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Annie’s friend giving me a flying kiss at the Nyokum Yullo festival in Boasimla.
“I want to marry you,” calls out Anne.
“Er, I’m already married,” I reply.
“So?,” she asks with a shrug of her slim shoulders. “What’s the problem?”
“There is no problem,” I reply with a flattered grin, “I just need my wife’s permission to marry you.” [continue reading…]
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The beautiful landscapes on the road to Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh
Feeling like I had conquered the North Pole, I thanked the Army officers for their hospitality at Kibithu (the eastern most motorable settlement in India) and started back in the rain. And then the troubles started.
Rocks of all sizes were having a free run, plonking themselves at alarming regularity on the highway. One big fellow stopped me in my tracks at Walong one hour later, forcing me to spend the night in an Inspection Bungalow (I was lucky to have got one, and the rooms were very comfortable). But it was a cold, long night – and it seemed even more so with the uncertainties of what lay ahead. [continue reading…]
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On India's eastern most road in Arunachal Pradesh, headed to Kibithu on the Chinese border
I set out on a rainy morning for Kibithu – the eastern most settlement in India that can be accessed by road.
It was a picturesque drive on a well maintained road, valleys on one side and lush green mountain faces on the other. Bamboo houses and rivers completed the postcard settings. A sign post near Kibithu announced I was on the eastern most road of India. It was with a sense of achievement that I drove into Kibithu – only to be told there were no guest houses there. The benevolence of the Army ensured me a room and hot meals in the Mess. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to venture out and to try and sight some Chinese villages across the border – the weather had made any hiking dangerous. It was time to sit back and enjoy a break after a month of heightened physical activity
This trip was sponsored by TripAdvisor.in and Yatra.com.
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Crossing a stream on a shaky bamboo bridge on the way from Pasighat to Hayuliang in Arunachal Pradesh
Day 32 of the Great Himalayan Drive marked what would be many days of adventurous, and sometimes dangerous driving, into the lesser known after I left Pasighat.
After an hour of driving, I came across a broken bridge with little choice but to drive over a dry river bed. It took another hour to negotiate a rock strewn path, going over a shaky bamboo bridge over a stream and then losing my way before a boy out hunting guided me back to the highway. Incidentally, there are ‘Hunting not allowed’ signs all over but that does not deter locals from using slingshots and air guns to bring home dinner. [continue reading…]
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The suspension bridge at Pangin near Aalo (Along) on the way to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh. Check out the state of its floor. Click on the image for a larger view.
How do you cross a suspension bridge? Just walk across it, right? In theory, yes. In practice, a very different proposition – at least in the case of the one at Pangin, 29 kms from Aalo (formerly Along) on the way to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh.
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Built for locals to cross over the fast flowing river Siang, just the sheer drop from the bridge to the river below can give one the creeps. When crossing it, the persistent wind drafts cause that pendulum swinging movement – something you feel only when you are actually on the bridge. What certainly doesn’t help matters is the state it is in: ground below (if you can call it that) is made of bamboo and some planks. All somehow put together but shaky in many parts. Non-existent in some. And looking like all coming apart. You don’t watch you footing and the leg could go through. No, it is unlikely you will take a plunge to the rapids below – the mesh holding it up looked sturdy – but a twisted ankle or a broken leg could well ruin your trip. [continue reading…]
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A bird's eye view of Daporijo in Arunachal Pradesh from a hill before the town
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I reached Daporijo from Ziro on day 30 of the Great Himalayan Drive – the experience in this town was a mixed one. Here go some of the impressions: [continue reading…]
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A member of the Nyishi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh dressed for their annual 'Nyokum Yullo' festival in Boasimla village
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Along with the Hill Miris and Apatanis, the Nyishis are one of the main tribes of the Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh. And like others, they too have their annual festivals. The main one is ‘Nyokum Yullo’ which I was lucky to witness in Boasimla, a village on the way from Ziro to Daporijo.
The event was held in what looked like a village playground cum stadium. Apparently the complete populations of Boasimla and neighbouring villages had turned up to join in the festivities, most of them dressed in their traditional best. Hundreds – from children to youth and some older too – had been got together to perform their dances for the audience and the chief guests who included the local legislator. Some of these dances go by the names of ‘Rikham Pada,’ ‘Buya’ and ‘Ropi.’ [continue reading…]
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The Shivalinga at Kardo Village near Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh believed to be the biggest in the world at 25 feet height.
A tree cutter Prem Subba was working in a forest around the Kardo village (on a hill by the same name), about 4 kms from Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh a few years ago. Unfortunately for him, the tree fell the wrong way. When he went down the slope to retrieve it, he noticed a pointed rock sticking out from a mass of mud and shrubs. Upon clearing it, he chanced upon what looked like a Shivalinga, the symbol of Hindu God Shiva.
Not quite sure what to make of it, he brought back the local Hindu priest who confirmed it to be a Shivalinga, made by nature. And thus a holy spot was established. With locals believing it to be the largest Shivalinga in the world with a height of 25 feet and circumference of 22 feet. The site is referred to as Sidheshwarnath Temple. [continue reading…]
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Two members of the Apatani tribe in Hong Village of Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh heading out for work in the morning
Change is all around us. And it is permeating even the remote and lesser developed regions of the world. If you are going to Arunachal Pradesh and expecting its ethnic population to be walking the streets in their traditional tribal dresses and accessories, be prepared to be disappointed.
Most of them are dressed in casual clothes, functional and comfortable. While you may expect to see more of traditional dressing in the interiors (poorly connected by roads), or at their festivals, the village of Hong in Ziro Valley still has some ‘sights’ to offer. It is home to the Apatani tribe. Many of the older women still wear nose plugs and men tie their hair in a knot. Many have tattoos on their faces. [View more images on Facebook even if you are not a member] [continue reading…]
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The Thupten Gatsal Ling Gompa (monastery) on a hill in Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh
After the excitement of watching elephants bathe and play at the Manas National Park in Assam, the following two days of the Great Himalayan Drive turned out to be mostly uneventful as I headed to Itangar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh. But there were a few surprising and unexpected things in store for me even here. Here goes some of it:
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Is it possible to cover the entire span of the Himalayas from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh as one unbroken journey by road? Yes, it is. And I am setting out to show how it can be done, starting January 29, 2010. And I will drive for approximately 120 days.
Billed to be a trip never done before (certainly not in recorded memory), the journey will stretch from the western border of the Indian Himalayas in Kashmir to the eastern end in Arunachal Pradesh. It will also go through Ladakh, Lahaul Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, West Bengal, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur.
The journey has been made possible with sponsorships from TripAdvisor.in and Yatra.com. Keen to know more about the trip? Click here…
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