We woke up early in the morning and reached to the bus stop (at 7 am) which was hardly 5 mins from Newa Home (where we stayed, recommended by a friend). There were 4-5 buses and all of them were headed to either Pokhara or other tourist-friendly destinations. I noticed that 3 of the buses were bound for Pokhara. Our aim was to catch the bus which would leave the earliest.

Also read : A Day in Misty Kurseong

We were 4 of us and knew that since it was off season, there was plenty of scope for bargaining on the bus ticket price. A guy approaches us from the Kathmandu-Pokhara Air Conditioned bus, scheduled to leave at 730 am and quotes a price of 800 per person. After checking that the seats were in the middle and not the rear, we agreed a final price of 600 Nepali Rupees per person.

There were many foreigners in the bus and were rushing the bus to leave on time. The bus guy took us aside and told us there’s still 15 minutes for us to start our journey and that we can eat something if we want. We were hungry and found a small local eatery serving tea, sell roti with chickpeas. The bus leaves on time and is almost full. We hope to reach Pokhara by 130 pm as the distance from Kathmandu to Pokhara is only 180 kms.

It begins drizzling after we cross the sizeable city of Kathmandu and we are stuck in a massive traffic jam around 930 am. We are reminded of India a decade or two ago with the chaos of the traffic jam with no news of its resolution. The progress is painfully slow and instead of reaching Pokhara at 130 pm, we have just reached a lunch place set by the river!

The restaurant-dhaba is an expensive place, with buffet lunch for NPR 300 per person. We are hungry and have no choice but to eat; the spread is excellent though with salad, papad, noodles, dall, rice, and 2 vegetable curries. The sitting area is shaded and we eat well considering it might be our only meal of the day. It is sweltering hot and humid and we are grateful for having chosen an air conditioned bus over the faster but non-ac maxi shared taxi instead.

We are ecstatic when the conductor announces that we have reached Pokhara at about 4 pm. The bus parking is at an almost inaccessible place full of slush, leading to a gaggle of taxi operators quoting astronomical prices. We made our way out of the area and immediately found a taxi for NPR 200 that dropped us close to Phewa Lake. Our aim was to find a reasonably priced place to stay in Pokhara.

I hadn’t done any research and entered a lane full of guest houses and were able to finalise a nice place for 1200 NPR for 2 rooms. It was a family run place with some open spaces; the bathroom was shared but since we there were only 4 of us – it was no problem at all. The young guy at the reception was happy to fill our bottles with filter water and that really saved us a lot of money!

Phewa Lake

After having done all this in less than an hour, there was still plenty of time left for us to stroll to Phewa Lake. There was a temple at the start of the entry point to Phewa Lake I was mightily surprised to see some geisha-like tourists there. It was nice to know that there were no entry charges for the entrance to the lakeside.

It felt like a festive atmosphere as we strolled on the walking path around Phewa Lake. Many local families were out for a picnic with their kids. Colourful boats occupy centerstage in the lake and with the sun setting with the mountain view, made for a pristine sight. I enjoyed clicking photographs of the serene setting.

To the right of the walking path, there were restaurants and cafe’s advertising fast foods, snacks, juices, offers on drinks and beers! Prices of the restaurants were quite high because this was a proper tourist spot. Sunset on Phewa Lake seemed like an especially popular time and there were also some street sellers grilling fresh meat and selling ‘sekuwa’. It felt like a wonderland, full of happy people with smiling faces.

We continued walking on the path and sat whenever we felt the urge to enjoy the views fully. There were 2 people/4 people boats and we saw few tourists enjoying their time boating in the lake. The ticket counter had rates for the same which seemed quite reasonable. Some hawkers were also selling freshly prepared corn on cob. The cafés located farther away look prettier and some of them are playing live music to entice the passersby!

Some of the prettier looking cafés are full of foreigners – they are on the other side of the lake and have calmer sitouts, mellow lights, relaxed music and cheap beer! It is a joyful atmosphere with impromptu guitar and singing sessions. We start having hunger pangs with the lunch feeling like a distant memory now!

The air is still pretty humid and we are thankful for the breeze without which it would have been quite sweaty on the walk. The sunset is stunning and while we debated about sitting at one of cafés and enjoying beer (150 NPR for San Miguel beer), we ended up being indecisive and walked to the main street before it got dark. Many guest houses and hostels for backpackers. Advertised food joints serving different variety of food; Tibetan, Vietnamese, Chinese, European.

Free-wifi is advertised prominently; it reminds me of backpacker friendly tourist destinations in India many years ago where wifi is a popular way of enticing international tourists. We come across a stunningly beautiful restaurant by the name of Byanjan – done up in gorgeous blue and white colours but it turns out to be super expensive when we check the menu! We sit on the upper floor of a nearby restaurant and sip draught Sherpa beer and eat excellent Margarita Pizza.

The staff recommends an authentic Nepali restaurant for dinner nearby, one Fewa Thakali Bhanchha Ghar. We enter the eatery and are pleasantly surprised to see it is fully occupied with local families. The interior sitting space is in a traditional style, walls are in maroon and white with low tables and cushions laid out on the floor. We find a solitary empty table on the roof and grab the same!

The food turns out to be excellent; served in brass plates. We were recommended momos made with buckwheat and a thali which was full of greens that had a unique taste. The prices are reasonable too for the excellent and authentic variety of food and the Thali costs us NPR 300. We thank the staff and go walking on the streets of Pokhara.

There are cyclewallahs as fruit sellers roaming on a cycle with a juicer and offering fruits like pineapples, avocados, mangoes, banana, oranges etc like a mobile fruit market on wheels! Its fun to see them stop wherever they see foreign tourists. Pokhara is a busy market with many souvenir shops. We enter a shop selling Tibetan singing bowls, and it has a wide and staggering variety. The singing bowls make a serene and calming sound but the handmade ones are priced very high (medium sized ones at NPR 1500) and we choose not to buy anything for the moment.

We walk back to our guest house and are relieved that the weather has turned cooler with the recent rain. It is decided to head to Begnas Tal next morning as my friends Jai & Prerita are staying there and highly recommend the area. Sleep comes in no time with the tiredness of the bus ride!

I had spotted the bus from Pokhara to Begnas Tal and found that the starting point of the same was from Phewa Lake itself! So, we woke up in the morning, had chai and an early breakfast and got ready quickly to leave in the bus bound for Begnas Tal. The ticket is only 60 NPR per person and we are the only 4 people in the bus when it starts from Phewa Lake! It is a comfortable bus and will take around an hour for the 25 odd kilometre distance to Begnas Tal.

We call Jai after the bus drops us in Begnas Tal. He explains the directions to get to a place called Sanu Lake on D Water. A local street festival is going on in Begnas Tal, we are delighted to see the dances and the ladies all dressed for the occasion. We keep walking across Begnas Tal lake, cross a small hillock and arrive at the beautifully located Sanu Lake on D Water.

Sanu Lake on D Water in Lekhnath

It is a pristine scene, with not a soul around and calm, placid waters of the lake. There are blue and yellow coloured boats in the water and with the surrounding green hills look very pretty. We meet with Sanu and check the rooms and agree on the price. It is a gorgeously located guest house with rustic tables set in an open sit-out very close to the lake.

Sanu tells us that some of the rooms are blessed with views of the Himalayan peaks when the weather is clear. Kayaking is also possible in the lake and Jai has already told me about the fantastic swimming experiences possible here. Relaxed opera music is being played and reflections of the nearby mountains in the water look enchanting. We fix the prices with Sanu @800 NPR per room including breakfast.

We only plan to stay for a night here as Jai & Prerita are going to be moving to a higher area in Pokhara itself and we plan to see that region too! We walk out and spot some nicely located tiny eateries near the lake, it is a surreal setting for sure. Some of the walls at Sanu Lake on D Water are painted with graffiti and they also have life jackets available for for swimmers. Jai calls and asks us to come to the village where a festival is being held in the fields!

The rice fields are submerged in water and youngsters are happily singing and dancing in the muddy water over some funny looking competitions! Its very humid and we find a shaded corner to protect ourselves in the harsh sun. Locals are watching the proceedings and it is an especially funny scene to see foreigners rolling in the mud too!

I decide to try a bread at a small bakery and it turns out to be delicious! Jai & Prerita take us to a home run eatery near Sanu Lake on D Water. We order thalis and the family sets about the task of making everything fresh. Food takes a lot of time to appear but is well worth the wait when it does. Rice, fried potatoes, dall, vegetable, curd, chutney and salad and the puri sabji is excellent too.

It is the World Cup 2019 and today is England vs India; Jai leads us to an open air space with an expansive view of Begnas Tal and a television screen. We happily drink Nepali beer (300 NPR per bottle) like Gorkha and Everest while playing UNO. Jai is mostly interested in watching cricket and all of us take turns with the match too! It is a supremely serene setting. We go back in the evening after an early dinner of chowmein at a small eatery nearby because the food at Sanu is quite expensive!

We watch India losing the cricket match under the stars on the roof with Jai’s VPN connection! There is no electricity for a few hours and it is blissful to enjoy the stars overhead. We all go for a short swim in the lake in the darkness when Jai insists it is an unbelievable experience!

It is a comfortable sleep with the breeze blowing and next morning we enjoy the tea and breakfast sitting by the lake. The sun is out and we jump in the water to enjoy the blissfully cool lake! Tranquil setting with live guitar playing, a traveller is playing and singing. Breakfast is roti, potatoes, egg bhurji and fruits.

We check out and Sanu’s true colours are revealed when Jai & Prerita try to settle their bill! He has apparently charged them for beers that they never had. We have been charged princely prices for bananas and fat rotis that he has served in the name of breakfast which he had included in the prices earlier! We somehow end the matter without a fight and pay up (nodding to ourselves that we had correctly judged Sanu’s cunning character but had still let him work his charms on us.)

Dinesh House Deorali & Robin’s Nest Deorali

We walk to the market in Begnas Tal and book 2 small Maruti Altos to drop us to Deorali area, an uphill climb of 3 kms. Pay 150 NPR each cab, very reasonable. We get down close to a temple and continue walking to reach Dinesh House (where Jai’s room is booked for 2 weeks!). There are no spare rooms at Dinesh House and we check out the nearby Robin’s Nest. The woman in charge there shows us the rooms and even though they are not very well ventilated, the weather is mild and we agree on a price of INR 600 per room including breakfast.

It is a relaxed evening and we play UNO in Jai’s spacious room with a balcony at Dinesh House. Prerita orders our thalis too at their in-house kitchen. We go to the roof to catch the sunset amid the surreal evening skies. We enjoy a few chilled beers in the evening as the clouds turn stormy and bring rain in the night. We have an excellent dinner at Dinesh House, thanks to Jai & Prerita.

We come back to Robin’s Nest and it starts pouring down as soon as we are in our rooms! The electricity goes with the sky thundering intermittently and it continues raining for a good two hours. We sleep well and wake up to the the best sight of our trip (or life?!)

The skies have cleared and the majestic Annapurna range is visible from our balcony. Our guest house, Robin’s Nest is perfectly located for this view and we lounge around on the hammock and take in the surreal sight of 8000 metre peaks in clear view! Jai and Prerita also join us and tell us that we are very lucky to see this sight in the monsoon month of July. We enjoy the show for an hour or so until the clouds decide to come back.

After breakfast, we have a shower and decide to walk around the area. It has progressed into a hot day with the sun out in full force. We visit the nearby Deorali temple and are stunned with the majestic wood carvings. The entrance to the temples in Nepal is very ornate and artistic. I am especially glad to come across a non-touristy local temple in a real village.

It is afternoon time and we are all hungry with all the aimless walking around in the humidity. We come across a small eatery run by a lady and ask her if she can make noodles with mint chutney and vegetables? She says it will take time as everything will be freshly made. We are pleased with the answer and decide to wait and help her in making it! The noodles take around 45 minutes to make and turn out to be the most delicious noodles of our entire Nepal trip.

We go back happily to Deorali and witness the cloudy skies in the evening with the beautiful landscape and the views of Begnas Tal lake. It is time for another round of UNO and dinner at Dinesh House. It rains in the evening making the proceedings cooler. The food is delicious again and we also watch another World Cup cricket match in progress. We decide to drop all plans for Muktinath or hiking in the Pokhara region and plan to get to Kathmandu next day(Bhaktapur.)

The cloud cover is heavy in the morning and the mountains are not clearly visible. We have tea and breakfast with the greenery glistening in the brief period of sunshine. In an hour or so, when the clouds part a gap in the clouds reveals a dazzling array of peaks! It is like a goodbye photograph from Pokhara as we are going to leave in some time.

We all leave for Pokhara first for a pizza treat (losers in the UNO game) and decide on Roadhouse Café as the venue. See some souvenir shops selling Shaligrams. The pizza is ok-ok and we eat cake and pastries for dessert at another nearby place. Say goodbye to Jai and Prerita and thank them for a lovely time!

We decide to go by shared maxi cab while going back. We are quoted 600 NPR per seat but the intense competition between the cabs works and we get into a maxi cab for 400 NPR per person! They are faster than a bus but non-aircontioned. Thankfully the weather is good today and we have reasonable space in the maxi cab!

We reach Kathmandu at around 8 pm.

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From the upper reaches of Sainj Valley, we hiked via the walking trail to reach the Sai Ropa GHNP Rest House on the Sainj-Neuli Road. Although, the easier option was to walk to the road head in Deori village from where we could have caught a bus but since it was early morning, Mahi suggested that its better that we go directly to Sai Ropa Guest House since more buses plied on that route.

It turned out to be a good idea, we hardly took 40 odd minutes to reach the road at Sai Ropa GHNP Rest House. The walk was totally downhill and we also crossed Neahi village on the way. We waited for a few minutes before a bus to Sainj came by. Then another bus from Sainj to Banjar which halted at numerous stops. At Banjar bus stand, we changed buses and got into a bus bound for Bathad village (Batahad) and got down at the bridge just before reaching Gushaini.

It was quite hot since it was May; especially at Banjar bus stand which is located at a much lower altitude. So we had left from the village in Sainj Valley at around 9 am, get a bus from Sai Ropa GHNP Rest House at around 10 am and then the bus rides etc mean we are at the bridge to Gushaini from where the road bifurcates to Sharchi village at around 1 pm.

There is a tea shop at the bifurcation now, the road to the left crossed the bridge and continued to Gushaini and Bathad while the road on the right side led to Bandal village and ended at the mystical Sharchi village. I had vivid memories of standing at this exact point near the bridge in 2016 & 2017 when I waited for a ride to Sharchi for more than 1 hour but the ride never came and I just ended up walking to the nearby Bandal Forest Rest House.

The Bandal Forest Rest House appeared old and someone at the site remarked that it was established by the British. It was quite picturesque surrounded by pretty yellow flowers. I thought then that I would love to stay there someday during the monsoon months when the rain would make the surroundings even more beautiful! On subsequent visits, the locals informed that apparently some movie stars own properties in the region (Sunny Deol, Neena Gupta etc) and one Rajput from Jodhpur (Rajasthan) also had some sort of Palace nearby.

We waited and said hello to the tea stall person who was chilling in his small hut. He confirmed that the timing of the daily bus to Sharchi was still 4 pm at the bridge, and it starts from Banjar Bus Stand. On my previous visits, I had thought that to cover the 15 odd kms to Sharchi on the not-so-great road would have taken a lot of time making it an unviable time to reach Sharchi and explore the village.

We jumped with joy when a Maruti Alto headed to Sharchi village came by! We jumped excitedly and asked him to take us to Sharchi. He was alone and was happy to drop us. The road for most of the route was in good condition and only around 3-4 kms before Sharchi the road became a stony road which made progress painfully slow while the landscapes kept getting better.

We reached Sharchi village when the car had to be parked just before reaching the actual village because the actual road was blocked to make sure traffic jams did not occur in the village. We thanked the guy profusely for bringing us to this beautiful village. The ascent to Sharchi village was gradual and lush green jungles and forests were visible on the other side.

The guy who dropped us had come to Sharchi to attend a temple festival that was being held today in Sharchi village. We enter Sharchi and are quite surprised to see a sizeable village. I estimate a rough guess of around 50 houses comprising the village of Sharchi. Snowy peaks in the background make Sharchi feel like a very picturesque village. There is lush greenery in whatever open spaces that we can see lending it a serene feel.

Read : Himachal’s Newest Offbeat Secret : Thachi Valley

There is a tea shop right at the start of the Sharchi and they also have 1-2 rooms to give out as a homestay. They have an open air garden and sit-out too and we decide to keep in mind this place and keep walking farther in Sharchi village to try and find a homestay in the centre of the village.

The central point of Sharchi is the village temple that is located in one corner (left side centre of the village) and ground with pond completing the temple premises. Drums and musical instruments are kept on the ground in preparation for the temple ceremony and the festivities. There is also a feast in progress for food to be served to the locals.

Sharchi seems like a prosperous village; every home is nicely constructed and is quite big in size as compared to usual Himalayan villages in Tirthan Valley or the larger Kullu Valley. We cross the temple area and ask the locals for a homestay on the other side of the village. Someone makes us meet the homestay guy who shows nice wooden rooms for 400-500 Rupees for a night. We fix the rate including food to be 600 for us.

It is around 3-4 pm and there is a nice light falling on the fields and homes of Sharchi village. There are pretty paths through the village, cemented walkways interspersed with homes and fields in between. It is a nice mix of greenery and traditional Himachali houses. Fodder for animals has been kept in big 2 storey houses. Mostly wheat is being grown in the fields that shine a golden green when the light falls on them!

There are a few concrete homes being built as well. I spot a nicely carved door while roaming around in Sharchi; a few locals make conversations with us and the villagers seem fairly welcome. Except the people involved in the temple festival, everyone else has been cool in Sharchi. There is a signboard near the temple that indicates that outsiders may not step in the temple premises and the ground near the pond. Apparently the local deity is a brother of the Famous Jamlu Devta of Malana Village (in Parvati Valley.)

The facial features of the kids and locals of Sharchi seem a little different from the other villages like Gushaini etc. We are quite hungry having had no chance to eat any lunch because of the festival in the village. On our walk, we head to the other end of the village and see a majestic house being built; with big rooms and stunning open views of the valley with the pinnacle of the snow peaks!

Around 5 pm, the villagers gather for the pahari naati (traditional Himachali dance). There are around 50-60 men and women in a huge circle formation near the temple ground. Their hands are joined together and slowly their rhythmic dance starts as the music begins playing. The movements of pahari naati are slow at first, and then as the crescendo of music builds up the dance movements are a little faster; all the time with the hands joined and the circle formation in place.

Signboard of Jamlu Devta is in the vicinity and some locals instruct us to keep at a distance and watch the proceedings from a nearby place. The deity of Sharchi village is Jagdamba Rishi (according to the locals a relative of Jamlu Devta). They indicate a sitting space for us from where we can enjoy the pahadi naati dance. I take the gesture in a positive way since at least we won’t be bothered by strict villagers / drunk villagers.

Devtas have been decked and decorated on 3 palanquins in the temple meant for these festivals. Sharchi village has a very festive feel at this time and we are lucky to make a visit today. The pahari naati is really nice and I am glad to see it in the original form! There is also a feast arranged for the locals and food is being prepared in large pots and cauldrons. Our homestay guy tells us that we can have food there, but the other locals don’t seem so kind and since nobody invites us, we deem it better to stay away.

A few locals ask us where we are from, I reply Rajasthan – that reply usually gets me invited everywhere else in Himachal Pradesh but here it elicited no response. Some of the men are quite drunk and it is in our best interest to stay away! Haha. Around 5 pm, the pahari naati stops and a beautiful golden light blesses Sharchi village.

We go for another walk near the homestay. The homestay guy’s mom asks our preference for dinner, and we say that we will eat whatever vegetarian food that she is making. It is decided that the menu will be post Siddu (poppy seeds ground in Siddu) served with home made ghee. We admire the great views from the balcony area of the homestay.

The bathroom is accessed after climbing down the stairs and is neat and clean. There is also a dining area and a sitting room that makes life feel like a luxury right now! The bed is nice and cosy and the interiors have the aroma of deodhar wood. Nice breezy and nippy weather in Sharchi after sundown even in May since the village is located at a higher altitude.

The siddu(s) are super tasty and with the built up hunger of the day feel like a life saver! We thank the homestay guy and his mother and are very happy when the homestay guy decided to eat with us! A real homestay feeling is when the owner eat with the guests.

Sleep and wake up relaxed early next morning. The homestay owner is keen on showing us the pretty village of Jamala that is around 40 minutes hike away from Sharchi. The hike is ascending and crosses fields of the rastafarian delights. Jamala village is spectacularly located and has 9-10 homes. All of them are huge and have a courtyard. It really seems like an even more prosperous village than Sharchi too since all locals here own sheep, cows and buffaloes too.

Sharchi village looks beautiful from up here. Blue skies, and snow peaks even in May. Beyond Jamala, plain fields and a flat ground where youngsters of Sharchi chill, play cricket etc. Jamala is also the base camp for trek to Lambri Top and the ground is also used as a camping space. It is indeed a stunning place surrounded by trees. It is around 11 am and we lie down here and relax.

Lambri Top Trek is a scenic 2-3-4 day trek on a ridge that also connects to Jalori Pass. Jamala village has plentiful apple orchards, wheat fields and is insanely beautiful! I ask one of the home owners if they are planning to open a homestay in Jamala? I didn’t get a clear reply but I guess a local from Sharchi village might be able to arrange the same!

Our homestay owner had relatives there; they had more than 100 goats! The views get clearer as we climb higher. It is 12 noon now and even though Jamala village is very alluring; we decide to go back from the gorgeously green walking path back to Sharchi and pick up our bags.

On the way back, I wonder and decide to come back to Sharchi someday in the winter! I am sure the views will be stupendous with every inch covered in fresh white snow and unparalleled views of the jungles since the landscape is so undisturbed!

Till I come back again, bye Sharchi!

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Since I had prior information about this matter, I had already made my mind to not wait for news about the train and to just leave by the shared sumo to Kurseong. Anyway, the Darjeeling railway station was even farther away from the shared taxi stand which was quite a long walk away from Mall Road where Joshi Homestay was located.

IRCTC showed that the Red Panda Express daily train from Darjeeling to Kurseong was cancelled daily but it still allowed me to book a ticket. I received a message sometime in the night indicating that the train was cancelled and that the amount will be refunded in my bank account. I woke up early, got lucky with a majestic view of Mt. Kanchenjunga; had a quick breakfast and tea at Joshi Homestay. Thanked Hemant uncle and Anjana aunty for the wonderful time and waved goodbye.

It must have been around 8:30 in the morning when I left the mall road to begin the steep descent to read the Darjeeling shared taxi (Sumo stand) syndicate. The weather was a bit humid but thankfully it did not rain as I was walking on the road. It hardly took me 20 minutes to amble down to the sumo syndicate. The distance wasn’t much and while the uphill climb was excruciating in the sun, the downhill walk was fun! The shops and touristy gimmicks of Darjeeling were just getting ready to open.

A shared sumo from Darjeeling to Kurseong was stationary and available and I quickly took the receipt for a good seat in the same. If memory serves me right, the shared sumo fare was 60 Rupees. The distance from Darjeeling to Kurseong is only 30 kms. I quickly grabbed a puff and a pastry from the nearby branch of Glenary’s which was just opposite to the taxi stand on the Hill Cart Road.

I had only a day to explore Kurseong, since I had spent an extra day in Darjeeling than originally planned! My flight from Bagdogra to Delhi was scheduled for the next day, late in the afternoon and basically it meant that I had an entire day to wander around Kurseong. Kurseong (pronounced Korsong) in the local Lepcha language literally translates to ‘The land of white Orchids’.

The journey from Darjeeling to Kurseong was incident free (hardly an hour) and I reached Kurseong Main Bazaar (near Kurseong Railway Station) at around 10 am. The weather in Kurseong was sunny and humid. I had almost no idea about a staying place in Kurseong and thereby asked for help from locals in finding a reasonable place to stay in Kurseong. I was ok with staying either with staying in a hotel/guest house or a homestay since it was only for a day and I would spend most of the time exploring the misty schools and environs of Kurseong.

There were a few cheap and run-down hotels in the bazaar area but some local leader was visiting Kurseong the same day and these cheap hotels were either booked or were being currently occupied by the security police guys. Someone took me to a smelly room and that resulted in me thinking about heading to Bagdogra the same day if I could not find a place to stay in Kurseong!! Yes, it was that bad.

Kurseong Railway Station is located at an altitude of 4864 ft and the town is located on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) UNESCO World Heritage line. There is a Railway Museum with souvenirs, memorabilia and exhibits from the old times but it was closed. Asked the station master for help in opening it, and he asked me to buy a 20 Rupee admission ticket. He had the keys and opened it as soon as I paid. Wonderful exhibits and information about DHR and Kurseong.

After an hour or so of trying to find an ok place to stay in the sultry weather, the weather gods intervened and it became cloudy and misty in Kurseong. I felt much better now since my backpack had become quite heavy with all the shopping done in Kalimpong and Darjeeling. It was quite clear now that I would have to walk to the outskirts of Kurseong and find a room in one of the peaceful homestays in that region.

When I started walking, the locals remarked that there is 1 homestay on the way around 1 km after Kurseong and a sort of guaranteed place to stay – Makaibari Tea Estate Homestays around 3 kms from Kurseong main bazaar. Crossed pretty colonial buildings on the way, little tired but the refreshing and cool air invigorates me. I am jumping in delight in the mist and the fog; cross the 1903 established St. Andrew’s Church.

Also cross a very pretty house, Carlton House – A colonial establishment with an imposing entrance and tea gardens visible from the entrance. Tall trees line up the path inside the estate property, beautiful Victorian lamps decorate the front view and Carlton House looks even more serene in the fog! I remember doing an instagram live broadcast while walking on this foggy stretch where perhaps the visibility was hardly 10 feet!

The Darjeeling Tea Research Centre is to my right; I think about going in but realise that it is already close to noon and I better hurry up and quickly settle on a place to stay in Kurseong! The walk continues, the homestay recommended by the locals is good but costs around 2000 Rupees. I decide to just go to Makaibari Tea Estate Homestays run by the workers at the Makaibari Tea Estate.

Makaibari Tea Estate Homestay

I reach the main gate of Makaibari Tea Estate and contact of the main guy managing the homestays; he takes the money (can’t remember if it was 500 or 800 Rupees) per person per day and makes me meet up with a local in whose home I am supposed to stay! This exchange was quite smooth and I walk with the local to his home. It is a small family home located in the Makaibari Tea Estate area where the staff lives.

It is a very nice initiative taken by the tea estate workers to start this homestay concept in Kurseong and let travellers experience the authentic local life. It is a simple home and a meagre room. But thats all you need to stay when there is a moving family to take care of you. The room has a single bed on one side, a sofa set for 2 people, another single bed on the other side and Chinese fans as decoration. The family lives in the 2 other rooms in the house.

The family comprises of old grandparents, parents and a young kid who is very bright and speaks proper English. He is the de facto communicator for the family when they have guests who speak English. I learn that the family has hosted many international travellers too and maintain a log book with messages and experiences written by people of various nationalities. I am served Darjeeling tea as a welcome drink.

The Makaibari Tea Estate Homestay system is simple, 5-6 families in total function as homestays and the homestay is assigned at random through a turn-by-turn system by the manager in charge of the whole system. This way, every family has equal opportunities to host travellers and make some money as well. The manager takes a small cut for every transaction (which I personally didn’t like but guess it is the only system that works).

There are creepers growing near the homestay; I spot a few plump squashes growing on the creepers. The kid discusses many topics with me and takes me for a walk as lunch is being prepared. There are lush and misty tea gardens nearby; I wish they were surrounding the homestay where I am at! We come back and lunch is ready.

I am famished. The search-for-accommodation walk has left me drained of energy and the knowledge that I only have a few hours to see whatever I can of Kurseong is already proving to be a lot of pressure! Lunch is served – Rice, omelette, green vegetables, dall, 2-3 types of home made pickles, dips and snacks. It feels like a feast. The grandma gets her questions translated through the kid and I have a wonderful time sitting with the family and eating my lunch.

The bathroom is outside the house; when I ask to use it they hand me the keys. It is around 1:30 pm and I decide to rush back to Kurseong after lunch. Luckily, there are shared vans plying this route till Kurseong Railway Station. They charge around 20 Rupees per seat. Happy I don’t have to walk all the way back!

History of Kurseong

Kurseong was originally a part of the Sikkimese Kingdom and was acquired by Nepal sometime in the 18th Century. After the British came; in 1835 the British took charge of Kurseong and transformed it to another hill station for them.

Walking Around in Kurseong

I reached Kurseong main Bazaar at around 2 pm. I was on the Pankhabari Road which meets the Hill Cart road just in front of the Kurseong Rail Station. The Hill Cart Road continues uphill to the more loftier parts of Kurseong.

Dow Hill School

Got into a shared cab that dropped me close to the school area. At the outset, someone stopped me from entering the school premises but a few locals came to the rescue and urged them to let me see the school and photograph it. Grand and beautiful structure, very pretty to look at with the nice colour palette and misty atmosphere. Just outside the school, I meet some auto guys and locals who recommend I take a walk and go to the other places.

I take the directions from them and start walking on the road; it is through a dense forest and I totally enjoy the scenic beauty of Kurseong. After 5 odd minutes, there’s a turn and a tiny stall that serves chai and snacks. I spot many young kids and school guys who crowd the snacks stall! After all the setting is quite impeccable; there are wooden benches and bamboo stools beneath the humongous pine and deodhar trees. This school area is located at a much higher altitude than Kurseong town, and thats why its cool and misty! Feel fresh and invigorated with the walks.

The road is nostalgic with fallen leaves covering the road path; there are hardly any vehicles to be seen and only school kids seem to walk this path! Reach an abandoned Church that is in yellow colour and seems to be deserted. It is near the entrance of the Victoria Boys School and the watchman doesn’t want me to go inside.

Victoria Boys School

I am asked to get permission to go inside from one of the teachers living in the nearby quarters. I plead for help from the guard and he sends one of the school kids with me to get the permission. The teacher asks me the purpose and I just tell I am travelling; he asks the kid to let me photograph the building etc. Victoria Boys School looks even grander than Dow Hill School. It is painted in shades of yellow and was built around 1905. Kids are playing football in the massive playground.

I am a little off mood due to the drama involved in taking permission and decide to walk back to the snack guy. Luck intervenes. A young local on a motorcycle randomly speaks to me and offers to show me around the most scenic parts of Kurseong! I am delighted. There are a few other guys with him, so he seems like a dependable guy and I am going in front of the snacks stall so there is hardly any chance of anything going wrong!

We vroom on the motorbike and he shows me the West Bengal Forest School on Dow Hill and a lake located high somewhere on Dow Hill (which I had no idea is said to be haunted). We take a short walk through a park to reach the lake. Lovely road as we ascend higher, very misty and foggy with almost no vehicle in sight. The guy who is showing me around and is working with someone and they are constructing some bamboo cottages for tourists. I can’t thank him enough for taking me to some beautiful places in Kurseong where I most definitely would not have reached with public transport.

Other Prominent Places to Visit in Kurseong :

St. Paul the Apostle Church

Saint Andrews Church

St. Mary’s Grotto

St. Helen’s School

Netaji Museum & Institute of Asian Studies

Ambootia Tea Estate

Cochrane Place

Makaibari Tea Estate

Tashi Samtenling Monastery

Goethals Memorial School

Around 5-530 pm, it starts raining – I still want to try and go to St. Paul the Apostle Church and some nearby places that I have missed. Alas, I can’t find a shared cab. Run here and there! Haha, a little excited about going and try to explore my options if it is actually possible to see those places. Since it continues raining, I decide instead to walk to Makaibari Tea Estate Homestay before it gets dark. See more pretty buildings on the way.

Reach homestay and have dinner at 7 pm. Request the family for roti if they can make it. Maybe I am feeling a little homesick. The homestay grandma is a kind person; she makes potato fried curry, squash vegetable, dall and roti. Tea is also served with dinner. More conversations with the family and relax. I also fill their visitors log book and the young kid staples my card in the book with my review.

I go to bed and keep the window open in the night. It is slightly humid but I manage to sleep well and keep sleeping till late. Cosy bed. In the morning, I don’t want to go anywhere and just stay at the homestay, spend time walking around and then leave for Bagdogra airport at around 9 am. Thats the plan.

Morning tea; lovely misty morning. Homestay family says keep 2 hours for Bagdogra and that shared cabs keep running regularly in the morning hours. Makaibari Tea Estate Homestay location is anyway on the road itself. I finish my breakfast and the little kid takes me around. Some youngsters are playing cricket and football in the midst of lush greenery while mist emanates from the tea gardens.

Thank the family many times for the lovely stay experience and hope to come back someday for a longer stay.

Shared cab drama, 9 am no cab. There is no cab that comes for more than 1 hour. I finally decide to hitchhike. 5-10 kms in a truck. Then get an auto carrier and I agree to pay Rs. 350 to drop me directly to Bagdogra airport. Heart in my mouth many times. Hehe, but all’s well that ends well.

I still have to collect the 4 liquor wine bottles from Namrata Restaurant (courtesy of Bijoy Da of Our Guest Travels, Sikkim trip) near Bagdogra Airport. Pick the bag after communicating with Bijoy Da – the auto guy really helped in finding Namrata Restaurant. Reach the airport at 1-1:30 pm. Lot of time on my hand.

Liquor bottles drama. Bagdogra is a military airport. I had transferred the liquor content into plastic bottles so that the glass bottles don’t break in transit. Security guys say can’t carry. They demand that I show the receipts of buying the juice / wine bottles. I say its juice. Cancer juice for a patient, my grandmother. Drama. Huge drama. Main army officer CISF guy is the chief here. He asks the staff to taste and the staff says startled its wine.

Some kind people see the commotion and my (seemingly) crying face and the security guys relent. The CISF chief asks the security guys to pack and seal the bottles separately and allow me to take them as check-in luggage.

Very lucky for me as my baggage is already overweight. 13.7 kilo backpack has already been checked in and this handbag with cardamom weighs around 5 kilos. I call Bijoy bhaiya just in case the bottles are not allowed. He is in Bagdogra and quite close to the airport. Even in the worst case scenario, I don’t want to throw away these 4 precious bottles brought all the way from Dzongu.

The CISF chief tells the AirAsia guys to keep it separately in check-in bag and issues a special order and sends one person with me. Since there is not much time remaining for the AirAsia flight, one security guy accompanies me to help in putting me in front of the queue and finish the ordeal. Cant thank these guys enough!

Apparently the official rules mean that one can carry 5 litres of alcohol on domestic flights in India. The Sikkimese guys at the AirAsia counter are very happy I had managed to fight and take cack these precious cultural souvenirs! All in the rules, timber wine, rhododendron wine, raspberry wine and some other fruit. Reminisce about memories while sharing it with numerous friends in Delhi! Yay.

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Now for the Happy part : I finally made it to Basar for Basar Confluence or BasCon 4.0 from 1-4 December 2019. I was contacted by Karyom Basar in advance and he had sent an invite for the festival. Hence there was no confusion as my dates were already blocked before any other assignment elsewhere could be discussed!

Where is Basar?

Basar is a small town and headquarters of the newly formed Leparada district of Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal Pradesh is the biggest state in Northeast India in terms of area and Basar lies in the central part of the state. Basar is located amidst an evergreen rainforest. The indigenous tribe of Basar is Galo; Galo tribe is one among the 26 major tribes of Arunachal Pradesh.

It was shocking to know that before the Bogibeel bridge was built, people would cross (that part of the road) the river Brahmaputra on boat or ferry. In that case, one cab would drop you to one side of the Brahmaputra river and another cab would be waiting on the other side of the river after the boat crossing is done. Some ferries are big enough to accommodate two-wheelers and cars as well. The boat crossing would take around 1 hr 30 mins.

However, since Bogibeel bridge has been thrown open for vehicular traffic in end of December 2018, travel time has reduced considerably. It now takes hardly 10 minutes to cross the Brahmaputra river via the 4.94 km long Bogibeel bridge. Bogibeel bridge is the 2nd longest road-cum-rail bridge in Asia.

Dibrugarh to Basar – The Journey

We were on one of the direct flights from Delhi to Dibrugarh (Only Indigo and Vistara operate direct flights from Delhi to Dibrugarh). I had read somewhere that it would only take around 4 hours from Dibrugarh to Basar, for a distance of 150 kms. I took that with a pinch of salt. Regular visitors to the Northeast would know exactly what I mean!

The roads in Northeast India have become better over the years, but travel still takes time and one can expect to cover 25 km/hr as an average speed. Thus, even though we had left from Dibrugarh Airport by 1:30 pm, numerous breaks meant our Scorpio only rolled into Basar at 9:30 pm.

There were two SUV’s waiting for us at Dibrugarh Airport; our Scorpio was the one to leave early since we deemed it was better to try and seek an experience on the road rather than waiting at the airport. The highway in Assam was a breeze; views from Bogibeel bridge were nice and expansive and as we were crossing Silapathar I noticed the stilt houses that reminded me of the Mising tribe in Majuli.

I was instantly in a reverie and dreamt about the Poro (Apong or rice beer) that was served in a very authentic way by the Mising tribe (Also spelled as Mishing Tribe). Everyone in our vehicle got excited as I asked the driver to stop outside a house that looked like a Mising tribal’s home. Alas, the family wasn’t there but a passerby informed the driver (in Assamese) that we could find the Apong hardly 100m from there at another Mising tribal’s home! And thus started our Basar Confluence trip

Poro (Rice beer) at a Mising Household

When our car stopped, I jumped out and shouted ‘hello, hello’ for attention. A tiny girl was scribbling a painting in the notebook, her mom came to my rescue and asked me what was I looking for? I asked her if Apong (or Poro) would be available here. She confirmed yes and said it was Rs. 40 per bottle. We quickly polished off a litre of the happy liquid (light black in colour); I was glad to have made everyone taste this simple cultural delight of the Mising tribe in Assam. 

We thanked the lady profusely, in return she made a tamul (betel nut and paan) for me and I gleefully accepted it! It was nice to be treated like a local in this faraway land. For most city-folk, every interaction is a transaction involving money. My travels across the years have gone farther and farther away from that reasoning; for me ‘Every interaction is an opportunity to share some happiness and love by making a nice conversation.’

It was time for us to continue our journey to Basar. While some of us had eaten in the flight (thanks Vistara for good food), others were hungry and wanted to make a lunch stop. We stopped somewhere around Silapathar which the driver said was a recommended place to eat. The aloo pithika was delicious and we loved eating the freshly made chapatis. It took us almost an hour for us to get done with lunch. In the meanwhile, the drivers had communicated that the other car was also about to reach the same spot as they also had to make a lunch break.

Reaching Basar in the Dark

It gave me a chance to drink some red tea (lal cha), as I really relish it after a hearty meal. In fact I am fond of lal cha so much that I have the tea leaves from Assam to make it at home! We sat outside and chatted and relaxed when suddenly from nowhere, hailstones started pouring down. First the hailstones were small and then they got bigger in size. They might have been as big as mid-size lemons. I almost as much thought that the glasses of the vehicles might be in trouble if it continued pouring hailstones!

Thankfully nothing untoward happened and after a while we scampered towards the cars. There was more than half the distance left to cover and it was already past 4 pm. The sun sets really early in these parts, especially in the winters and we saw beautiful evening colours around 4:30 pm and it got dark by 4:45 ish. Our permits were also checked at a check-post after entering Arunachal Pradesh and if all of us had not noticed a slight sliver of the crescent moon at 5 pm, it might have been considered a joke to have been in darkness at that time.

We rejoiced breathing in the fresh, aromatic air made rich in oxygen by the bountiful mountainous jungle surrounding us. Recent rains had resulted in a pitiful state of the roads and we laughed that rally enthusiasts need not go anywhere for adventure! It felt quite cold as the night went on. Most roads in the Northeast are in a constant phase of widening and ongoing construction but the work never seems to get completed. This is not to berate the authorities but the make the reader aware of the general sense of corruption that exists across this region.

Basar Confluence 2019 or BasCon 4.0

As we finally rolled into Basar at 9:30 pm, Karyom Basar and other locals were already waiting for us and quickly took us to our respective homestays. I was delighted to be staying in a local’s home instead of a hotel. It was nice and comfortable and had the added warmth of a family. Even though it was very late in the night, the family quickly made dinner for us and we finally slept after what felt like forever on the road!

Mist floated effortlessly in the green and yellow paddy fields dotted with pretty wooden huts, and it was only the chill in the air that confirmed the fact that I was awake, and not dreaming!

After a long night’s sleep, it was a surreal sight at 8 in the morning. It was foggy and cloudy and the sun seemed to have no plans to greet us, at least that day. I was lucky that my room had a balcony with an open view of the fields of Basar. The family allowed us to use the kitchen and I was glad to make masala chai since ginger and bay leaf were available in the homestay!

Nyomar Nyodu, our homestay owner declared that the performances at the Indigenous Celebration of Galo Tribe at Todak Basar Stadium were about to start and we should rush! This was another location where traditional dances are held on the same day as Basar Confluence and it served as a nice precursor to BasCon.

An interesting fact – Almost everyone’s surname in Basar is Basar! 

When someone offered to drop us to the grounds, we preferred to walk. The landscape was lush green with plentiful rain around. Young girls and boys played football; Northeast India has always been leading the way in terms of female empowerment (Some states here are a matrilineal society, e.g., Meghalaya).

First tryst with Poka – The Magic Potion

It must have been around 11 am when we entered the ground where the Indigenous Celebration of Galo Tribes was being held and immediately met school kids dressed up in traditional Galo attire. As we sat and were enjoying the local dances, someone thrust a glass of dark coloured liquid ‘Poka‘ in our hands. Poka is rice beer/wine made after a process of fermentation and it is widely understood in entire Arunachal Pradesh that Galo tribe makes the best Kala Apong (aka Poka). It is a little sweet in taste and in my opinion, Poka is delicious.

Process of Making Poka : Husk of the locally grown rice is roasted and is mixed with ash. This mix and yeast begin the process of fermentation. It is kept in a bamboo-cane basket, and stored in outer covering of wild leaves for more than 2 weeks. The final product, ‘poka‘ is filtered like a funnel after hot water is poured over the fermented mix and the result is delicious sweet and slightly potent brew – poka collected beneath the bamboo basket.

After this wonderful start to the Basar experience, we rushed to the venue of Basar Confluence after a call from Karyom who said that BasCon 4.0 was about to start. We hitched a ride and quickly reached Basar Confluence parking. Thats the thing about festivals and people in small towns, everyone is super helpful and ready to help. The guy who dropped us was a local and he had come to Basar (from Itanagar) only to attend BasCon 4.0 (Thanks Mie). It was heartening to hear this.

Basar Confluence already was living true to its promise of being a proper local festival organised by the locals, for the locals. 

At the entrance, it was captivating to notice the really cute direction mascots for BasCon 4.0. The mascots were designed by the extremely talented Jene Hai from Basar. The entrance registration hut was made from bamboo and entry was a smooth process. Taking plastic of any kind inside the festival venue was forbidden. The locals had set up some stalls outside their homes; selling oranges, tea, coffee, chicken, pork and rice pancakes. Since it was the orange harvesting season, the oranges were sweet and of really good quality. Price of the oranges at these stalls sold by the locals was 10 Rupees for 4 pieces.

It was fun to walk with the local performers who asked us ‘Aldure?’, which means ‘How are you?’ in Galo language. To which we were told to reply ‘Alruudo‘ which means Thank you in Galo. We were a bit jumbled with these confusing words but had a great time using them with locals over the course of the 4 day festival. Or hang on, wait … (Have I just confused both these words as they might be only one?) Blame it on the poka, you see!

Once inside Basar Confluence venue, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the entire festival was eco-friendly and that everything was made from bamboo.

Basar Confluence – Eco-friendly & Plastic Free Festival

The welcome absence of plastic was one of the defining features of Basar Confluence Festival. The futuristic locals and organising committee GRK (more on GRK later) have used the locally found abundant bamboo in all the constructions of Basar Confluence Festival. Right from the main stage to the food stalls, the official BasCon photo setup, benches, bridges and stairs (in short everything) had been made of bamboo.

The seating enclosure for the invitees & VIP Guests was also constructed wholly of bamboo. And hold on… yes, the toilets were also entirely made of bamboo and huge leaves. Not to leave the dustbins behind, which were also (yes, you guessed it!) made from bamboo.

The venue of Basar Confluence was nothing short of a mythical paradise; set in a natural hillock amidst lush paddy fields. Even though we were long into the winter in December, the shade of green would’t give away this fact. The sun was in a constant battle with the clouds and whenever it managed to peek out of the dense cloud cover, the colours were a treat to the eyes. I couldn’t wait to experience the tribal life of the Galos during the four-day cultural spectacle of Basar Confluence to immerse deeper into the art, culture, and music of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Main Stage at BasCon 4.0 was set up in a sort of depression in the open air festival venue so that maximum number of people can witness the performances. It was a brilliant move by the organisers that ensured that at any point of time the visitors can have a glimpse of the stage to enjoy the traditional dances and performances while enjoying Poka. A limited seating space would have resulted in everyone scrambling to get the best views or missing out on the entire performance altogether.

In a move that could be called a masterstroke in chess, huge bamboos were spread out across the terrain and people could sit and watch the performances happening on the main stage from everywhere! Indigenous and brilliant.  

Traditional Attire of Galo(s) and other Tribes at BasCon 4.0 

Most of the festival attendees were curious locals; they were excited and pleased that their traditions, culture and heritage were being preserved and appreciated. They were especially happy to see visitors from far off places (like us) were having a great time celebrating Basar Confluence. Their eyes sang with happiness when they saw us with bamboo tumblers filled with poka in our hands and when we told that we loved it!

Men were dressed smartly in their traditional costumes and donned a bamboo hat which was intricate and cost as much as INR 15000 when I saw it at one of the stalls selling traditional bamboo products. Women were dressed in their traditional and colourful finery as everyone sported a ‘Ghale‘, which is an embroidered skirt. The locals and other visitors from Arunachal Pradesh were having a jolly good time roaming around the food stalls and meeting their relatives over poka and authentic local delicacies.

Experiencing Basar Confluence

Karyom took us around the festival venue on the first day; and handed all of us a complimentary glass of poka! A glass here in the Galo country of Basar means a huge bamboo tumbler with a capacity of 1 litre. It was to be just the start of a long affair with these bamboo glasses. Plus they also had a cute sling so you could carry it on your fingers or hang them on your shoulders as a style statement! I loved them so much that they now serve as bamboo planters at home!!

At Basar Confluence, food stalls serve their delicacies in Toro leaf (looks similar to banana leaf) and the cutlery is in the form of bamboo plates and spoons. The food & souvenir stalls itself are made from bamboo and the roof is made from thatched leaves. It is like being back to nature and the way we might be able to keep earth in its natural form.

The Food stalls’ chief offerings were roasted chicken, pork, fish and mithun in different methods of preparation. The vegetarian dishes on offer included noodles, rice, puri-sabji, mushrooms, sweet potato and steamed rice cakes.

Sustainable, Rural & Environment-Friendly Festival

I have long maintained that the only way forward is local and Basar Confluence is a shining case of the same. To ensure that visitors to the festival do not have to resort to buying / carrying plastic bottles for water, the stalls have put filter water dispensers and people can drink water from there. Almost every local carries their own bamboo tumbler in Basar! These are the little things that matter, and by making such small changes Basar Confluence is setting a great example for other traditional festivals held across entire India.

Why should you attend Basar Confluence ?

Among the events held during 4 days of festivities at Basar Confluence are – Folk songs and dances, traditional music, festival & folk presentations, community sports like archery and tug of war, live guitar performances, traditional fishing, hiking and trekking, nature trails, adventure sports, hot air balloon rides, exhibition on biodiversity conservation, selfie points and the in-demand latibule (a hidden place!), enjoy the cool breeze at the treehouse with a vantage view of Basar Confluence.

For shopping there are stalls selling traditional bamboo products, textile and weaving stalls, colourful and metallic jewellery, nature trails, ladies selling oranges, organic tea from Along, stalls selling rice pancakes, paintings and art, bamboo exhibition stall, Agri tourism, ATV rides, fruits like kiwi, pineapple, starfruit, and a multitude of food stalls from various tribes and areas of Arunachal Pradesh. I must mention that the prices at the food stalls at Basar Confluence is very reasonable as compared to other festivals like Ziro Festival of Music and Hornbill Festival in Nagaland.

Another interesting place to visit was the EB Project Hill. Stalls – ITBP Sweet Gallery. Bamboo baskets and poka glasses for sale, Khamti Stall handicrafts, textiles and jackets, bracelets at Nocte tribe stall.

Top Memories of Basar Confluence

Stunning colours in the evening overlooking the golden rice fields in the mellow winter sun; coupled with the joy of witnessing authentic tribal performances in this incredible setting!

On one of the days, there was a dedicated Agri Tourism section setup amidst the paddy fields where women were harvesting the crop and men were husking it. It was nice to hear the harvest songs of the Galo Tribe of Basar. 

The Textile Stall was located in a separate section of Basar Confluence. Since I have a habit of wandering around everywhere, perhaps I got lucky to explore this live demonstration where women were weaving ‘ghale‘ and fabrics using the traditional weaving methods. A brief conversation ensued and resulted in me buying a set of 6 woven table mats in gorgeous Arunachal design!

Rice cooked in a special hollow bamboo at Khamti Tribe Stall. First the sticky rice is soaked overnight in water. Then the rice is stuffed in a tender bamboo hollow and roasted over an open fire. The final dish is eaten by scraping the edges of the bamboo and the rice comes out in form of a cooked bamboo imbibing the delicious flavours. We were served this dish called ‘Khau-laam rice‘ with spicy aloo pithika, and the very friendly staff also gave us complimentary two steamed jaggery rice and peanut cakes as dessert!

Feeling the breeze at the treehouse at BasCon 4.0, and the beautiful location of the Soi Tree House. It felt very adventurous to climb up to the top of the treehouse and chat up with the locals and indulge in singing and dancing with them, overlooking the festivities and goings on at Basar Confluence over a bamboo tumbler of poka.

Visit to Joli. Joli is a mysterious place that is known to be haunted and sacred at the same time. It is around 4 kilometers away from BasCon venue and involves a very scenic walk through a stream. It is interesting to hear the locals’ spine-chilling narration of their experiences at Joli. The legend of Joli is that – ‘Yapoms are spirits who are the main inhabitants of the forests. In the old times the spirits would throw pebbles at locals who were passing through their area.’ We went to Joli and had a great time revelling in the pristine beauty of nature. The water level keeps increasing as one keeps walking and is around the thigh level, when you come across a waterfall in the stream in the end.

Undoubtedly, Poka in Basar is among the best local alcohol(s) I’ve ever tasted. It tastes sweet and there are two qualities of Poka on offer at Basar Confluence Festival. Poka Class I and Poka Class II are priced at 300 and 200 Rupees respectively. They might seem a bit overpriced but once you drink a bamboo tumbler you realise the quality is worth the price. We tried cheap poka elsewhere but it wasn’t worth it.

Don’t get misled by its sweet taste, poka is quite capable of getting one high. So drink slowly and enjoy the high without getting drunk! Another positive thing about poka is that it doesn’t give a strong hangover. Hence, even if you get drunk you don’t have much to worry about since the locals will give you a ride back to your homestay (as I did on 2-3 days of the festival, when hitching rides to get back to the homestay!)

Witnessing some unique sports & competitions like fastest bamboo pole climbing, swinging on a rope attached to a pole, archery competition which was super fun, the fiercely contested Tug of War among the different villages of Basar, and the funny competition where men had to run with their wives on the shoulder! It gave us so much joy to cheer wildly for the competitions with the locals.

The fishing venue setup in Ego Valley was perfect in every sense. From the weather being nice and sunny, to a wide and expansive landscape with the Ego river flowing. The best part was that families from all the nearby villages had decided to turn up. A picnic-like atmosphere prevailed; a bamboo bridge had been constructed to go to the other side of the river where we witnessed traditional fishing that is no longer practised.

In the old times – A tree bark was released in water which numbs the fish for some time, making them easier to catch. This method is not used anymore because the tree bark is difficult to find these days. Elsewhere families were fishing with their hands and bamboo baskets and it was unreal to see them catch fishes so easily. There were food stalls also at the fishing venue and it was nice to see the Basar Confluence method of bamboo construction being practised here as well.

Ego Valley was around 1 hour away (27 kms) from Basar and on the drive there were small stalls selling fresh pineapples. I immediately jumped out and picked a yummy pineapple for only 20 Rupees! It was tasty beyond words. I tried the bananas too at another stall. The fresh fruits in the Northeast are too good to be true!

Paintings, portraits and art on canvas made by a very talented young artist who was hearing and speech impaired. His eyes shined with happiness when we communicated through hand gestures and told him his work was exemplary! This stall was in a separate enclosure of Basar Confluence right at the entrance of the festival. A portrait of an Apatani lady made by him hangs proudly in my room at home! 

Adventure sports, hot air balloon ride, ATV rides, the lights installed in all the seating areas and entire festival ground (except the stage) were warm lights and gave a pleasing feel to the eyes. I was especially in awe of the bamboo lampshades and even wondered asking Karyom if I could carry back these simple lampshades that made even the mundane yellow bulbs look so beautiful!

Among the Galo performances – Galo Ponu which is a welcome dance performed by the women. Nyoho Honam was the (Galo valour dance) Nyida Parik Galo ceremonial wedding dance. Erap Chanam – Galo ritual dance. Galo Mopin performance, Ho Delo performance from Galos and also Galo Folk ballads. Apart from that, there were other tribal performances and Folk presentations from tribes across Arunachal Pradesh –

Sherdukpen Tribe from Shergaon in West Kameng District, Bamboo dance of Nocte Tribe from Patkai Hills of Tirap district, Tai-Khamti (Tai-Khampti) from Namsai, Singpho Tribe from Changlang District, Apatani Tribe from Ziro Valley, Mishmi Tribe from Dibang Valley in Lohit & Anjaw Districts, Tagin Tribe from Daporijo in Upper Subansiri District, Nyishi Tribe from East Kameng District, Yobin Tribe from Changlang district, Miji Tribe from West Kameng District, Adi Tribe from West Kameng District, Memba Tribe from Mechuka in Upper Siang District. (In addition, I also spotted a few men donning Monpa hats (Monpa Tribe is from Tawang), ITBP performance was the icing on the cake.

Places to see in Basar & Around

Villages Walks to villages Gori-1 & Gori-2 that are close to the venue of Basar Confluence 4.0. The locals will make you feel welcome and village walks are a great way to immerse yourself in getting to know Galo lifestyle in a better way. The villages are pretty with colourful flowers and greenery. Almost all the old houses are built on an elevated structure (like stilts) and are made of bamboo.

Trek through a dense jungle to Bat Cave (Tapen Penru) in Padi village around 20 kms from Basar.

Deke waterfall (20 kms), Bumchi Waterfall (7 kms), Dime Diite waterfall (5 kms) at Pagi Village.

Odii Putu viewpoint is located close to Sago village and has a fabulous view of Basar. It is around 15 kms away from Basar and reaching here requires a stiff ascending hike of around 2 hours. According to the locals, the sunrise that we see from Odii Putu viewpoint is the first sunrise of the country!

Click to view slideshow.

EB Project Hill (3 Kms from Basar) – A unique project of biodiversity conservation through rainwater harvesting. It is the brainchild of Egam Basar and is located near Soi village and involves a hike through a dense jungle.

Click to view slideshow.

Joli – As mentioned above.

How to reach Basar?

Fastest option to reach Basar but may not be the most economical : Flight to Dibrugarh, then shared sumo to Basar through Silapathar. Or flight to Guwahati, then train to Naharlagun and then bus / shared sumo to Basar.

On a phone call with Manash sometime in July, he invited me to experience the Ziro Festival of Music with his company Discover Northeast where they put up a campsite by the name of Camp Zingaros. I am not exactly a ‘music festival person’ but having heard praises of ZFM from other sources as well, it was almost a must that I attend it. ZFM (Ziro Festival of Music) is usually held in the last week of September, and the dates for 2019 were from 26 to 29 September.

The nearest airport to Ziro is Lilabari airport near North Lakhimpur in Assam. Dibrugarh airport isn’t very far in terms of distance from Ziro Valley as well. The most preferred airport with frequent connectivity is Guwahati and my flights were booked to-fro from Guwahati. Guwahati airport isn’t close to Ziro Valley at all but can be said to be the most convenient for people travelling to Ziro for Ziro Festival of Music.

From Guwahati there are numerous day and night trains to Naharlagun station in Arunachal Pradesh. From Naharlagun, Ziro is only 100 kms away and shared cabs ply in the morning hours coinciding with the arrival time of the train – Donyi Polo Express.

Hearing about my ZFM (Ziro Festival of Music) plans, I was joined by 2 of my friends. We landed in Guwahati just after noon and were promptly welcomed by a downpour. I was very keen on sampling authentic Assamese cuisine at Khorikaa Restaurant and had ample time since our train to Naharlagun was only at 9 in the evening.

First we headed to the waterfront on the banks of the Brahmaputra river and had just ordered a jhal muri chat when it started pouring down. We scampered for cover under the green trees and were disappointed when there were no sunset colours in the waters of the Brahmaputra in the evening.

Khorikaa was a delight with its delicious Assamese Thali that comprised of many dishes and the aromatic Joha rice. I liked the rice so much that I ended up carrying a kilo back home on my return journey. It was a fabulous early dinner at Khorikaa restaurant and since Guwahati train station was very close from there, we ended up reaching the station early.

That left me with some time to pick up a souvenir from Manipur at the small shop at Platform No.1 just after you enter the Guwahati Railway Station. I got a small muffler; on my third visit to this shop and realising the authenticity of the woven woollen products since it was owned by a Manipuri local.

Himanshu from Discover Northeast waved us goodbye at the station and we met some co-travellers as well. Manash had already informed me the number of the sumo driver who would drive us to Ziro Valley from Naharlagun Railway Station. Although ZFM was starting from 26 September, we had opted to reach one day early to arrive before the crowds and rest a little.

There are limited sumos in this region and the influx of festival goers to Ziro means that the demand for seats becomes more than the supply for these few days. Coupled with the horrendous roads it results in the cab guys quoting whatever price that comes to their mind!

It is best to book the comprehensive package provided by Camp Zingaros wherein they take care of the entire transportation after arriving in Guwahati, including the Pass for Ziro Festival of Music. The usual per seat price from Naharlagun to Ziro is INR 500. I also noticed a solitary bus on this route Itanagar – Naharlagun – Ziro, the bus leaves after the train arrives and the ticket charge for the bus is only INR 150 to 200. I enquired that the bus from Ziro leaves early in the morning and reaches Naharlagun by around 1-2 Pm.

It was daylight by the time we reached Naharlagun. It was foggy and misty since Naharlagun is surrounded by lush green hills. We were six travellers in the sumo and the rate had been agreed by Manash – INR 4500 for the entire sumo; since the 6th guy who had joined us was from a different campsite the taxi guy took some extra money from him to make it over 5000 for the sumo from Naharlagun train station to Discover Northeast’s campsite deep inside Ziro Valley.

I’m sharing this information since there were reports that sumo’s were charging approx INR 7500 next day when the mismatch between supply and demand was at its most skewed.

The road to Ziro (as expected) is in a terrible condition (as always); but I must add that it is better than I remember during my earlier visits. We stop numerous times according to the whims and fancies of our sumo guy! Thanks to Discover Northeast’s efficient work style, our ILP (Inner-Line Permits) are in place and checked at the Check Post near Potin. We have our breakfast at a ramshackle dhaba with a stunning view.

I spot some juicy pineapples at a nearby stall and rush to get some for us. A child is in charge of the pineapple stall and refuses to cut it. I beg a lady from the next shop and she takes pity and asks the kid to cut 2 pineapples in small pieces for us! Sweet Joy! Hollowed out bamboo roots are kept for selling as well, and almost every vehicle that passes by buys the bamboo shoots kept in the bottles. The pineapples are heavenly and I am left wondering about an entirely different world that I am in. India’s North east surely feels like an adventure and Arunachal Pradesh is at the forefront of it.

The road winds and winds and as Yazali approaches I am apprehensive that Ziro Valley is like a mirage that is much farther away than the 95 kilometres that the signboards indicate. When the valley finally opens up, I can’t help but feel that I am in dreamland in the midst of misty rolling hills. The swaying paddy fields have turned golden and I finally begin to appreciate the wonder of Ziro Valley, on my third visit! We keep bouncing on the road for what feels like an eternity and the sumo finally rolls into Ziro Valley at around 1 pm in the afternoon.

Camp Zingaros

Hapoli is the modern town in Ziro Valley and we cross it to make our way across the verdant golden valley. The road in Ziro runs right through the middle of the valley and is flanked on both sides by swaying paddy fields. During the Ziro Festival of Music, traffic is made one way in many sections so that there are no traffic jams and proceedings are smooth for the festival. Since we had arrived one day before ZFM’s official dates, there was no such one way issue and we smoothly made it to Camp Zingaros’s vantage location of its campsite.

While most of the other campsites were located close to each other, Camp Zingaros campsite was in a different location and overlooked the golden paddy fields and green misty hills in the distance. The most important part was that the campsite was dry and we didn’t have to buy gum boots to navigate. Ziro Valley had received its fair share of rainfall over the past few days and weeks and mud and slush was the norm in other campsites (other ZFM attendees were privy to this information).

Camp Zingaros campsite was at a 10 minutes walking distance from the festival grounds of ZFM. That ensured that we could have our calm whenever we wanted! Camp Zingaros campsite had ample open space, there were numerous sit-outs made in the form of bamboo benches. There were 2 sets of areas where around 30 odd people could enjoy the live guitar performances along with bonfire. We could see the clouds floating past and the distant sound of music during the day added a lot of character to the proceedings.

The campsite was huge and there was an onsite restaurant/café as well where one could order snacks, meals and other refreshments like tea and coffee. The land of the campsite had been leased from a local and their home was on the premises too where an annexe was converted into the café space.

Charging points were in a separate enclosure and the reliable electricity supply in Ziro meant that phone charging was never a problem, even though there were around 180-200 people at Camp Zingaros campsite for Ziro Festival of Music. Filter water was available in a bamboo filler, although some pipeline issue meant that most people had to forcibly buy water bottles due to no other option.

It was a joyous atmosphere at Camp Zingaros. The tents were spacious and were in close proximity to each other. The fencing of the boundary was done with wooden sticks and that doubled up as a space for drying clothes and towels! Thankfully, the rain didn’t create havoc during the festival and only on one of the days did it actually pour down.

Washrooms for men were portable bamboo ones while the women had theirs done in concrete. It was anyway too cold to have a bath but some adventurous ones braved the queues and emerged victorious!

The defining and most memorable memory of Camp Zingaros is the guitar sessions in the night over free flowing apong (rice beer-wine). Roktim from Guwahati was the in-house guitarist for Camp Zingaros and everyone sang and huddled close to the bonfire for warmth. New friendships were forged as the crowds swayed to the mellifluous voice of different singers. The chorus continued well into the night everyday and I even heard the singing at 4-430 one morning which indicated that the revellers hadn’t let the bonfire go off all night!

Ziro Festival of Music

The festival grounds of ZFM were a short 10 minute walk away from Camp Zingaros. On the way, we passed some food stalls selling snacks and local apong (rice beer-wine). Entry to Ziro Festival of Music (ZFM) had the requirement of either a day pass or a composite festival pass that granted entry for all days. The per day pass cost INR 2000 while the Composite ZFM pass for all days cost approx. 5000-6000.

There were huge queues on the first day of entry since the passes had to be collected; thanks to Manash’s excellent organisation our passes had been brought in advance and we didn’t even have to stand in a long queue.

The entry tag for ZFM was RFID enabled and entry was smooth after extensive checking. Carrying plastic bottles was totally banned, which was a great step. For those who had a Composite Festival pass for all days, they didn’t have to stand in the ticket queue everyday while the day pass holders were required to stand in the ticket queue everyday which made the Composite 4 day pass a great buy. Filter water dispensers had been installed in numerous places in the ZFM festival grounds and that ensured plastic waste was not created unnecessarily.

The main act – Music at ZFM was magical and I was insanely happy with the knowledge that the crowds were well behaved and I was actually witnessing a European style open air music festival right here in India in the northeast. The festival goers swayed and danced in the open grounds and everybody made friends with everybody.

Day Stage & Night Stage (Danyii – Piilo) 

ZFM typically began at around 2 pm in the afternoon where the performances would be held at the day stage. It overlooked the paddy fields and was a gorgeous location to soak in the sunshine and enjoy the picnic sort of atmosphere created by the local crowds. The night stage performances would begin by around 6 pm after a break of an hour or so from the time the day stage performances ended. The sun sets early in the northeast and we could witness stunning evening colours everyday at around 430 to 5 pm.

Stalls at Ziro Festival of Music

There are food stalls set up by tribes from across the state of Arunachal Pradesh and also other states and cuisines at ZFM. These food stalls offer a variety of local liquor in the form of Apong, Kala Apong, Marwa and different types of home-made wines like peach, pear, kiwi, pineapple etc. Prices vary between 100-300 per bamboo glass and 300-500 for a half litre bottle. Meat lovers were in for a treat with every stall having their own speciality. Homesick North Indians were not to be left behind as a Chole Bhature stall was doing rousing business having identified this opportunity!

We had got really lucky with the local alcohol during Ziro Festival of Music. In my customary style, I had asked for a ride to Ziro when a lady was heading to Hapoli and over conversations in the car, she took us to her sister’s home near Hapoli. Her sister was a master brewer and we had all the varieties of apong and wine laid out in front of us! We went berserk and brought around 20 bottles for 200 Rupees per litre! It was to stand us in good stead since the same alcohol was priced at over 500 per litre in the festival stalls. Thanks to the lady in Ziro who came like an angel!

There are also unique stalls near the Day Stage Area where a model tourism village showcased its agri-products like pineapples and other fruits. Another stall sold t-shirts with local designs, while another one sold baked goodies made from grains like millet and barley. AP Tourism also had a small stall where they had signboards of other festivals. Official Ziro Festival of Music merchandise was available for sale at one of the stalls.

A central area had one huge bar where one could buy bottled beer (and maybe other bottled alcohol too). There was European (Lithuanian or Liechtenstein) wheat beer Ponaa being sold for very cheap prices thanks to almost negligible taxes on alcohol in Arunachal Pradesh. City folks were super excited by the prospect of cheap beer and had their bellies full. In the wine shops in Ziro, one could try even Korean beer! Surprise surprise it was super tasty too.

The stalls space had 8-10 huge tables constructed under a canopy and everything was made of bamboo. It had a nice eco-friendly feel about it since everything was so connected to the earth. ZFM could prove to be a great example for other festivals for lessons in sustainability and using local materials while keeping the setting authentic.

Eco-friendly bio toilets were setup in two separate areas and the volunteers were efficient in handling the festival goers. There were separate loos for men and women and manageable queues. Only on the Lucky Ali day did the crowds actually become humongous and the toilets had such huge queues that we had to actually go back to Camp Zingaros campsite to relieve ourselves!

When I had made up my mind for attending the festival, I was a little apprehensive thinking if I might get bored at ZFM for the entire 4 days. Funnily enough, I have no idea how the 4 days of Ziro Festival of Music went by in a jiffy. Maybe it was the pear and pineapple wine, which started our day in the absence of filtered water; or it was the musical and fragrant air of Ziro Valley.

Whatever it was, during ZFM 2019 I had finally fallen in love with Ziro. 

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About Dambuk : Dambuk is a small village in Arunachal Pradesh nestled in Lower Dibang Valley district and hosts what must be the most far-flung music festival in entire India.

Fast forward to 2018 – I had only 3 days to spare in mid-December between assignments and my tickets had been booked to Dibrugarh. Only a few weeks ago, I was scheduled to attend a local village festival and was utterly disappointed at not being able to make it for the flight for Dibrugarh. Nevertheless, this time Arunachal Pradesh’s little utopia called Dambuk had sounded too appealing for me to change my plans at the last moment.

Drive from Dibrugarh Airport to Dambuk

There is only one direct flight everyday from Delhi to Dibrugarh (In Assam) and since it was delayed, it meant we reached Dibrugarh at 3 in the afternoon. We were all famished and decided to eat whatever was available at the only restaurant outside Dibrugarh airport. After a hearty round of snacks, we sat in the vehicles that had come to pick us up.

The road in Assam is flanked by Tea estates on both sides, and with the fading sunlight we are treated to a delightful sunset across the green tea gardens. Days in the northeast end quickly and it was pitch dark by 4:40 pm. The train track to Tinsukia ran parallel to the road, life continued as usual at a slow pace in Assam – Arunachal Pradesh. The distance from Dibrugarh Airport to Dambuk was 180 kms and we were supposed to take 4-5 hours to cover it. When the driver stopped to eat something, I quickly rushed to instruct the dhaba guy in making ‘lal cha’ (black tea is referred to as red tea in Assam) just the way I wanted.

We were informed about the Dhola-Sadiya Bridge when we were close to Dhola village. The bridge is India’s longest at 9.2 kms and is built across Lohit river which is a tributary of the Brahmaputra river. The Dhola-Sadiya bridge is also called Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Setu and it connects Dhola Village with Sadiya Town. The Arunachal Pradesh Border is not far from the bridge and we finally enter Arunachal Pradesh.

I was shocked to know that until 2015, the remote town of Dambuk did not even have electricity, and mobile connectivity was a far cry! Instead, like a grand success story, infrastructure had improved and now Dambuk hosts Orange Festival of Adventure and Music to delight thousands of adventure and music lovers.

Slideshow of the dining area and life in Bomjir, near Dambuk

We reached a place called Bomjir at around 8 in the night which was approx. 16 kms before Dambuk and were informed that our stay had been arranged here. Bamboo cottages on stilts were scattered on a wide plain and a river was flowing nearby. The cottages were basic and rustic but served the purpose. It was pretty chilly since it was the middle of December and we were in the countryside in the mountain state of Arunachal Pradesh. Three single beds had been laid out in the bamboo cottage and the bathrooms were nearby.

The dining area was close-by too; it was shaped like a traditional two storey structure with the upper floor serving as a drinking den. Apart from the cottages, Bomjir was also home to the Artists’ Village. Tents had been laid out in a separate area for the performing artists and other participants. It was a pleasant surprise to have sticky rice served in leaves. Food was tasty and after a hearty meal we slept in peace. The beds and linen were clean and the blankets somehow did their job of keeping the December cold at bay.

We woke up the next morning and spotted a basket of oranges near the dining area and were opportunistic enough to take full toll of the oranges at Dambuk! After all we were at the Orange Festival of Adventure & Music (OFAM) and it was a must to taste the juicy oranges. We had breakfast early in the morning but due to some miscommunication we were still in Bomjir rather than being at the festival venue at Dambuk. Thats why I was a little perturbed to know we weren’t staying at the site of Orange Festival of Adventure & Music in Dambuk.

Welcoming the dignitaries at OFAM, Dambuk

We finally reached the festival site in the afternoon and what a spectacular setting it was! The road from Bomjir to Dambuk was in tip-top condition and it hardly took us 20 minutes to reach the festival grounds. The venue for OFAM was surrounded by greenery and the proceedings looked well organised. Parking of vehicles was in a separate area and attendees were supposed to walk to the festival venue. This ensured there was no traffic jam at the festival grounds.

The formal inauguration of OFAM festival had began and Arunachal Pradesh’s Chief Minister Pema Khandu gave a small speech. A breathtaking war dance of the Galo tribe was performed by the locals in the traditional attire. With the setting sun, it was indeed a sight to behold. It was the turn of Festival Director Abu Tayeng to make a speech.

Excerpts from the wonderful and practical information that Abu Tayeng gave :

‘Dambuk is famed for its oranges. Hundreds of acres of orange orchards on the mountain slopes of Dambuk transform the scenery of the region during the harvesting season. This inspired the idea of a festival with an orange theme for music and adventure lovers.’ Abu Tayeng also said that the idea behind the Orange Festival of Adventure & Music is to bring people from around the world to explore the Arunachal Pradesh’s wild natural beauty and experience the local way of life.

And with that, the festival was thrown open. The 4×4 vehicles vroomed and set out for one leg of their race. On the other side of the music stage, around 20 odd food stalls were set up serving different cuisines from Arunachal Pradesh and other parts of the North-east. I’d especially liked the bar – it was a painted ASTC bus (Arunachal State Transport Corporation) and served as a bar! In the middle of the ground at OFAM was a stall put up by the horticulture department for showcasing the oranges and also putting them up for sale.

When we entered inside, a farmer made us taste the sweetest oranges from his orchards and informed us that Dambuk had exported oranges worth more than Rs 50 lakh that year. The performances had also started and the crowd was in high spirits. It was inspiring to know that Dambuk had come a long way from 2015 when the OFAM had its first edition. Apparently that year there was no proper road to Dambuk and one had to cross a river to reach Dambuk. There are serendipitous experiences narrated by the participants of OFAM from that time when even reaching Dambuk was a crazy adventure!!

I had decided to go for the Orange Festival of Adventure & Music in Dambuk chiefly for the reason that Bipul Chettri would be performing! I am a big fan of his soul-stirring Nepali music and when the music line up indicated Bipul Chettri and The Travelling Band’s performance was scheduled for the end, I started ambling around the stalls and tasting the local alcohol!

Experiences at Orange Festival of Adventure & Music, Dambuk

Staying in the Huts at Bomjir 

As mentioned earlier, our accommodation huts were at Bomjir, around a half-hour drive away from the festival venue. The view outside the bamboo hut was beautiful, full of stark and natural colours. There was a river flowing by flanked by the mountains in the far distance. Its easy to say this in hindsight that it may have been best to stay closer to the festival venue to document the many activities at OFAM Dambuk, but I think the accommodation and food at Bomjir served the larger purpose.

Buying Tribal Accessories 

Outside the festival venue at OFAM Dambuk, there are tiny stalls set up by women selling oranges, accessories, trinkets etc.

Adventure Activities

Among the many adventure activities at Orange Festival of Adventure & Music in Dambuk – there are off-road racing events like JK Tyre Orange 4X4 Fury, ATV Rides, dirt biking, white water river rafting, zip lining etc. The adventure activities at OFAM Dambuk are organized by National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (NIMAS).

It could be called a small glitch in organisation but next day when we were supposed to go for the adventure activities and rafting, nobody seemed to know the exact location. What ensued was a wild goose chase across magical scenery, unknown hamlets near a town by the name of Bizari. It was a little disappointing to have spent around 3 hours without actually reaching the rafting place, but the jolly nature of the group made it a nice experience! After all, whats the fun at an adventure festival without getting lost!

Experimenting with the Local Liquor 

The different food stalls have local alcohol ranging from rice beer to kiwi wine, red rice wine, potent kala apong, homemade rice wine. My love for local alcohol is no secret and I had a great time making my acquaintances taste this magic potion! It also helped in breaking the ice and pepping up the audience in the right mood!

Food Stalls at the Festival Grounds 

A must experience at OFAM Dambuk is trying the various cuisines from different tribes of Arunachal Pradesh and the Northeast. Chatting with the jolly locals and trying their flavourful dishes is a great idea. Freshly squeezed orange juice is also available, for Rs. 100 per glass and 200 per bottle. One could also buy oranges at the horticulture hut in the festival grounds.

How to Reach Dambuk?

By Air : Dibrugarh is the closest airport and driving to Dambuk takes 4-5 hours from Dibrugarh airport.

By Train : Dibrugarh is the closest major train station to Dambuk.

Where to stay in Dambuk?

There are many camp sites set up and run by locals in close vicinity of the festival grounds. The location is spectacular as most of them are set amidst orange orchards. I enquired at two-three campsites and the prices are reasonable at 800-1000 Rupees per person. There are bonfires at every campsite and a festive atmosphere prevails since music is played at every camp’s dining space that lends it a warm and inviting feel.

Typing this as I listen to Bipul Chettri Songs! 

Weather in Dambuk during Orange Festival of Adventure & Music (OFAM)

The dates for OFAM are usually in the middle of December and Dambuk can get quite chilly in the nights or when the clouds roll in. The temperature in Dambuk ranges from 9 degrees to 24 degrees Celsius during OFAM.

Even though I could only experience the OFAM Dambuk in 2018 for 3 days due to paucity of time, I do hope that this blog post serves as a basic guide for Dambuk, Arunachal Pradesh. I also wish that the organisers put more focus on responsible tourism and take care of simple yet important things at the festival so that it is better organised.

Note : I was invited for the Orange Festival of Adventure & Music at Dambuk but the views, opinions and photographs are always mine. 

Check Other relevant posts :

Photo Stories from Hornbill Festival, Nagaland

Pang Lhabsol Festival in Gangtok, Sikkim

Celebrating a Traditional Festival in a village in Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh

A Winter in Ladakh : Masked dances at Spituk Monastery

Diwali Celebrations in Jaipur, in Pictures

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Photographs of Locals of Nagaland during Hornbill Festival

With increasing modernisation in India’s Northeast, it may be possible that the only way for tourists to witness the tribes and have a peek at their culture is to attend their cultural festivals such as Hornbill. And even that looks like a deteriorating possibility to experience true culture as it existed. 

Other Photo Stories with a focus on Locals :

Portraits from Manipur

Photo Story : Snapshots from Tawang Festival

Celebrating a Traditional Festival in a village in Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh

Brokpas of Ladakh – Culture & Portraits

Portraits that speak, from Turtuk

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Photo Stories from Hornbill Festival, Nagaland

The World War II Museum at Hornbill is a must visit for the knowledge of important history concerning everyone.

I didn’t spend much time at Hornbill Festival Venue because seeing the tribes performing curated events is not my choice of experiences. Instead, I was happier trying out the different rice beers at different morungs, millet beer and buying more and more bottles of my cherished rice wine.

I clicked a few portraits at Hornbill Festival. Guess that calls for a separate post.

Check these posts as well :

Life on Loktak Lake, Manipur : A Photo Story

Cherry Blossoms in Nagaland, India

Trekking the Offbeat Trail from Nohkalikai Falls to Nongriat, in Meghalaya

Chasing Tranquility in Majuli island

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When we had entered the Royal Palace Compound (Also called Royal Chapel Monastery), a festive air prevailed in the surroundings. Men, women, children and the royalty had all converged on the Tsuklakhang where the masked warrior dances of Pang Lhabsol festival were to be performed. It was a hot and balmy day in Gangtok, after all the rain on the previous days and I wondered how the dancers were managing with the sweat!

Also read : A Winter in Ladakh : Masked dances at Spituk Monastery

Two days ago, at the homestay in Gangtok, our host had informed us that he is one of the dancers at Pang Lhabsol and excused himself by making us meet an alternate host for the time being. Someone amongst us spotted him while he was engrossed in the dance. There were around 15 men dancing in a huge circle in traditional costumes and had practised the slow movements of the dance for the past 2 months.

Young lamas watched from the windows from the second storey of the Tsuklakhang; a gaggle of photographers went clickety-clack, well dressed locals sat in the shaded portion and enjoyed the dances; children cried and laughed, the jesters were doing their duty well. The dignitaries and eminent personalities sat in a separate enclosure; people watched from the rooftop of the monks’s residences – umbrella in hand to save from the uncharacteristic sweltering heat.

And when the fifteen-odd men were done with their dance; the theatrics began. The funny looking jesters with their even more funnier masks were doing what they did best; joking around and making the crowd laugh. When the fierce masked dance began, it was almost an anticlimax : We had oscillated too quickly from funny to serious! The masked dance was a sight to behold though; slow, measured movements with precise foot placement while the dance was being performed.

Check : First impressions of Sikkim

In a dramatic entry, Mahakala – the protector of dharma enters the Palace grounds and instructs Kanchendzonga to ensure that Sikkim remains prosperous and peaceful! The crowd makes a queue to present the deity with khata (white cloth offering) and the photographers go clickety-clack again!

Tsuklakhang or Royal Chapel Monastery in Gangtok, Sikkim :

Within the Royal Palace’s compound is the Tsuklakhang or the Royal Chapel where the Chogyals (Kings of Sikkim) were coronated; signifying it as a seat of power. Royal wedding ceremonies were also performed here.

About Pang Lhabsol Festival : 

Pang Lhabsol is a three day festival of Sikkim that was popularised by the 3rd Chogyal, Chagdor Namgyal (Chakdor Namgyal). It is an important annual festival that celebrates Mt. Kanchendzonga (Kanchenjunga) and is indigenous to the state. Pang Lhabsol is dedicated to Mt. Kanchendzonga, the presiding guardian deity of Sikkim. The festival pays homage to all of SIkkim’s Guardian Deities like Dzonga, Gonpo and Dragpo Deshi.

Pang means witness and the festival also commemorates the Treaty of Brotherhood between the Lepchas and the Bhutias which was witnessed by the local deities in the 13th Century.

Pang Lhabsol is celebrated with the masked warrior dance and Mt. Kanchendzonga is represented by the red mask ringed by five human skulls.

Historical Background to Pang Lhabsol Festival : 

Guru Rinpoche established Buddhism in Tibet in the 8th Century AD and then travelled South to Sikkim and declared it as a blessed land and the most sacred of his seven hidden lands (bey-ney). He professed the discovery of Sikkim by the Tibetan Yogi and the establishment of Buddhism in Sikkim by Naljor Chezhi. The prophecy indeed came true.

Naljor Chezhi literally translates to ‘the four great accomplished brothers’. They had entered Sikkim from four cardinal directions and met at Yuksom in West Sikkim. Their names were Lhatsun Namkha Jigme, Ngadag Sempa Phungtsog Rinzing, Karthog Kuntu Zangpo and Phuntsog Namgyal.

Among these, Phuntsog Namgyal had been conferred the title of Chogyal (King) after an auspicious ceremony at Norbugang, near Yuksom. The four stones throne on which the Naljor Chezhi sat still exists at Norbugang as a testimony to the historical event.

When Guru Rinpoche blessed Sikkim, he also subdued the land-spirits of Sikkim and bound them under oath as sworn Guardian deities of the dharma and to preserve Sikkim’s hidden treasures. In their duties as guardians of Sikkim and its people, Guru Rinpoche instructed them to grace the land with bountiful harvests, with abundant rainfall but also protect it from natural calamities and wars. In return, it was agreed that these guardian deities would be prayed on an annual basis by the people of Sikkim.

The Pang Lhabsol ceremony follows a ritual text called Neysol; the origin of which lies in the very foundations of Sikkim. This text is recited by the monks in the monastery before the Cham and is believed to win the favour of all Guardian deities. The warrior dance is also called Pangtoed Cham; the ceremonies are performed in order as a mark of devotion and loyalty to the lineage of the Chogyals and Mt. Kanchendzonga.

In the Pangtoed Cham, the masked dancers representing the guardian deities of Dzonga and Yeshe Gonpo emerge from the Tsuklakhang amidst rituals. Prayers are made to the deities and once Dzonga has defeated all the evil forces, the dancers representing the two deities return to the Tsuklakhang. The Pangtoed Cham became a part of Pang Lhabsol by the 3rd Chogyal of Sikkim after a dream.

The final stage of Pang Lhabsol by which the festival culminates is a procession of Pangtoed dancers circumambulates the Tsuklakhang monastery three times while singing traditional songs of victory.

Translation of the prayers during Pang Lhabsol, in English :

Protector of Dharma and the Guardian of the East, Kirtima;

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