Tuesday, May 17

Travelogue - In the lap of Mother Nature


The ever increasing demand for naturally rich and absolutely Eco-Friendly resorts in our time makes the Singpho Eco-Friendly resort a highlight for tourists due to its peaceful, panoramic and purely organic ambience



Mother Nature is spread around with all her beauty and fecund stretches of land in the North Eastern states of India. On the way to the Singpho Eco-Friendly resort, one can see the waves of rice farms, fruit orchards and green carpet of tea gardens in a way that beggars belief. The greenery in this part of the country is well envied by all and is the best of three worlds. It has the most clement weather merged with the most breathtakingly varied landscape, and one can enjoy their lungful of clean air that is a relish for people coming from smoke-chambers known as the metropolitan cities.

The Singpho Eco-Friendly resort is located in the midst of the forests on the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. We started our journey from Mumbai and took a flight till Dirugarh in Assam, which is the nearest airport to the resort. Our intent was to spend our weekend in this Paradise of Silence away from all the hassles of being a city dweller. It is located around 60 kms away from the airport, near a town named Margeritta, so we booked a cab to enjoy the endless beauty on the road while we reach our destination.

The resort is AKA Bamboo Resort as the complete residential structure is made out of bamboo cut out in various patterns. The resort stands on stilts that are high enough to allow easy passage to an Indian elephant. The floor, walls, tables, chairs, beds, mats and every other item in the resort is made out of bamboo. The thatched roof gives it a cool atmosphere and merges so well with the surroundings. Singpho resort is named after its owners, Mr. Rajesh Singpho and Mr. Manjenong Singpho. It is a family run resort, and is maintained by the Singpho family as a whole.

The resort is harbour to various wild animals that are used to staying in touch with humans and do not harm them. The domestically wild Langoor is one its special attraction. The resort also has cats and fishes living in a symbiotic environment to give us a message that despite our diversities, we can sustain in this world in perfect harmony.

The style of food preparation is completely traditional. They use traditional wood stoves to prepare food, however, the choice of the cuisine depends on the guest. We had to tell them in advance about what we wanted to eat. We ordered for roasted chicken and one gravy item to go with the local rice.  But, when the food served, our surprise knew no bounds. It was served in the ethnic Arunachali way. It included, the Topla Bhat, with rice wrapped in one of those leaves that resemble banana, roasted chicken poked in sticks made out of fresh bamboo, Thai gravy with white curry, boiled leafy vegetables and raw salad. The local alcoholic drink known as Apong was served in special glasses made out of cut bamboo. The natives have named these glasses as Chonga in their dialect. The food was savoured to the last grain to be precise.

One can relish the food with the violin being played in the back of the kitchen. The co-owner of the resort, Mr. Rajesh Singpho, plays violin for the entertainment of the guests and for his own merriment. He kept on playing it for us while we enjoyed the amazing lunch along with the local stories.

The women of the household that owns the resort also indulge in handloom weaving. The handloom is placed beneath the resort structure and the women sit around to work on the same. They sing along the folk songs to keep themselves entertained while working. The materials woven by them are worn by the household members as well as are available for sale to the visitors of the resort.

The resort is surrounded by tea gardens that are again owned by the Singpho family. The garden is purely organic in nature and no chemical fertilizers are used for enhancing the crop. The family has also set up a vermin-compost pit in order to supply the need of organic manure for these farms. The Singpho brothers also take their time out to educate the locals about the benefits of organic farming and have employed some of them to assist in their tea garden and factory. They also sell the organic tea produced from their farms to the tourists in small home-made pre-weighed packets

So much for the clean air and beautiful surroundings filled with outrageously generous landscapes. The resort has a cool but relaxed buzz of the bees and the birds to give us a feel of Mother Nature’s lap. Towards the end of my stay in the resort, I found out that the north-east of India has a lot to offer to its people. The weekend got over in almost a jiffy and I didn’t even realize that it was time to pack my bags and leave this peaceful place for the noisy and rush-hour life yet again.

Monday, May 16

Some more of Nostalgia…



There are zillions of colors in millions of trivial thoughts running on the racetrack of my mind. Some thoughts relate me to a certain memory, of a certain event, that I might have been very fond of as a child or may be even when I grew up. I walk barefoot on the lush lawns of those moments. I guess I have walked past long miles to see you standing in one of those sweet-sour memories.

I remembered that it was of a day when I had laughed the most. I was rolling on the grass in the garden and trying to tell you stop making me laugh. My stomach was hurting and I was still not able resist my laughter. I could see the sparkle of my laughter in your eyes. It happened a long time back and I have walked past that age. I don’t know how to go back in time and find those moments.

These are the times when I wish life could just turn back and reach to all those nooks and corners that we missed to look by when in time. Those were the times when I had never thought of you as my world but those were the times that I felt so wonderful being with you. But I looked forward to meet you every evening after the daily chores were over and I never understood why I looked forward to it.

If it could happen that I would go back and see those moments of loneliness I that I spent missing you and walking on my terrace, waiting for you to come by. The way you tickled my ears and pulled my cheeks are my wishes again but time does not turn back and so I walk ahead with vivid memories playing in front on my eyes.

A fresh dewy feeling on my heels after walking barefoot on the damp thoughts has made realize that I have come very far from them. Probably, I have aged with time and hardened even wizened may be, but the heart is still innocent.

Sometimes



It’s sometimes that I get time to ponder over the times we spent, and I see that I had laughed with you till my jaws hurt and tears started to stream. And I still wanted to continue laughing, held in your arms to comfort me.


It’s sometime that I realize that you have made me cry the most for none of the reasons that made sense but I have also found solace in your arms. You have always been there to wipe my tears and make me smile again.

It’s sometimes that hurting you made me feel safe. I felt immense relief to know that I hold that much power on you and you won’t let go of me despite the pains you go through for me. It’s just that I wish to hide and let you seek me to understand how much you need me.

It’s sometimes that I need to hide in your arms and relish your smell to have the feel of belongingness. Every pore of me smelling like you will make me feel complete. I will immerse myself in your fragrance to feel loved.

It’s sometimes that I keep awake just to see you sleep next to me in my arms. Just to make you see that the world is beautiful near my heart and nothing can harm you here. It’s not that I am scared of losing you to anyone or anything but the fear of losing a minute to darkness without seeing you. But it fills me with sheer joy of watching peace run over your face when you sleep.

It’s sometimes that my breath stops when I have a glimpse of you in the most extra ordinary of circumstances and I find myself smiling in the middle of a conversation as I’m looking at you and people are giving me queer looks for I missed the whole conversation.

It’s sometimes that I miss your presence so much that my heart aches and words are difficult to phrase. It’s when the tears help me tell you that you are what’s most precious to me and I would never want to lose you.

It’s sometimes that I wish I could show you how much I love you by tearing my flesh apart. I then I feel like showering all my emotions on you and make you feel blessed. I wish the shower of love to last till eternity and never fade.

It’s sometimes that I say I hate you for making me do certain things but that’s when I realize that your love can make me do things that I would not do for anything in this world. And I feel like telling you that you negate all my angst and negativity and make me a better person.

It’s sometimes that you are far off from me, but your thoughts keep touching me and make me understand that distances do not make any difference and you will always be there for me. It’s then that I realize truly that distances do make our hearts grow fonder.

It’s sometimes that the need to be close to you is so strong that it makes me do eccentric stunts. It’s then that I want you to hold me close to your heart and tell me that I’m wanted. And I want you to hold me tight and rock me into a peaceful sleep so that I feel at peace with the world.

It’s sometimes that I yell at you and want you to do certain things correctly as I look upon you to be perfect in all the ways and certain flaws are not tolerated. I have made you my perfect man and your so-called flaws just hinder that sight so they are not accepted.

It’s sometimes that your way of looking at me makes every pore of me feel beautiful. It’s only for you that I have the ability to blush and shy away into your open arms just to hide from your looks but to enjoy that blissful feeling always. It’s then that I feel like an angel meant only for you and your one touch can melt like butter just at your whims.

It’s sometimes that the need to hold on to you is so strong that I can’t help but cling on to you with all my might. It’s sometimes that you seem so innocent that I feel content with everything I have. It’s then that I feel my decision to be with you to be wise. And I know that you won’t betray me ever.

It’s sometimes that I say but I want you to believe with every action of mine that “I love you” with all my heart.