Purvanchal 2012

Guru charan kumar,IB Environmental Systems and Societies, teacher

The 21st of December 2012 marked the beginning of the ESS and Geography fieldwork in Assam and Meghalaya, 2 states from the ‘Seven Sisters’ of the North East of India. 20 students of 11th and 9th grade assembled outside the IGI Airport Terminal 3 Gate No. 2, to begin our incredible journey to PURVANCHAL, [the Hills of the East]. After a 2 and half hour plane journey we finally arrived in Gauwahati.

Later, we got into Tempo Travellers to go to Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, which is interestingly called the ‘Scotland of the East’.

It took us 4 hours to reach the NEHU [North Eastern Hill University] guest house just across the Barapani Reservoir. The interesting conversations, view of the queer hill houses adorned by Christmas lights and Bollywood music kept our spirits high.

The sun set by 4 o clock and soon it was time for our first cups of tea in Assam accompanied by hot samosas at a roadside ‘Dhaba’ in Nongpoh, a transit Khasi settlement, now dotted with eateries and Dhabas. At last we arrived at the NEHU Guesthouse where our rooms and Dinner were ready. Fish fingers, Paneer Matar and Naan were the highlights of the dinner.

We had a short ‘debriefing session’ at 9 30 p.m. about the next day’s schedule with the highlight being the “Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya” and Cherrapunjee. The newsflash team put together this for all of you. Everyone is tucked in with some spooky stories already in the air! We wake up at 5:30 am tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn to go for a walk in the NEHU campus. Good Night!

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Day 2 Purvanchal-Sacred Heart Cathedral,

Shillong-Oldest Church in Shillong

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On the 2nd day we left for Cherrapunjee at the height of 1224 meters above sea level, known to be the rainiest place on the planet.

After having travelled through picturesque landscapes adorned with varied geographical features we reached our first destination the ‘Nohka-likai’ waterfall, (meaning : Leap of Likai) which is known for the height from which the water descends and also for the legend behind it. After having captured the breath taking fall, Grade 11 Geography students interviewed a tribal woman, belonging to the Khasi tribe of Meghalaya, with two of her youngest of a total of eight children! She was selling fresh cinnamon previously collected from the forest.

Then we went to one of the most awaited destinations of this fieldwork, the ‘Living Root Bridge’.

The most amazing feature of this bridge is that ‘it hasn’t been constructed, but grown naturally’ by the villagers who depend on it for their day to day living. Concrete bridges and fly-overs’ take maximum 4 years to be built but this wonder of nature takes at least 20 years to become functional. The bridge has been nurtured over a period of 8 long decades by many generations.

Another fact that leaves one wondering is how, contrary to man-made bridges, this bridge becomes stronger over time. Filled with enthusiasm, the grade 11 ESS students conducted the fieldwork, meticulously testing different soil samples for varying temperatures, while the others had fun jumping from one end of the bridge to the other. For the records perhaps, we are the First school from the NCR to to have visited this natural wonder, the Live Root bridge.

In the evening, we went to the busy ‘police bazaar’ and the Sacred Heart Cathedral. Dinner was served at 8:30 pm followed by a quick sharing of ‘2 things which I came to know about the NE from the 2days of the trip. Most of the members thought the Ancient root Bridge was fascinating and so was the matriarchal system prevalent in Meghalaya!

Tomorrow is a long drive to Kaziranga…

Day 3 Purvanchal-Enroute to Kaziranga National Park

We initiated our day by embarking upon a seemingly long tempo journey, early in the morning. Although once we started, time flew and the breathtaking scenery enroute helped us tide over the time. 3 pit stops for Breakfast, Coconut water and Lunch were also much sought after.

The magnificent terrain of the North-East is greatly being hampered by the widespread coal mining and potential deforestation and logging activities which we saw all along the way.

Our first stop was for breakfast at a restaurant in Nongpoh, where we fully satiated our extreme hunger by gorging on Chhole-Bhature and Aloo Paranthas. Next up was a delectable traditional Assamese Lunch, where we tried something culturally unique and extraordinary.

Thereafter, we continued our voyage to our destination, halting midway at the Kaziranga Gajaraj Viewpoint of the National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Furthermore, we stopped a few kilometers ahead to gaze upon the first sight of the endangered Indian One Horned Rhino.

Eventually reaching the Iora Retreat in Kaziranga, we played around the premises for a while before proceeding for the evening tea and snacks. At a later stage we revitalized and rejuvenated ourselves by having a shower with chilling cold water. We further carried on watching the ethnic Jhumor dance of Assam with a group of the tribal’s who came to showcase their dance and talent.

We also got the ultimate opportunity to showcase our vocal chords by singing along Bollywood numbers with our companions through an emphatic karaoke system. We concluded our day with a mouth-watering dinner.

Our short debriefing session was about the following day which includes the safari of the park by both the elephant and a jeep. Following this, we will be going into the Karbi Village to administer our questionnaires and gather primary data about their lives.

Another day comes to an end in this incredible journey of the North East where we took the Gauwahati-Shillong Highway from Meghalaya to reach Assam, WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE!

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DAY 3 PURVANCHAL-IORA RETREAT IN KAZIRANGA

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DAY 3 PURVANCHAL-IORA TREAT-

One of the Newest Luxury Resorts of Kaziranga and provides 4 Star Amenitie

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DAY 3 PURVANCHAL-JHUMOR DANCE SPECIAL-

The dance gets its name from the cluster of bells worn round the ankles, which make a clanging noise

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Day 3-Purvanchal-Jhumur Dance- Jhumur

a traditional dance form, existing in eastern part of India

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PURVANCHAL -DAY 4-ELEPHANT SAFARI IN KNP

Our longing for the famed one horned Rhino ended with a close encounter with numerous Rhinos at the crack of dawn in the UNESCO Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park. For a glimpse of this endangered species nothing could have been better than an elephant safari .

The sun was up and the mood was set, what took our breath away was the appearance of this majestic one horned creature. The clatter of the clicking cameras was something which the Rhinos and the Elephants seemed to be aware of.

Sambaar deer, Egret and migratory birds also kept us completely engrossed. After this mind-blowing experience we went back to our hotel for a sumptuous breakfast which was served by men and women dressed in traditional Assamese costumes.

What followed next was the exhilarating jeep safari which gave us yet another chance to spot water buffaloes, rhinos and deer in their habitat.

In the afternoon, we went armed with notepads and video recorders in our hands and marched towards a Karbi tribal village called Chandra Singh Gaon, to explore more about Assam’s hidden cultural heritage. The posse of Geography and ESS students infiltrated into the houses and hearts of the tribals even as they questioned the villagers about their way of living, the disasters they faced and other environment related issues.

At the end of the evening, we were completely lost in the world of the Karbi tribals who were busy collecting Primary Data, even if it meant consuming endless cups of tea. We also realized that we were getting closer to X’Mas, as we saw the villagers decorating their local Baptist Church for a mass service that evening. It is worth mentioning that the Karbis actually lived a life without Electricity!

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DAY 4 Purvanchal-Meeting with Khasi tribals-The Khasi are an indigenous or tribal people, the majority of whom live in the State of Meghalaya

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Day 4 Purvanchal-Kaziranga Special-Kaziranga is located on the edge of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot, the park combines high species diversity and visibility

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Day 4 Purvanchal-Kaziranga Special-Kaziranga is a vast expanse of tall elephant grass, marshland, and dense tropical moist broadleaf forests

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Day 4 Purvanchal-Kaziranga Special-Kaziranga boasts the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006

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Day 4 Purvanchal-Kaziranga Special-Conducting Survey in the Khasi tribal Village

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Day 4 Purvanchal-Kaziranga Special-A World Heritage Site, the park hosts two-thirds of the world's Great One-horned Rhinoceroses

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DAY 4 PURVANCHAL-Kaziranga National Park Special-Kaziranga National Park is one of the last areas in Eastern India undisturbed by a human presence

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Day 5-Majuli Island-Largest river Island in the World

The island is formed by the Brahmaputra river in the south and the Kherkutia Xuti, an anabranch of the Brahmaputra, joined by the Subansiri River in the north.

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DAY 5 PURVANCHAL-MAJULI ISLAND

Mostly they are based on riverine areas like Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Jorhat and Sonitpur.

The Mishing family is generally a joint family. The eldest member of the family is highly respected. Inheritance in the family is a patrilineal one, and the social structure - patriarchal. After the father’s death, the property is equally divided among the sons.

Daughters have no right over the property. Basically they are peace loving and fun loving. There is no caste system or ideas of slavery in the Mishing society.

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DAY 5 PURVANCHAL-INTERVIEWING WITH MISHING TRIBES

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DAY 5 PURVANCHAL-DANCING WITH BHIU DANCER

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DAY 6 PURVANCHAL-Kshhatriya Dance Special

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Purvanchal-7th-day-gibbon-sanctuary-special

purvanchal-7th-day-gibbon-sanctuary-special

Today it was time to say goodbye to Assam and we all were very sad that it was our last day. We all woke up late [7 am!] after our cozy night stay at Greenwood Resort. We were getting ready to go to meet students and teachers of Maria’s Public School which is run by a Pathways School parent, Ms Nellie Ahmed.

We all had a great time interacting with the school team which comprised of their Head Boy, Head Girl and Academic Head of the School. They felicitated us with a plaque which was presented to our school for this visit to the North East.

The students spoke, sang and interacted freely with each other. We were infact even covered by a local news channel for this unique interaction of students from Delhi with the students of the valley. We were treated to some delicious food that was homemade including muffins, paranthas and quiche.

We are grateful to Ms Nellie Ahmed for this interaction which was planned for our contingent. In fact, we realized that we knew some of the students as we had met them during MUNs organized both in Pathways World School and at the Dhirubhai Ambani School recently. It was now time to bid farewell and we reached the airport well on time, to check in with ease.

Each day, each component of the itinerary was incredible and has left a lasting impression on our understanding of the North Eastern states of Assam and Meghalaya. We started on a clear slate or rather a biased perspective of the North East, and we ended up with some great friends for life in the North East.

Contrary to our understanding which is fuzzy and biased regarding the Law and Order and levels of Development in the North Eastern States, we now know a clearer picture of these states. States which exude warmth, hospitality, care and a rich tapestry of flora and fauna, which is waiting to be explored by people like us.

We wish to thank Ms Nivedita Hazarika, Director for Tourism and Government of Assam in New Delhi for being the driving force behind this maiden venture. For all the care and safety which was provided to our team throughout our itinerary in both Assam and Meghalaya.

We also than our young guide Mr. Deepankar and the two alert drivers who took us safely in the Tempo Travellers through the length and breadth of Assam and Meghalaya. To Ms Subhalaxmi of Speed Bird Travels for providing the logistical support for this trip.

To all the parents who entrusted their children in our care, and will surely appreciate the value addition of this exposure, to the overall learning experience of their child at Pathways. Our teacher chaperones, Ms. Bhagirathy Jhingran and Mr. K. Gurucharan Kumar for making this trip a memorable part of Pathwazian History.

And last but not the least to each child on board the PURVANCHAL TRIP for showing integrity, a curiosity for learning and exploring new lands and for adaptability which will only pay them rich dividends in the near future.

Thank you Pathways, particularly Dr Sarvesh Naidu, for providing us this opportunity to explore yet another part of India, and we only hope that this is the beginning of a long association with the North East and will herald many more exchange programs and field work excursions in this part of India for future Pathwazians.

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Purvanchal-8th-day

purvanchal-8th-day

We were infact even covered by a local news channel for this unique interaction of students from Delhi with the students of the valley. We were treated to some delicious food that was homemade including muffins, paranthas and quiche.

As we fly across the skies with the sun setting on the Himalayan Ranges and the meandering rivers taking course in the plains below us, each of us is lost in a whirlpool of thoughts and a kaleidoscope of images which are flashing by furiously reminding us of the crazy 08 days spent in the North East, which we will cherish for life. Each day, each component of the itinerary was incredible and has left a lasting impression on our understanding of the North Eastern states of Assam and Meghalaya.

We started on a clear slate or rather a biased perspective of the North East, and we ended up with some great friends for life in the North East.