Exploring the North-East Frontier
This November 2012, me, my wife Uma, brother Kanak and friend Falguni set out to explore the north-eastern states, a region in India rarely attempted by most Indian travelers. This feature attempts to share the cultural heritage rarely observed, the beauty of our land and the wilderness that is fast denuding. Happy reading!
Guwahati & Shillong
Guwahati, the Capital of Assam on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra river, is as crowded a city as any other in India. But it is a base station if one wants to explore States like Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. It is the awesomeness of Brahmaputra that takes the breath away. The cruise post-sunset with hot tea and onion pakoras, and seeing the moon rising over the river, the tone for our 13-day exploration journey was all set.
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| The Brahmaputra river after sunset |
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| A Beautiful Moonrise over the River |
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| On the Cruise Boat El Frescoe |
The 3-hr drive to
Shillong in Meghalaya also took away our breath – quite literally – as
this only link to Shillong was under repairs! The relief was provided by local Pineapples
on the road – yes, never before so sweet and juicy!
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| Ward's Lake |
The city itself is
beautiful, green with Ward’s Lake providing the charm and serenity. As we drove
onwards and higher towards Cherapunjee (remember the lessons in our schools?),
it was sightseeing - the Shyllong Hill, and Tiger Falls and lastly, the
stupendous valley scene at the Hanging Bridge point near Cherapunjee. On our
return journey to Guwahati the next day, we explored the Lake Borapani en route and the
resort nearby that we would recommend to friends later
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| Hanging bridge Point near Cherapunjee |
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| Lake Borapani |
Hornbill
Festival 2012
Opulence of Colour, Sound and Pageantry
The tour itinerary was
planned so as to include this internationally acclaimed festival in Kohima, Nagaland.
We could be there for the grand opening ceremony on first day, and folk dances
from representative tribes of all the states of the north-east on the second
day. It was, as expected, a spellbinding experience for us. What was most magical
were the nagamese choirs singing with perfection in between the tribal dances – the sounds, the multitude
of colours, the throbbing beats of local percussion. The beautiful venue on a hillside heritage
village Kisama, which is about 12 km from Kohima, completed what was surely an emotionally charged experience.
The Festival is named after the Indian Hornbill, the large and colourful forest bird which is displayed in folklore in most of the state’s tribes. Highlights include the Traditional Naga Morungs Exhibition and sale of Arts and Crafts, Food Stalls, Herbal Medicine Stalls, Flower shows and sales, Cultural Medley - songs and dances, Fashion shows, Beauty Contest, Traditional Archery, Naga wrestling, Indigenous Games, and Musical concerts.
Organized by the Nagaland State Tourism and Art & Culture Department,Hornbill Festival showcases a mélange of cultural displays under one roof. This festival takes place between the 1st and the 7th of December every year. All the 16 tribes of Nagaland take part in this festival.The aim of the festival is to revive and protect the rich culture of Nagaland and display its extravaganza and traditions. For visitors, it means a closer understanding of the people and culture of Nagaland, and an opportunity to experience the food, songs, dances and customs of Nagaland.
The Hornbill
Festival provides a colourful mixture of dances, performances, crafts, parades,
games, sports, food fairs and religious ceremonies. The festival both exposes
the culture and tradition of tribal peoples, and reinforces Nagaland’s identity as a unique state in
India’s. Naga troupes sing folk songs, perform traditional dances
and play indigenous games and sports. In the evenings, a programme of music
concerts, catering for all tastes, ensure that the festive spirit continues through the night.
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| Heads, Feathers & Spears! |
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| ..and Innocence &Charm |
International Sand Art Festival
@ Konark Dance
Festival - 2012
From the Hornbill Festival at Kohima, the ladies left for the Konark Dance Festival which, this time of the year (December), is another major international tourist attraction in Odisha. Side by side, there is this Sand Art Festival organised on the Chandrabhagha beach on the Bay of Bengal. Later, we all met at Kolkata for what was to be the grand finale to our exploratory tour of the frontier states of India.
Oh! Sunderbans
The Sundarbans is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site covering parts of Bangladesh (81%) and the Indian state of West Bengal (19%). The Sundarbans National Park is a Biosphere Reserve located in the delta in the Indian state of West Bengal. The mangrove-dominated Ganges Delta is a complex ecosystem comprising one of the three largest single tracts of mangrove forests of the world. The Sundarban forest lies in the vast delta on the Bay of Bengal formed by the super confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers across southern Bangladesh. It is estimated to be about 4,110 km², of which about 1,700 km² is occupied by water bodies in the forms of rivers, canals and creeks of width varying from a few meters to several kilometers.
The Sundarbans is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. The interconnected network of waterways makes almost every corner of the forest accessible by boat. The area is known for the Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), as well as numerous fauna including species of birds, spotted deer, wild boars, salt-water crocodiles and snakes. The fertile soils of the delta have been subject to intensive human use for centuries, and the eco-region has been mostly converted to intensive agriculture, with few enclaves of forest remaining. Additionally, the Sundarbans serves a crucial function as a protective barrier for the millions of inhabitants in and around Khulna and Mongla against the floods that result from the cyclones. The Sundarbans has also been enlisted among the finalists in the New 7 Wonders of Nature.
It takes about three hours drive from Kolkata to reach the last land point from where terraced boats with cabins become your mode of transport for next three nights. Just relax on the chairs or mattresses and view the spectacle of mangrove ecosystem go by leisurely even as you munch on freshly cooked breakfast, nibble at the chocolates or...just snooze!
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| Our abode at the Eco Village |
By lunch time, 15 of us including 8 foreigners, were at the Eco-village, our abode. Later, we walked through the village that has no roads, no electricity and only a few bicycles as individual possessions; we understood (contextually) the simple lifestyles of the communities not having any healthcare system and barely having some primary ‘schools’; we observed the rolling rice fields as we stumbled through the marvelous landscape.. It was the boating in flat dinghies around sunset that was full of excitement and thrill. One gets a unique sensation as one quietly skims the surface of water, silently and deep, very deep into the mangrove lined estuaries, the silence broken only by chirping mynnahs with an occasional Blue-capped Kingfisher swooping down for one last meal! In a way, this too is God’s own country!
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| Walk through the Village |
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| The 2-hr dinghy ride at sunset time |
For me, the real thrill was in visualizing - in
a fast-forward, real time capsule in 3D with Dolby stereo surround sound - the
rich, silt-laden, swirling flood waters of the mighty Indian rivers, clashing
with the onslaught of the waves from the Bay of Bengal in the south, and then, the silt slowly settling down to form tiny islets and much later, large, forested islands – visualizing
the miracle of how the huge delta must have evolved over millennia to create Sunderbans,
one of the wonders of the world!
The 3-hr drive to
Shillong in Meghalaya also took away our breath – quite literally – as
this only link to Shillong was under repairs! The relief was provided by local Pineapples
on the road – yes, never before so sweet and juicy! 
The Festival is named after the Indian Hornbill, the large and colourful forest bird which is displayed in folklore in most of the state’s tribes. Highlights include the Traditional Naga Morungs Exhibition and sale of Arts and Crafts, Food Stalls, Herbal Medicine Stalls, Flower shows and sales, Cultural Medley - songs and dances, Fashion shows, Beauty Contest, Traditional Archery, Naga wrestling, Indigenous Games, and Musical concerts.
The Sundarbans is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. The interconnected network of waterways makes almost every corner of the forest accessible by boat. The area is known for the Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), as well as numerous fauna including species of birds, spotted deer, wild boars, salt-water crocodiles and snakes. The fertile soils of the delta have been subject to intensive human use for centuries, and the eco-region has been mostly converted to intensive agriculture, with few enclaves of forest remaining. Additionally, the Sundarbans serves a crucial function as a protective barrier for the millions of inhabitants in and around Khulna and Mongla against the floods that result from the cyclones. The Sundarbans has also been enlisted among the finalists in the New 7 Wonders of Nature.
While a sumptuous lunch with desserts was cooked on the boat, dinner at our abode was always accompanied by live folk music and folk dances lighted only by the kerosene lanterns; the starry nights were cold.
The day-long cruise on the second day was leisure at its best as the boat slowly chug-chugs along the meandering mud flats inside the Sunderbans sanctuary. All of us were scanning the shores on either side for the elusive 10-ft long Royal Bengal Tiger; some of us also watched the waters as this specie of tiger criss-crosses the channels, island to island, often swimming 6 km at a stretch! At one stop at a watch-tower on an island, one can amble about 600 meters on a raised, fenced walk right inside the sanctuary; however, our thrill was limited to seeing the tiger pug marks and some spotted deers.
