Merry Christmas And Happy New Year

Merry Christmas And A Happy, Healthy And Prosperous  New Year To All My Friends. May this new bring for you promises of new dreams to fulfill, new goals to reach and new joys to discover !

Please Pray For My Friend Gigi Hawaii

“Gigi-Hawaii” is a blog nickname for Glenda Chung Hinchey, a third-generation Korean-American, born and raised in Hawaii.  She graduated from the University of Hawaii (BA Sociology) and then traveled solo around the world for seven years, living in California, Thailand, Europe, and New York.  She taught English at Thammasat University, Voice of America, and AUA Language Center in Bangkok and was a graduate student in music at Columbia University.  A former Hawaii Public Radio commentator,

Magical Mayong Pabitora Festival 2011

The picture at the entrance gate  shows King Of Mayong and his parliamentarians

Mayong a small and beautiful village near Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Morigaon district is situated about 40-45 km away from Guwahati. Mayong is famous for its  history of magic,sorcery and herbal therapy. During the medieval period in ancient India, Mayong is said to remain the Indian Capital of Black Magic and Witchcraft. Mayong is full of supernatural stories. .Except for the few most of the magic secrets and spells were not documented but passed

Durga Puja(Sharadiya Navratri) In North East India

A Very Happy Durga Puja (Navratras) To All Of You .

Sharad Navratri is widely celebrated in different ways throughout the India.In Sanskrit the word Navratri means nine nights.In the North East part of India it is celebrated as Durga -Puja.The dates of Durga Puja celebrations are set according to the traditional Hindu Calendar in the month of Ashwin which is the beginning of the winters.It falls in the months of Sep -Oct.As Durga Puja represents celebration of the Goddess as Shakti ,all her nine different forms are worshipped during these nine days.I would like to share my experiences on how i have been celebrating Durga-Puja all these years living in three different states of North -East( Assam,Arunachal-Pradesh and Meghalaya).With its religious significance this festival

Finding Them A Home

It is with great pleasure that i introduce you to one of my closest and dearest friend Rupa. Ruprekha Mushahary is working with ICCW (Indian Council for Child Welfare), New Delhi, as a life member as well as the  Secretary of the Council's Assam State Branch. She passionately works for child rights and causes. Being a keen observer of the world she believes there is so much to learn and so much to do that there is no time to lose. Her hobbies include reading, writing, traveling, gardening, blogging, needlework/embroidery and of course cooking.Her interesting blog Feelings  is also a treasure trove of Bodo indigenous recipes.I thank her for sharing here  a true story that is  most close to her heart. 

Naw - Khel : The Annual Boat Race Of Sualkuchi 2011

Apart from it's silk Sualkuchi (also known as The Manchester Of The East ) is also popular for its annual boat festival.Sualkuchi is among the places where this indigenous sport still survives.This race is organized to commemorate the death anniversary of Srimanta Sankardev ( 1449 -1568) .He was a scholar -saint and a great social-religious reformer.  Srimanta Sankardev is considered as a colossal figure in the cultural and religious history of Assam.In the year 1965 a rowing competition committee was formed not only to revive this old age tradition but also to strengthen the harmony ,unity and integrity amongst the people belonging to different cast and communities of the area. Both Hindus and Muslims participate

Sacred Grove/Forest : Law Lyngdoh At Mawphlang Meghalaya

Sacred Grove Mawphlang

As a part of their cultural and religious beliefs the people of Meghalaya practice an age-old tradition of preserving primary forest patches near their settlements .These forests are a deep insight into the history and religious beliefs of the people of Meghalaya .A Sacred Grove is a  rich patch of undisturbed forests that serve as a natural habitat for many endemic, rare and valuable   plants. I had never heard of Sacred Groves until few years back . Located about 25 km from Shillong after an hour of beautiful drive one can easily reach Sacred Grove of Mawphlang , one of the most famous grove that attracts botanists and naturalists from all over the world.This grove has also been named as Nature's Own Museum as it has a varied form of plants,flowering trees ,orchids and butterflies.Sacred groves serve as Gene Bank of the ecosystem in modern times .

A Day In Mawlynnong of Meghalaya - The Cleanest Village Of Asia

Contd from Part 1 Shillong to Mawlynnong
                     Part 2:Living Root Bridge Of Riwai
                     Part 3 :Sky View Mawlynnong
Mawlynnong of Meghalaya has won the acclaim of being the cleanest village of Asia in 2003 by Discover India Magazine and also the cleanest village of India in 2005.Cleanliness is almost like an inborn  trait of the residents of this  more than hundred years old village .All its residents can read and write .As you can see in picture - bamboo dustbins called Thapa in local language are placed in every nook and corner of the  village.Every single piece of litter and fallen leaves /flowers are collected here which later are shifted to a pit to be used as manure by the villagers.The village has a very strong and strict council.Smoking is completely banned here.

Sky View : Mawlynnong the cleanest village in Asia

A Welcome Message At Parking Place : Mawlynnong

Contd from Part 1: Shillong To Mawlynnong
                          Part 2: Living Root Bridge Of Riwai 

 It was almost two in the afternoon as we reached Mawlynnong .The first thing that catches your eyes is beautiful flowers and well maintained colorful plants everywhere.It is almost like stepping into a gorgeous botanical garden or a beautiful place from fairy tales.Mawlynnong is also called God's Own Garden.

Jingkieng Jri : Living Root Bridge Of Riwai of Meghalaya

Thatched cottages in Riwai Village

Contd from the first part :  . It took us a little more than three hours to reach Riwai Viilage which is just two km before Mawlynnong .The outside temperature at 31C  was pretty hot for Meghalaya .Sun was sharp .Pranab did a good thing to bring  a Sun Cap .We parked our car near  first way to the living root bridge (another was  just few mt away) .We had heard so much about the living root bridges of Meghalaya  and finally we were about to see one . There was this small sign board which pointed at the narrow pathway to the bridge.

Shillong To Mawlynnong- The Journey

Upper Shillong

Mawlynnong was on top of our travel list for last couple of years . Had to hold our plans earlier for various reasons .Finally came the day when the time was right as everything was perfectly placed. We were on a five day trip to Shillong.My mother -in-law and dear Suniti ( our housekeeper Dulal's wife) offered to look after my kids for the day so that Chandan and i could visit the place. Pranab ,Chandan's childhood friend and Dulal accompanied us to this unforgettable journey. Mawlynnong is  an over hundred years old  village situated in the pristine East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya ,India. In the year 2003 it earned the distinction of being the 'Cleanest Village Of Asia ' declared by Discover India Magazine .Though this beautiful and little village attracts visitors from all over the world throughout the year i would still prefer to call it under explored . A large part of North East India still remains undiscovered and there are very few travel guides to help the visitors coming to these parts .I will be posting my travel experiences through my pictures as a

Bordoisila

had tried to capture the arrival of Bordoisila March 2009 from our terrace

It was a Saturday most probably in the month of March approximately thirty five years back.My dad was newly posted to this small town of Assam.The town had a tiny market comprising of not more than five to six shops.I still remember it had a small general store ,one tea shop ,a vegetable stall and another meat and poultry shop. It was a ritual to visit the nearby town Tejpur which was just forty kms away every Saturday for our weekly shopping.We were returning to our house after one such very initial trip.The weather was bit cloudy but pleasant .All of a sudden the sky turned almost black .A fierce and strong wind changed the whole weather in few secs.There were thunders and lightening in the area and we could hear and see the flashes of  thunderbolt .Soon it was accompanied by heavy downpour .It was impossible to move further . My dad parked the jeep on the side of the road by positioning it in such a way that it faced into the wind.The jeep was shaking badly and all three of us (me ,my sis and brother) were pretty scared .My dad was cool though .He looked back at us and said ," don't worry ,it's Bordoisila ,she is visiting her mother's house .Everything will be fine in few minutes". Thousand questions cropped up on my mind ..who is she ?why is she so angry ? why is she doing this ? But at that moment

Sharmin Assam Foodie

Sharmin

                 It's an honor to have Sharmin as my guest writer today.

Sharmin, is a freelance writer and stylist based in Dubai. Her work has appeared in several magazines, with a focus on health, beauty, travel and the culinary arts. She has published more than 200 features till date. Her passion for food from Assam, where she hails from has led her to create the Assamese Cuisine And Recipes fan page on Face Book, which currently boasts over 12500 members. She also enjoys travel and photography .                                                

I first met Sharmin through my blog .Few mails later realized apart from our love for Assamese Cuisine we also shared a common 'Shillong Connection'. It was then that i came across her popular fan page on Face Book .On asking her that what inspired her to start this page her answer was - away from Assam ,and with no access to any Assamese cookbook ,I realized that there was no barely any resources on the web on Assamese food and with the modern kitchen in use, many traditional recipes were no longer used.The page was created to show case our wonderful cuisine to the world and to preserve some of out ethnic recipes for generations to come .I believe, food connects us to our culture, It reflects our history . It is is everything we are .Since than she has my greatest admiration for her work and for the person she is.Today she shares with us this wonderful

Bless You My Darling - To Mamta With Love

Bless you, my darling, and remember you are always in the heart - oh tucked so close there is no chance of escape - of your sister.  ~Katherine Mansfield

A sculpture from Goa with real gold paint .

 It all started with an album uploaded on  facebook  by my dear sister Mamta .The album displayed few of her conservation work .It was flooded with comments in no time .Partha S Mukherjee who is an active member of International Council Of Museum ICOM commented :  Good job! I hope you have kept a detailed documentation of all  the restoration work you have done so far.The comment caught my eyes as it echoed my

River Dolphins Of Kulsi In Assam

This post is also published in 1. ektitli.org 
                                          2. Clay clubmahindra blog

River Kulsi

                                                              Happy World Environment Day

This year we planned to celebrate the Environment Day by visiting Kukurmara a very small township at 40 kms west of Guwahati .This place attracts a lot of visitors because the river Kulsi here(one of the tributaries of river Bhramaputra)  has the presence of approx 30 odd fresh river Dolphins.Around the world only four species of fresh water Dolphins are found ,one of them being in India River Dolphin -Platanista Gagentica Gagenticahave the status of National as well as state aquatic animal of Assam.It is called Xihu (pronounced Khi-hu) in local language.In the year 1996 the IUCN(International Union For Conservation Of Nature)

A Wedding Card

Received this 'Biya -Chithi '(wedding card) two days back .Chandra Master's son is getting married .Chandra master(he is a teacher) is one of the many 'village cousins' of my husband.Though my husband's family lived in Shillong for three generations ,they originally hail from this tiny village named Namkhola in Assam. Every third person of this village is a Saharia and most of us are related to each other in one way or another.

The card is  printed in Assamese script and is very simple as per the choice and budget of the family .Like any other Hindu wedding card the invitation provides the names of the bride's and groom's parents and their respective places of residence.It is a common practice in villages to mention the name of every possible close relative in the card along with the name of the host.This card mentions nineteen names altogether .Most of them are brothers,sisters,aunts,uncles ,brother-in-laws,sister-in-laws and even nephew and niece of the groom.We try our best to attend any

Discussing Bhut Jolokia With Jay Cheshes

Bhut Jolokia (King Chilly)

I completed two years of blogging on 21st April (last month).Blogging has been a wonderful experience.I met wonderful people through it.I just never thought that i would have so many friends across the world .I take this oppurtunity to thank all my blogger friends for their constant support and encouragement.The time i was away from blogger i discovered a whole new world of non-bloggers who are interested in what my room tells about North East India.Jay Cheshes is one such person.This post is not about me ,Jay or Indian hospitality ,it is like one of my closest friend said " is the glimpse to the bigger things great blogging can lead to ,a good example of what social networking is all about.'
Few weeks back i received a mail from him which said "I found your post online about Bhut Jolokia (written in 2009). I am an

A Fun Evening With Labu Senapati And His Bonsai Collection

There are really three types of people :those who make things happen ,those who watch things happen and those who say "'What Happened " ?

Labu Da as we fondly call him has been a close  family friend for many years .Our families share a common 'Shillong Background'.A former AIR( All India Radio ) announcer Labu Da is a man of many interests  and talents .It is his love for the nature and environment that brings out an outstanding artist , designer ,craftsman,painter ,photographer in him. He designed pavilion for NEDFi which bagged special commendation prize in International Trade Fare . He is also an avid Bonsai collector .This living art form has interested him since his childhood  days .Over past fifty years he has amassed a huge individual collection of over seven hundred Bonsai .All the plants in his collection are his own creations.

.We always meet  each other in various functions ,festivals and social gatherings.On one such occasion he invited us to his house for a chit chat .Last Thursday we visited his house .His beautiful house looks like a mini Botanical Garden.His living room wall is adorned by this eye catching art work (the second picture ).He made it with the cross sections in  different sizes of a  dried  tree branch .After a brief chat he took us to the terrace  of  this double floored  building which stands just  few metres away from his house .

This beautiful forty eight year Bonsai welcomes you as you step into the  terrace . Labu Da explained us a lot about Bonsai -like how they are created ,developed and maintained .It was enlightening as well as amazing .Taking care of such huge collection without any help  is not an easy task.

Here is another one of the oldest from his collection  - if i remember right ,this too is nearly forty eight years old.His collection represents most styles of Bonsai .

This one with pretty pink flowers  .

I thought of counting all of them but after few hundreds i gave up . 

My son found a way to entertain himself  while we talked .

Here are more and some more ...........................................

This particular style is known as Landscape Bonsai.After spending more than an hour we came back to his living room .Aunty (his wife ) arranged   true Assamese style evening tea snacks for us .

Just before we sat for  tea ,Labu Da showed us this beautiful calendar titled 'Dreamz -2011 " which he made by himself .It contained twelve pictures of faces of tea tribe youngsters  of Assam working in various fields like agriculture ,medicine ,sports etc .He made only three copies of which two he gifted to his friends.

We talked a lot about different hand work .When my mother -in-law told him that she learnt American Quilting art during her four year long stay in USA , Labu Da brought out this attractive  hand stitched stole -do i need to tell that he did it himself.

The dining table had this very innovative plant arrangement -- it had mint leaves ,curry leaves ,masundari leaves ----all these plants are frequently  used in Assamese cuisine.

We had such a good time - one evening that i will never forget .

I A Bak

Just to let you know that i a ba k to blogger--- ost of the keys of y laptop ha e stopped working -i proised a post this week to y dear friend Shilpa-so before y laptop opletely stops working here is this post -and also y dear hubby feels that i a better person(read less nagging ) when i blog- he desperately wants e to go bak to blogger- so he is buying e a new laptop for e in a day or two - till than njoy pi ture of this pretty flower fro our garden-

New Year Wishes - From Delhi

(A Shot of Qutub Minar ,we visited few days back)

I Wish All My Friends A Very Happy New Year .I am on a break from blogger as i am spending my winter break at my parents' .Borrowed my brother's computer for few minutes to update my blog.

Will see you all in a week or so.Take care ,be happy :)