(Sept 2016) Thanamir :The legends of the apple tree and the doorways to Mt Saramati

     

            On the frontiers of Indo Myanmar border, clutching its claws on the mighty mountain ranges of Nagaland there lies the unique creation of mother nature, the Thanamir village. The lush green village is located in Kiphire district at the base of the highest mountain of Nagaland i.e. Mt. Saramati and serves as last stop for trekkers attempting to Summit Mt Saramati. We arrived there after hours of travel from Pungro  town through serpentine muddy roads enjoying the light brown scenes of the corn cultivations all along the length of the road. As we arrived in the village we were welcomed by the ingenuous villagers and allowed us to stay in the village guest house . The village guest house was one storeyed traditional house shaped out of wood and it looked majestic from inside as well as outside. We were stationed at first storey and through the small wooden windows we can see the small towns of Kiphire district playing hide and seek beneath the clouds and the mighty ranges near Saramati on the side.

Thanamir village is famous for its apple cultivation and also known as the Apple village. In order to promote apple cultivation and tourism the village hosts the Apple festival every year. We were given a tour of the village by the local guide and villagers and we tasted apples and collected fresh vegetables for our meal .We roamed the entire village and people were so kind and innocent that sometimes it become hard to believe that such a rich cultural heritage exist so far into the borders.At times our companions tried to clicked the photos of the lovely children playing around and to our utter surprise,they ran away hither and dither and thus we had fun chasing and playing with these innocent little creatures who did not have much exposure to cameras and modern equipments.

This part of the world is inhabited by the Yimchunger and Konyak tribe. Thanamir village is a colony of thatched houses with a centrally located community field , vegetable gardens at the backyards of each house ,mithuns grazing the field.The villagers still embraced in their hearts century old traditions and customs guarding them against erosion from the influence of modern human civilizations.The ancient colony has numerous houses whose wooden walls are lined with hundreds of skulls of wild animals hunted down since ages.From skulls wild mithun to musk dear to squirrels and many of them which I had no idea the wall stood as a museum of proud hunting traditions.The elders of the village roam around wearing hats with pointing hornbill beaks and feathers.There is a morung located downhill in the village  which housed a traditional Naga log drum.The log drums are integrals elements of Naga village culture .All announcement of village meetings, news of any inhabitants death or warnings of any external danger are given through the medium of log Drums and accordingly the residents respond.The drum is curved out of a single mammoth log and its inside is made hollow.There are several dumbbell shaped wooden pieces and villagers beat on the faces of the log with definite repetitive patterns and the combine sound resonates through the village.Out of inquisitiveness we started beating its face with rhythm and it was real fun.

Since Thanamir is known as apple village ,the story of its cultivation is worth mentioning.During the first half of 1980’s Assam rifle stationed a check post in the village.One of the village resident Youngphukhiung befriended a Nepali Jawan named Naik and gifted him wild boar meat .Naik then handed him four Kashmiri apples .Yim planted three seeds in his backyard and soon a sapling grew and in 1984 the tree bore the first apple .This tree is still there in the village and is known as “Mother apple Tree”.We went near that blessed tree which was fenced .It was old and weak but nevertheless still bore fruits

  Wildlife conservation has gained momentum here and the age old horned skulls of animals hunted by the forefathers of the village inhabitants are still show cased and serve as proud belonging of a hunting clan.

The insulated fine finished wooden structure of the village kept was warm.We spread our mattress over the floors of first storey and the sounds of foot steps over the wooden slabs constantly reminded us of our remoteness from the usual concrete confinements. Through the window the sparkling lights of the distant villages  over the towering mountains looked like tiny constellations in silent dark sky of kiphire.Far east there was the summit of Mt saramati guarded by extremely dense forests of rhododendrons and the next we shall be climbing over her body hoping that she shall accept us in her tranquil couch.

Thanamir is also the second LED village in Nagaland after its neighboring village Fakim .They are making use of natural light, paint interior white to reduce need for lighting, use energy efficient CFL, LED and solar charged lights instead of tungsten bulb, switch off lights when not in use and spreading this message to family, friends and relatives.

Though thanamir serves as base camp for Mt saramati and hosts apple festival there are more places of amzing wonder near the village which we promised to visit in near future.from the tales ,stories and informations gathered from the guides these are some of the places :

Fakim Wildlife Santuary  in the eastern hills close to the Myanmar rises to almost 3000 meters and receives heavy rainfall in June- July every year  housing various flora- fauna, avifauna and plants, many of which have a medicinal value.  

Tizu River with its beautiful soft white sand, flows into the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar snaking between Pungro and Meluri Sub-divisions is an ideal location for anglers.

Limestone Caves in Mimi, Salomi and Khongjiri;

Giant rock bee honey harvesting near Mimi and Khonjiri villages;  

 kholar festival at Pungro . 

The serpentine muddy road from pungro ,the light brown corn fields adjacent to the road ,the green mushroom like dense forest in the jungle and the mighty saramati mountain on the frontier shall be imprinted in our hearts as long as we stay exist.

(14 AUG 2017) SANGTI VALLEY- A SYMBOL OF PEACE AND SERENITY

              It was about 10.30 pm at night and suddenly a call came.My friend on the other side said that they have decided to go arunachal and wheather I would be able to go.Unable to resist the temptation of arunachal I accepted the proposal and took out my small car and headed for club where 3 of my friends were waiting. I had no spare tire and heading for arunachal at this time of intense landslide and thunder showers would be real stupid without it.So we went to anirban’s place and while he diverted his mother’s attention we stole the spare tire from his car and headed for our destination.Nitu drove the whole night and in morning when his eyes were at the threshold of shutting down I took to the steering wheel.At about 7,30am we reached balipara and had breakfast and waited for the studio and xerox shop to open.We procuered our passport photos and photocopied our documents and headed for Bhalukpong where we shall apply for our ILP for arunachal at 10.00.At about 10.30 am our permit was ready and with renewed vigor we headed uphill.

We drove ahead below the shades of forest trees on either side ,occasionally getting the glimpse of kameng river running down and Nameri wildlife sanctuary on both sides.From distant the mountains called us queued one behind the other.The local langurs criss crossed our paths ,jumping from one tree to another.Light drizzles made the weather  shady with clouds running in the wind forming various imaginary shapes.We crossed tipi and witnessed the force of water leaped from peaks of the mountains forming numerous waterfalls.Out of them the Lumum falls shaped out majestically splashing out its water jets at our face as we haulted to come closer to it.

Finally the road detoriated and eroded patches with heaps of landslide mud on either side slowed down our march.at some points the streams dissected the road violently and our car being a smal light weak medium shivered with fear of being washed downhill but bravely it passed with occasional hiccups.But the most problematic was the heaps of mud and the car would stop, cry out loud with the wheel spinning vigorously and we had to push with our might,our face and clothes splashed with dirt.finally at about 6.30 we reached Dirang.

We hopped into the hotel and the next morning a local boy took us to a nearby village .the whole dirang town was visible like a hamlet of tranquil inhabitants.The dirang monastery sood imposingly at the distant,pine trees towered the sky,clouds putting a veil over the peaks.The prayer flags spoke of the serene existence.The Dirang river passed the town with settlements on its bank.

We packed up and headed for our much awaited destination of sangti valley.Through the serpentine muddy paths we climbed altitude passing through the alpine forest with fruits gardens all around the slopes of the mountain.One striking feature of the vegetation was the large presence of cannabis trees all around reminding me of parvati valley.Finally we reached the regional Sheep breeding farm and enquired if we can stay there on which a person told us to wait and he will send Daju or elder brother in Nepali.

 Daju came to the farm and took us to an elevated Assam type cottage.The house was majestic with several rooms and kitchen and he told that it was ours for that day making us elated.The regional sheep breeding farm was a large area nestled on the inclined slope of the mountains.There were pigs rearing fields and ponds.The whole slopes of the mountains were doted by thousands of sheeps  grazing on fresh alpine grasses .The farm has a plot where there are rows of pear trees and all of them were loaded with fruits .with greed for freshly plucked pear,we started plucking ,shaking,jumping and in a matter of time their were plenty and we ate till our belly was full.On the other side of the road the cultivations of corn dominated the topography.

The sangti village has a total population of 630. There are about 155 houses in the Village. With an altitude of about 1500 m, the winters here are cold and dry. The landscape is that of a wide, open valley with paddy fields, some of which are marshy along the river on one side. The Morpa community which inhabits this area are mainly Buddhists and also followers of the ancient animist tradition. Rituals involving sacrifice are still prevalent amongst the animists. Agriculture is one of the occupations practiced by the villagers, in which most agriculturalists grow paddy and maize. Besides this, horticulture, rearing of hens, sheep, cows, goats, pigs and horses is also practiced.

We followed the sangti river upstream and at the location where the road passes over a spectacularly located steel bridge,we decided put our camps.On the banks of the sangti river on an open wide grassland we sat circling enjoying the silence of the valley.The clouds covered the peaks of the mountains,the river rushed down with thunder and on the distant horizon mountains guarded the valley taking in its arms numerous apple gardens.The pine trees towered to the sky and we immersed ourselves I the cold waters of the river trying to keep our bodies afloat. Soon we lost the count of time,totally emptied our minds from the usual existence.it was now a shanty valley or a valley of peace. After some time few men with hunting rifles approached us,bedazzled to see us lost in the beauty of the valley.One of them invited us to his house as a guest and we reciprocated by promising to visit him.

We wandered around the village overjoyed to see their peaceful existence.There were prayer wheels after regular intervals and we stopped at each of them and turned the wheels hoping to get the blessings of Buddha.Pomegranate trees stood firmly along the length of the road .The kiwi fruit gardens with small cottages in between made us wanting for them but there was still time for their harvesting.

This open valley has been an ideal habitat for the wintering black-necked crane, now an endangered species. These birds have been regularly visiting this valley since the early 1950s. It is an ideal breeding ground for these avian visitors and the marshy lowlands act as a good source of food supply for them. The black-necked cranes arrive towards the end of November or early December and leave the area by early February.

Back at the Breeding farm cottage daju dined our meal.He was extremely proficient in cooking.Late at night we went out searching for Letro,the man who invited us at the banks of santi earlier in the day.We soon found his homestay and people there rushed to call him.It was an one storied cottage .below in the kitchen a lady was preparing wine from freshly fermented corn,a specialty of this valley.Letro came and took us upstairs and we were amazed to see the arrangements .there were wooden sofas positioned in a rectangular way ,wooden railings that would have provided a view to a stream below if it was day time.He entertained us with his funny tales and future plans to make this valley a travelling hotspot.there were mithun meat,local corn wine,local chutneys and Letro’s humourous company.our bodies were flying with the influence fresh corn wines and we laughed loudly in each other’s funny tales. Letro told us that this was on of the place which hosted a famous travel series kalki’s great escape in which Kalki Koechlin and her father documented the amazing places of arunachal and the sangti episode was shot in this house.We were amazed by his humble nature.We bade him farewell and asked how can we pay him for his hospitality and delicious food and wine.He pointed us to a room in the home stay and told us jokingly that the father daughter duo after battles of wine drinking will lay in that room laughing and high on the local strong wines. I also suddenly realized that we are also very high probably on the clouds of sangti but I had no wish to come down.We  bade him farewell and asked him how we can pay him for his hospitality,on which replied “kitna doge?? Ek laakh??” and continued laughing loudly.

The next morning with heavy heart we said good by  to the valley of peace promising to return soon.