Archery contest in Bhalukpong; Bomdila Daze; Dirang Delightful

theyyamdancer

Part III of the ARUNACHAL TRILOGY, to be read more or less contiguously with "Mechuka Madness" and "The Last Chicken In Tawang"

The road to Tawang is like a road movie by Wim Wenders, slow slow slow, with a few interesting events that jolt you awake. I had initially confused the "Elephanta" of our itinerary with The Elephanta Falls in Shillong (so many miles away on the other side of the Brahmaputra). Even when we arrived there fresh from the experience of Elephant Safaris in Kaziranga and thrilled to the marrow by the sighting of a Royal Bengal tiger and a Bengal Florican (a very rare bird indeed) as well as the ubiquitous one-horned rhinoceros (a very cute animal actually), we were not terribly sure where we were and neither were our official guides. The small peaceful "retreat" next to a jungle village set precipitously over a fast-flowing stream shrouded in mist was to be our home for the next couple of days. We practised pranayama among the flowers and immediately raided the book-shelf. This was a memorable halt on our trip because (1) I discovered the writing of Taslima Nasrin and (2) My husband, our guide and our trusty driver fabricated a home-made bow and arrows out of bamboo and cane; one arrow complete with chicken feathers, the other arrows "prehistoric style" with stone arrow-tips. This was enough to intrigue all of the inhabitants into an impromptu archery contest. And so the time passed imperceptibly and it was already time to set out for BOMDILA.

The most exciting thing in Bomdila was the trip to the Post Office. That morning, after a quasi-sleepless night, listening to a lullaby of cooks making Bengali food on our landing (?) and trying to get warm unsuccessfully in spite of the smoke seeping under our door, one of the neighbouring tourists scowlingly enquired "So, what are you doing today then? Off to Tawang are you?" "No, I am going to look for a Post Office and post some letters." "A Post Office, in Bomdila?" (Cue for incredulous laughter.) Dear readers, YES, there is a Post Office in Bomdila. It is like a scene out of Kafka. But it is there. We entered, bearing a stack of freshly scribbled postcards (yes, some of you India Mikers know who you are!!!) to friends and family in distant lands, and waited... and waited... at the desk. It was just after 10 a.m. "Do you need Fast Post or Normal Post?" -" Is there a difference?" - "Only in the price"... Cut to a lot of writing in a ledger, copying out the recipients of my holiday greetings. Mr T, impatient now, "No, no, we don't need a Recorded Special Delivery". "What?" ... Finally, we sent the "foren" ones ordinary mail and the "domestic" ones by special fast post (meant to take 2 days - in fact two cards arrived quickly and one took one week). Then I wanted to see the pretty stamps. No, go over there to my colleague. Cue for the said colleague to disappear into the garden for about fifteen minutes. Are these stamps really worth waiting for we wondered. Mmmm, yes, very pretty. But when the cards were then passed onto a third person for glueing and placing of stamps we gave up and went in search of momos and tea.

Did I say that you always need to order your food (and/or catch it in the forest) many hours before you plan to eat it? We looked for momos as we had grown extremely partial to them by now. Vegetarian momos, filled with a minimum of chilli, but a maximum of cabbage and carrots and herbs and other delicious bits and pieces then steamed and served with a huge dollop of chilli sauce (best avoided unless you know exactly what you are doing). There was a Sikkim restaurant in the main street where we ate wonderful momos. And drank copious amounts of ginger tea. The owner, a Tibetan guy, chatted with us and then gave me a gift of The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. A wonderful man.

After the excitement of the Post Office, the museum was less exciting. But still, it held in its somewhat dusty compartments many interesting items, including the complete apong-making apparatus. Mr. T quizzed the girls working in the museum relentlessly for the apong recipe. I am not sure if he got it.

Dirang, further on up the road, turned out to be a much more aesthetically pleasing place than Bomdila. The inhabitants were cheerful and I exhausted my two words of Tibetan "Tashi Delek" hundreds of times in greeting to passers-by as we walked from our hotel (the fantastic Pemaling - more about that in a while) into the market to examine the nooks and crannies of this fascinating town. We watched a gaggle of small boys playing cricket and tiny girls herding animals. Loudspeakers were belting out music, was it a festival or just Another Day in Dirang? Who knows. Local lover-boys rushed past on motorbikes, their hair gelled close to their heads to protect their coiffure from the breeze. Smartly dressed army personnel were walking on the main road, which runs straight through the town. As jeeps horned their way through the pedestrians jumped adroitly to the side avoiding the ditches.

__________________
"Wandering seemed no more than the happiness of an anxious man." - Albert Camus

kausiks

Did Mr T manage to bring back the bow and arrow with him?

theyyamdancer

No! It was kept by Basanta, our guide, who took it home with him to Imphal. But he has promised to buy us a good one and keep for us when we visit him... maybe next year.

theyyamdancer

It looks as if this trip report is almost complete. It remains then for me to add some of the logistics, such as the hotels used.

In Pasighat: Hotel AANE, very central, comfortable.
In Mechuka: Hotel MEHNANG, comfortable for such a remote region.
In Daporizo: Hotel KATCHENZDONGA
In Ziro: Hotel BLUE PINE, excellent
In Itanagar: Hotel DONYO POLO, expensive
In Elephanta (i.e. Bhalukpong): The RETREAT
In Bomdila: Monastery Guest House
In Dirang: The PEMALING, extremely good, welcoming, beautiful garden, delightful.
In Tawang: TAWANG Inn, basic comforts but lacking food.


In some places there was not much in the way of choice of accommodation. In any case, our Travel Agent chose where we stayed. The ones I liked the best were the Pemaling, the Blue Pine and the Aane.


Vehicle used throughout the trip: Mahindra Scorpio


If I were to do it all over again, I would try to use the helicopter service more often. But that is not always possible. Originally we had planned to go with an elderly friend of ours. He was at the last minute unable to accompany us due to ill health. But if we try for the same trip again in his company we would really need to cut down on the amount of travelling per day.

In conclusion, this was a trip of a lifetime. I consider myself very fortunate to have visited these places. And I am really happy to talk about them here on India Mike so that others will have the chance to hear of them and be encouraged to visit. Do not let the remoteness or the lack of touristic infrastructure discourage you. Just go there. You would never regret it.

theyyamdancer

I have forgotten to write some important facts here:

Travel Agent: Mr. Basant Giri, Ren Tours, Treks & Expeditions, New Delhi, Telephone +91 98103 52728

Driver: Mr. Rinto, Telephone +91 9864 024838
Guide: Mr. Basanta, Telephone +91 99576 12732

theyyamdancer

I would like to add some reading references for those who would like to know more about this fascinating part of the Seven Sisters. In no particular order, I can recommend:

. "The Tribal World" of Verrier ELWIN, Oxford University Press, 1964, Verrier Elwin's autobiography.

. "River Dog" (A Journey Down the Brahmaputra) by Mark SHAND, Abacus, 2002.

. "Tribe" by Bruce PARRY, Penguin, 2008.

. "Chasing the Monsoon" by Alexander FRATER, 1990.

. "The Heart of the World" by Ian BAKER, 2004.

. "Himalayan Tribal Tales" (Oral Tradition and Culture in the Apatani Valley) by Stuart BLACKBURN, 2008.

. "A Philosophy for NEFA" by Verrier ELWIN, 1957 (First edition), 2006 (Fifth reprint by Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh).

. "Democracy in NEFA" by Verrier ELWIN, 1965 (first published), 2007 (reprinted by Government of Arunachal Pradesh).

. "Myths of the North-East Frontier of India" by Verrier ELWIN, 1958 (First edition), 1993 (reprint by Directorate of Research, Govt. of A.P., ITANAGAR).

And for other books on TRIBALS:

. "A Goddess in the Stones" by Norman LEWIS, 1991.

. "After Elwin" (Encounters with Tribal Life in Central India) by Prosenjit DAS GUPTA, 2007.

. "Philanthropologist" (Selected Writings) by Verrier ELWIN, 1989, Shillong, North-Eastern Hill University Publications, together with Oxford University Press.

. "Leaves from the Jungle" (Life in a Gond Village) by Verrier ELWIN, with an introduction by Ramachandra GUHA, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.