Memory of a joyful visit to the village

My work often takes me to remote villages of Assam and interact with the underprivileged. Like many previous occasions, I took a trip last October to a few villages of Bodo dominated Kokrajhar district when the summer heat started subsiding, making the weather quite pleasant. 

The Brahma Mandir (temple). The mandir is the religious centre where villagers gather to pray and to discuss religious matters.

The Bodos are the numerically predominant ethnic and linguistic group of the Brahmaputra Valley. Apart from the country, they are also found living in different parts such as Nepal, North Bengal etc. Irrespective of their place of habitation, Bodos are maintaining their customs, tradition and language.

Breathtakingly beautiful view of Brahmaputra on way to my destination

 The Bodos lead a simple pastoral and bucolic life, the practice of which in modern times is called the slow food, i e, "growing locally" and "eating locally", which is now espoused by the  Slow Food International.

With the changing times, many of them are now scattered all over the globe doing extremely well in their respective fields and some are even holding high profile positions in different establishments.

 The drive from Guwahati on National Highway 37 across the mighty Brahmaputra at Goalpara District is alluring. My hobby of clicking pictures which normally hibernates through my hectic work schedules, wakes up on these trips. As a result, I end up reaching my destination hours behind expected time.

Bifurcating from Rakhaldubi (before reaching Bongaigaon), we turn to National Highway 31C. Our destination was Odlaguri1, Odlaguri2, Belangmari, Sahalagw and Gardenpur in Gossaigaon Sub-Division, off NH 31C. Later, the next day, we were scheduled to visit more villages namely, Dhauliguri, Komalsingh, Mwiswdanswm etc.

It is always interesting interacting with these simple village folks.

Their loving nature and innocence have always filled me with warmth. No wonder their simplicity has, at times, made them vulnerable to a lot of trouble and heartache.

We are working on a dozen different programmes in the field of woman and child rights and welfare under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Govt of India.

I was there on this particular occasion to conduct several workshops, awareness meetings and establish creches for the underprivileged children in the above mentioned villages.

After the day's work, I love to enjoy the beautiful surrounding and take in the fresh fragrant air. Ah, so very peaceful!

On such an occasion, I merrily accepted the invitation of Balen and Hatorkhee Narzary, when they offered to be my hosts for the day.  Balen's family consists of his wife Hatorkhee and their ten year old daughter Udangshree.

It is a small village of about 30 families. Roads are muddy during summer but quite alright for vehicular traffic at this time of the year.

Taking our cars over two rickety bridges was indeed scary (closing my eyes I prayed throughout).

Almost all villages of Assam look the same to me. October is a nice time to take trips as one can then avoid the two extreme climatic conditions of Assam, rains and the floods. Heat too subsides by now.

A healthy crop ripening on the fields

This trip gives an idea of the simple and contented life of a common villager. A tour of their homesteads speak volume about them being very hardworking.  They have everything they need to lead a happy and fulfilling life. 

Health and sprightly activities of the poultry could make anyone jump with joy. They were a huge lot in number. Even the owner seemed to have lost count of the birds in their coop. "I think more than 60" was all he could say. Hatorkhee later informed us that she collects around twenty eggs every day from her hens. 

Started counting the ducks myself, but got tired after thirty. They seemed to enjoy making me run around the pond counting, while they dived and swam merrily. Aren't they a big, beautiful and happy family?  

Hatorkhee is a wonderful cook. I looked in awe as she cooked with apt hands occasionally replying to my endless queries. Apart from shopping for cooking oil and few other things, they grow everything they need in their fields. 

Her nieces came over to help her with the cooking. Couldn't wait to devour all the yummy dishes they were preparing. 

Ah, the meal finally! The scrumptious thali consisted of Duck curry with ash gourd (Hangshw jwng kumra wngkhree), Chicken curry with potato (Daao jwng aloo wngkhree), Pumpkin (Jwgnat bathwn) and Black lentil (Sobai wngkhree). What an appetizing flavour ! Cooking on firewood definitely enhances the taste and gives out a wonderful aroma.  

Some villagers came over to meet us. The children gathered around me as I showed them games, cartoons and pictures on the screen of my laptop. Although initially shy, eventually they turned very friendly. Few even entertained us with songs and dances. It was fun interacting and distributing sweets. 

Udangshree's happiness knew no bounds when I handed her a frock and boxes of sweets. "She is going to a school in the nearby town and learning very well." Said Balen the proud father.

 It was overwhelming finding so much joy all around. The fruits, vegetables, greenery, freshness, lovely people, their warmth ... There is something about the countryside air. It fills you with a sense of exhilaration and sets your soul free. Ah, this is it, this is called a life, a happy and contented life. 

How time flew! Sadly it was time to leave now. As we were preparing to leave, Balen threw his net in the pond and caught some fishes for us to carry home. How sincere and caring a gesture on his part! Hatorkhee packed some vegetables including couple of those small pumpkins as I loved the sweet Jwgnat bathwn she had cooked. She had taken utmost care to pack some eggs. Handing me the packet she said with her usual coy smile, "Try them, I am sure they taste nicer than your city eggs." Would love to, can't thank you enough dear, for the love and warmth you have showered on us. 

This visit will ever remain fresh and a loving memory in my heart. Will cherish this memory all my life... 

A wonderful experience of joyful rural life (old)

The Bodos are the numerically predominant ethnic and linguistic group of the Brahmaputra Valley. They are also found living in different parts such as Nepal, North Bengal, Nagaland etc. Irrespective of their place of habitation, Bodos are maintaining their customs, tradition and language. 

The Bodos lead a simple pastoral and bucolic life, the practice of which in modern times is called the slow food, i e, "growing locally" and "eating locally", which is now espoused by the Slow Food International. 

With the changing times many of them are now scattered all over the globe doing extremely well in their fields and some holding high profile positions in different establishments. 

My work often takes me to remote villages of Assam and interact with the underprivileged. Like many previous occasions, I took a trip last October to a few villages of Bodo dominated Kokrajhar district when the summer heat started subsiding making the weather enjoyable. 

The drive from Guwahati on National Highway 37 across the Brahmaputra river at Goalpara district is beautiful. My hobby of clicking pictures which generally hibernates through my hectic work schedule, wakes up on these trips as a result I end up reaching my destination hours behind expected time. 

Bifurcating from Rakhaldubi (before reaching Bongaigaon), we take National Highway 31C. Our destination was Odlaguri1, Odlaguri2, Belangmari, Sahalagw and Gardenpur in Gossaigaon Sub-Division, off NH 31C. Later, the  next day of course we were scheduled to visit more villages namely, Dhauliguri, Komolsingh, Mwiswdanswm etc. 

It is always wonderful interacting with these simple village folks. 

Their loving nature and innocence have always filled me with warmth. No wonder their simplicity has at times made them vulnerable to a lot of trouble and heart ache. 

We are working on a dozen different programmes in the field of woman and child care, under the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Govt of India. On this occasion I was there to conduct several workshops on awareness and establish creches for the underprivileged children in all the above mentioned villages.  

After the meeting got over, I visited Hatorkhee and Khanen Narzary's home. It is a small village of around 30 families. Roads in the village during summer will be muddy, but now it is dry and could drive through.  

Taking our cars over two rickety bridges was quite scary (closing my eyes I prayed throughout). 
Almost all villages of Assam look the same. October is a nice time to visit I guess, as one can then avoid the two extremes in the State of Assam, the rains and the floods. The heat too is tolerable. 

This trip gives an idea of the simple and contented life of a common villager.  

A tour of their homestead speaks volume about their being very hard working. They have everything one needs to lead a happy and fulfilling life. Could see a healthy crop ripening on their fields. 

The health of poultry and the number can make anyone joyful. Even the owner seems to have lost count of the chicks in their coop, "More than 60" is all he could say. Minimum 10 eggs are laid everyday. 

Started counting the ducks myself, but got tired after 30 as they were mostly in the pond. They all look so healthy and happy. 

Hatorkhee is a great cook. Watching her cooking was a wonderful experience. She prepared a sumptuous meal of Duck with Ash gourd (Hangshw jwng kumra jwng), Chicken with potato (Daao jwng aloo jwng), Pumpkin (Jwgnat bathwn) and Black lentil (Sobai wngkhree). The flavour of the dishes was awesome as they were cooked on firewood. 

Their only child, a 10 year old daughter was so happy as I handed the boxes of sweets and a dress I had taken for her. "She is going to a school in the nearby town and learning well", said the proud father Khanen. 

Quite a few people gathered in their home to meet us, including children. It was fun talking and distributing loads of sweets and eatables among them.

It was overwhelming seeing so much joy in the form of fruits, vegetables, greenery, freshness... "Ah" I said, "This is it, this is called a happy and healthy life."

Khanen threw his net in the pond and caught some fishes for us to carry home as we were preparing to leave. It was a sincere and caring gesture on his part. Hatorkhee packed some vegetables, including couple of small round pumpkins as I loved the sweet 'jwgnat bathwn' she had served with meal. She took utmost care to pack some eggs saying, "Try them, they taste nice". I said, "Will sure do, cant thank you enough dear, for the love and warmth you have showered on us." This visit can never be forgotten. Will cherish the lovely time all my life...

Dahi Vada

 Makes around 30 to 35 Vadas

Ingredients :

1.  Urad Daal (Black lentil) 1 cup

2.  Mung Daal (Split green gram) 1/3 cup (optional)

3.  Curd 1 litre 

4.  Salt

5.  Sugar

6.  Refine oil, to fry the vadas

7.  Powdered Jeera (Cumin), Dhania (coriander), Black pepper, Chilly

Method :

Soak both lentils separately for around 3 hours.

Grind adding little water keeping lentil little coarse to get soft vadas. 

Mix well adding more water if necessary. Make sure the consistency is not watery. Keep aside for around half an hour. 

Add salt to a bowl of water and keep. Heat oil and deep fry the vadas in medium to low heat. 

When done drain them from oil and soak in the salted water of the bowl for 3 to 4 minutes. Fry the next batch of vadas. Squeeze the water out of the soaked vadas and arrange them on a platter.  

Add water, salt and sugar to curd and stir well. Pour the curd over vadas, let them soak in the curd for an hour.  

Ingredients for sweet-sour sauce :

1. Eemli (Tamarind) 

2. Goor (Jaggery)

3. Salt 

4. Refine oil

5. Curry leaves

6. Whole dry red chilly

7. Panchforan (fennel seeds+mustard seeds+fenugreek seeds+onion seeds+cumin seeds)

8. Powdered Jeera (Cumin), Dhania (coriander), Chilly

Method :
Soak Eemli in water, squeeze and strain the water. Scrape Jaggery, mix in water and strain through a fine muslin cloth. 

Now mix both eemli and jaggery water and cook on low flame. Keep stirring, add salt. Should not be too watery.

Heat oil, put panchforan, curry leaves, dry red whole chilly and let splutter for a minute. Pour in the eemli sauce. Add jeera+dhania+chilly powder. Stir well, check salt and spice. 

Serve Vadas sprinkled with powdered Jeera (Cumin), Dhania (coriander), Black pepper, Chilly. Pour a tsp full of the eemli sauce 

Carrot Cake

The main ingredient of this cake is Carrot. Fresh, sweet carrots bring out the best taste. 

Wash, scrape the skin and grate them. 

Ingredients :

1. 3 cups grated carrot

2. 2 cups flour

3. 2 cups sugar

4. 1 and 1/2 cup butter

5. 4 eggs (5 if eggs are small)

6. 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

7. 2 to 3 tsp powdered cinnamon 

8. 2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder

9. 1 cup chopped almond+walnut+cashew-nut

Method : 

Sift together flour and baking powder. 

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, beat well. Add vanilla.

Add flour to the mixture and blend well.

Put in the chopped nuts and mix well. 

Finally add carrot and cinnamon powder, blend thoroughly. 

Pour on a greased pan/baking tin and bake at 100 degree C for 20 minutes.

Since carrot contains water, this cake lasts around 3 days in winter and just 2 days during summer.