Friends,
The
East West Expedition should have started this morning at 4.30 am. Instead I
lazed in bed, waiting for the day to break. I had arranged with Rajesh to go
for the Republic Day parade. I had not attended one in many years. Breakfast in
CH was the usual omelet and toast with butter and jam. This time Sharma gave me
a ‘double’ omelet without having to ask for another. By 8.30 am Rajesh escorted
me to the ground where I was introduced to many government officials as the
guest of the SP. The District Commissioner and the SP went around the in an
open jeep for the inspection of the parade. The turnout of the contingents was
smart. The march past was quite impressive. The stand out performer was the
band. It was a superb display – later I was told that the band was selected for
the RD parade in Delhi, but had to forgo the opportunity for want of funds. The
formal parade and march past were followed by an amazing exhibition of rope
malkhamb by a group of young girls. The silken smoothness and intrepid
contortions were appreciated by all present. The tribal dances were the other
attractions. The stalls put up by various government departments saw good
crowds.
Rajesh had suggested a trip to the Tibetan settlement
later in the morning. Seju mentioned that he would also be free till the tea
party at 4 pm being hosted by the DC. As he had not been to the Tibetan
settlement he said that we could join us. The Tezu Tibetan
Settlement was established in 1964 to rehabilitated 1240 Tibetan refugees on
1500 acres of land. The settlement now consists of 5 villages or camps with
average of 45 families in each camp. Most of the Tibetan families have a small
piece of agricultural land to raise crops for their living. The lack of
irrigation facilities only permits the cultivation of rain fed crops, which is
not sufficient to sustain the families on farming alone. Besides agriculture
the settlers are engaged in trading, seasonal woolen business etc. There is a
weaving center in the settlement; intricate designs on carpets and wall
hangings are in demand. It being a holiday we could not see the artisans at
work, but did go through some of the works in progress. The settlement has basic
education facilities. The students fan out to other parts of the country for
better and higher education.
The Tibetan settlement has a Settlement Officer who is the
Representative of the Department of Home, Central Tibetan Administration (CTA),
Dharamsala. The SO is in-charge with overall control of running of affairs in
the settlement. The settlement has an elected Local Assembly and they represent
the settlers. The group leaders are chosen on the basis of their ability to stand
up for the interest of their settlement. They hold two sessions in a year and
have a tenure of five years. The SO invited us to his office for tea and
biscuits during when we got familiar with the activities in the settlement. We
did also visit two of the three monasteries in the settlement. One was getting
ready for formal inauguration.
As we were leaving the settlement we came across the bridge
that collapsed in the floods last year. We had to take a deviation to reach the
main road. Shortly thereafter we hit the highway to Roing – the road was newly
laid and in very picturesque setting with tall trees on both sides of the road.
There are two entrances to the ruins of Bhismaknagar – we took the one which
the Scorpio would negotiate. Not far from the deviation off the highway was a
building being used by the BRO detachment in charge of the road development.
The vehicle could go no further. Soon after we came to a high platform made of
burnt bricks. The board of the Archeological Survey of India identified it as a
heritage location. It was possibly the foundation of a house. Bhismaknagar was
the seat of the ancient rulers, built the fort and other buildings in the 12th
century. This area is considered to be one of the oldest archeological sites in
Arunachal Pradesh. The legends of the goddess Rukmini, Lord Krishna and King
Bhishma abound in the surroundings. It is said that some of the ruins of the
palace support the legend and story of King Bhishma, Lord Krishna and Rukmini.
It
was nearing 3 pm when we stopped on a straight stretch of the Tezu-Roing
highway for an impromptu lunch of bread, jam, savories and dried bananas.
Thereafter we drove straight to the CH and engaged in finalizing the plans for
the next day. Crucial to the plans was ensuring an early ferry crossing. Seju
spoke to the DC after the RD tea party and a crossing was confirmed at 5 am.
Rajesh had some business in Tinsukia over the next few days. So he agreed to
escort me across the Arunachal border – the non-existent roads and the ferry
could be better negotiated with him.
Meghna,
Seju’s wife and SP of Anjaw, had arrived Tezu. They invited me to dinner. It
was a pleasant evening during when I listened to anecdotes of their training
days. Seju, a keen photographer, has also an impressive collection of travel
albums done through Snapfish, the HP initiative. Dinner with Seju and Meghna consisted
of chicken biriyani with pickle; I tucked into many helpings of the biriyani
which was yummy. Seju has also developed a small farm in his compound. One of
the varieties of plantain found it way on to the table that night. He also had
‘pani’, which his mother had prepared. The combination of organic plantain and
unadulterated ‘pani’ gave a traditional feel to the evening repast. We spend a
few more minutes taking photographs. As I was planning to leave at 4.30 am Seju
promised to be at the CH at a quarter hour before then to attest the start of
the expedition. I am most grateful to him, Meghna, Rajesh, Sanjay and many
others I met in Tezu for having made my stay in Tezu and travel through
Arunachal Pradesh pleasant and enjoyable.
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