Shops packed with little known ingredients from the seven sister states are feeding not just its people, but the curiosity of Bangaloreans He calls it the Frankenstein sauce — a fiery red chutney that “packs a goddamn wallop”, with a touch of Korean Gochujang and an abundance of fermented Naga chillies. When last December, chef […]
Author: Tora Agarwala
He lost a year of his life when he was wrongfully declared a ‘foreigner’ in Assam
Can this carpenter from Bongaigaon make something of a second chance? Tiptop Furniture in Assam’s Bongaigaon has seen better days. “But it’s also seen worse,” says Bimal Baidya, owner, proprietor and sole employee of the ramshackle carpenter shop for more than 30 years now. On a May morning in 1996, back when it was in […]
Where The River Bends
Life on Majuli — the world’s largest river island — switches between the loving embrace and frequent fury of the Brahmaputra. Rains in Majuli are not ordinary. With every downpour, the island loses a little bit of itself to the river. “Don’t go to Majuli, worst time,” came a foreboding text message from a friend. […]
The Miyas of Assam, and their char-chapori culture
A proposal for a museum reflecting char-chapori culture has triggered a controversy. Who are the Miyas, what are the char-chaporis, and what is controversial about the proposal? Months ahead of the Assembly elections, a proposed “Miya museum” reflecting the “culture and heritage of the people living in char-chaporis” has stirred up a controversy in Assam. […]
Through rain and floods, Assam’s community workers battle pandemic
Floods might be as old as Assam, but fighting a pandemic in knee-deep water is a whole new challenge for even the most seasoned health worker. It is the wind that has helped Pratima Barman plan her day as an accredited social health activist (ASHA) in Assam’s Dibrugarh district for seven years now. In the […]
Why the gamosa wraps the Assamese society together
The current wave of anti-CAA protests in Assam prominently features the gamosa. Why does this humble piece of cloth remain central to the articulation of Assamese identity? Ranjan Barman, an 18-year-old resident of Assam’s Lakhimpur, has 22 ‘gamosa’ shirts. Last winter, Barman took a few gamosas — the traditional hand-woven red and white Assamese cloth […]
In Assam, a battle to save a rare flower
A group of men and women in Assam are fighting to save a flower — by growing it in their backyards, bonding over it on Whatsapp and a month ago, formally grouping into a society for its conservation In January 2003, two days before Bihu, Khyanjeet Gogoi, trekking in the forests bordering Dibru Saikhowa National […]
From Mizoram, a ‘magical’ voice that plays cupid on Whatsapp
A Mizo crooner has an unusual side job: she’s a self-styled Whatsapp “artiste” whose voice notes are connecting young lovers across the hilly state To get by most of her life, Melody G Fanai, has worked an assortment of jobs: at 7, she sold fruits on the hilly roads of Aizawl; at 12, part of […]
A man disappears from a Manipur village, and returns 40 years later courtesy YouTube
But is homecoming the fairy tale it is made out to be? Khomdram Gambhir Singh is the most well-travelled man in Khumbong. He’sseen it all: the Qutb Minar in Delhi, the Taj Mahal in Agra, and the Gateway ofIndia in Mumbai. He’s seen things no one in his village, in a corner ofManipur, could dream […]
In Arunachal, the Idu Mishmis are protesting a proposed tiger reserve
On March 24, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) chief SP Yadav said that the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh would soon be notified as a tiger reserve. The announcement has caused disquiet among the area’s Idu Mishmi people, who feel that a tiger reserve would “hinder their access” to the forest. Who are […]