All of a sudden he was out of the thick undergrowth and there in front of him stood a sheer rockface.

Thrungsanwu forgot all about the bear he was stalking and stood looking at the rock face. It was dotted with a huge number of bee hives. He has never seen such a large number of bee hives at one place before.

He sounded out to his hunting buddies. When they came, they stood and watched the rock and the bees…as amazed as Thrungsanwu.

That evening, Thrungsanwu stood before the village council and announced that he believed he is the first one from the village to have seen the bee hives. Since no one disputed his claim, he claimed the hives as his own. Ofcourse he would share some of the spoils with the friends who were with him and saw the hives also.

Thrungsanwu, who is from the Yimchunger tribe, hailed from the village of Mimi, in the district of Kiphire in Nagaland. As is the tradition, anyone who sights a bee hive first, becomes the owner of those hives and the ownership is passed down to the children. Thrungsanwu’s grandson, Mazho is now the owner of the hives and shares the honey and revenue with the decedents of his grandfather’s hunting buddies.

Rockbee harvesting was on a decline for the last 10 years and the villagers had all but given up the practice. Mimi is a far flung village, located on the borders of Myanmar and there is no proper transportation to the main cities of the state. It is near about 400 kms away from the state capital of Kohima. The honey they procure from the hives had no outlet for sale and did not generate any revenue for the villagers.

The Nagaland Beekeeping and Honey Mission, with the support of Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust (NRTT) have been working for the last few years now to revive this dying tradition.  And the results have been very encouraging indeed.  NRTT provided funds for capacity building exercise, skill upgradation of the harvesters, tools, equipment and storage containers.

The process of harvesting the honey is fraught with danger. I was as amazed, as the young Thrungsanwu must have been, by the sheer rockface.  The rock protruded out of the ground vertically to about a height of 300 meters and was dotted with 85 huge bee hives.  And all the hives were on the top half of the rock.

I stood a little distance away from the rock, armoured against the swarming bees with a thick jacket and a mesh face protect hat net. As I watched, the villagers from Mimi lit the fires at the base of the rock and the buzz of the Giant Himalayan Rockbees  (Apis Laboriosa)  got louder as the smoke drove them out from the hives.  We were lucky that the wind was just right and the smoke drifted up to the hives. A slight change in the wind pattern would have driven the bees to where we were standing and that sure would have been a rather painful evening!

The Honey Mission had supplied the villagers with helicopter ladders and other safety gears but other than a few net hats, nothing else was used. They preferred to stick to their traditional ways which are not necessarily the safest or the best result oriented. But it is hard to break away from age old tradition.

A group of singing men appeared at the base of the rock pulling a very long ladder made of jungle vines and bamboo and it made its way up to the very top of the rock.  A man started descending through the swinging ladder carrying a couple of indigenous tools. One was a spade like tool to cut off the hive from the rock and the other was a torch to smoke out the bees. They had long handles and the man handled them with amazing dexterity even while hanging 300 meters above the ground. All the safety measures that the man had were the prayers on his lips.  And they seem to work too as they have had no causalities over the years!

A bucket was lowered from the top and the man on the ladder began cutting off the hives into the bucket.  With a million bees swarming all over him, it certainly was an extremely difficult task.  A lot of the honey goes to waste because of the impossible angles that the hives are built on.  Many of the hives cannot be reached at all. Two harvesters also climbed up from below and collected the hives from an overhang which would have been impossible for the man on the ladder to reach.

The number of hives and the amount of honey they produce depends a lot on the climatic conditions. There were 64 hives last year compared to the 85 hives this year.  On an average, each hive produces 8 to 10 kilos of honey and it takes three days to harvest the all the hives. Some modern methods of squeezing out of the hives would have yielded better results. As of now, the method is traditional. The hives are placed on an inclined platform of banana leaves with a funnel at the end where a bamboo strainer is placed to keep the bees from going in to the container.

The Nagaland Rockbee and Honey Mission buys off the honey from the villagers at the market price thus encouraging them to harvest more and in a better way. The harvesting is done twice a year from this rock. There are reports of many other rockbee colonies in the forest of the village and also inside Myanmar but they are too deep into the forest and the villagers just let them be…for now.

The drive from Pungro to Mini is very interesting. At some stretches, tall grass and trees form a canopy over the road…almost like a tunnel. The road passes through meadows and hills with pine trees standing against a clear blue sky with puffs of white clouds.  There are steep drops on the side and beyond are the virgin forests right up to the Myanmar border. And it is off-road all the way.

Mimi itself is an interesting village. There are a couple of huge caves that would bring an ear to ear grin to any adventurer’s face. The steep drop to the caves is tiring indeed and if one wants to explore the cave in true earnest, it would take at least a couple of days of camping. The forests of Mimi have animals like hollock gibbon, bear, deer, a huge variety of birds and other small animals.   I head the gibbons far away during a walk through the forest with a couple of very informative villagers but I certainly didn’t see them. They said there were 8 of them.

The old ladies of Mimi makes lovely potteries and they do not use the wheel. They beat the clay with a flat wooden plank and make potteries of all sizes – large ones to store rice or rice beer and the smallest ones for chutney! They make intricate smoking pipes too.

Only women of the village make the potteries and there is a traditionally compelling reason why.  What the men folk bring from a hunt are cooked in the pots the women make. If the men stayed at home to make pots, the family would go hungry.

Now the pots, inscribed “Made In Mimi” are filled with honey.

/////////////

Quick facts

• Air India operates daily flights from Delhi to Dimapur. Dimapur to Kohima is 78 kms. From Kohima, it is a day’s journey by an SUV to Pungro. The next day, you will have to take another 3 hour journey to teach Mimi Village.
• It is necessary to travel on a SUV like Bolero or Scorpio and preferably with a 4×4 option because you would be travelling through a lot of bad roads. A lot of new roads are being built and hence the bad surface

• The harvesting takes place twice a year. In May-June and in mid October. A lot depends on the climatic condition. The villagers check the hives regularly during this time to ascertain the time of harvesting.

• In Mimi, you can also go caving and go for some short  treks in the forest.

A collection by Md Habibur Rahman.

Translated by Dibyajyoti Sarmah

Fried Eye says- I had read some where that each story has again a story behind it that is equally worth reading. This Moina Parijat article compiled by Mr Habibur Rehman has an interesting history which I feel should be shared with the world.

We had planned this article for our July issue , but we were shocked to find no background data over the net. Google failed, though not its fault. If we google now we will find the Moina Parijat website , but then it was under construction maybe. Whatever be the reason we were dumbfounded to find that such a noble project has no mention of its origin or other details. We started trying to dig in for data, get in touch with people but that was easier said than done and for the first time we decided to shelve a project because of lack of input. That was when we came across Mr. Habibur Rehman from Jorhat who is associated with the local Moina Parijat over there.  Meanwhile we were near to the deadline, but still we made a last ditch attempt to get some input. And we were pleasantly surprised! Mr Habibur Rehman handed us his compilation in two days flat and it was obvious about the efforts he had taken for it. He first compiled the data, got it typed, scanned it and finally mailed it from an Internet cafe (not a big issue for us, right? But think about it please, from his view point). But It was in Assamese and we had touched deadline, so we had to postpone for a later suitable date. Finally in our children special issue , we are proud to present before you his compilation. His labour of love because just like us he too believes that the world should know of brighter things, of things that show us some ray of hope in today’s bleak world. Thank you Mr. Rehman. Fried Eye will never forget your kindness and sincerity.

‘Moina Parijat’ The name has a soothing and melodious ring to it.   What is Moina Parijat you may be wondering if you haven’t heard of it. “Moina Parijat” is the most suitable working place for the physical, mental and intellectual development of children.

This non-governmental organization was established for the development of children, and according to its constitution, its aim and goals are to give freedom and opportunity to the growing children of the country to unite themselves so under the cover of playfulness and joy, so that under a pleasant and secure environment ,they can develop their own skills and prepare themselves for future as a responsible citizen contributing to the social, moral and cultural growth of society and at the same time to teach them about brotherhood by introducing them with different children of different places.

You will find the different branches of  “Moina Parijat” distributed in almost all the villages and towns of Assam. These primary branches altogether compose “District Moina Parijat” and “All Assam Moina Parijat” is composed by all these district branches. For the sake of proper management, in some districts, some regional sub division of branches of “Moina Parijat” maybe composed too. This social institution is run by some great people who dedicate themselves in the service of children.

In this article, I have tried my best to give an overall glimpse about the establishment, aim and goal of “Parijat”.

It was in 1948 the ‘Saptahik Janambhumi’ newspaper which was published weekly from Jorhat, launched a regular program for children named as ‘Moina Mell’. This program became popular within a few days, and many children became member of it. This program was directed and managed by Troilokyanath Sarmah who was very fond of children. Time passed, the idea developed and expanded. After discussing with some educationists, Troilokyanath Sarmah, realizing the potential of such an organization prepared some regulations under open air education system for the smooth running of the “Moina Mell”. In preparing these regulations, Troilokyanath Sarmah was being helped by educationists Biman Boruah, Hemanta Bordoloi, Jagdish Phukan etc. Under these regulations, Mr. Hemanta Bordoloi formed ‘Jaihind Moina Mell’ in Tarajan Sonarigaon of Jorhat for the first time as a trial.  After the successful formation of the first one, under the supervision of people like Hemanta Bordoloi, Jagadish Phukan, Badan Boruah and Devika Saikia, other “Moina Mell”s in different places of Jorhat. Gradually its fame spread far and away and “Moina Mell” were constituted in places like Challenghat, Moranhat, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Dergaon, Nagaon, Tezpur, North Lakhimpur, Tinichukia, Margherita, Mongaldoi, Shillong etc. The first conference of “All Assam Moina Mell” was held in Jorhat in 1951. This conference was inaugurated by none other than the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Yes, such was its success and hype ! Keeping the propagation of “Moina Mell” in mind, in 1950  a central committee for the smooth running of “Moina Mell” was formed, where Mahadev Sarmah was the president, Troilokyanath Sarmah and Jagadish Phukan were general secretaries, Rohit Rajkhowa was office secretary and Hemanta Bordoloi was the organizational secretary and the organization was named as “Assam Pradeshik Moina Mell”. You have to remember Moina Parijat had still not appeared in the picture and we are still on the Moina Mels.

At the same time, in Guwahati, a child organization called ‘Arati Sangha’ came into being. The people involved in this organization were Ratna Kumar Gautam, Nalinibala Devi, Dr. Bhubaneswar Boruah, Puspalata Das, Puwal Duwara and Prakash Sarmah. Under the supervision of Ratna Kumar Gautam, there had been a meeting to form a state level child organization and as a result of this meeting a child organization called “All Assam Parijat Kanan” was formed. The committee was formed with 21 members, and the people were Nalini Bala Devi-the Chief, Promod Chandra Bhattacharya-assistant, Atul Chandra Hazarika-the finance convenor, Ratna Kumar Gautam-general secretary and Nabin Sarmah-the chairman. Later on different branches of this Parijat Kanan were formed in Golaghat, Jorhat, Dhakuwakhana etc. In 1952, the open conference of Parijat Kanan was organized in the Harisobha Mandap of Panbazar and the president of “Assam Pradeshik Moina Mell”, Mr. Madhav Sarmah was invited to preside over the conference. In the same year, 1952, the annual conference of “Assam Pradeshik mojna Mell” was also organized in Tinsukia town. In this conference, Madhav Sarmah, Nalini Bala Devi and Troilokyanath Sarmah proposed to unite these two child organizations as their objectives and goals were similar. For this a committee was formed with 14 members where 7 members were from each organization. This committee was able to unite the two organizations.

On 27 June of 1954 both “Moina Mell” and “Parijat Kanan” were united to form “All Assam Moina Parijat” where the term “Moina” came from “Moina Mell” and “Parijat” came from “Parijat Kanan”. After the sacrifice, perseverance and hard work of many great persons, “Moina Parijat” has reached its present condition.

For achieving the main goal of over all development of the character and personality of a child “Moina Parijat” performs the following works….

1. Lays focus on the nurturing and cultivating an interest for different creative arts like fine arts, through which the children can be aware about their own intellectuality and thus develop it.
2. To create patriotism in the children by celebrating the birth and death anniversary of different national genius and making them aware of our rich history and cultural heritage and at the same time introduce them to the life and ideals of those great and genius persons.
3. To establish libraries, organize literary events, debate competition and create a forum for discussion for child on various issues where the child can fearlessly voice his opinions and at the same time learn to respect other’s opinion too
4. To arrange excursions, social service program for the child so that they can learn from activities and first-hand experience.
5. To organize musical, dance, recitation and drama program so that with time talents can be identified and their creativity can be given adequate scope to be developed.
6. To organize child friendly psychological and scientific exercises for children to develop their physical health regularly.
7. To communicate among the parents, guardians, teachers and other social workers through “Moina Parijat” and establishing branches of “Moina Parijat” in different places irrespective of  hill or plain and to give the children a wide place to bloom.
8. To popularize the rights of children in society and at the same time try to mantain and execute those rights.
9. To execute and spread different works for the overall development of children’s mental and physical health through some scientific means and missions. For this aim to be executed different welfare programs has been incorporated along with the ones for women and youth.
10. To maintain cooperation with other national and international organizations whose goals and objectives are similar to “Moina Parijat”.
11. To fulfill all or one aim of “All Assam Moina Parijat” and to execute different programs for it.

“Moina Parijat” is an institution which has been welcomed and appreciated by all and sundry. Any child irrespective of the caste, community or social strata under 12 years of age can be a member of this. The branches of “Moina Parijat” are directed under the above aim and ambitions of its constitution. It is true that “Moina Parijat” has been playing an important role in the mental, physical and intellectual development of children. The main mantra of “Moina Parijat” is “ami puhar bisari jao” (let us go in search for light). This light is light of wisdom. Children have a curious mind. They are always curious to know something which they don’t know. “Moina Parijat” has been guiding the children by introducing them the truth and showing the correct path through which they can become good citizen  for society. The guiding light that is Moina Parijat inculcates such training and overall education, one which the children will benefit from in future as well. Today “Moina Parijat” is not only a well known institution in Assam, but it has become a well known institution in entire India, it is because of the hard work and sacrifice of the directors and workers of the institution and the cooperation of the child loving people and public at large.

(N.B.-In preparing the article the writer took help of a few articles written on “Moina Parijat” and the constitution of “All Assam Moina Parijat”.)

“Northeast” ” North East” “North-east”- catch phrases all of them. The exclusionists stress on their differences- from the so called main land and from each other. The inclusionists cannot stop reiterating their “sister”lines, the need for a collective harmony, for a unity that reiterates a shared history. What was once an utterly “neglected” region of the Indian territory has now begun making its presence felt amongst the mainstream. In fact by now, with the aid of a variety of awareness systems (both positive and negative)  most of the world, (why India alone) can rattle of the seven North Eastern States of India proudly as Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram  and Arunachal Pradesh. However, much information and understanding of these states still remain to be widely disseminated.  For instance, since we have begun with a look back on our past let us begin with the crucial question of history itself. How many of us know of the genesis of these seven states in the first place?

The history almanacs and the hyper-real library called the World Wide Web will throw back several pages of dates and events on a cursory search. Dates that go back to pre-British era, dates that move forward into the late twentieth century. Dates, coupled with time and places- so many of them that they open up a huge Pandora’s Box in front of us. It is common knowledge today that the region we are talking about has had a history fraught with tensions of various sorts –tensions that still raise their ancient yet stubbornly unrelenting heads over matters like what is the correct terminology to be used in reference to these states in question. Should we be clubbing them together at all or should they be given their own space and time in history, in our own pages of research, in our understanding of their coming into being? No simple answers. Instead terms like The Sixth Schedule, Plebiscite, Secession, North Eastern Council and Autonomy literally made us go crazy as they danced about us, mocking at our ignorance, at our helplessness, our inability to take a stand as neat, precise and simple as a History textbook would like us to take. What we discover is a murky melodramatic epic of sorts with lots of twists and turns of dissents, mistrust, rebellions; of friends growing close and falling apart. So like an Ekta Kapoor serial. Only so much graver in significance.

Every break up causes heartbreaks but they don’t come as a surprise to the people involved because each breakup has a preceding period of turmoil making both the parties aware of an impending separation. The breaking down of Berlin wall was a surprise but not The USSR. So was the case with Pre Independence Assam.

The northeast , then mostly known as Assam and which used to include Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, had to pay the highest price for its Independence and that price is an area of 1,45,067 sq km and a population of about 23 lakhs. Excluding areas of Sylhet which was literally gifted to East Pakistan  and some 60 sq miles of area to Bhutan. Of course, pre-independence Assam itself was no static independent territory. Having been gradually annexed to the Bengal Presidency after the Treaty of Yandabo(1826)- a process that took around five years to complete- Assam had turned into a part of the Eastern Bengal and Assam province in 1906. By the time of 1937, several turn of events had taken place and Assam had its own legislative assembly and the process of the evolution of the state did not stop there.

If you want a brief, a very brief story on how the states came into being then it can be put across in just a line: Post Independence Assam comprised a vast area which includes the present day states of Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, but after some bitter periods of turmoil and rebellion followed by agreements and peace talks, the states separated out. We guess, you know this much by now. Isn’t that how things work out?  But the entire story of the reorganization and formation of states isn’t that short and simple. Manipur and Tripura were already separate kingdoms but the first seeds of separation was sown during the Simon Commission reforms way back in 1929 and that spanned (to be politically correct and to be sticking to history dates that is) till 1971 when Meghalaya and Mizoram were declared Union Territories. So far the story seems to be just a continuation of the anga-bhanga kind of Divide and Rule Policy of The British that made Assam and East Bengal a separate province in the first place in 1906, doesn’t it? Perhaps it was, perhaps it was meant to be something else but ended up being the same at the end of the day. Who knows, who can tell? We can only ponder and become opinionated. Or perhaps we can try to remain neutral chroniclers ( we all know by now that such a chronicler is as real as a unicorn grazing with the cows in the meadow) and continue with our story.

We must remind you however that the Sixth Schedule to the Indian Constitution was another factor which led the way towards formation of the separate states. Why is this so important? Because the formation of the modern states of the northeast has as much to do with the evolution of the caste and the tribal classification in India as it has to do with socio-political events of war and imposed territorial annexations and cessations. The Sixth Schedule however was not a scheming dexterous ploy of the British. It was and still is very much a part of the series of Independent India’s visions of progress and empowerment.  Envisioned for self empowerment of the tribal regions, our then PM Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru declared that the Autonomous Councils his government wholeheartedly advocated for would not only safeguard the respective culture and traditions of the various tribal communities but also help them develop along the lines of their own genius. “We should judge results not by statistics or the amount of money spent but by the quality of human character that is evolved” were his words. A dream of utopic equal progress for the marginalized and so far neglected areas of the country one would call it – a dream that also sowed the seeds of working in favour of tight knit closed communities on the basis of one’s minority listings and ethnic classifications that did not unfortunately see much change from the anthropological surveys and classifications carried out under the British regime.

We must digress here to mention that The Ethnological studies and Anthropological studies have been a continuing feature of the Indian Census and the trail blazed by former Census Commissioners of India among whom one must mention Bains, Risley and Hutton. These studies were halted with the 1931 census due to various contemporary socio-political reasons and were revived thiry years later under Dr. Mitra, the Census Commissioner of 1961. Hutton (1931) an Oxford-trained anthropologist , is in particular important to our understanding of the “tribal communities” in the northeast since as P. Padmanabha, Registrar General, India puts it in his 1978 introduction to the census, his “professional training enabled him to make a mark not only in the Census Organization but also in the academic world. His studies of racial and ethnic distributions of the peoples of the sub-continent and the tribes of Assam, Nagaland and north-east India are acknowledged as monumental, particularly as he was among the first to write full scale monographs on the tribes”. Risley in 1911 had already brought in the idea of one caste/tribe being superior/inferior to another by deciding to present his census on the basis of caste/jati “ranking” thus bringing in the genesis of concepts like Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Castes. Hutton though not in full agreement with Risley did little to change the ranking. He added matter regarding the functioning and the dynamics of operations within the castes. If the Census of India, 1901 introduced the mainland for the first time to some of the “most primitive societies or tribes” living in the interior areas like Lushai Hills (Mizoram), North Eastern Frontier Agency (Arunachal Pradesh) and Nagaland, Hutton’s surveys and monographs extended into a more in depth study of Naga tribes- their land tenure systems, rituals besides tracing a racial and ethnic civilization progress through anthropological understanding of these tribes based on a study of their blood-groups and physical features- a process that was carried out by his succesors like Guha. The censuses do not hesitate to look at these SCs and OBCs as “aboriginal population” and their primitive and aboriginal nature is often stressed upon by the linguistic surveys that are taking place alongside under the British cataloguing system – a process that saw its fruition in the periodical Linguistic Survey of India taken out by Grierson.

In other words the backwardness stressed upon was not only economic and infrastructural as most Post Independent surveys and censuses claim it to be. On paper, in pursuance of the national government’s policy to discourage community distinctions based on caste, race, etc., the 1951 Census gave up the questions on these aspects, which were earlier given priority. However, paradoxically it reinstates these very points at its crux when it further mentions that the only relevant question on this confined itself to ‘Special groups’, namely., whether a person belonged to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or a Backward Class or the Anglo-Indian community, so as to meet the requirement of the Constitution for the weaker sections of the society. Though there was a conscious move to focus on the festivals, indigenous crafts, markets of these communities is noted in the censuses to follow, the stereotypical  prejudiced understanding of a tribal primarily as a “primitive” rather than a neutral “belonging to a particular ethno/racial community carried its cultural baggage in a layman’s perspective of the northeastern states and any population therein that did not confirm to the mainland Brahminical understanding of the four castes and their sub varnas.

It is hardly surprising therefore that the Sixth Schedule ended up promoting a feeling of alienation and a need to break out and reinstate oneself as the mainstream rather than the marginal in one’s own native geographical locations even as it did allow for some massive strides of economic progress in the said regions.

To be continued …

By Fried Eye Research Team- A Myra Mani Project

References-

Joshish, Betukay,Maujood, Manaazil, Ird Gird… Do they sound familiar to you or do they seem like words lifted straight from a beautiful verse? If they sound familiar, then obviously you have heard of Joshish , the experimental/progressive rock band from Bhopal, now based in Mumbai who shot into the limelight of the Indian Rock Music scenario with MTV Rock on, where they were featured as one of the top ten Indi rock bands . Those who haven’t heard of them till date , I strongly recommend checking them out in My Space and You tube starting with their first official release of 2007- Ho Subah till the current Betukay which has already begun to create waves globally for its  uniqueness

What  appears to be their USP as observed from a mini survey that we had conducted among a section of our readers were the strong vocals and guitar solos , supported aptly by the riffs and meaningful lyrics combined with a raw energy.

Fried Eye had the opportunity to chat up with their frontman  cum guitarist cum lyricist Sameer Rahat who spoke at length about their struggle, their aspirations and their music. He was never short of words or for that matter of humour and enthusiasm either. No wonder they never ran short of words for their songs and not just Betukay words but rather deep and meaningful ones with an underlying message for the people.  Sameer does seem to have an ear for the right words as can be seen from the choice of titles (He being responsible for the lyrics- “Yes, lyrics are totally my zone.” Though a regular creative session is usually an unplanned one and a team work, but lyrics is something that is exclusively for Sameer) . From Joshish to Betukay, Moujood, Manazil  and their next on the pipeline Ird Gird every title had been chosen with care. Hence the first question that was thrown at them was precisely about the name of the Band- Joshish.  Sameer patiently explained how much thought had gone into the naming of the band as they wanted an unique name that could convey the essence of their music and ‘something which would be exclusively found in google’ and he had come up with Joshish, a Arabian Persian word meaning passion, a crusade. Just like he had come up with Ird Gird, their upcoming album, which he said would be about the everyday perception of life -Things that just happened around you and how they affect you in different ways

Betukay, a song about self empowerment, is a different experimentation and a total deviation from what they had been playing till date. This is their third official release and they had released earlier Ho Subah and Still not too late. Ho Subah was an impressive debut, a mellow track focusing on Terrorism and Hope and was well received by their fans.

“ We have come a long way since Ho Subah , but for us it will always remain a special one “ said Sameer fondly remembering their first taste of success. Ho Subah though well received was comparatively underpromoted and hence it stayed confined to only a section of listeners. Fresh and new in the circuit back then , they were “more into making meaningful music rather than commercializing it” and were just happy to play good music and thrill their fans. After Still not too late, they decided to take a break from the recording studios and instead “decided to concentrate on self discovery and discovering what their music was”. They however  continued playing in the local college and festival circuit. But wherever they went they strictly stuck to their own compositions and so songs like Maujood and Manaazil became a rage over a period. The only time when they had to belt out Bollywood tracks instead of their own  was in MTV Rock On where their reluctance to do so always gave them  a different  aspect then the other bands  and their disinclination towards not playing their own songs was the top story throughout the season, but they still managed to stay among the top four despite their discomfiture.

Five years since they decided to create music together , they have managed to stay together through thick and thin, carrying forward their dream and passion – A journey which had seen many hardships , struggle, balancing acts and changes in line up of their band, finally settling down to the original line up of Sameer the lead vocalist and on bass guitars, Shwetang Shankar on the drums and Shatarchi Hundet  on the lead guitars and effects. – A journey which had made them shift base from  to Mumbai and one which had turned out to be a right move providing them with wider scope and opportunity .

“WE are still in a struggling phase” Sameer maintained.

Their humble origins from Bhopal was often met with skepticism, but in spite of all their odds, their focus and hard work paid off and Betukay was released. I could sense their focus when Sameer replied in the negative to my query of their highest point of their musical career.

“ We are still struggling and Our highest point is yet to come, which we hope to attain with Ird Gird if everything turns out well.”

Betukay which is an experimentation, is a door, a key to more promising things to come. Speaking of Betukay, I could sense the excitement at the other end of the line as Sameer spoke of global acceptance of Betukay. They have been featured in Big M and they also have been approached by a UK based magazine for an interview and promotion of Betukay.   What strikes you most in Betukay is the singularity of its sound and is quite different from what the listeners are accustomed to when they conjure up images of Indi Rock. “We want our music to be global in sound yet one which anyone can relate to.” I agreed with him when he said that Rock music catered to only a niche audience in India, and he wished with all his heart for it to be far reaching.

“I want that our music should reach every man. Even the autowallahs” And that is the reason they had stuck to hindi as their medium while experimenting with the genre. He confessed of facing some cynicism from some quarters for  Betukay for its atypical  feel  but finally what mattered was that they had taken the long planned first step towards their vision of mass acceptance which they are hoping from Ird Gird next year. I made a mental note to myself to follow it up when it released next year. Ho Subah had certainly made a mark on my mind and I certainly was going to watch out for more.

On a lighter note I asked him which song or songs would he recommend to a first time listener . He paused only for a few seconds before replying Maujood and Betukay-Betukay for the ”technical stuff” he added. So now you know which one to head for if you are a first time listener of Joshish. Maujood though still unreleased, has been played many times onstage and is one of the popular numbers of the band.  The words stage show suddenly reminded me how their fans had applauded their live acts as an audio visual treat and I decided to worm out the secret of their on stage success.

“Humour ! Plenty of Stupid Humour!’ and I couldn’t refrain myself from chuckling out aloud. Not everyday did you get a man who could laugh at himself. “ We chat and interact a lot with our fans between performances, crack jokes…  “ and also keep the atmosphere charged probably.

Ironically I decided to ask him about a somewhat serious matter just when we were warming up to the conversation. On inquiring what positive change he would like to see at present if one compared the Indian rock music scenario progressively from 1960s, he replied  “Media has been one positive change ” Media’s evolution as a music friendly entity promoting upcoming talents through magazines, television and online magazines has been like a breath of fresh air  to the Indian music scenario .

The one positive change that he would like to see now is the involvement of Bollywood in propagating Rock music among the masses which he said is sadly lacking and is one area with immense potential for mass propagation. But Bollywood has so far managed to stay away from the Indian Rock musicians.

Black Friday was an exception, but again that was Indian Ocean, an already established band. More over what they would really like to see about Rock music in movies is not as a situational music or something with a filmy touch, but rather rock music just for its entire sake which is not based on demands of the Director of the movie.  And by that same logic, for real rock music, it would have to be composed by real rock musicians.

“And so they should in that manner give a chance to the upcoming bands. In fact they should try us too.”  he added cheekily.  If confidence, hard work and focus is a path to success, then they surely are on the right track.  Finally it was time to wind up the interview and I asked him if there was any message for the readers and fans from them. And yes , he did have a message! He had one special requests for his fans, over and above the promise to give the best ,and that was to download legally the songs which were available at a minimal cost instead of downloading them illegally and encouraging piracy . After all one needs money to sustain and create good music too. Agreed Sameer! Creativity does need money to sustain.

Durga Puja usually spells fanfare and pomp and splendour for not only the ardent devotees of Goddess Durga, but also for every other person who loves to take a little break from daily work or other activities. While most of the country is busy having a great time relaxing and enjoying with family and friends, some busy in planning and organising and setting up puja pandals and performing the puja rituals, and some are busy doing nothing but spending time alone in pure bliss; somewhere near or far are yet other people who have their own peculiar ways of observing this festival. They sacrifice lives. And no, they do not sacrifice their own happiness or their own lives for the sake of others or anything on these lines. They brutally sacrifice the lives of poor, innocent, speechless animals for the sake of their own ‘so called’ prosperity. They do it in the name of appeasing the goddess of power Devi Durga. But in the name of faith it is seen that hundreds of these poor animals are slaughtered.

The last Durga Puja was no exception to this societal killing frenzy. 48 buffaloes, over 2,000 goats and an uncountable number of pigeons and ducks were chopped out of their lives in the state of Assam. And the number is only tentative which might have even gone up. While the highest numbers of animals – 31 buffaloes – were sacrificed at the Billeswar Devalaya at Belsor in Nalbari, at Kamakhya temple, 10 buffaloes and 500 goats were sacrificed in keeping with tradition. Meanwhile, thousands of devotees thronged Rani on the outskirts of Guwahati, where seven buffaloes and over 1,000 ducks and pigeons were sacrificed. And nothing but the faith of a society has murdered them. All of this is shocking but very true. And the same story has been repeated over the years. It is ironical that these mindless traditions have continued even when the society is said to have been becoming a progressing one.

Animal sacrifices have not been confided to the ritualistic traditions of Durga puja only. Different Pujas ordain the need of animal sacrifices. Whether it be Kali puja, Manasa puja there are many such rituals that have animal sacrifices. And the sacrifices have not been confined to only the special yearly pujas. The temples have sacrifices all the year round. The devi piths of Kamakhya, Mahamaya temple in Dhubri are well known for the sacrifices. Even this ghastly tradition of sacrifice has found resonance in some unlikely places of our day to lives. It is rumoured that Animals are sacrificed when new large scale construction especially in the building of bridge is undertaken.

The buck does not stop here. Even the Humans are also not spared. Superstitious persons blindfolded in the cloth of fanatism indulge in such activities as well. In the hindsight such heinous incidents of human sacrifice is present but it remains unreported. A few jawans sacrificed a young boy in the name durga puja in Meghalaya a few days back. It raises serious questions on the conduct of the people in case of religious beliefs. In fact the tradition of human sacrifice goes a long way back. Tamreshwari Devalaya Centuries ago had the tradition of human sacrifice there. The Ahoms did not put a stop to it. Infact they would send the persons who had been awarded the death sentence to be slaughtered there. Historical evidence also suggests that human sacrifice was also prevalent in the Kamakhya temple of Guwahati. But Human sacrifices have become obsolete.

Whatever may be the historical precedence that may exist in case of sacrifices but that does not dictate that these heinous practices be adhered to. Now there is a building public opinion stating that the animal sacrifices may now be discontinued. It makes no sense to the logical mind that these poor animals be slaughtered in the name of some religious beliefs. Different organisations and individuals have raised their voices against the animal sacrifices. ‘People for animals’ is an organisation which has been most vocal against this menace. But it is really up to the society to re think on this issue. It is indeed time that the festive spirit of Durga Puja, or any other festive occasion for that matter is spared the scene of a blood bath…

Once upon a time…

Shahwar Hussain and his riding buddies were lured by the natural beauty of Meghalaya and the wildlife of Assam… and so the story continued…

Words and pics :Shahwar Hussain

The helmet can be a furnace at times and years of riding long distances have resulted in a fried brain. And a fried brain results in short term amnesia (my theory!). Otherwise, how come I do not remember riding in North East India in pouring rain in the middle of November?  I should ride a little less during the summers to save my brain from getting fried beyond repair…

A few friends had come down from different parts of the country to ride through some parts of the North East with me…and now the rain was threatening to play a spoilsport.  But the skies held in the evening and we quickly made our way to Kamakhya Temple at Guwahati in Assam, arguably the most famous tantric temple in India, built in 1565 by the Koch Dynasty.  According to legends, the Goddess had cursed the Royal family and banned them from offering Puja in the temple. Over the centuries the ban held and no one from the royal family or their descendants has ever been to the temple.  The curse was strong and fearful enough to even compel the late Maharani Gayatri Devi, who also belonged to the Koch Dynasty, to look the other way while crossing the Kamakhya area!

The temple holds interest even for people who are not really into temples – the history, the structure, the tantric rites, the teeming pilgrims and the hill top location with an awesome view of the Brahmaputra River with its white sands.

A young priest approached us with an offer to take us inside the temple for prayers. He was rather persistent and convinced two of the guys to go in for prayers…Prayers for the road…that was good…but for me, I have a direct hotline with God.

Later as we sat on the bank and sipped tea, we saw the flaming red sun go down on the other side of the hills. The setting sun set the skies on fire and the reflection on the river was simply breathtaking…and in the middle of that mighty river, we saw one lonely boat ferrying its occupants to the other side. Twilight is a beautiful but also the loneliest time of the day.

Early the next day, we rode out for Meghalaya.  We started early to avoid those coal laden, black smoke bleaching land locomotives that we call trucks. There is massive road construction work going on in Meghalaya and the rain made certain sections a sea of mud.

We were on our way to the village of Mawlynnlong, a distance of around 180 kms from Guwahati. We gave Shillong a miss on our way up. The village is about 86 kms from Shillong and it is said to be the cleanest village in Asia. The friendly villagers take the tag of “Cleanest Village..” rather seriously and we could see little children casually picking up dry fallen leaves. There are dustbins all around and for the life of me, I wouldn’t be seen littering here.

We stayed at a lovely bamboo tree house. It was not Tarzan’s tree house exactly, but I was happy. Half of the house is in the tree and there is a lovely machan built completely on the tree.

Henry, the care taker, made some lovely chicken dish and we sat in the machan with a dim overhead bulb for company…The food was simply great and I am sure we ate some insects and flies too which were hovering overhead near the bulb…They sure added to the taste and no one complained! And all along we heard the river roaring down below…

We went the village the next day. There was a platform high up on a tree which they called “Sky View”. We paid a fee of Rs 10 to go up the bamboo pathway up to the platform to see the wide planes of Bangladesh.

The most amazing thing that we saw was the root bridge. No one knows the exact age of the bridge but from the accounts of the old villagers, it seems to be about 150 years old. Since the river gets very wild in the monsoon, the villagers had to take a very long detour to get to the other side. The villagers enclosed the young roots of a tree inside some bamboos and divert them to the other side of the river. Over the years, the roots grew through the bamboos and reached the other side and took roots there. Now it is a solid structure. There are quite a few living root bridges like this in the area and there is a double decker bridge too…A fantastic example of using nature for benefit without destroying it.

We left Mawlynnlong for Shillong before noon. The road till Shillong is an absolute dream…good enough for a Superbike. We passed through two gorges where the mist came rolling in twice and enveloped us completely. We stopped at a place called Mylliem and at a small shop with white lace curtains run by a mother and daughter duo. The shop has no name but they make the best beef balls in the whole wide world that simply melts in your mouth. My fellow riders almost cleaned out the entire shop and had only beef balls for dinner!!

Just before we reached Shillong, we spotted two lovely war era Willys Jeeps in mint condition. Shillong is a total Jeep country and many of them are WWII Willys and Ford jeeps. Most of them still have the original engines and in very good condition but they are becoming too expensive to run these days.

At Shillong we went for a small jamming session and the next day we left for Narthiang, about 55 kms from Shillong.  Narthiang has a UNESCO Heritage site and the place is littered with monoliths of all size and shape but the inscription does not say why all these monoliths were placed there. Back in Shillong, we took a tour of Bara Bazar in the afternoon. It is an amazing place and a photographer can exhaust any number of memory cards shooting the sights of this bazaar. This market is for traditional stuffs that people in Meghalaya have been using for ages-A ‘must visit’ kind of place.

Another night of jamming which went on till the small hours of the night! As expected, no one woke up early the next morning, but since we had to travel only about 120 kms and on relatively good roads,it was ok.

We started out at noon and slowly rode down towards the plains of Assam. Our next destination was Kaziranga National Park but since it was a long way off, we decided to spend the night at the Brahmaputra Jungle Resort. The resort is about 20 km out of Guwahati city and way off the highway. Even though the swimming pool was inviting, the November chill kept everyone out of it.

Kaziranga was 200 kilometers away and we reached there after about five and half hours of easy riding. The main entrance into the Kaziranga Park is at Kohora and there are number of hotels in the area – from the budget hotels to some really high end ones. But Kohora is also the most crowded entry gate to the park and we wanted to avoid the crowd.

Another 20 kms beyond Kohora, we turned left at a place called Bokahat and carried on for about 3 kms till the roads ended and the embankment began. Across the embankment is an eco camp run by Mr Khanjan Nath. The camp is set on a riverbed. During the summers, the Dhansiri River floods the area and the camp shuts down. It reopens only in the winters. The bamboo houses are built on stilts in the traditional style of the Mising tribe of Assam.

This place, miles away from the town, has no other construction near it as far as the eye can see, and is surrounded by the brilliant yellow of mustard plants in November and December. The generator runs till about 11pm and when the engine dies down, the silence becomes overpowering. Sitting by the bonfire with a million stars above is a fantastic feeling.

Early next morning amidst heavy fog, we went for an elephant safari at the Agaratoli  range on the eastern part of the Park. This range is relatively quiet and empty and the animal sightings are good. The elephant safari lasts for about 2 hours and takes the visitors where the jeeps simply wouldn’t go!!

The resident king of the park, the rhino, seemed very huge up close. We also saw a huge number of barking deer, herds of elephants, wild hogs, and a huge number of birds – some migratory and some local ones.

We were wondering why all the mahouts kept on staring at us, till we realised that we were dressed in bright motorcycling jackets and boots. Bright cloths should not be worn during a jungle safari. We were sticking out like a sore thumb.

The jeep safari after breakfast was longer and also interesting. In the evening, we visited a tea factory to see for ourselves the complex method of tea manufacturing.

At night we enjoyed the silence, bonfire and the stars above…

And I realised why I didn’t remember about the November rain…because  there weren’t any before. At least I didn’t face any when I toured in November in previous years.

Good…it is not amnesia after all!…or is it?

Do you have those strange urges when you just don’t feel like struggling ? When you would just like to lie down and stare ahead doing nothing? When nothing excites you to laugh or  fight? When the fight for survival  seems so meaningless that you just don’t even want to try? When trying hard doesn’t make any sense just because it isn’t needed or because it is so much needed that whatever zeal you have just don’t seem enough? Well it just means that you are either completely satiated in mind, body and soul or there is a hunger , a want, a need that just hasn’t been addressed. But the irony remains that we never reach a level of complete satiation so as to become defunct and the hunger gets us only in our death. Maybe that is a way of nature to keep us lively while alive.

Call it food for your body or your soul but it certainly is one of the most basic and vital element for our existence. Food speaks a lot about the person it feeds. Food reflects the culture , tradition and principles of a particular group , ethnicity, country.

15th September marks the anniversary of our food desk and so we have themed our this issue  on the many aspects of food in our lives. Sanzeeta , my co editor today and our very own in charge of food desk  has been responsible along with Pramathesh Borkotoky, our Editor in Chief, for bringing about a refreshing change and adding a colorful and delicious look to our e zine. So I would like to pass on todays ‘editorial baton ‘ to her for some food for thought. Hope you enjoy the bites and bytes.

Mani padma

Executive Editor

Fried Eye

 *** A Letter from the Food Editor ***

Dear Readers

                  Everyone in North-East India has a tale to share about a summer fruit, fooding  traditions at your family reunion or a  baking or cooking contest, the best in local wines, or the best bites in a restaurant. North- East India is a melting pot that blends east and west food culture. In this part of civilization, every little of something exists. For all those who romanticizes with food, this part of India is to be relished with English aromatic pies, smoked meats, stews, rustic barbeques, fresh vegetables, berries or simply indulge  at the sight of smokes puffing away from the roof top as the sun sets in.

On this anniversary issue of Food Desk in Fried Eye, I would like to say that the journey has been a quite a Catch 22 situation at parts. Revealing the mind of a cook has not been as simple as it seemed. There had been incredibly talented people who expressed their passion by creating food flavors, who were obsessively immersed in decorating food- writing the secret traditional recipes, expressing that foodie feeling in their own ways but in the end, every publication had been a spicy mix-match broth of the challenge of  transforming a simple idea to making it a delightful food memory  and experimentation on favorite meals for picky eaters.

This issue we celebrate the first anniversary with some incredible features for our readers to understand and have a peep into the culture of People in North-East India with the lesser know chili in India, the Bird Eye chili, the famous-ly ubiquitous recipe of momo, and an exposition to fermented soyabean , and a common spice  pas ( panch ) poron which is found in most household in Brahmaputra valley,Mealtime Musing makes makes nostalgic moves  with doctor’s advice on food habits for diabetic individuals to name a few.

Finally we wish our readers  some delightful reading and many more.

Sanzeeta

Food Desk in Charge

I grew up delighted by this chili, much fascinated by its color, aroma and its sharp prick of heat on my tongue. ‘Kon Jolokia’ or the Bird-Eye Chili is popularly known in gastronomy for its heat and pungent odour. ‘Kon’ means small or tiny in Assamese while ‘jolokia’ stands for chili. The chili derives its local name by its size, appearance and pungency. Among the Bodo tribes in Assam, it is known as ‘Banloo Naidauw’ means chili that looks upward. ‘Banloo’ means chili while ‘naidauw’ is to look upward.  It is known as ‘Kanthari Mulagu’ in Malayalam. In Tripura they call it ‘Puk Mircha’ which literally means insect chili.

 Kon Jolokia

Found abundantly in the North- East India, the Bird Eye chili ranges variedly in shape, size, colour, and pungency. Birds Eye chili bushes grow to a height of about four feet with slightly dense foliage. The fruit is small: more or less of one inch length, compact and tapering towards top. The flowers are white or butter white in colour. The fruit is green when young and gives out a display of vibrant colors of yellow, orange and red as it matures. When young, the fruit gives out intense pungent flavor as the heat, aroma and juice content of the chilly is high at this stage. The chili itself looks bold. Over ripeness produces wrinkles on the skin and it slowly becomes dry vaporizing away its aroma.

It is said that the birds relish the seeds of Bird Eye Chilies and are the medium for dispersal of seeds. But trust me, I never did see them eating though I tried my best to bird-watch many times as a kid (although verbal evidences of having seen birds pecking the fruits keep floating). We always had this tree just around the corner of our kitchen garden. It grew from nowhere but somehow in that corner of the garden either as a loner or in a bunch; it grew robustly making a point to us that the law of the survival to fittest gives away many seedlings but only few best remains.

The plant is comfortable to thrive in a shady area but an open area is better to avoid them from growing thin and slender. It can also be grown as a potted plant. Watering once in a day is enough keeping in mind that the soil should not be kept heavily densed with moisture. One should also be careful while plucking the fruits. My mother taught me to pluck them by snapping it off at the angle between the chili stem and the branch or else the whole branch breaks off.

I have always preferred to relish it by crushing it slightly first by holding firmly on the fruit and pressing in the middle to hear that ‘phut’ breaking sound. One can also use the bottom portion of a spoon to crush the chili or slightly crush them in mortar with pestle or finely chop on a chopping board. If you want to know it, well I usually take it with mouthful of food chunk, quickly running the top of my index finger on the crushed chili and placing it on the middle of the tongue to take its pleasure. This is the best way to feel the taste and pungency. The sharp punch always makes my nose run.

When tasting the chili, the effect of the burning sensation is likely to be little delayed. A small firework plays on the tongue and takes some few seconds or more to settle the pungency. Sometimes the heat may refuse to settle down and if you happen to burn your mouth by its pricking heat, drinking water is not a good solution or else one may just have a stomach full of water. Instead try anything little greasy-have milk, yoghurt or cream to subside those burning pangs.

Bird’s eye chili is used for making marinades, sauces, chutneys, and is also added in curry. Chef Yu Hing Thum, Regional Executive Chef of Republic of Noodles, The Lemon Tree Hotel Company uses it in tom yum soup and for making many types of sauces. In Assam, few kon jolokias and salt added to peeled Robab Tenga (a local big fruit which looks like a big ripe lemon) jump starts a lazy afternoon. I used to love crushing these chilies, mix salt and few drops of mustard oil and have it with food daily. It goes very well with boiled bamboo shoots or baked/boiled potatoes or even dry fish chutney.  I even have experimented mixing the crushed chilies with wild sour berries, lemons, even Indian gooseberries! One of my all time favorite recipe is to crush together three or four pieces of bird’s eye chilies, 1 roasted medium sized tomato and four to five garlic pods and mix them with smoked-dried fish. One can also add boiled bamboo shoots or boiled potatoes and mix them together. This is a wonderful side dish and blends well with any non vegetarian dish or even only with rice and pulses .

Dry Bird Eye Chili

There is reasonable scope for trade in this variety of chili both in domestic and international market. Given that India is the largest exporter in chili in the world. During the months of April-July 2011 the production of chilies was 54,000 tones valued at Rs 51,075.00[1] . Kon Jolokias have tremendous trade prospects as curry ingredient, powder, semidried whole pods, finely ground powder from dried pods, flakes, fine natural paste, in mashed form, as pesticide, chili spray and tear gas. Although this variety of chili is highly heterogeneous in genetic makeup and appearance, post-harvest handling practices, drying fruit during rainy season are some inevitable challenges the producers and traders of this region need to deal with. But with competitive advantages in climate, soils, abundant and inexpensive labor, and unique agro-ecological conditions in North-East Region the production of this variety have leverage.The dried form of this chili with long shelf life, non-bulky and light weight can be easily transported from North-Eastern Region given the weak means of cheap transportation linkages.

This the second part of Shahwar Hussain’s motorcycle travel through North East India.

Text and Pics : Shahwar Hussain

“It is going to rain early this year” said Lehlu, a farmer who sells vegetables at the Kohima market. I looked towards the sky and there was not a whiff of cloud on it…clear blue sky. And I forgot about it altogether.

I was leading a few friends on a motorcycle tour of North East India and after spending a few days of riding in and around Kohima, we decide to ride out towards Wokha, Mokokchung and Mon. It was late March and winter was on its way out, but there was a rather strong sting in the early morning Kohima wind as it came whistling down from the Japfu peak.

We stepped into Dream Cafe, near the War Cemetery, for a late breakfast and for a moment I thought we were somewhere in South Korea! Korean TV series are a rage here in Nagaland and there were two tables occupied with a bunch of young people who looked like actors from those TV series. Since we sat near their tables, I overheard them talking and realised that they certainly were not talking in Nagamese and none of the other Naga dilects. The waitress later enlightened me to the fact the young people were speaking Korean!!

After bidding  goodbye to our ‘Korean’ friends, we hit the road for Wokha, the headquarters of the Lotha tribe. Wokha is just 80 odd kms away from Kohima and the roads were generally good except for some rough stretches especially in the Tseminyu area. It looked as if the overhanging rocks would fall anytime. And they do fall frequently during the monsoon season.

We made it to Longsa village in Wokha late in the evening when everything was awash with the golden rays of the setting sun. Ofcourse it called for a photo session but later when we viewed the pictures, they simply did not do justice to the fabulous setting. The picture that I have in my mind’s eye is better.

The reason why we stopped at Longsa village was because my friend’s house was a much better place to spend the night than the Government tourist lodge….and the kitchen does not close at 9.30pm!

In the morning our group went around the village and Anuj went with the women folk down to a water hole. Winters are hard time for the villagers in the mountain due to scarcity of water and they have to go miles to get potable water on their baskets. Back breaking work indeed! Anuj found out the hard way that a big man (which he is) cannot necessarily carry more water up the steep inclines….one has to know how to climb without spilling the water. By the time he reached the house, he had spilled most of the water…and if that was not embarrassment enough, he found even the little ones making fun of him.

Since the day’s ride was for only 40 kms, we started out only after lunch and headed for the Doyang reservoir. Doyang is a hydro electricity project and the dam across the Doyang river has flooded an area of more than 8000 hectares. There are small islands all over the reservoir and the local fishermen have made their huts on these. One such fisherman named Andrew had invited us to stay over the night in his ‘hut’.

We reached the hut after a 45 minutes boat ride through stretches where dead trees stuck out of the water. It was rather eerie and the after dark, it felt downright creepy. Along the way, Andrew pulled up a 5 kilo fish from the net which he had laid in the morning and also shot a crane with a .22 rifle. Food enough for dinner.

Later in the night, I lay outside my tent with a million stars above and the only sound I heard was the soft lapping of the water against the two country boats and the shore. It was a peaceful easy feeling and if I had been on my own, I sure would have stayed put for another couple of days…

Breakfast consisted of large mugs of tea, eggs and meat of a common jungle fowl. Unusual breakfast for most of the guys but it was filling.

Next destination was Mon, home of the Konyak tribe, and to reach there, we had to travel through Assam. Along the way we passed through the villages of Sanis, Baghty, Bhandari, Merapani and on to towns in Assam like Golaghat, the tea town of Jorhat and finally reached Sibsagar, which was the capital of Assam during the Ahom rule.

As we rolled out from our hotel the next day to travel to Mon, I realised that the prediction of the vegetable seller at the Kohima market would come true. At Sonari, we crossed a very old iron bridge and right after it is the Nagaland Police check post. We produced our Inner Line Permit and after the formalities, we rode on.

The skies had promised rain all day long and at midday, the heavens opened up in true earnest. And that too as soon as we hit the hills. But thankfully, the rains did not last very long that day. It is just 45 kms to Mon town from the checkpoint but it took all of 2 hours to travel the distance. That stretch of road was being constructed and there was too much of rubble and mud on the way. And the rains made the surface so slippery that at certain downhill stretches, it was outright dangerous.

We rode for another 42 kms from Mon town to a village called Lungwa. This village straddles the international border between India and Myanmar and it seems to have been caught in a time warp. Almost all the houses in the village, except the three schools and the church, are built in the traditional manner – with bamboo, wood and leaf for the roof. And these thatched houses are huge too! As we sat inside the Angh’s (village chief) house, I realised that a two bedroom flat would very easily fit into the common room!  And he said that he had to make the house smaller this year because of time constrains!!

The Konyaks were the most feared headhunting warriors in all of Nagaland. And they hunted heads in living memory. As we moved around the village, we saw a lot of tattooed old people. They were warriors from a bygone era. For a Konyak warrior, getting a face tattoo was the ultimate honour. Any warrior who went into warfare was decorated with a ‘V’ shaped tattoo in his body. But if a warrior brings back the head of an enemy from the battle, he was decorated with tattoos in his face. The more heads he collected, the more intricate the tattoos grew as did his status. The tattoos were done by the Queen of the village. Almost all the villages had their own collection of human skulls-trophies from battles fought in another era. The advent of Christianity has resulted in most of these collections being buried,except for some villages like Chenga Shengue which has built a museum to house the skulls and other artefacts from that era.

The Konyaks are ruled by Anghs and the Anghship is hereditary. Although the Anghs might not be rich in monetary terms, they wield enormous power and control over the society. The Angh of Lungwa, whose house straddles the international border – half of his house lies in India and the other half in Myanmar – controls five villages in the Indian side but has more than 30 villages under him inside Myanmar. These villagers pay their obedience or taxes (if you want to call it that) to the  Angh of Lungwa. Fire wood from the jungle, agricultural products and meat are all delivered to the Angh in certain portions. They have been doing this for ages and they have no regards for a man made border. In fact, many villagers from Lungwa are employed as soldiers in Myanmar’s army.

The Konyaks are master craftsmen. They make excellent artefacts out of both wood and metal. They make fabulous muzzle loading flintlock rifles and pistols. If Robinson Crusoe had some Konyak friends, I am sure he would have had some very effective guns at his disposal rather than the ones he had which misfired and always at the wrong time too!!! And the Konyaks produce their own gunpowder too.

We stayed for a couple of days at Helsa Cottage, built in the traditional Konyak style. There are some interesting villages like Chenga Senghu, Tang, Abhoi, Langmeng and Wakching. All these villages have gunsmiths who produce these amazing guns. These guns would make for superb wall hangs but pity we can’t get them to mainland India without a license.

If you are in Nagaland in the first week of April, head for Mon to see the Konyak Nagas celebrate the Aoling festival…A spectacle you will not forget in a hurry.

It was time to move on to Mokokchung and we decided to take the backroads.  We rode on decent roads till Wakching village and thereafter the roads deteriorated till it disappeared altogether. We passed through some coal mines at Naginimora area and realised that it were the coal laden Shaktiman trucks that have destroyed the road.

The offroad continued for another 80kms, all the time getting progressively worse. We suddenly emerged from the thick vegetation through which we were riding all morning and into a wide open space that had a lovely tarmac.  We had reached Tuli and from here, Mokokchung was all of 60 odd kms away,and most importantly, it was well paved roads all the way.

Mokokchung is the homeland of the Ao Nagas and most often called the Fashion Capital of Nagaland. We checked into tourist lodge and later in the evening headed for a jamming session of a local rock band. Mokokchung has seen a sea change in the last decade or so in terms of infrastructure, roads, hotels and shopping centres. It is one of the cleanest towns in all of Nagaland. Even the villages are clean, orderly and rather well to do.

Over the next two days, we went to villages like Kubza, Lungkhum – which has a strange rock formation that looks like a bridge, Mopungchuket – where there are some really impressive huge wooden statues and each with a tale behind it and a very high totem pole, Chuchuyimlang – one of the oldest villages in Mokokchung and certainly one of the best kept.

I will be riding through Nagaland in the very near future and next time I will make sure I visit those places which I missed this time..

The culture, tradition and the people who still maintain the age old tradition inspite of the invasion of the western cultures amazes me no end.

And yes, how can I forget all those interesting and often hilarious folk tales that I get to hear from the old people….I will save them for my

(future )book….

While we were kids, mothers were seen on one of their most fearful modes when we got our hands dirty. As time passed, and we grew up Surf Excel came with line “Daag acche hai” meaning that getting dirty is fun. If that was not enough, we are presenting you with something after which you would be bound to say “Dirty Hands is awesome.” A few days back we came into contact with a company called Dirty Hands,  a design company and we liked their work so much that we decided to feature them in our most prestigious section, the Chef’s Pick. We got in touch with Zuby Johal, the Managing Director of Dirty Hands and had an interview with her.

1.       Tell us about the people involved in Dirty Hands and how they came together

The company was founded three years ago by Rajiv Subba and Mamta Gautam, both students of National Institute of Design (NID) specialists in Ceramic and Glass design. Rajiv Subba graduated from Chandigarh Art College where he perused sculpture and Mamta graduated from School of planning and architecture from Delhi where she graduated as an architect. During their academic course of two years at NID, they realized they had complementary skills and collaborated to help each other in their assignments. It was in 2008 they further collaborated to form ”DIRTY HANDS” at National design business incubation (NDBI). The team comprises of friends from there college days. The design house is a culmination of skilled and specialized architects, designers and artists under the same roof;). Our team comprises of fifteen talented and skillful individuals.

2.       Where are you based on and do you have any branches?

We have our office in Ahmedabad and we operate from here itself. According to the area of work visits are made to the destination. Both the clients and we finalize the number of visitations.

Hyper realistic model with live model Dhuri

3.       We saw images of your hyper realistic mannequins, and at the first look we thought them to be real people… and after knowing that they were mannequins we were completely speechless in awe. We understand that the perfection came after lots of hard work. What was the journey like till this point?

As I mentioned previously we believe in exploring various materials, which go beyond their conventional definitions. Hence when we were approached to work for Sadhu Vaswani museum in Pune about two years ago, we began to research and develop upon mannequins made in silicon.

The material was new to us and there was no organization in India where we could go and take

Prop for a movie

training or workshops to gain information on the material. It was each individual’s effort put in together that resulted in the product that you see today. The process is time consuming and we gathered all the information we could from the Internet and brain stormed to find solutions to bring out the best. The entire journey was magical there were days and nights when we did not sleep and just studied the material but as the saying goes no effort is ever wasted. In short the journey has been very fruitful. The credit goes to each and every individual working in the company we couldn’t have reached where we are without their hard work and support.

 4. Looking at your interesting work, we guess that your client base must be equally interesting. Tell us something about them.

We have worked for Sadhu Vaswani museum in pune that is a museum based on incidents based on his life It is a thrilling story based museum brought to life by use of art and modern technology. We have few museum works in our pipeline. We are also into prosthetics for bollywood movies and have completed a movie for Anurag Kashyup productions that will be released some time next year. We are also looking at medical prosthetics in the near future.  We believe that the material can be used for diverse purpose and has a good scope.

5. What are the greatest challenges in your business?

Props for a movie

The work is one of its kind and we are the pioneers in India. The market takes time in accepting new materials specially when the cost is high. This isone of the greatest challenges. We believe in challenging ourselves to reach to another level of perfection that at times becomes an immense challenge in itself.

6. Tell us about your most satisfying project.

Its difficult to pin point on any one project and say it was the most satisfying. Each project provides some form of satisfaction. But if I need to pick one up I would credit the Sadhu Vaswani museum because we have put in two years of hard work and the outcome has opened new arenas for us

7. Apart from making hyper realistic models, what else do you do? 

Each project that we undertake diversified ventures to come up with new piece of work. We have branched out in various fields which demand design intervention whether it is working on climate responsive architecture, interiors, lifestyle products, sculptures, tableware, installations, products for special concerns, prosthetics, hyper realistic props to even conducting workshops. We at ‘Dirty hands’, a design led initiative, believe in exploring various materials beyond their conventional definitions to realize new products, forms, function and experience.

We derive inspiration from anything and everything around us architecture, everyday items etc. Nature is probably one of the greatest influences of design inspiration for us – it’s simply everywhere.

We have worked for various clients but to name a few the India International Jewellery Show (IIJS) Goa, Starz club and Jyot exhibit Ahmedabad , Anurag kashyup productions, Sadhu Vaswani mission, Adani group etc.

On a motorcycle travel through Nagaland, the author discovers that the backroads always passes through and leads to beautiful places.

Words and Pic: Shahwar Hussain

This is the third time in as many visits that I have seen the old man and always at the same stone bench. But I never made any attempt to speak to him because I didn’t want to intrude. I guess he, like me, find the cemetery a peaceful place to spend some time alone and I find all the solitude I need at the World War II cemetery at Kohima, Nagaland. But I have been on the road for a while now, riding through a few states in North East India and making friends by the dozen….so I thought by now it is alright to intrude.

I walked up to say hello and as he turned towards me with a warm smile, I noticed for the first time a row of shiny War Medals pinned to his shawl. He had fought against the invading Japanese army in the bitter Kohima War and he was all of 19 years then.

The sun dipped over the mountain and the skies turned a fiery red as he told me stories of heroism, pain, death and glory. Wow! I thought, only a microscopic minority of my fellow travellers would have had the good luck to hear firsthand accounts from a War Hero.

My friend Anuj and I had reached Dimapur late evening and checked into a delightful home stay a little out of main town at a place called Padam Pukhuri. Dimapur is the commercial hub of the state and like any other business hub, is always crowded. There are a few watering holes too where you can let your hair down but we had a long day at the saddle and decided to give them a miss. There will be time enough for that.

We decided not to take the highway to Kohima and instead take a long detour. A little after the 7 Mile area, a road turns right towards Peren town. It’s a shortcut and the ride passes through an Assam Rifles camp, some new Sema and Angami villages, through gentle hilly stretches and on to the flat plane of Jalukie, which is sometimes called the ‘Ricebowl of Nagaland’.

I have developed this sudden interest for caves and that explains my trip to Peren district. I was told that there were ancient caves with paintings inside beyond the village of Nsong. The road to Nsong was broken in large patches but the greenery and the fantastic view more than made up for the offroad conditions.

As advised, we pay a visit to the village Chairman but he had bad news for us. The road beyond the village was all dug up and closed. And it was a long trek to the caves. So we accepted the Chairman’s invite for a meal which his Lotha wife cooked…chicken with bamboo shoot, boiled vegetable and Raja Mirchi chutney that blew the roof of my mouth!! It is supposed to be the hottest chilli in the world.

Well, since Nsong was a failure, we decided on the other cave located at the border of Manipur or so I thought. It turned out that the caves were in Manipur. Well, it took us almost two days to ride to this border village named Ntuma and I am not going to go back without a trip to the cave.

Tharon cave

The Barak river divides the two states and a wildly swinging suspension bridge is the only way of crossing it.  After a bone jarring six hour ride on a pickup truck and a three kilometre trek, we reached the Tharon Cave. We were told that there are 100 chambers in this cave and was used by freedom fighter Rani Gaidinliu during her fight against the British. It’s a labyrinth and one can easily get lost without a guide. The two and half hour tour was fun indeed and we were soaked and dirty thoroughly.

0nce more across the rickety bridge, we collected our bikes from the village and started for Peren town. But the mist started rolling in rather fast and we had to halt for the night at the PWD guest house at Tenning. The road from Ntuma to Tenning is well laid most of the way and hugs the edge of the cliff, offering stunning views of the mist covered blue mountains as far as the eye can see.

Tenning was just a stopover and early next morning we started out for the village of New Puilwa, 30 kms from Peren town.

It is not a village of any great significance but has lovely sights and sounds. The villagers have taken it up on themselves to protect the jungle in and around the village. They also plan to start a small wildlife sanctuary mainly for birds and small animals and with no govt help. For a village that has produced only one graduate person and no government officials, the people sure are very progressive.

A logging trail runs on one side of the village right down to the river for about four kilometres. We rode down and spent quite a few hours at the loggers’ camp with the elephants, their mahouts and other workers. They have a tough life but they still treated us to lunch with fish from the river.

On the way up, we realised how steep the trail really was and the loose soil didn’t make things any easier. The villagers say that they will block this road off so as to stop logging. I say amen to that!

For once we stuck to our resolve of an early morning start and headed for Khonoma via the village of Beneru. Again, it is a total off-road. These roads are so devoid of traffic – both human and motor- that if you miss the turn off for the village, you would travel for miles before u find anyone to ask for direction. Most villagers are away working in the fields for the day.

After a quick look around Beneru, which has a lovely tourist lodge with an awesome view, we rode on to Khonoma via Dzulake village.  The bad roads pass through some wide meadows and rolling hills and every now and then we found solitary log cabins that where the shepherd stay to herd his goats. Perfect places to pitch your tent. These, and the roads at Puilwa and Ntuma are hidden trails that are way off the tourist maps but they lead to such wonderful places.

We reached Khonoma  just before sundown and checked into a warm home stay. There are no hotels in the village but the home stays run by a woman named Baby are very decent.

On the way to Khonoma

Khonoma is steeped in history. The villagers had fought some pitched battles with the invading British forces. There are forts in the village from where they held off the British. These forts looks rather flimsy today, but all those years back, with thick forests and steep hills all around, it must have been quite a stronghold. There’s an ancient 7 foot muzzle loading gun in perfect working condition and it was used against the British. Must have had some telling effect.

The villagers also helped the Allied army during the Battle for Kohima. The War Hero I mentioned at the onset also belongs to this village.

Khonoma has set an example for the rest of the state in terms of conservation – both flora and fauna, so much so that it has been named as a Green Village. No one is allowed to hunt in the village area nor fell trees without the permission of the village council. The birds have returned to the forests and they attract bird watchers from across the world.

Kohima and Khonoma are just 20 kilometres apart but there is a world of difference. From the easy pace of the village, the call of the birds, clean cobbled street and the wide open vista, we were transported to a big city and all its sights in an hour.

It was the day of the Sekrenyi festival celebrated by the Angami tribe. Kohima, being the headquarter of the Angamis, had a festive feel all around.

WW II War Cemetery

Sekrenyi is the festival of fertility and apart from the rituals that are observed in all the Angami villages, villagers gather at the Kohima football ground for a grand celebration. Lot of dances by the young and the old alike, music played by traditional instruments, women folks exchanging food stuffs and of course lots and lots of gunfire (my favourite part!)

But after travelling through the remote areas for a few days, the hectic life of Kohima got to me a little and I sought a little solitude at the War Cemetery.
And that’s where I met my War Hero. But I will save his stories for another day.

///////////////////////////////////

Chain Reaction - Adventure motorcycling and beyond…..

A message to all readers: At least go to dine Assamese food. Grow the habit of encouraging in dining Assamese food. – Atul Lahkar

It was indeed a pleasant moment with Chef Atul Lahkar, who brings his vision of art to the table. Witty and sharper than a knife, he exuberantly soaks up every word he speaks on food with versatility. A dedicated trendsetter of traditional food recipes and with talent unmatchable, he has brought Assamese food in the menu of fine dining. The chef’s restaurants, Khorika, King Chilly have become a rendezvous point for food connoisseurs for his enticing recipes.

This publication, Fried Eye features Atul Lahkar’s insightful observations and exploration on Assamese traditional cuisines and his delightful combinations.

‘Healthy, unique, and tasty’ is how Atul Lahkar describes his food creations. With profound affection he portrays his food as ‘sentiments and identity of society’. For him, food is a cultural symbolism of understanding social relations, kinship and heritage. Jolpan is associated with kheti-pothar (cultivation and field), he quickly adds letting out his bundle of thoughts on indigenous festivals in Assam associated with food.

Assamese Khaj ( Assamese meal )Assamese people always try to balance diet with lentil, leafy vegetable, khar ( alkaline), curd, mash potato, tenga cury (sour curry ), fish fry or curry, non vegetarian curry -Atul Lahkar

In an era of obsessed dining on pizzas, momos and burgers, Atul Lahkar’s creations stand out with interesting and alluring flavors made with local ingredients. In an aim to preserve identity, and to keep the connection between the food eaten and the land it comes from, he uses local ingredients, aromatic herbs and xaak pasoli (vegetables) with unique characteristics. On enquiring on what would be the uniqueness about ingredients, he promptly answers ‘it has all to do with the soil and climate that defines their unique properties which is not found elsewhere like the Joha saul’ (a variety of aromatic rice, not basmati). His enthusiastic collection of pictures on locally available herbs like nal tenga, bor manimuni, dhekiya, kalmao shak, morapator shak, bhrami, tengamora, dorun, bhedailota, turmeric leaves, thereka, bet lota, tajik, pita paleng, madhusuleng, masandari etc. form part of his invigorating and zesty flavours in his recipes.

Amora ( Indian hog plum). Gorai fish with amora tenga anja ( amora sour curry) is popular in lower Assam. This tenga is very tasty, healthy and used in treatment of stomach aches, fever and dysentery - Atul Lahkar

His passion to understand food has taken him to inaccessible interiors of North-Eastern states and exploration into an insightful journey of indigenous recipes exclusively known to few tribes. Being inquisitive, he had always been open to learning by watching, taking part in cooking and understanding food of many ethnic societies. His journey with Assamese cuisines started when he realized he was unable to identify and connect with food he was preparing that belonged to different region. ‘If I’m unable to understand and be familiarized with what I make, how would others? It was a wake-up call for me, to endeavor in Assamese traditional food which expresses deeper values and beliefs,’ he says.

Cooking Mising traditional recipes inside a the kitchen of a Mising household

His creativity on authentic traditional recipes are relished food-tales in distant lands. His traditional way of cooking in three prominent flavours, tenga, jola and meetha (sour, hot and sweet) have made a niche in echelon of fine cuisines. Affirmatively, he says, ‘Chinese cuisines and Mc Donald have dominated the world, why not us? I love my society. Since 15 years, my sole objective has been in promoting the uniqueness of our cuisines. Chinese food is known to world why not Assamese food?’

His adventure with food started in 1994-1996 with no professional qualification. Initially, although quite unsure about his culinary career, he did not allow his romance with food bury deep inside him. With innate qualities on precision of food crafting and food as hobby, he self trained himself to learn the art of culinary skills. He cherishes his moments with his sister during her treatment in Chennai, when he used to sprint-up volunteering in a nearby restaurant where he made many early morning trips to learn South Indian foods.

Buying a local fish

Atul Lahkar‘s concept of healthy recipes are not about strict nutrition philosophies, rather, they reflect nutrition basics and are prepared in a way that leaves the diners feeling light and appetizing. His choice on selecting nutritional ingredients is locally available herbs with medicinal properties cooked in traditional techniques and with less spice. He says 70% of ahar (food) is steamed, smoked or boiled. His volume of collections of recipes offers a compilation of flavourable recipes using many fresh ingredients.

One of his major ingredients is the nutty flavor of black sesame seeds paste. His exploration to understand food habits of indigenous people brings insightful knowledge on the use of black sesame in coking by many tribes like Karbi, Tiwa and Khasis. For an appealing sesame based dish, he applies the trick of combination of raw turmeric and black sesame paste and the  additive component of a spoonful uncooked mustard oil at the end when the dish is about to be done. Ramsay Gordon, on his visit to Assam, was amazed with one of his creations with sesame paste. ‘How could you make the black stuff turn green’ he inquisitively asked Atul. Delightfully talking on ingredients used, he mentions bamboo shoot as his special ingredients. Endogenous to Assam, bamboo shoot grows abundantly and are consumed in dry texture, raw, fermented form or even boiled. He mentions that bamboo shoots do not form an indispensible part of kitchen in households in lower Assam as they  believe that cutting off tiny baby bamboo shoots is to destroy a bamboo. On its use as an ingredient he applies them to balance the flavor and avoid making it as a dominant aroma.

As a chef, it has been challenging and rewarding to work with delicacies and food. Chef Atul Lahkar with his wealth of traditional recipes is currently expanding his reach towards India’s metropolitans to revive and give a new meaning in dining Assamese cuisines. We are looking forward to seeing when they open. Fried Eye team wishes you Good Luck! in your  endeavour.

Glimpses of dishes by Atul Lahkar

Steamed Chicken

Traditional Assamese vegetarian delicacy made of bor tenga, kumura and thekera

Tekeli Pitha (steamed rice cake) . I tried as fast food with stuffed chicken with steam rice. The challenge was to keep the pitha moist- Atul Lahkar

Baked Chicken with traditional Khamti rice wrapped in banana leaves

Small local variety of fish with sweet pumkin and ou tenga (elephant apple)

Related Links
Chef Atul Lahkar

“He lived like a rockstar, and died like one.”  – Suman Dutta (Moonwind)

“The news is yet to sink in. For it was just before Bihu that I met him at his house. Rakesh da was busy that last day I met him; he had a performance in R&B club that evening. But despite being hard-pressed for some time, we somehow got talking and he became real nostalgic and started talking about his escapades with another close friend. He was so excited about his new plans; he was collaborating with quite a few musicians both in and outside the State. He was also excited about his coming trip to Arunachal Pradesh. He said it was an important one for him and his future business plans. Once he came back, we also had our own plans regarding some music and stories…” says Aiyushman Dutta, the cultural reporter of The Sentinel and a member of the Eastern Beats Music Society.

Little did he know then that he would not live to see those plans materialize!

In Stage: Late Rakesh Barua

19^th April, 2011… the day that spelled tragedy for the people of the North east when the Mi-172 helicopter of the state-owned Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited  caught fire and crashed in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, killing seventeen out of the twenty three passengers on board. One of those unfortunate victims happened to be Rakesh Baruah, an eminent musical personality of the region. The news of his sudden untoward death has hit the music lovers of Assam and the North East like a bolt from the blue. The bass guitarist who used to be the favorite accompanist of most of the leading musical stalwarts of the region, like Kalyan Baruah, Lou Majaw, Rudy Wallang, Zubeen Garg and Jitul Sonowal to name a few, was suddenly no more, leaving behind an unimaginable void in the music industry as well as in the hearts of the people who loved him.

In the words of music journalist Satyakee D’com Bhuyan, “A broad-shouldered bolero man with a ready grin and a French beard, Rakesh Baruah was an avuncular individual and a bassist of rare sensitivity and skill. Adept at accompanying singers and soloists alike, he chose his notes judiciously and with precision, yet he also packed sufficient punch as a bass guitarist to propel the most aggressive of rock bands. An outdoorsman, Rakesh whom I fondly addressed as Shakti, was also a well-known figure in the tourism circuit.”

Mr. Rakesh Baruah was born in Guwahati in 1966. The bass guitar was not the first instrument that he was in love with. It took him a lot of experimenting with various other musical instruments before settling on the bass. His playing skills were enhanced when he joined the Don Bosco School Band (Bosco Beats) as their bass player and went on to play in bands like, Friends, Point of No Entry, Crystal Palace band, Phoenix / YU and finally Moonwind, a band that he formed with his friends in the year 1995. Baruah was an active member of the band Moonwind till the very end, having toured and performed with them all these 15 years, excelling at everything ranging from R & B, Rock, Pop Rock, Ballads and Rock ‘n’ Roll to Reggae. There has been no looking back ever since and from club circuits and concerts to friendly gigs; the band has done it all, with Rakesh Baruah as their constant companion.

Suman Dutta, another member of Moonwind, who was also a very close friend of Mr. Baruah recalls his early days with Baruah, whom he had known way back since 1978 when they were young table tennis players. Their love for music had grown and developed together, as Rakesh Baruah had taken up bass guitar as a hobby while Dutta had started humming a few lines. “A very passionate and crafted bass player; Rakesh was a true performer, a fire on stage and his bass notes used to haunt many singers. Wherever we travelled in India, Rakesh with his bass guitar was an instant hit. He treated his fellow musicians with respect and cared for the young generation. Rakesh was ever smiling and his jokes were one of its kind.  I, along with the other band members Rajib, Pom, Mrinmoyee (Tuk Tuk), Anower (Munu) and Santanu are in deep shock. Moonwind is bleeding and is shattered. We are sure it will take us some time to cover up the loss which we have undergone and also to fill up the vacuum created by Rakesh’s loss. We’re lucky enough to keep performing till his death did us apart.”

Indeed it is hard to believe that such a towering musical personality who was much revered across the North East is not with us anymore. To quote his friends, “Dancing around on the stage, the bass was an extension of his body; of his persona….he literally spoke through it, or sang through it. So flamboyant was his playing that many a times he would almost steal the thunder off the main act on stage.”

Mr. Baruah is survived by his two daughters, young Lopa and Diksha. All his family members, friends and well wishers are still in deep shock, and are aggrieved by his death. It is a big loss of not only a very talented musician, but the loss of a very true human being; someone who was a source of joy and inspiration to many.  A few of his close friends, admirers and well wishers have sent him their sincere tributes and a few last words:

Pawan Rasaily: “Rakesh embraced life full on and wanted to live it to the hilt. A very warm and compassionate person, he was deeply observant of other people, of their feelings of their sentiments….A pioneering bass player of not only the North East, but of India, he understood the importance of tone and laid great emphasis of extracting the same. He was a rooted player in the very traditional sense and played bass the actual way it was meant to be. His playing has inspired countless musicians. It is an immense loss.”

Abani Tanti: “Rakesh was a friend, a brother and a part of my life. He was my musical inspiration, analyzer, critic and a part of all the projects I worked on. He was a positive presence, a stress buster. He would find ways of making me smile even when I was down. Though he was childlike, he could be the most sincere person when it came to professional situations. Will be missed…”

Manas Choudhury:  “Rakesh Da, the Bassist was my childhood bass hero. His grounded in the pocket bass playing never failed to inspire me. What a charming personality he was! Always smiling, cool, chilled and loving. He was new age, forever young at heart, always helping, supporting the youngsters, musicians and friends. His early departure definitely creates a vacuum in the modern Assamese music scene and in our lives for sure. We miss you Rakesh Da.”

Ibson Lal Baruah: “Words fail me. It is a huge loss to our musical community. I will cherish the memories we had.”

Joi Barua: “Rakesh da was a well wisher and immensely believed in our music. He wanted to play concerts with us, tour with us and so much more. It is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. We’ve lost an irreplaceable musician; a wizard of the bass. The sadness is numbing, but also builds up a resolve to carry his legacy forward…”

Jitul Sonowal: “Rakesh was not only a musical maestro, but also a very honest man, extremely straightforward, very lively, inspiring, and jolly and a very true human being. I have lost a close and a very true friend. I miss the times spent with him, his music and its melody.”

Kalyan Baruah: “Rakesh was one of my closest friends. I literally grew up with him. We played together, performed together and lived life together. I still cannot believe that he is no more with us. Just two days before his death we had talked over the phone and he was at his jovial best, laughing and cracking jokes. It was ironical that Rakesh, who always had the fear of flying, had to meet this fate in a flight that was meant to be his last. Words are not enough to console his little girls Lopa and Diksha. I pray that his soul might find peace. “

On his last meeting with Satyakee D’com Bhuyan, Rakesh Baruah had said, “I have played many diverse musical styles, and I specialize in Rock & Roll. I look forward to use my enthusiasm for the bass, and all things musical to inspire and enthuse others to enjoy this adventure as much as I do, and to continue my creative career on a higher level.”

Rakesh Baruah, the man who created music and magic at the same time with his guitar, the most sought after  bassist of Assam, a loving father , a true friend and an idol to many musicians and music lovers, will definitely be missed by all. The Fried Eye team, along with the rest of his well wishers, prays for the peace of his departed soul and wishes our most sincere and heartfelt words of support to his family, that they might have the courage and strength to face life ahead of them and live it the way Rakesh da would have wanted them to. Without a doubt, he lived like a rockstar and died like one.

R.I.P. Rakesh Da… Adieu!

In all sincerity, I have been writing this piece inside my mind for over a month now. But I guess when a casual conversation leaves this everlasting an impression on your mind, it doesn’t matter how much time has passed. It’s not like the inspiration wears off or that the optimism wanes away.

(from left to right): Pawan Rasaily (with guitar), Joi Barua, Abani Tanti, Ibson Lal Baruah, Manas Chowdhary

In my defence of this candid preamble, I am referring to my conversation with Joi Barua, who has, by now gained the love and admiration of our people enough to make him a household name, and requires no introduction. A singer more by passion than by profession, Joi Barua is one of those people who have lived their life knowing exactly what they wanted to do, and have been fortunate enough to be actually doing it.

I first knew about Joi Barua as the voice that croons “Shining in the setting sun like a pearl upon the ocean…” in the popular number “Tera Hone Laga Hoon” from the movie Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahani. Turned out he is also the voice behind many, many more well-liked Bollywood numbers. On knowing that he has lent his voice in movies like DevD and Udaan, which have been an acoustic treat for everybody’s ears, I wondered why I had never paid heed to the name behind the voice. I found the answer when I talked to him.

What really struck me was just how easy it was to talk to Joi Barua. As easy as catching up with a friend on what’s new in the world. And one of the first things I got to know about him was how earnest he is when he says he doesn’t do it for the name; it doesn’t take you long to understand that he actually means it. Hence the lack of huge fanfare, until recently, when Asom suddenly woke up to Joi Barua with the release of his very first album, Joi: Looking Out The Window. In fact, for Asom, the year started with that album, as they witnessed Joi Barua performing a few songs from his album live, in a state-wide television news channel on New Years’ Eve. More than eager to know how Joi Barua came to be the way we know him, I wanted to learn it all, right from the beginning.

Joi Barua has been blessed with a family with music in their heart, and his childhood was infused with music. With an almost insatiable appetite for all sorts of music, Joi Barua was like a sponge, soaking in everything. Even if it meant waiting for a whole week to listen to western music on the radio each Sunday for just an hour. Right from then, he veered towards music which had soul; music, in which the “feel wasn’t compromised”, to quote his own words. Joi Barua had always known he wanted to do something to do with music, and the talent was honed by his father, who imbibed in him the principle of not being selfish when it came to music. His father imparted to him the belief that as a performing art, one’s music should cater to the soul of the audience; the priority being to try stir their emotions, and not self-gratification.

(From Left to Right) - Ibson Lal Baruah, Manas Chowdhary, Abani Tanti, Joi Barua and Pawan Rasaily

However, Joi Barua’s career hadn’t begun in music. On a momentous evening in Delhi, after having worked for about three years in various jobs his heart wasn’t in, he knew he couldn’t take it any longer, and decided to move to Mumbai, a decision in which he was helped and supported by Zubeen Garg, popular singer already well settled in Mumbai, and a good friend of Joi’s. He considers himself extremely lucky to have found work in his very first week in Mumbai, given that people struggle for years to even get a break in the City of Dreams. So he’d had it easy then, I commented, to which he had replied, “Maybe I had my share of tough times in Delhi?” His first work involved doing jingles, a field which is highly competitive and sought after. Jingles, is afterall, where all the experiments are done. Despite not being trained formally in music, or maybe because of it, Joi Barua’s unique voice stood out amidst others. Joi’s Barua’s voice has been heard in many jingles, for a multitude of brands including Nescafe, Horlicks, Barclays Bank, Vodafone and Kurl On. Joi Barua’s first break into mainstream Bollywood music came with the club remix of the popular song “Dekh Le” from Munna Bhai MBBS for music director Anu Malik. And since then, he has been working with various music directors like Amit Trivedi, Ram Sampath, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Vishal-Shekhar, just to name a few.

Very recently, Joi Barua made name in the international scene on being invited at the first INK (Innovation and Knowledge) conference, a TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) affiliated multidisciplinary conference, as a Fellow. Considering how prestigious an honor it is to be recognized as a TED fellow, I wanted to know how it happened. Joi Barua went on to tell me how in reality he went to the conference twice. The first was when he had been attending the conference in lieu of his just deceased brother-in-law. A casual singing session post dinner created waves among everyone present there, and those waves carried Joi Barua’s name far and wide. To the extent, that he was invited to be a TED Fellow, and to perform in front of a stellar line-up of speakers and attendees like filmmaker James Cameron (of Titanic and Avatar fame), cartoonist Matt Groening (of The Simpsons fame)as well as Lynda Barry in the INK conference on December 12, 2010. Interestingly enough, while the audience would have related to any famous Bollywood number better, Joi Barua decided to follow his gut instinct, and performed the song “Tejimola” from his album Joi: Looking Out The Window, taking his biggest risk while doing so. The point, as Joi Barua puts it, wasn’t to impress, but to sing something close to heart. The song, based on a popular Assamese folklore, was immensely well received. So much, that Linda Barry came up to Joi Barua and complimented on how despite the language being unknown to her, she had been touched by the beauty of the song. In Joi Barua’s own words, “Language isn’t a barrier, the music will cut through”, and he believes that music always touches a raw nerve.

That Joi Barua’s music is all about the soul reflects in the album Joi-Looking Out The Window. The album, which is the outcome of the combined effort of Joi Barua himself, Pawan Rasaily (guitar and music programming), Manas Chowdhary (bass), Ibson Baruah (lyrics) and Abani Tanti (Producer), is a true echo of those very sentiments. While the very first thing that would strike you about the album is the refreshing variety among the eight songs that comprises the album, the next instant you would wonder about what goes behind making each song. On questioning him on those lines, what I got to know was that the origin of the song is the thought; the melody comes in tandem with the thought. The album is an infusion of different genres; from slow rock numbers to peppy, pop numbers, to soul to jazzy ones. What is intricately woven into the tapestry of variety however, is the essence of the music. The heart. The honest, sincere pathos. One just needs to listen to the songs to feel the pulsating, almost palpable emotions.

The Album cover of Joi - Looking Out of the Window

So did name and fame change anything for Joi Barua? Apparently not. “I’m still doing the same things”, he says. And it really is evident when you talk to him. When you talk to him, you realize that this is a person who is earnestly doing what he loves, and that, for him, success just means he does it in a greater dimension. Despite not having plans of returning to Asom, Joi Barua takes pride in the fact that his soul will always be Assamese. Rare it is to see someone with a vision that soars high in the sky, and yet has roots that stay firmly grounded. Fried Eye wishes nothing but the best for Joi Barua, and absolute success for his future ventures.

Related Links:

• YouTube Channel
• Facebook
• Facebook Page
• Wikipedia