Chomling in the land of Chamling-2

May 2nd:
The train was marginally late at 7.15 AM when we lighted at NJP. It had rained and we were eagerly looking to head off into the hills. A Tavera was waiting outside NJP and we were off towards Gangtok!

Passed through the still sleeping siliguri town, through the army cantonment of Sevoke and we were passing through teak forests with the hills in the foreground. The road to Gangtok lies along the banks of the Teesta, which we crossed on the 'Coronation bridge', which the maps said was just 4 km from Kalimpong. Passed Melli Bazaar on the WB side and finally entered Sikkim through Rangpo.

Breakfast halt was at a charming village at a moderately clean and functional roadside restaurant. We were in Gangtok by 10.45 and went straight to our Hotel: the Superview Himalchuli. And this is hwere we had our first uncomfortable experience of the trip. The hotel, though exotic and at a very nice location , was very badly maintained and quite dirty. Not recommended at all. And within an hour of arrival, we ensured that Yak n Yeti put us up in another hotel. Feeling quite miffed, we left with our luggage, with some shopping at the govt handicraft store, and lunch at hotel ashirwaad on the beautiful MG Marg (more about which later).

Went to the replacement hotel: Leo International to dump the luggage before proceeding to Rumtek. The Leo was a vast improvement on the Superview, and while basic, was very clean, with 24 hour hot water (which we realised was quite something). The food at Leo was was also noteworthy.

The Rumtek Monastry is the seat (in absentia) of the karmapa Lama, the no 3 in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy. In the 1990's there was an issue of 2 conflicting lamas, one nominated by the chinese and the second by some bhutanese monastries. In the event, The chinese nominated lama 'escaped' to India, and is currently at Dharamshala. The Govt of India , trying to keep controversy at bay, has not yet allowed him into rumtek (amidst rumours also that he could be a Chinese 'implant' ). And so the serenely beautiful monastery is chock full of ITBP security men.

had wonderful time there, and then returned to spend the evening at MG marg, where we had to have amma's PP foto clicked for the permits to North Sikkim and Tsomgo lake.

The MG marg is Gangtok's high street, and has been recently remodeled. Traffic is forbidden , and thus it is a wide flower laden avenue where tourists and locals enjoy the pleasant evenings. Photos done and submitted to Y &Y, we headed back to the Leo international for some well deserved sleep.

"Chomling in the land of Chamling-1"

This is the first of a series of posts on the family's visit to Sikkim, Darjeeling and Calcutta.The idea of a trip to Darjeeling and Sikkim originated in the last week of march 2009, and all because of a movie CD that dad picked up. 'China Town', a fifties movie starring Shammi Kapoor, has him playing a club singer who moves from Darjeeling to Calcutta for a living. While we watched, we discussed how it would be nice to have a holiday there, and soon the movie was forgotten (we still haven't gotten round to finish viewing it), and planning started in full swing. the 1st week of may was considered ideal as with 5 days of leave, we would get 10 days off.

Lots of research on the Internet and advise from Mohan mama resulted in crystallization of the plan. Tickets were booked in advance, and the services of Yak and Yeti, a Gangtok based travel operator who were highly recommended on the net were secured.

DDay (1st May) arrived bright and clear, and we were off on a Indigo flight to CCU. landing in CU at 2.30 PM, our first sight in the airport was of the passengers who had lined up to board the return flight to BLR, something that we would be doing on the 10th. That was however, a holiday away, and off we went into CCU.

The CCU airport in in dire need of a makeover, and resembles a crowded railway station more than an airport. Taking a prepaid taxi, a weather beaten ambassador that was probably there when dad had visited Calcutta 45 years back, we made our way to Sealdah station.The Sealdah station was where we had to catch our train to NJP , the Kanchan kanya express. As the train was at 7.30 PM, we had some time to kill, and so we checked in our luggage in the cloak room and went to the local Comesum restaurant for our lunch.The heat was getting to us , and we put paid to our plans of doing some sightseeing and went straight to the waiting room (the a/c was thankfully working).

Later in the evening, Bimba and I ventured out of the station and onto Bowbazar (BB ganguly street) that leads from the station. After some area that was covered in immense dirt and squalor, we discovered that Bow bazar was full of jewellers and gold shops. Naturally, this being 1st may, not a shop was open, and the street was quite pleasant to walk on.Finally, we boarded Kanchankanya and at 7.30 PM we were off towards NJP.

P.S. For those wondering why this post is named so, well, one of the many names that we call our daughter is 'Chomling' , and the CM of Sikkim is Pawan Kumar Chamling, hence the name.why we call her Chomling is a topic for another post.

Aero India Show 2009 at AFS Yelahanka

Bimba and I had a very different Valentines day celebration this year, courtesy some free passes  to the Aero India show that Geeta mami very generously handed over to us. 

The saturday morning was bright and sunny, and after handing over Sonu to the loving care of her grandparents and atte, Bimba and I started off towards the Yelahanka Airforce Station, a good 40 odd Km from Hanumanthnagar. 

Parking for our pass was just after kogilu cross on the outskirts of Yelahanka town, in a large though dusty area earmarked for this purpose. We were wondering how to get to the AFS, given that it was still a good 3-4 km from here, when we noticed the steady stream of BMTC 'Vajra' Volvo busses ferrying people to the the base. The process was swift and orderly, and soon we alighted inside the airbase.

The show area was a good kilometers walk away though. First up were some huge airconditioned exhibit halls and the '5 star' restaurant area managed by ITC. The main show area was a revelation. apart from the exhibit halls where the best and the biggest names in the aerospace industry were displaying their wares, some of the  worlds most famous flying machines were parked. There were aircraft from the USAF, The UAE airforce, the Luftwaffe, The Italian airforce, the South African  etc. 

Soon, the airshow began. 1st up was the LCA Tejas that took off and displayed some awesome manouvers. This was followed by the F 16  and the F/A 18 Super Hornet, whose pilot graciously waved to the cheering audience on landing after displaying some really breathtaking flips, rolls and flypasts. the Hercules C-130 displayed some 'gentle manouvers next, and was followd by the IAF Su 30MKI

 that wowed the audience. 

The highlight of the show , however, was the stupendous show put up by the IAF Suryakirans, followed by the Sarang, the Dhruv (India's ALH) team.

In all, a very satisfying day.

Pawan

Reflections on a trip to Madhugiri and Pavagada

 Well, we drove down to Madhugiri and Pavagada in Tumkur District this weekend. Tumkur is 70 km from Bangalore - a good two hour drive...The city traffic is particularly painful, what with the elevated roadway under construction. Madhugiri is 40 km from Tumkur- the road is good. Pavagada is yet another 50 km.

 The journey from Tumkur to Madhugiri is picturesque, serene, a mix of elevated lands intersected by river valleys and what seems to be a unending range of hills nearly 4000 feet long, most in the north- south direction. Typically, there are water bodies on one side of the road and green patches of paddy fields with local men and women in colourful local costumes working in the water soaked fields. The green patches and water body provide a visual relief to the otherwise rocky terrain and the hot weather outside. We halted at a number of places to take a snap or two on our way to Madhugiri.

 So why did we go to Madhugiri and Pavagada…and travel almost 400 km in a day…what is different here?

 Locals following politics in Karnataka would remember Madhugiri featuring in the news for a bi-election contested and won by Anita Kumaraswamy, the wife of Ex Chief Minister around December 2008. But that’s not why we went there.

 Madhugiri is one of the largest monolith (single rock) hills in Asia. It is over 3900 feet high and the sight of the smooth, steep slopes with some walls of an abandoned fort stare at you like a huge grey tongue of a massive passive structure living in deep sleep.

There is a ruined fort on the top with  circular granaries, which houses a ruined Gopalakrishna temple. Rumour has it that it is the 2^nd largest in this area after Sawanadurga, another monolith. Some say it is amongst Asia’s largest Monoliths. I have climbed up Sawanadurga, Siddarabetta and been to Sivaganga and Devarayanadurga, all of them a trekker’s delight. Most have temples and one side of the mountain can be quite steep. Some say there is possibility of spotting a bear as night dawns.

The fort at Madhugiri is said to be some 340 years old, built by Raje Hare Gowda, improved on by Hyder Ali and has witnessed many a royal battle between Marathas, the British and the troops of Tipu Sultan. The place now is a silent mute witness to history and resonates with heat and not many visitors except for groups of trekkers and climbers. It is a tourist spot and is famous for Pomegranates.

 Pavagada is similar to Madhugiri but the fort here was built some six centuries back in 1405 by a Vijayanagar Chieftain. The town’s Sree Shaniswara temple is the anchor place for the market...it looks colourful with ladies selling bangles and rolls of coloured cloth on pavements. Pavagada is famous for groundnuts. One particular sight that fascinated me on the drive (that cuts across Andhra Pradesh too) is the sight of women removing the covers of lentils (tur dal stocks) by letting it fall at an angle from a raised platform like the back of a lorry vehicle. The villagers were curious to see us photographing them. I also understand that Pavagada is a naxalite infested area!

 The most interesting part and the reason for undertaking this journey was to witness some yeomen work done by people like A Srinivasa in implementing government schemes. Would you believe that just three years back, some of these areas just 150 to 200 km from the IT capital of India Bangalore --near Madhugiri, Tiptur, Pavagada - did not have electricity and local hamlets housing 10 to 15 huts would stare at the high voltage transmission electrical lines that traversed their terrain not knowing when they would see the “light of a lamp powered by electricity”!

A couple of years back, this problem surfaced and the Central Government launched the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyut Yojana. State electricity boards and Governments identified districts that could benefit from this scheme and Tumkur was one of them. Contracts were awarded to private contractors to bring electricity into villages below poverty line free of cost. Mr. A. Srinivas worked for one such contractor and was tasked to execute a project of lighting 26000 houses in about 3000 villages in this district. This journey started in 2006 and is almost complete now. We got to know of this and decided to visit one of the beneficiary villages and actually check it out. Madhugiri and Pavagada then just happened to be tourist spots – on the way - to witnessing and interacting with the beneficiaries and people who made it happen!

 A little background on Mr. Anand Srinivasa Rao. He is about 65 years old - a retired electrical engineer who studied in PES College of Engineering, Mandya and dared to go to Firozabad, a small town in Western UP to pursue a career. On passing Engineering, there were few openings then for Engineers – a recession (?). He got a reference for a job opening in a private Electrical Distribution Company called WESPO—acronym for Western Uttar Pradesh Electricity Supplying Company. This was in 1971. This young man did not know Hindi- the language of UP, but still chose to leave the comfort of his home, to venture out and see the world. Today he speaks chaste Hindi.

He worked for a decade in Firozabad, which then was a manufacturing hub for glass articles and artifacts like bangles, lamp shades, dining ware etc. I had an opportunity to see this place—pretty unhygienic with small children sweating it out in the hot hot foundries and glass furnaces, blowing and cooling glass as they gave shape to it in manual, unproductive, resentful work environments. Srinivasa helped transform the electrical and distribution losses by modernizing and legalizing the equipment and power supply, thereby lowering revenue leaks. This was a dauntless task. He was supported in this work by a faithful wife who hailed from Mumbai and who gave up a job in a leading bank to be a housewife- in true Indian tradition! Many a time, the couple debated on leaving the place and seeking a job in Karnataka or Mumbai…but a rumour that the private company would be taken over by the Government kept him glued to the job from a job security perspective – to support his growing family.

As his family grew, he managed to get a transfer to Agra , an educational hub where he stayed from 1981 to 1991 and later moved to Lucknow, the UP State Electricity Board’s Head quarters where he retired in 2002 at age 56. He returned to Bangalore to look after his mother and in 2006, he took up this job with a private contractor. His role was to oversee and execute an order of Rs. 24 Crore—that of electrifying 3000 hamlets – 26000 light points – free of cost – one each for a “below poverty line” family. (Material cost supplied by the electricity board constitutes Rs.22 Crore). His job required him to either settle in Tumkur or commute everyday for almost 6 hours from Bangalore to Tumkur and back and also travel almost another 100 km everyday into the interiors of the district to plan, implement, guide and execute the order. All six days a week! His transition from a Government to a private company job was an experience in itself and on top of it, he consciously chose to traverse some 150 to 300 km every single working day, the last three years. I think the mission excited him. Remember Shah Rukh Khan in Swades – a Hindi movie. Well, here is Srinivasa GIVING ACTUAL SHAPE to something that we city bred folks take for granted. Don’t we fret and fume when there are power cuts? Here are villages, just 200 km from where you and I stay, that don’t have basic electricity!

 It takes passion, courage and patience to give shape to dreams and schemes that are well meaning on paper but need tremendous application and grit to reach intended beneficiaries.

 And there I was in Devaragada, some 15 km from Pavagada, talking to local villagers in a tiny hamlet of just ten houses or so (six unoccupied). Srinivasa and his colleague Murthy take me around and show me the electrical poles, 25 KVA transformers, metering boxes, ceramic and strain insulators and the seven chord interwoven cable wires of Aluminium and steel. (Steel ones are referred to by names of animals and others like Aluminium by names of insects). These are stored and transported to sites over long distances and there are periodic inspections. Some of these schemes are misused and it is practically difficult to run a tight ship.

  Hats off to the courage , passion and tireless work of people like Anand Srinivasa Rao  who go out of the way, tirelessly to “light a lamp” in the dark naxalite infested lands…Making a difference!

 Now you know why I visited Madhugiri and Pavagada with my family on a hot day – a holiday when I could have just relaxed at home…The reason – to give a flip and recognize some good work that normally can go unnoticed- and the journey to Madhugiri and Pavagada was only incidental…

Assam and Meghalaya, 2009

I have just returned from a short one-week trip to Assam and Meghalaya and I thought that I‘d share some aspects which were different, that you may like to know.

Here it goes...

Before commencing the trip, some well-meaning people did raise doubts on the wisdom of choice of destination - they were concerned about our safety in the light of the recent bomb blasts and terrorist / ULFA related unrest in parts of Assam. To top it, I was doing this trip with a ‘plaster-of-Paris’ cast around my left hand as a result of a fracture a month back.

Well, I was surprised at Bangalore airport on two counts – the weather was unusually cold and foggy with very poor visibility right till about 9 am in the morning delaying all flights and secondly, the security person asking me for a medical certificate on seeing the cast! He actually double checked my broken (cast) hand for any concealed metal objects. I was also lucky to get away more so as my camera box had many spare batteries and a suspicious looking remote control device!

Our first halt was at Kaziranga National park, a five hour (240 km) drive from Guwahati on a well maintained highway. The Route was picturesque and the weather great!  As we reached our destination, we saw a number of tea gardens on flat land….different from the usual sight of lush green rolling waves of green tea shrubs that we normally see on hill slopes.

Three delightful experiences at Kaziranga

1. Sighting one horned Rhinoceros from atop an elephant. We got as close as a few meters and got to see these 2 to 3 ton weighing animals in their natural habitat of tall grass lands. What is amazing is their dexterity—they can run at speeds of 40 km an hour! Some are 4 metres long and the short single horn that curves backwards looks disproportionate to the size of their bodies. The horn length varies from 25 to 40 cm and I believe fetches more than 20000 US $ in the market (illegal). Rhino means “nose” and Ceros means “horn”. The average life is 40 to 45 years and females breed at age 4 to 6! We saw 1.     over 25 rhinos in two rides (elephant and jeep) of about 3 to 4 hours. Conservation of Rhinos in Kaziranga is a success story—I believe the numbers have gone up from an estimated 100 in year 1900 to about 2500 now, across the world. Two thirds of the world’s one horned rhino population is now at Kaziranga forest. A few days after our visit, we read a newspaper item that a rhino had traversed into adjoining farmlands and created a scare around an area just 20 km away from where we stayed! We also saw a tree that had multiple clawmark scratches on its soft bark which I believe were made by tigers!

2. Just after the morning ride into the forest on 26th January, Republic day of India, we saw the forest office making preparations for hoisting the national flag. My wife, being a school Principal, was enthused and we decided to participate. The forest office staff‘s simplicity ,hospitality, willingness and eagerness to share and to make us welcome and at home was a remarkable message of “One India- caring and sharing”. We happily ate the green raw “channa “and tea that they shared and joined them in the salute and following songs. It was a good homely experience away from home. Their pride, passion and commitment to their tasks in a not-so-conducive environment is noteworthy.

3. In the evening, we met Roop Jyoti at her residence,  which also doubles up as her workplace. She is a local villager aged around 35. She gave up a teacher’s job to initiate and join a “Self Help” organization. She now directly supports and employs ten tribal women in the third stage of silk production—weaving . The first two being silk worm sericulture and silk thread extraction and rollup. Weaving is done on manual handlooms to self made designs - a tough arduous task- very labour intensive and one that needs constant attention. As we entered their premise, we saw them engaged in a puja they do around sunset- customary and traditional. Their devotion spoke for itself. Roop Jyoti is a local village bred lady who speaks excellent English and is able to vibe well with all visitors including foreigners. She has a email id and apparently networks by going to computer kiosks some distance away. (Her village received electricity just two years back!) Her passion, entrepreneurship, simplicity and ability to relate to the tourists vide her deep knowledge of tradition and cultural aspects and musical instruments (like Gogona) are memories we cherish. It is this spirit that we admire! 

The next day, we visited Majuli island. This is just about a hundred km away from Kaziranga by road till Nimatighat (some 20 km from Jorhat) and ferry across Brahmaputra river thereafter. Well, what’s different about Majuli and why visit it? 

Majuli is the largest riverine island in the world. It is a bustling town, some 650 sq km. It had a recorded area of 1250 sq km and rapid erosion has changed its location, shape and coordinates. It loses on an average 15 sq km every year due to floods and it is believed that at this rate the island will cease to exist in another 20 odd years! It is now some 80 km long and 20 km wide. It is the cultural capital of Assam and is the centre of Neo-Vaishnavite culture. History has it that in the 16th century, Sankardeva, a social reformer, set base here and established some 65 Satras or monasteries out of a total of some 665 in Assam. About 22 of these 65 survive now. Here again, let me narrate three interesting experiences

1.     We visited a Nutan Samugiri satra- a mask making centre run by the renowned Hemachandra Goswamy. Here, we saw a residence cum workshop cum school (Gurushishya parampara). These masks are used in mythological dramas depicting scenes and characters from the Ramayana and Mahabharata – like Ravana and Surpanaki (masks of a friendly lady and thereafter, a rakshasi). They continue the rich theatrical heritage of Assam. Their simplicity, warmth and passion for their work and culture is amazing and can be contagious, it makes you feel like wanting to stay on with the experience. There are other satras too that we visited like the Kamalabari satra that makes boats and one devoted to pottery. We actually saw a barter trade on pottery and food!

2.     People resilience, harmony and economy: We visited a tribal village of Mishings- who constitute 40% of the 1.5 lakh population of Majuli. Their houses are very simple, often at two levels, with the ground level as animal shelter and first floor as rooms. They are simple fisherfolk. Every year their houses and fields get destroyed by floods and they rebuild the same. I asked them why they continue to reside and not relocate. Their passionate answers reflected their pride with respect to home place, culture and community. Their economy is mainly agriculture. Over a hundred varieties of rice grow here - with no pesticides or fertilizers used, as the alluvium deposits from the river Brahmaputra make it very fertile. Fishing, pottery, handloom and boat-making are other economic activities. One sees a number of cycles used in the narrow paths and quite a few people in traditional dhoti- kurta attire live in harmony with the tribal population. I am told that this island has not witnessed any communal disharmony or riots despite being home to different communities and castes. One INDIA again- a colourful mosaic of diverse ethnicity.

3.     My daughter’s cellphone fell into the river and we were lucky to ferry it out as the earphone cords got stuck in a hole at the bottom of the boat. It continued to work despite an unintended immersion test in water!

The next day, we traveled from Majuli- Kaziranga to Cherrapunjee via Guwahati and Shillong. Took some 10 hours to cover 450 odd km and we settled at Cherrapunjee Holiday home. Let me narrate three interesting aspects / experiences here...

This holiday home resort is perhaps the only one in Cherrapunjee (Sohra) , a town which till recently had recorded the heaviest rainfall in a year. Surprisingly, now at times there is a water shortage and the falls are dry! Well, the holiday home accommodation is run by a very devoted, enterprising couple named Dennis Rayan and Carmelon. They started the venture sometime in 1998, after Dennis gave up his job as a Manager in one of the renowned banks. He married a local Cherrapunjee girl and had settled in Bangalore after their marriage. Sometime in1997,  he felt uncomfortable in his job  and was keen on a change when this idea struck him—to start a home-stay in Cherrapunjee for tourists, when there was / is none. Most tourists did a day trip from Shillong which is just 55 km away- a nice scenic route with a well laid out road meandering  thru the lush green  rolling hills that present wonderful amazing views of valleys interspersed with hard granite blank hill slopes that is home to steep waterfalls. Their conviction was based on the fact that given that they themselves came every year and enjoyed their holiday that extended for weeks, surely tourists would enjoy a home-stay for a few days. They set this with their savings and took loans- a challenge that they persevered. This facility has some six rooms with a large dining hall and attracts many a foreign tourist. It is wi-fi equipped, has internet and computer facilities and the soft Indian classical music they play just enhances and adds to their wonderful hospitality. We experienced warmth and good home like food. I am impressed with their entrepreneurial and marketing skills and the passion and commitment they demonstrated. This also is a role model institution for the many English speaking village folk. In the evenings, we were treated to some music by local bands - in an effort to encourage local talent. This holiday home also offers daytime activities like trekking, caving, river canyoning, angling and short walks on the plains.

We decided to take a trek to see the Living root bridge in Ummunoi. It is a different kind of trek in that we first go down a distance of about 4 km through village Sohrasat- some 1200 feet down and then climb up. Total time is 3 to 4 hours. The steps are steep in some stretches. I can imagine moss thriving on these steps in monsoon making the trek very challenging. The path through the jungle and bay leaf garden is interesting. As you walk down the steps, you notice water streaming down semi circular cut bamboo pipes running long distances- drip irrigation for betel leaf creepers in dry seasons and winter. The Living root bridge is a natural bioengineering ecological marvel and I believe is only found in Meghalaya across the world. There is this Indian Rubber tree that flourishes in the lower hills of the Khasi range. On both sides of a rivulet or water stream, we find these trees that have overland roots like the banyan tree. The tribes of Khasi innovatively discovered that they could engineer a bridge by extending the roots of one plant across the stream and ground it so that they go deeper and stronger with every single day. Railings are naturally created by a group of such roots. These bridges take some 10 to 15 years to function and last for over 500 years and are living roots! They can carry more than 50 people across at one go and are very sturdy. Stones were put on the bridge floor and the roots grew around these stones gripping them to fill holes between roots. These are some 80 feet long and 4 to 5 feet wide and railings of 3 feet odd height all natural and footway some 20 feet above ground level.  There are similar double decker bridges nearby. An extract from Journal of Asiatic society of Bengal in 1844 cites “On top of a huge boulder, by the river side, grows a large rubber tree, clasping the stone with its roots. Two or three of the long fibers, while still easily pliable, have been stretched across the stream and their free ends fastened on the other bank. Two roots run directly one above the other and the secondary shoots from the upper have been bound round and grow into the lower, so that the former becomes a handrail and latter a footway,” An amazing sight and experience to cross a living root bridge!

The broomstick industry flourishes here. We saw the broomstick plants growing abundantly and locals cut out parts of these plants, dry them and group them into brooms.

Reflections:

1. India lives in its villages...How true! I have seen a common thread across the country—one of warmth, hospitality, caring and sharing, hope and entrepreneurship. One witnesses sparks of enterprise tempered by resilience, all of which helps face the multiple challenges of caste, creed and religion, occupation and economic disparities. The broom stick village industry and or the bay leaf collection, drying and packaging or betel leaf and nuts industry apart from the traditional pottery, masks, musical instruments and boat making are memories that we’ll always carry with us.

2. It is here in the villages one sees contentment and tradition unfolding into enterprise and people like Roop, Hemachandra and Dennis are all role models of passion, commitment and simplicity in their own ways. They make a difference. Do we? Are we thinking of a second innings in these times of uncertainty?

3. Is it resilience or is it foolishness to continue to live in a highly quake and flood prone land of uncertain geography and landmass whose only connect to the external world is thru a ferry across a hostile river?? Would you continue to live there or choose to relocate?

After this short visit, I can definitely say that Assam and Meghalaya are safe tourist spots, culturally rich, diverse and inviting. So pack your bags and if you need help in logistics, let me know.