Love Biriyani? Here’s one from every Indian State

Biriyani is one dish that needs no introduction. Although the earliest roots of Biriyani can be traced back to middle-east, Biriyani was brought to the Northern India by the Muslim rulers who largely settled there and the Arab merchants who came to the southern India for trade. Today, Biriyani is more of an emotion for every foodie. Hence, an essential part of Indian food culture. Anybody visiting India has one thing to strike off in their list of ‘To do in India- Eat Biriyani’. But, India is a country of diversity and in no way can the humble Biriyani be left behind without being different.

While Biriyani is a very generic moniker for this spicy, aromatic and delicious preparation of rice, it comes in various forms. These forms are born out of the local influences of available ingredients, regional cuisine, rice variety and flavor preferred. There are mainly 2 types of making it: Kucchi (Raw marinated meat is cooked together between layers of raw rice) and Pakki (Meat and rice are separately cooked with all the spices and served together). While Biriyani is predominantly a non-vegetarian dish, it has been over time tuned for the vegetarian masses. Some versions are named after the place it originated from and some are synonymous with certain families or shops that created the variants.

So, while you enjoy exploring India, here is something for you to try out at each of the 29 states of this huge country- Biriyani.

PLEASE NOTE: There are a few states in India where I have not yet visited and hence do not have sufficient information about the local Biriyani flavours. It will be greatly appreciated if you can help me fill up these empty spaces by dropping your suggestions in the comments below.

1. Andhra Pradesh– Doodh ki Biriyani is something that stands out from the rest of the list in flavor and colour. Here, the meat and the rice are cooked together in milk instead of water. Vegetarians can drool over Avakaya Biriyani. This is made by mixing a raw mango and mustard oil pickle with steamed basmati rice.
2. Arunachal Pradesh– (**Need help)
3. Assam– Kampuri biriyani is a delightful recipe that has originated in a place called Kampur in this north-eastern state.
4. Bihar– Champaran is a culturally important region in the country that also gives its name to the popular non-vegetarian dish of the state. The flavours of Champaran mutton or Ahuna mutton goes well great in our list. What makes its preparation stand out is the usage of black pepper corns, desicated coconut and whole bulbs of garlic cooked along with the meat. The garlic pulp is then squeezed into the preparation.
5. Chattisgarh– (**Need help)
6. Goa– With a large number of influences from the erstwhile Muslims, Portuguese and the Saraswata Bramins of Konkan, Goan traditional food is an amalgamation of many cuisines. The Goan fish biriyani is a must try (the fish used may differ) which derives its flavour from coconut and red kokum. It is light on spices.
7. Gujarat– In a state where vegetarianism is largely preferred, Memoni biriyani comes as a surprise for mutton lovers. It has its origin from Sindh, the region in Pakistan with whom the state shares its border.
8. Haryana– Although, this state doesn’t have a biriyani it reckons itself with, its long association with the capital city, Delhi can be spoken about. Delhi Biriyani itself has so many versions depending on the part of the city it originated in and the purpose it was created for. Nizammuddin biriyani, Shahajanabad biriyani are a few to name. There is yet another twist to it in the form of the Achaari biriyani. Here, rice is mixed with pickles (Achaar in Hindi). Karim’s biriyani is served from a kitchen that dates back to the mughals (contributed by trippin_on_life).
9. Himachal– (**Need help)
10. Jammu & Kashmir– Its large association with the Muslim rulers has lead into the creation of the Kashmiri Biriyani (non-veg) or the Kashmiri Pulav (vegetarian dish). Mutanjan biriyani is a dish that stands out in the entire list as it is a sweet form of the otherwise spicy biryani.
11. Jharkand– (**Need help)
12. Karnataka– Susprisingly, my homestate has all the influences. The Northern part of the state is known for the Kalyani biriyani that was created by the Nawabs of Kalyani who ruled the areas around Bidar district. This is a delicacy cooked with buffalo meat. The coastal part of the state has its influence from the middle-eastern traders who eventually invented the local forms. Beary biriyani is named after the coastal trading community and Bhatkali biriyani with its taste influenced by the Navayath cuisine.
13. Kerala– The Northern Kerala (Malabar region) is known for its Thalassery biriyani and Kozhikodan biriyani, the middle part of the state has its lesser known dish called Rawther biriyani, created by the Rawther family who lived around the Palakkad area. The Kuzhimanthi biriyani, a form of Yemeni rice is slowly catching up with the locals in and around Cochin. All variants have been largely influenced by the immigrants and traders from the middle-east. Vegetarians, don’t worry. You can dig into delicious plates of Kappa biriyani (tapioca) and puttu biriyani.
14. Madhya Pradesh– Although this state does not have its own biriyani form, Tehari biriyani is prepared all over northern India. It is the vegetarian version of the Mughlai biriyani which goes by different stories of its origin.
15. Maharastra– While the Mughals have influenced the spicy Aurangabad biriyani, the Bombay Biriyani is a world apart with its tangy and sweet taste derived from the kewra, potatoes and plums used in its preparation. The Bohri patra biriyani, a name derived in combination of two words- Bohra (the sect who created this recipe) and patra (leaves of colocassia) is a hidden secret of Mumbai.
16. Manipur– (**Need help)
17. Meghalaya– Although this state doesn’t have a dish called ‘biriyani’ on its menu of khasi cuisine, Jadoh is a dish that’s very close. It is a spicy preparation of rice cooked either with pork or chicken. What sets it apart is that all its ingredients are cooked with the respective animal blood (pork or chicken) instead of water.
18. Mizoram– (**Need help)
19. Nagaland– (**Need help)
20. Odisha– while there is nothing specifically called the Odiya biriyani, what comes close is the Cuttacki Biriyani, created by a restaurant in cuttack. With the flavours largely derived out of Bengali influence, the ingredients are cooked in Rose water.
21. Punjab– Punjab doesn’t have its own biriyani recipe. Its proximity to the Pakistan borders gets it the Sindhi biriyani and the Bohri biriyani.
22. Rajasthan-Jodhpuri Kabuli is a vegetarian recipe deriving its name from the city of Jodhpur in Rajastan and Kabul in Afghanistan. Mewa biriyani is another local taste that’s slightly sweet and garnished with nuts and dehydrated fruits.
23. Sikkim– (**Need help)
24. Tamil Nadu– While the Nawabs of Arkot influenced the famous Ambur / Vaniyambadi biriyani; the thalapakkatti family created the Dindigul biriyani and the business community of Chettiars brought in their knowledge of spices giving form to the Chettinad biriyani.
25. Telangana– Hyderabadi Biriyani needs no description. Available in both the kacchi and pakki forms, it was patronized largely during the nawabs of Hyderabad.
26. Tripura– Although not a native dish, it can still be recognized with chevon biryani due to its proximity to Bangladesh. The chevon biriyani or Dhaka biriyani is the Bangladeshi twist to this incredible rice preparation.
27. Uttar Pradesh– Influenced by the Awadhi cuisine, the Lucknowi biriyani is flavourful and a burst of cinnamon to your tastebuds. Its lesser known relative is the Moradabadi biriyani.
28. Uttarakhand– (**Need help)
29. West Bengal– Last on the list, but one of the most popular forms in the country is the Kolkata biriyani. With potato as it’s key ingredient, this preparation of subtle flavours is influenced by the Awadhi cuisine.

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Tracking the Big Five at Kaziranga

The monsoon has caused the mighty Brahmaputra to take a toll on the North-eastern part of India causing innumerable and irreplaceable losses. I saw this one particular photo of a floating carcass of the striped beast, the National animal of India in the newspaper this morning and I was taken back in time when I visited Kaziranga last year, post monsoon.

This post is part of my fortnight long road trip across North-east India, specifically covering parts of Meghalaya – Assam – Arunachal Pradesh I had tagged along with two other travelers and drove around the places in a self-drive car hired at Guwahati. Our visit to Kaziranga had just one agenda, a safari in the Kaziranga National park and get a glimpse of at least one rhinocerous! Kazhiranga National Park is counted in the list of UNESCO’s world Heritage sites.

My Itinerary:

Day 1: Evening drive from Guwahati to Kaziranga (Kohora forest range)
Day 2: Early morning elephant safari & jeep safari in Kaziranga national park, Orchid research centre. Continue the journey onward to Jorhat.

The Details:

After a wonderful drive through the National highway from Guwahati, we reached Kaziranga on a night lit with Diwali lamps all around. Kaziranga national park is divided into four main areas: The Central range at Kohora, Western range at Bagori, Eastern range at Agaratoli and the Burapahar range at Ghorakhati. Here, the tourists can enjoy the elephant and jeep rides into the forest that are organized by either government or private parties. The park is closed during monsoon and we were lucky that the central zone at Kohora had opened just around our visit time. We had a nice meal and settled down at one of the numerous resorts that exist on the boundary of the National park in the Kohora range. Meanwhile, our resort guys helped us to get tickets for a safari ride scheduled for early next morning.

We woke up the next morning and headed towards the forest gates where the elephant ride was supposed to commence. The drive from the resort until the forest gate was so refreshing in itself. With the addictive smell of wet ground, kaccha roads passing through green paddy fields dotted with bamboo huts here and there, thick mist slowly clearing up with dew drops reflecting the rising sun: It was just wonderful all the way.

Enroute to the forest gates

Kaziranga is synonymous with the one-horned rhinoceros. With about 2/3rd of the world’s population of these beauties found in just this area, it was no surprise that we began to spot them one after the other. Even before we started our ride, we spotted rhino families all around the watch tower we were standing at. We even found a few of them grazing in the fields on the sides of the highway. With that we realized, that Kaziranga was beyond rhinos. There are some other wild animals that are exclusive to the park and are collectively called as the ‘Big Five’, a must on the list of every wildlife enthusiast visiting the state of Assam.

Our elephant had arrived in a bit. We sat atop and started our ride into the haze of the misty green grasslands of Kazhiranga to track the ‘Big Five’ of the this land. The elephants that we were seated on, were walking through dense thickets of elephant grass: the grass that was taller even for elephants to walk through. Slowly, the mahout started to point out and show us the animal at far distance.

The elephants marching into the forest

First, it was a wild elephant with its calf. We were told that rhino and elephant conflicts were common and that mother elephant was wounded just that morning in a bid to protect its new born calf. So, that meant we were not safe sitting on one either! We slowly moved out of tall grass to another area where a couple of rhinos were finishing their morning chores. It was very surprising for us to know that large rhino groups identify space where each rhino marks its own spot (making a private toilet space for itself) and does not let any other rhino enter the area.

Wow! We slowly passed that place and spotted herds of swamp deer. World’s largest population of these herbivores too is concentrated in these forests. Swamp deer are handsome animals.

Just as we were photographing them, we saw a herd of Asiatic wild water buffaloes marching out of a slush pool. Until our guide told us, we had no idea that over 57% of the world’s water buffaloes too were accommodated in the woods here!

Clockwise: The Single horned Rhino, Swamp deer, Wild water buffaloes and the Asiatic elephants

Another surprise information awaited us: Kazhiranga national park has the highest density of the Royal Bengal tigers in the world!!! Whoa!!!! That’s like……..something that was unknown to me, a person who hails from the land of Nagarhole, Bandipur & Bannerghatta. But as always, no luck with spotting the elusive beast. Seeing a tiger in the wild is a LONG dream, awaiting to be realised. (So much adventure to see a wild tiger, Click here to read more!)

So, we had checked off 4 out of the big 5 of the Kazhiranga before heading towards the exit gates- The One horned rhinos, Asiatic elephants, swamp deer and wild water buffaloes. Meanwhile, we realized that we still had time to make it for the morning batch of jeep ride. So, after enquiry and booking at the counter, we had a gypsy to take us into the forest again. Needless to mention, we were greeted by herds and herds of rhinos all along our path. Wild boars, barking deer etc. too were spotted in abundance. The highlight was however, the innumerable species of migratory birds that were spotted. Our driver cum guide mentioned several bird names, out of which only pelicans and spoon-billed storks were the ones that I have managed to remember.

On the other end of our drive into the forest, we were taken to a watch tower from where we could catch a very good view of hundreds of animals that had come to drink water from the flowing river. It was a very calm and a serene place to spend a while with nature. What caught our curiosity was some random years mentioned on the wall of the watch tower. So, here is a picture that may give an idea of the monsoon fury and severity of floods that affect this area year after year.

The tower itself is located at an elevation from the river. My friend in the below picture is a 6-footer. The water level of 2016 is marked above him… Can you imagine how impossible it is for the animals to escape out of the area??? It’s insane to think of and the image of the floating tiger’s carcass hovers around in my thoughts.

Record of the flood water level of the Bramhaputra

The drive back to the resort, on the highway was an extremely nice one which had gone unnoticed during the hurried drive through misty roads in the morning. Tea plantations flanked the roads on both sides. The famous Assam tea grows in flat lands and under shade, totally contrary to what I had seen and grown up seeing in the hills in down South. We stopped by to sip on some hot brew and bought some processed tea leaves for our caffeine addicts back home. A quick visit to the Orchid research centre was an interesting place to drop by too.

The Assam tea estate

Overall, our day was eventful at Kazhiranga with warm memories from the woods before heading to our next destination- Jorhat. Although a little disappointed for not being able to spot a tiger by the end of our safari ride, we were feeling content for having our long pending wish of visiting this heritage site come true!

Concluding remarks: For those of you planning to visit Kaziranga, I strongly recommend to try both ways of exploring the woods, on elephant back and by a four-wheel drive. Both are different experiences and the type of terrain and sightings are different. While an elephant will be able to take you through the tall grass, a 4-wheel automobile will be able to enter deeper areas of the forest. If you wish to spend more time with nature, I recommend you all to explore all the 4 ranges of the national park. Don’t go by recommendations of people of which range to go in… Each area is distinct with different types of vegetation, landscape, flora and fauna concentrations.

Hiking up Assam’s highest point- Hapeo peak

This post is part of my fortnight long road trip across North-east India, specifically covering parts of Meghalaya – Assam – Arunachal Pradesh I had tagged along with two other travelers and drove around the places in a self-drive car hired at Guwahati. We had arrived at Haflong, the only hill station in the state of Assam following a mis-adventurous trip. (Click here to know the details)

This trek to the highest point in Assam happened by chance, as a backup after the original plan for the day had failed. We were told that the hill isn’t yet popular in a typical tourist’s circuit. Apart from the local tribal folk who like to party atop the hill, hardly 4 to 5 trekkers come here from outside the district and the state to climb this hill each year. Having said that, we wanted to reach Hapeo peak, the highest point in the state of Assam for sunrise. However, due to the clouds that had hovered that morning, we decided to snooze for a little longer before going ahead with the plan.

There are totally 13 native tribes in Dima Hasao district of Assam state and each tribe has its own village. A local NGO called spectrum is working towards the empowerment of the local tribal communities through promotion of tourism in the district. They helped us in getting this event organized. We were driven in their 4WD vehicle from Haflong to a village called N.Liekung. N.Liekung village belonged to the Kuki tribes and the required permits from the village head was arranged by Spectrum. A local guide was assigned to take us through this off-beat wilderness to scale the highest point in Assam. I would like to present my trek in essentially three parts.

Part 1: The Ascent

After a small stop in front of the holy Cross at the prayer area of the Kukis, we began our ascent towards the peak. For the three of us, all seasoned trekkers doing this trip together, the climb to Hapeo peak wasn’t a very difficult one as compared to what we had done back in the Southern India. But what made it seem difficult was the high grass that had grown tall enough to cover the entire stretch. Since the trek is not frequented with people, the grass on the path is not worn out as much as in the popular trekking trails. Hence, the way up was something through which we had to FIND the trekking trail. Based on the ease of finding the trail, I would split the trail into three portions:

• A well traceable path with steps laid. However, at some places, the stairs have been lost amid the thickets. We had to cut the grass and bushes in order to find our way. The stretch was full of high grass with occasionally placed animal traps which our guide who walked ahead, would carefully move aside and make way for us.
• This was the only flat area with some grassland vegetation for a stretch of around 500mts.This was the only place apart from the highway, from where we could actually see the peak that we were apparently scaling up!
• The last part passes through thick jungle, with a canopy of trees that allowed very less sunlight to penetrate. Varieties of innocent looking wild mushrooms had bloomed at several patches, but we were warned not to pick any of them as they could actually be lethal with allergens or venom. We were accompanied by strange sounds and cries of migratory birds around.

The only grassland in Hapeo trek

As we climbed up while chatting up with our Kuki guide, he enlightened us with their tribal customs, culture and showed us a few videos on his phone of their traditional dances, festivals ceremonies and the like. Our guide jokingly told us how his fellow folks are named in the tribe. The names may not mean anything and just anything random that sounds nice goes as a name. He was thus randomly called after a ‘Song that was Sung’ (I’m sorry, I don’t want to give out his name). But the tradition is, that the maternal grandfather selects a name for the granddaughter and the paternal grandmother picks a name for the grandson and vice-versa. It is a patrilineal system of inheritance.

Part 2: Reaching the Top

Suddenly, the darkness of the jungle had turned into snow white of the clouds. Before we could realise, we had reached the top already and we had barely taken us two hours. We were told that one could see the entire district of Dima Hasao from up there. But, we were greeted with thick fog and clouds upon arrival. We spent some time soaking in nature’s beauty and waited for the clouds to clear so that we could catch a glimpse of the beautiful view.

For the benefit of potential trekkers, there is just one small shelter with a bench atop the hill and nothing apart from yourself there! Our guide mentioned to us about a patch of land measuring about 2×2 feet, right behind the bench where a natural and strong magnetic force is believed to exist, due to which none of the mobile phones work in that spot. Yes, we tested the phenomenon too. Although all our phones had FULL network, we were unable to place any calls. But none of us had any scientific reasoning for what he told.

A view of Dima Hasao district from Hapeo peak

In the next fifteen minutes, the clouds had slowly started to clear. We spotted the railway bridge at Lumding onto the right side of the horizon. This rail line is the longest and highest in the Silchar route. Our guide pointed towards another hill onto our left, through which the longest railway tunnel (around 3.5kms long) in the North-east passes. The Silchar-Lumding railway route has been featured in several tourism websites and has been one of the scenic stretches in the country. As the weather slowly worsened and began to drizzle, we decided to start our descent.

Part 3: The Descent

When we had just started to climb down and we received a call from the NGO. We were told to return to the base of the hill ASAP as an alert for a cyclone had been issued by the meterological department and heavy rains were expected in this region in the next few hours. But, it had started to pour cats and dogs within no time. The fastest pace we could catch was by rolling down the hill. With all the rain, thick grass covered path and steep gradient, just a steady walk itself was a struggle as we descended on the slippery trail. There was nothing enroute to take shelter from the rain. But, waiting at any place made no sense because the pounding rains would continue for the entire day or even two. It made more sense to simply continue to walk down as we were already drenched till our bones.

We were back at the base by 11.00.a.m. and thus ended our trek to the highest point in the state of Assam. We were invited over to our guide’s house to dry ourselves up and have a cup of hot tea. We thanked him much and bid adieu with a warm heart to this lesser known corner of the world!

A walk in God’s own garden- Mawlynnong

“The Soul of India is in its villages”.

-Gandhiji

Sometimes, it is not about the place.. It is about the people that brings you closer.. And that’s precisely my take on this little quaint village called Mawlynnong.. After a refreshing drive through some breathtaking views and best roads of India, we had alighted at ‘God’s Own garden’ nestled deep in the East Khasi hills of Meghalaya. Although it is being largely promoted by the Meghalaya Tourism Department(MTD) as Asia’s cleanest village after being awarded so by the ‘Discover India Magazine’ in 2003, I feel it holds a different charm in it with the warmest people I have met so far!

This post is part of my fortnight long road trip across North-east India, specifically covering parts of Meghalaya – Assam – Arunachal Pradesh I had tagged along with two other travelers and drove around the state of Meghalaya visiting Shillong – Smit – Cherrapunjee – Mawlynnong – Dawki – Ribhoi- Shillong.

Tourists flock to this place in large numbers just because they have heard about it in MTD handouts. These senseless creatures litter the place extensively with chocolate wrappers, chips sachets etc. all strewn around this supposedly cleanest village they have come to see.. But, the humble villagers watch on with a smile and pick up these wastes themselves and put them in the cane trash bins places visibly infront of every household in the village, thus keeping up to its reputation of being clean!

Things to see in Mawlynnong:

• Inside Mawlynnong village: The old church, floating stone, the water shed and the Bangladesh view point.
• 1 kilometer away: Riwai village (Living root-bridge)

The Details:

I walked around the laid back lanes of the village exploring the old church, the floating stone and the water shed maintained by the villagers. The flowers lining the fences of each household added myriad hues to the green village and grey of the cloudy sky.. I climbed up the skywalk laid up with bamboo and cane that threw up a nice view overlooking the plains of Bangladesh.

The Skyview bridge at Mawlynnong

Finally, I settled down at a locally run restaurant for a cup of chai to beat the chills of the cloudy weather. I caught up on a conversation with a pretty Khasi lady draped in her Asiangyake (the traditional dress of the Khasi women also called Dhara). While she helped me to memorise a few words in her dialect, I learnt about the Khasi culture and customs. Being a matrilineal society, women are respected and are given the preference to choose her husband-to-be. It is considered a bad omen, if a man proposes to a woman.

While she was attending to other customers at the restaurant, I called out for ‘Oikong’ (Khasi alternative for addressing ‘Didi’ in other parts of northern India) to help me with some Soh (Khasi for fruit). “Ohhhh” A voice filled with humility came in response… She then sat down with me and prepared a plate of pineapple seasoned with salt and flakes of the ‘Bhut Jholokias’ (the spiciest chilli in the world). It was one of the best snack I had in years!

I then walked down to the playground where some local kids were playing. They seemed excited to meet me, talk in English and pose for a few candid photos. It was a warm and a very pleasant evening for me. There is nothing in particular in this village to see or do.. Yet, the nomad in me strongly intended to stay there for an extra day. There are homestays that are available where the warmth of the Khasi hospitality can be experienced.

Kids playing on the lanes of Mawlynnong

I would recommend an early morning walk to Riwai village that helps you avoid the chaotic tourists who flock in later during the day. At a distance of about 1km before Mawlynnong, is the most easily accessible living root bridge and hence, a lot of visitors throng down. So after a nice walk, savouring a nice Khasi breakfast and lemon tea, it was time to pack bags to head out to my next destination- Dawki: the last village of Meghalaya on the Indian border!

The church at Mawlynnong

Request to tourists:

Please remember that the sole reason that you are at Mawlynnong is to see how ‘Asia’s cleanest village’ looks like. How on earth will you ever feel like littering such a place? Do you want to see if you can take off the ‘Cleanest’ tag from the place? Or do you want to just prove that you are only an uncultured educated rich person who could afford enough money to tour the North-east India? Ask yourself… Be sensible and responsible!

Endurance testing of a car- A road trip across Assam

I have been involved in testing of new cars that belonged to my company. But, all that are with SOPs and defined patterns. This time, it was about driving a competitor in the extreme road conditions just for the joy of driving and fun of travelling. No SOPs and we were our own bosses… The India unique driving conditions… With money spent from our own pockets… So this is what it was all about.

Part 1: We meet our new friend from the showroom- Maruthi Swift Petrol
The car was delivered from the showroom just 30 minutes before our arrival. It had the ribbon on its hood and a TC plate for registration indicating us that we were the first people to drive it. After all the formalities, the experimental trip kicked off in a traditional Indian way- Getting ourselves photographed in front of our brand new car with the self-drive company owner handing over the keys to us. The road ahead is supposedly beautiful with greenery all the way with paddy fields, hills and tea plantations. It was past sunset and hence, it was just a cruise from Guwahati to Kaziranga highway. We checked into the resort by 10.00.p.m which we had booked at Kohra range of Kaziranga National park.

The National Highway passing through Kazhiranga

The next morning, we drove through the rustic areas of Kohra to reach the elephant Safari area. It was a splendid view with lush green paddy fields hovered over with mist and mud smeared huts dotting the entire stretch which set a positive tone for the day. We even spotted a couple of rhinos by the roadside itself 😀 An elaborate story of Kaziranga is another post altogether and hence, I will drive you across from here to reach Neemati ghat as the last ferry would leave for Majuli by 04.00.p.m. The car too sped similar to the drive you’ve just been through the post from Kohra to Neemati ghat- HIGH SPEED! Majuli is yet another post in my blog and that comes with Diwali lights, fireworks and a lot of pulling and pushing of the car in the dusty terrain of the countryside. A drive to be truly remembered!

The kaccha roads of Majuli

Part 2: Driving on the National Highway no.13- A sneak-peak to Arunachal Pradesh
It was complete off-road driving (Read it flying) all along the banks of Brahmaputra from Dhunaguri Ghat of Assam. We had covered a stretch of 165 kms/4hrs via North-Lakhimpur in merely an hour through a shortcut via Parbatipur. We had met a cop from Arunachal Pradesh who had asked us to follow him and we did that although skeptical about his real motives 😛 We heaved a sigh only when we saw some people around and that’s when we realized we were right in front of Arunachal gate at Banderdewa check post. Having sorted out the issues of inner-line permits for us and our swift car with no number plate (We had a temporary registration), a grueling drive into the state of Arunachal had begun along NH.13. It was pitch dark at 6.p.m. in the evening and not a soul on the road san us. We braved a couple of landslides and waterfalls- both plunging right onto the road that we were driving through. It was 12.00.a.m. when we reached Hapoli market in Ziro town of the lower Subansiri district. The three of us were trying to get in touch with the homestay owner for directions from 5 different mobile network providers and yet unable to make a call. All the mobile phone networks were apparently down since evening and felt like the entire valley was paralyzed without communication. And, we were kind of stranded in the middle of a freaking cold night at nowhere!!

There were no civilians on the road but hundreds of cops walking around with balaclava and guns keeping vigil in the place prone to surprise social turbulence. Meanwhile, we were confronted by a CRPF cop as to what we were doing there at that time and we explained our plight to him and sought help. He offered to help us telling BSNL lines were up and he could call our homestay from his mobile- unfortunately, our homestay guy was still not reachable, thanks to his Airtel connection! By that time, we had decided to spend the night on the road with our shorts and loafers to help us bare the zero temperature at Ziro town. But in a while’s time, a miracle happened. Our homestay owner had realized the issue with the mobile networks and come down to Ziro searching for us. He found us! But rightly then, his Maruthi 800 refused to crank… He pushed it aside until next morning, got into our car and took us to safe harbor- his homestay at Siiro!

The National Highway at Ziro

After all the sightseeing and lifetime experiences at Ziro, we had to now drive back to our next destination- Jatinga. It was the same highway down until Banderdewa, but this time during daytime. So we had ample vistas to soothe our eyes all the way… Deep valley with clear waters and occasional rapids of the Subansiri on one side and thick jungle on the other kept up the motivation for the drive on that Roadless NH road! Occasional Apathani women folk hitch hiking a drop to different villages enroute to Potan and frequent photo stops added to the tempo. Further down, while the sunset added colour, the grazing Mithuns along the valley added charm to the drive. Mithuns are shy animals belonging to the cattle family. They resemble bisons from Nagarhole in their features but are in shades of white colour. They are handsome creatures! In such bad tarmac, we were still able to keep the good condition of our new car with just the rear mudguards hanging down. We crossed the Banderdewa by 06.00.p.m. and thus the next sojourn into Assam happened.

Part 3: Driving on the Asian Highway no.1 to Haflong.
After a short tea break and for dinner, we drove until Tezpur where we decided to stay for the night. After seeing no roads in Arunachal, the new tarmac in Assam seemed more like a speedway in NFS. We were cruising through the NH passes over the 3kms+ long Kolia Bhomora Bridge across the Brahmaputra and cuts through tea plantations and paddy fields in most stretch and was a delight to drive. But, we were watchful at the same time as the beautiful stretch was also known for anti-social elements like militants, Maoists etc. The next morning, we started early towards Dima Hasao district so that we had sufficient time to explore Haflong and make it to Jatinga to watch the famous birds’ mass suicide phenomenon. We were blindly following our dear friend- google maps and cruising on the AH, that is being newly developed in the stretch that we were supposed to drive till Haflong. We were thoroughly enjoying our drive through the newly asphalted 4-lane road passing through the forest reserve area. However, we did not want to risk ourselves by stopping anywhere even for a nature’s call as the entire stretch is known to be socially intolerant and infested with militants. It was only us and no one else amid virgin forests on both sides for as long as our eyes could reach. The map was indicating only ONE road right until Haflong without any crossroads and hence, it was an easy way to go…

We had just passed through the tunnel near Mahur junction and suddenly the road disappeared. The front wheels of our car were stuck inside a deep pool of slush. It was 01.00.p.m. and our enjoyable drive had halted. The map on all our phones continued to indicate the road ahead. We opened the doors to get out and push the car- we were amused by the knee deep water that we had just got ourselves into. There was a huge rock exactly under the front cross-bar which meant we couldn’t push it forward. Meanwhile, we noticed that the water level was rising due to a continuously flowing stream which posed a risk of the water entering the engine. While 2 of us took to task of digging a water-way for the stream to flow out, the other friend walked back until the tunnel where we hoped to find some help. There were a couple of cars who had lost their way too and drove to the place where we were stuck, but they were quick enough to shift to the reverse gear and drive back. Remember… The place is infested with militants?? Our poor friend near the tunnel- was trying to stop every single vehicle that passed by and no one cared! By 03.00.p.m. he somehow managed to walk back with 3 local boys who came down with a couple of posts to lift the car out of the slush. The ground clearance was bad which at the first place had got us down to where we were. The front bumper seemed fragile to come out if we tried to lift up with it. There were no side skirts or reinforcements that could help us to hold the car up. And then there was a huge dent & a bump on the Rear door while my friend was trying to support his shoulder in between. We together tried all possible tricks and ideas to get the car out but all in vain. The sun had begun to set by then which meant we had very little time left with daylight lest spend the night inside the car in the middle of nowhere with highest possibility of getting mugged at gunpoint and worse- become a meal to some hungry wild animal. It was 04.00.p.m. and we were still stranded.

While we had given up and were thinking about the way forward, a Mizoram bound family arrived in a XUV-500. Seeing a girl, they took pity on us and offered to help us by waiting until we arranged for a rope. Fortunately, another truck arrived on a lost route within the next 10 minutes. The truck driver obliged to open a compartment in his truck which was located deep under and was never touched since the time he had owned the truck. He finally pulled out a big chain which was then attached to the XUV and towed the swift out of the ditch. It was a moment of celebration… not only to us, but to so many people who had gathered during the course. With some navigation help from the locals, we took a small deviation to avoid the landslide that had actually caused the entire episode of getting our car towed. The highway ahead right until Jatinga was under construction with just heavy dust all around. There was a spot where our car was in the middle of like ten JCBs around- Like a scene from the transformers. Wow! A wonderful experience in a no-man’s world…

The Asian Highway through Dima Hasao

Part 4: Swift gets a face wash
We found a local garage at Haflong who vacuum cleaned the interiors and did a high pressure wash for the exteriors and underbody. Our car looked as new as it was when we took delivery. Only change point was that it had a big bump on the rear door and functionally, the power steering would suddenly get harder than its manual version due to the leaking power steering oil, the brakes took a longer distance to stop and the entire electrical system would suddenly go off during the drive due to the excessive electrolyte spillage in the battery and of course- the wheel alignment had gone for a complete toss. We drove back to Guwahati braving the deadly combination of multiple malfunction Indication Lamps on and horrible road sense of the people on the newly laid highways. We returned the car at Guwahati and the rest is better left untold…

Summary: Sorry for the poor car on it’s first road-trip.. It was driven in extreme conditions for what it is not designed.. Inspite of all that we put it through, it got us back safe to our harbour:)

What was your most memorable road-trip? Let me know!

Gateway to the abode of clouds- RiBhoi

This post is part of my fortnight long road trip across North-east India, specifically covering parts of Meghalaya – Assam – Arunachal Pradesh I had tagged along with two other travelers and drove around the state of Meghalaya visiting Shillong – Smit – Cherrapunjee – Mawlynnong – Dawki – Ribhoi- Shillong.

A long winding highway up the hill from Guwahati leads to Meghalaya: Abode of the clouds. And up there, one will be greeted by blue waters of a calm lake flanking the road on the right with no sign boards indicating the arrival at Ri Bhoi district. With no major landmark to explore for a typical tourist, this small distrct is full of fables and legends. If you’re someone interested in fairy tales, I highly recommend you to take a local person with you and follow my trail.

The Umiam lake from NH40

The Umiam Lake or Barapani has been gracefully present there in a serene backdrop of green hills of the state. There is no passerby who doesn’t stop for at least a minute to capture the beauty of this place! This is a man-made lake formed due to the construction of a reservoir across the Umiam river. Today, this reservoir is one of the main sources of potable water to Shillong. For people looking for a leisure trip, one can go for boat rides in the clear waters of the lake. It is also called as the ‘water of tears’ named after a legend which talks about two sisters who were travelling to heaven. It is beleived that one of the sisters slipped from the hills and died, the other sister cried out of grief and her tears are said to have trickled down and formed the lake!

We had read about this place called ‘Lum Sohpetbneng’ close to Umiam and asked our driver if he could take us there. Although he himself had never been there earlier, he readily agreed to take us there. ‘Lum Sohpetbneng’ is a sacred grove of pine trees where a golden ladder is believed to have existed which connected Heaven and Earth. Although there is a motorable road, the place looked eerily deserted with absolutely NO ONE until the peak. We kind of got lost with several deviations in the route but since we were in the middle of the forest, we decided to reach the destination before we gave up. We wanted to know how the ladder looked like that connected God and Man. Finally, we arrived there… Only a dilapidated structure what appeared like some prayer hall and an under-construction structure was there, which our driver told us was a place where an annual fair is held with a large congregation of Hindus.

An epitaph at Lum Sohpetbneng

A few steps away from the concrete structure, our driver took us to a neglected patch of land under an old withering tree. He pointed at a rock and told us, “See, these massive footprints here? It is of the humans who tried to climb heaven. Back in the days, humans used to be massive in size. One day, God realized that heaven was getting full and so he cut-off the ladder which laid right here, where this tree is now growing.” Although the shape of a feet with heels and toes were demarked clearly in the footprints, it is interesting to know how we grow up with fables without understanding the scientific logic behind.

There isn’t much to do on the peak apart from a good view of the Umiam Lake on one side and the Jaintia hills, Shillong airport, the Asian highway on the other. We drove back to Shillong.

A view of Umiam lake from Lum Sohpetbneng

I personally would not recommend this trip if you are on a packed schedule. But if you are an explorer, interested in studying religion and culture, I would advise you to go there with a person familiar and knowledgeable about the place. A deviation from Umiam Lake can help one to explore the Diengiei Peak, where a crater formed by an extinct volcano exists. Dwarksuid is yet another place we gave a miss on the Umroi Bhoilymbong road where a rocky lake exists and is believed to be ‘Devil’s doorway’ because of the dark colored rocks surrounding the lake.

Closing remarks: Being the first scenic spot while entering Meghalaya through NH40, Umiam Lake is a good stop-over to watch the sunset and chill with friends on the banks. There, you can flip your arms open and let Meghalaya breathe some life into you before you head over for a wonderful trip ahead!

Tripping in Scotland of the east- Shillong

This post is part of my fortnight long backpacking across North-east India, specifically covering parts of Meghalaya – Assam – Arunachal Pradesh I had planned to visit Shillong – Smit – Cherrapunjee – Mawlynnong – Dawki – Ribhoi- Shillong during my weeklong stay in Meghalaya.

The planned solo trip started when I boarded the BLR- GAU bound flight to Guwahati. An argument over having to pay an additional Rs.50 per head for turning the A/C on for 1 passenger’s need in a shared taxi from Guwahati airport ended when the drive uphill pulled-off at Police Bazaar in Shillong at 3.00.p.m. While the streets were bustling with the weekenders finding their way out of the hill state, an acquaintance who had offered to let me stay at her place was waiting for my arrival. Thus started my weeklong backpacking trip at Meghalaya and my first day at the capital town, Shillong.

On my first ever solo trip, it being my first day in an unknown city and having very little time with daylight left (The sun sets early in the North-eastern part of India), I decided not to move too far from my friend’s house and eventually cause trouble to people in finding me. I dumped my luggage at the house and started to explore the city by foot.

My Itinerary for Shillong:

Day 1: Arrive at Shillong by 03.00.p.m., Walk around the residential lanes, Shopping at Police Bazaar
Day 2: Golf course, drive to the outskirts (Laitlung valley), local city tour, Elephant falls, Shillong peak & Sweet falls
Day 3: Proceed with the next day’s itinerary

The Details:

The first day went pretty well where I tagged along with another solo-traveler and together we were able to explore the markets, street food and have a fine conversation about travel & music- we kind of struck similar chords. We shopped for woolens, thermals and shoes at dirt cheap prices on the streets of police bazaar. We tasted a lot of local fruits and even picked up some ‘Bhoot Jhalokias, world’s spiciest chilly as mementoes to our relatives.

While we were walking through the narrow residential lanes of the city, we learned about the architecture of the buildings here. Shillong falls under the red belt for earthquakes. Hence, the houses are constructed with light-weight roofs- usually a combination of hay and metal sheet. Also, the houses are usually constructed a few feet above the ground with insulating materials to keep them warm during the winters. Although, a few buildings seemed to have been constructed of concrete, I was told that the walls were mud smeared and if a hole was made with a slightly large nail, the sand from within would ooze out and eventually collapse the wall. This was to protect the people from earthquake & chilly winters together. Pork forms a major part of Khasi cuisine and that made us eat a lot of it (chops, barbequed, fried etc.) since pork goes into almost all dishes. All in all, my landing on the first day in the North-eastern India as a solo traveler went rather well without seeming so lost!

Day 2 can be broadly divided into 3 parts:

1. Taxi ride to the outskirts (Smit & Laitlung valley)
2. Walk around the city
3. Taxi ride to the cantonment area (Shillong peak & Sweet falls)

An early morning walk down the road from my friend’s house lead to the Golf course- The largest, oldest, wettest and the toughest to play in Asia. Green pastures have been scientifically proven to have a soothing effect on human mind and it was nothing different to expect from this golf course. I walked back up to the Police Bazaar and hired a taxi thereon to Smit.

Part 1: Taxi ride to the outskirts (Smit & Laitlung valley)

The drive of 25kms was refreshing as I passed through potato farms and scenic Khasi villages on the way. After a small stopover, we drove to Laitlung valley- about 5kms further. The beauty of the valley with 360 degree greenery and fresh air cleansed my mind off half my worries and tension. The villagers I met on my way enriched me with the simplicity and content of life. After a good walk down and up the beautiful valley of Mawkeynrew, my tummy had started to call out for me. I savoured the plantains offered to me by the villagers and sat down with a few school kids who were excited to catch up for a conversation with a foreigner in English! I managed to get breakfast at one of the stalls where a simple plate of noodles was served with a heavy dose of warmth and humility. (Click here to read more on this visit to Laitlung valley)

Part 2: Local city tour

After reaching back to Shillong, I enquired with a few taxis to show me around local sightseeing places. For a backpacking budget that I had, the taxi charges seemed to be expensive. Hence, I decided to explore the city by foot with support from my best friend: Google maps. With a little bit of browsing, I listed down many places, all located within a radius of 5 kilometers. Depending on what one’s interest lies in, it is possible to find something for everyone in this little hillstation.

The Ward’s lake at Shillong

Things to see in Shillong include:

• For the museum bums: Air force museum (at Upper Shillong), Forest museum (Inside Lady Hydari park), Rhino heritage museum, Zoological museum, Anthropological museum (at Mawsbuit/ahead of Happy Valley), Botanical museum, Arunachal museum, State museum, Don-Bosco centre of culture (At Mawlai).
• For the water & nature lovers: Shillong peak, the Wards lake, Bishop Beadon falls, Spread eagle falls (also called as Sati or Umkaliar falls), Crinoline falls and Elephant falls.
• For the spirituality seekers: There are a large number of Cathedrals and churches where you can attend the Sunday mass with hymns melodiously sung in the Khasi language.

Part 3: Taxi ride to the cantonment area (Shillong peak & Sweet falls)

By sunset time, I realized that I had done several rounds of the same roads and had checked off very few places. And that’s when I decided to take a taxi and visit the farthest of the city’s sightseeing landmark. I was heading towards the highest point of the hill station: Shillong peak. However, the road taken towards the peak was blocked by the Indian air-force staff due to security reasons. So, that’s when my driver offered an alternate plan for me to spend the remaining evening. I nodded to his idea and sat back as he drove through the ‘Happy Valley’ and the army cantonment area at Mawsbuit to show me the most beautiful of all places around Shillong: the Sweet falls.

Sweet falls

Being tucked away from the city crowd and having limited access to people due to the army area, this place was very serene, clean and beautiful. However, apart from a couple of riders who had dropped over for a drink, the place seemed to be very secluded. Since this was my “first” solo backpacking trip, I wasn’t feeling great about being in a less-crowded place like this one. So, I went back to the taxi and decided to be driven back to the city area.

Just then, I had a surprise waiting for me inside my taxi. My driver fallen sick and seemed to be partially unconscious. He was struggling to respond when I tried to talk to him. I suspected that his sugar levels had dropped and quickly gave him some toffees from my bag. After letting him rest in the car for a while, he seemed to come back to normalcy (at least enough conscious to be able to drive the car out of the deserted area). He then dropped me back to the city and bid me farewell.

After a short shopping break at the Police bazaar market, I headed to MTDC (Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation) office where I thought I would be able to plan my next day’s itinerary… and what happened next is history.!!

Closing Remarks:

• It’s a safe and a friendly city for the solo travelers.
• Time required for covering all places in the city- 1.5 days

Must dos:

• For the music buffs: Attend the Shillong Weekender NH7 music festival
• For the cultural buffs: Attend the Nongkrehm festival of the Khasi tribes at Smit
• For the foodies: Try Khasi cuisine at the many restaurants and give it a try for street food post 6.00.p.m across the city.
• For the shopaholics: lots of amazing winter wears, shoes and boots at dirt cheap prices across the city!