The Evening Recollections Part II

Here’s the next series to my previous post- Evening Recollections Part II.

I dropped off last time leaving you with the fireflies but let us now look forward to a new episode. My first visit to meet my grandma in Ukhrul! I was then in first standard. My aunt, mom’s elder sister came home to the city to visit us. She is the most and the sweetest gentle soul I've ever met. It was easy that I would get along well with her at the first instance! She insisted that I visit my mom’s ancestral home town with her. And that I did!  My first trip away from mom and dad and a very memorable one indeed! And it was during Christmas, my favorite time of the year!

Ukhrul is a little town in the state of Manipur, India. Located in the northeast India, close to the border with Myanmar, it is a region filled with vibrant culture of the local people, the Tangkhul-Nagas and the lush greeneries. I’m not an expert of the area and the people but I’m proud to claim my tangkhul origins through my mom. I have previously blogged a little travelogue on Ukhrul and continue doing so, I hope you would find it an interesting read and somehow be encouraged to visit the place someday.

Ukhrul is famed for its beauty and rich culture and especially because of its one of a kind flower found only at a particular hill in the Ukhrul, The Shiroi Lily. This is in my to-go-places list. Well back to my topic, my first time away from home was an adventure for me. Everywhere and everything I saw was new and beautiful. It was the first time I had seen hills! My Aunt’s old house was a one storied wooden cottage which had a certain homely feel to it as soon as you look at it. It was around mid 90s when back here, young teenagers go crazy about bands like Boyzone, Nsync, Backstreet Boys, and others as far as I can remember, while young adults still sport some hippie style floral shirts and long hair!

One fond memory of Ukhrul I always cherished was the sound! During Christmas as you walk along the roads and the vistas among the trees you will always hear a radio or stereo playing good ol’ music- it may be the old indie film music from Kishore Kumar or Country music such as the classic ‘Country Road’ by John Denver, to The Smokies, The Carpenters, ABBA, BeeGees, etc and sometime even Classic Gospel songs. As for me I was particularly fond of carols and I still am. Silent Night, Mary’s Boy Child, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town were the music which greeted me that winter. It was indeed a great welcome.

When I reached my Aunt’s place it was quite late, quite late it the evening. I met my cousins for the first time- Achei (which mean senior, sister/brother) Zing, Achei Khai, Chonchon, Toddler Shang and my uncle. It was not that they weren’t part of our lives before but this instance was my first recollection of their existence. I was a bit reserved during my younger years so I have to say that it was an awkward meeting with the other members of the family. But I did bond well later with them.

Tangkhuls are deadly meat eaters!!! If you have to ask what is the staple food of Tangkhul-Nagas I would say MEAT!!! First night with my aunt dinner was the venison which my uncle personally shot at in the day’s hunt! But by the end of the trip I myself became a meat crazy person! I have no regrets, whatsoever!! Lol!

Meeting my granny for the first time was like a trip to a mysterious land. Back in the 1990s there were much developments in the place. I din't see much automobiles plying on the roads of Ukhrul except for buses or army trucks and jeeps. My cousin, Chonchon and someone I couldn't distinctly remember took me on 'tour' to my granny's home. It may have seemed normal for them but to me it seemed like walking into a deep wood. Everything was enchanting and amazing. I still remember the turns as I grew up and walked along those same paths every time I visit the place.

My granny is somewhere in her 90s. The accurate date of her birth is not known as she herself have no idea about it. Here's a pic of my sweet granny which I have taken last winter:

She hugged me when I first saw her. At that phase of my life I knew neither my mom's nor my dad's dialect. I could converse only in English or hindi. I do remember how I held her wrinkled hands surprised how different it was from my mom or myself... It always made me sad.
My granny has a detestably obsessive hobby (I prefer to use the word 'habit' instead, anyway), gardening!
The first time I met as my memory serves, I remember her with a shovel in her hands and till now in her late 90s whenever I visit her she would be in her garden if her health is willing or if it is not raining.

Everyone talks about their granny's delicious food, I will too, however instead of delectable sweet and savory meals, being partially a naga, I would rather prefer to praise and applaud my granny's finger licking Kasathei (chutney/chilli paste). Then there are varieties of fruit juices and squashes that are prepared by my granny all stocked in bottles which she would bring out especially reserved for special guests. My granny had a hard life when she was young someday perhaps I would be able to write about her, but right now I hope she will always continue sharing her smile with us.
My trip did not last long but I did get to find a trace a myself even now through this journey down the memory lane of how things came to be.