A Night with the Singphos

After visiting Kaziranga, we left for Enthong- the village of the Singpho tribe in Assam. The Singpho were the first to discover the process of tea cultivation in India. They taught the process to the British, who then grew the Indian tea trade exponentially without giving the Singpho community their due credit. This has left a degree of resentment amongst the community, which until today sustains itself on tea farming (each household within the community maintains a plot of land for this). Today, the Singpho community in India is on the verge of extinction, with only ~25,000 remaining inhabitants. Other major Singpho hubs exist in China and Myanmar.

Manjela and Alok outside the Eco Lodge

In Enthong, we stayed at The Eco Lodge, which is run by a Singpho family. It is situated amidst the tea gardens and is entirely made of bamboo (hence the name)[i]. The manager, Manjela, plans to install solar panels to power the entire lodge over the next year, and is only using conventional electricity until the lodge raises enough funding to switch to green technology. We learned that the lodge is partly funded by the DS Group, which plans to leverage its relationship with the Singphos in its future endeavors within the hospitality space.

Manjela playing the guitar

Our room in the Eco Lodge

Food was most certainly a highlight. We were served an elaborate, yet organic and eco-friendly, Singpho dinner that consisted of delicacies such as rice steamed in bamboo sticks, spicy tomato chutney, fresh eggplant, greens and potato preparations, and yam soup. The next morning, we awoke to the sounds of a howling gibbon (an endangered animal) and Manjela playing the violin.

Our traditional Singpho meal

Anti-dandruff shampoo for Rishi

The Eco Lodge is in the district of Margarita in Upper Assam. It has 11 rooms, and while we were the only guests at the time, it is frequently visited by foreign tourists who have heard about it through word-of-mouth. However, it maintains strict rules regarding respect towards the Singpho way of life, and manages to retain a tranquil and serene atmosphere. Establishments such as these should be encouraged as they promote a healthy tourist lifestyle and open doors to relatively unexplored parts of the country.

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[i] One of the reasons why eco lodges are prevalent in the northeast is because ~60% of India’s bamboo cultivation takes place here- resulting in cheap inputs.

After visiting Kaziranga, we left for Enthong- the village of the Singpho tribe in Assam. The Singpho were the first to discover the process of tea cultivation in India. They taught the process to the British, who then grew the Indian tea trade exponentially without giving the Singpho community their due credit. This has left a degree of resentment amongst the community, which until today sustains itself on tea farming (each household within the community maintains a plot of land for this). Today, the Singpho community in India is on the verge of extinction, with only ~25,000 remaining inhabitants. Other major Singpho hubs exist in China and Myanmar.

Koliabor and Kaziranga

An exploration of the northeast is incomplete without an excursion to a tea estate. After southern China, Assam was only the second location in the world to produce tea on a commercial basis, beginning in the 19^th century. In fact, southern China and Assam are the only two regions in the world with native tea plants. We decided to spend a night at Koliabor Manor, a “resort”, located off National Highway 37A The tea estate – Assam’s longest – belongs to the Williamson Magor Group and was set-up in 1925 near Silghat, Assam’s first declared town. It was a strategically sound decision as Silghat had a port which enabled easy transportation to Calcutta through the Brahmaputra, India’s widest river. Formerly, Koliabor Manor was the Bara Sahab’s (Manager’s) bungalow, which has now been converted into a spacious guesthouse to draw tourists. Positioned on a hilltop, it allows for marvelous views of the Brahmaputra on one side and the tea estate on the other.

Koliabor Manor

We arrived at Koliabor at 10pm and were greeted by the amiable owner/manager of the resort, Mr. Prasanta Borgohain and his efficient service team. The bungalow had a very colonial feel to it, elegantly decorated with minimalist, Victorian interiors (armchairs, chandeliers) and pictures hanging on the wall reminding us of its previous residents. Prior to dinner, members of an indigenous tree tribe who work on the plantation performed a dance for us. The lyrics of the song they danced to aptly capture some of their difficulties – alcoholism and violence (~50% pick up arms to join ULFA, or similar separatist groups). We were then treated to a delicious vegetarian Assamese dinner consisting of pulses, rice (a staple of Assam), aloo pitikka (mashed potatoes garnished with raw onions, mustard oil, green chillies) and aubergine fritters, among others Tomato and onion chutneys (pickles) served as condiments.

Assamese dinner at Koliabor

To fully appreciate the topography, we woke up at 4.30am for a walk in the estate. Sunrise in the northeast induces sublime scenery as the region is cloud infested and hillocked. The frontage is a slope of well-combed tea plants and to the left of the mansion are an upcoming chalet area (to be fully equipped with swimming pool, spa and cottages) and a view point overlooking the Brahmaputra. The complex still has a functional sundial and an extra-grassy tennis court. This setup to draw tourists is part of an effort to increase “tea tourism”, which, when combined with a visit to the nearby Kaziranga National Park make for an even more attractive package. Our stay at Koliabor was topped off by a 6.3 earthquake that affected a large part of the northeast region.

Kaziranga is generally closed to tourists during this time of the year owing to the monsoon, opening only on November 1. However, we managed to convince a park ranger to take us for a short safari. After boarding an open jeep at the Rhino Gate of the park, we proceeded to pick up an armed guard at the security check-post. Kaziranga is famous for having the highest population of rhinos in the world (~2000). In fact, it has 2/3^rds of the world’s one-horned rhinos. The park also has the highest number of tigers in a protected area. Naturally, we were excited to spot these endangered animals.

A few minutes into the safari, quarreling cows obliged us with their presence. Grazing wild elephants were next in line. Soon after, we jostled to stay onboard as the driver braked and pointed to deer right in front of our vehicle. Finally, we approached a vast clearing where rhinos were feeding or enjoying their afternoon naps. Although they were roughly 500 meters away, our guide provided binoculars that allowed us to see them very clearly. We were told that during peak-season, tourists can ride elephants into the park and get as close as a meter away from the rhinos. While we were on our way out, animated villagers told us that a tiger has been spotted half a kilometer away from where we were. As we approached the spot, bystanders confirmed that a tiger, albeit dead, was found earlier in the day. Upon inquiry, we learnt that the tiger had died a natural death, reducing the number of tigers in the reserve to 85. Two security guards had been deployed near the corpse till officials arrived to take the body for a post-mortem. Wild boars bid us farewell as we exited the park, quite satisfied with our off-season safari. We paid INR500 for the safari and during the peak season, the rates go up to INR1,200, still very reasonable by international standards.

Wild elephants grazing

Dead tiger in Kaziranga

Another interesting observation during our safari was the presence of a large number of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh (~5% of the population). They have occupied the land bordering and sometimes encroaching on the reserve, by cutting down forest cover in favor of cultivable land. Now constituting a sizeable vote bank for the local government and claiming ownership of the land not previously their own, they have taken advantage of our porous border and put a further strain on resources.

Kashmiri Kesar (Saffron)

The one thing that all our moms asked us to bring home from Kashmir was the local saffron. We were told that the best place to procure this would be on the road from Srinagar to Pehelgam. We spotted the shop, located on the farm itself, and learned that 1 gram of saffron was priced at INR300. Suspicious of being taken for a ride, we tried to bargain and walked away when the shop-owner refused to negotiate. Little did we know, that this was the fixed price for saffron in Kashmir and that we had missed our chance to pick up fresh kesar from the farm.

strands of Kashmiri saffron

Travel Tip: How to Test the Authenticity of Saffron

1)      Take a strand of saffron and place in a glass of lukewarm water

2)      Observe. Real saffron should give the water a yellow tinge

3)      Remove the strand and place on a piece of paper

4)      Rub the strand against the sheet. (If it dissolves, it’s real; if not, you are looking at nylon thread)

Dachigam National Park

During our visit to the Dachigam National Park in Srinagar, the park Ranger allowed us to access a private area of the park. We bypassed a beautiful house[1] constructed by the Maharaja of Kashmir as a hunting lodge, and then trekked a few kilometers searching for black bears and endangered musk deers (hanguls).

Rest stop in Dachigam

Along the way, we were entertained by a guide, who bragged about his unparalleled knowledge of botany and zoology. To his dismay and ours though, we were unable to spot any of the endangered animals he promised to show us. We ended up seeing a lot of bear feces, and kept ourselves busy by making mating calls to Kashmiri wobblers.

All in all, it was a refreshing 3-hour walk through nature- a great change of pace from the rest of our appointments.

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[1] The house is currently used by the Chief Minister of J&K as a holiday home

Srinagar — Leh

Under the sadness of leaving behind everything we had experienced in Srinagar, was our excitement to explore Leh. The ride began with an elaborate price negotiation process outside the tourist taxi center in Srinagar. While official taxi operators charged INR 9100 for the journey, we managed to strike a deal with a Leh taxi driver who was on his way back home. Interestingly, he is not allowed to solicit customers from Srinagar due to union politics, and was hence willing to give us a hefty discount (we paid INR 6500).

The non-air conditioned Toyota Innova picked us up at 8:30 am, and drove towards Leh after picking up the driver’s uncle and girlfriend. This company was certainly unexpected, and we regretted not having discussed these elements in our negotiation. After driving through Sonmarg, Drass and Kargil on a bumpy road (those with weak back, heart and respiratory conditions should not attempt this drive), we reached Leh at 10:00 pm. It was one of the most serene drives we’ve done.

Intangibly, Kashmiriyat is absorbed by the mountains and a different face of India in the form of Ladakhi lifestyle appears. This graceful transition is perhaps a chapter of Indian accommodation.

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Gems found along the way:

-Drive on road, drink on bed

-Pay attention to safety, so you can reach home for tea

-Drink and drive, you won’t survive

-If married, divorce speed

-Short cuts may short cut your life

-Better be Mr. Late than Late Mr.

-Live for your today, drive for your tomorrow

-Road is hilly, don’t drive silly

-A cat has nine lives, but not the one who drives

-If you sleep, your family will weep

-Don’t be Gama in the land of Lama

-On the bend, go slow friend

-Don’t race don’t rally, enjoy the valley

-This is a highway not a runway

-Speed is a knife that cuts life

-Love thy neighbor but not while driving

Reflections