On Road in North East India-9

 

Urban sensibilities sometime cause ripples unnecessarily and disturb the equilibrium in rural settings. I committed that faux pas last month while travelling through the virgin landscape of Arunachal Pradesh, on the Indo-China, Indo-Bhutan and Indo-Myanmar border state in the north east. Yes, I am a Sinner – with capital ‘S’.

That also brought back memories of my Class 7 English teacher Madame Annapurni explaining “what’s good for goose is not good for gander” in the southern state capital of Madras (now known as Chennai) way back in 1960s.

“Wow!” I said no sooner did the motorized boat with our Tata Sumo vehicle move out of the banks of river Lohit  en route to Roing from Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh mid-November.

The flowing icy water under the boat was crystal clear. I just could not control my joy on this boat ride. My palms quietly dipped down to the water level to touch it.

My cup of joy was overflowing. Flowing river. Gurgling, icy water. Mountainous backdrop. Motorized boat. Vehicles on it. People also. Barring me, everyone of the dozen passengers on this boat were Arunachalis.

Once again, a ‘wow!’ emanated from me.

“What ‘wow!”,  I heard someone saying with a large dose of anger.

My blood froze.

What have I done?

Am in an alien land. Arunchal Pradesh? Alien land?

You will not understand till you travel into this north eastern state of India, bordering China, Myanmar and Bhutan.

Over the 21-day travel through this state, have not I been asked multiple times by many Arunachalis: “Are you from India?”

Am I in a foreign land or in my own country of which Arunachal Pradesh is part and parcel of the Republic of India – like any other state: Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat etc? Was I not asked to procure an “Inner Line Permit” (ILP) to enter this state and also requested to specify districts (17 in all) which I wish to visit? These conditions are fully valid given the sensitive location of this state on the India-China border.

Quickly I looked up and saw this tall man standing next to me.

Sharp Mangoliad features. Clean shaven. A sweater casually slung over his neck. Sharp eyes. And a dagger in its swathe hanging around his hip, like any other Arunachali.

I was speechless because I felt something snapped in that gentleman to critique my “Wow!” comment on the beautiful ride.

“You must be from some Indian city. Right?” he said matter of factly in Hindi.

I quietly nodded.

“For you cityfolk, rivers, mountains, boat rides are entertainment…” he remarked.

I remained silent trying to figure out what he is upto.

All eyes were on me.

“Have you ever thought about our lives? Daily we have to ride in boats, riverbeds and wooden makeshift bridges because we have no pucca roads. Not like you. Life becomes difficult to do this kind of travel daily. You know, I am visiting my parents in Pasighat while work demands my presence in Roing,” the tall Arunachali went on and on.

I was feeling guilty already.

Born and brought up in Chennai and worked/lived in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi (and a few years in the Gulf), life was in concrete jungle and on motorized movement. Naturally, a bit of natural surrounding always is a joyful diversion. Am I not taking short vacations into the hills and sanctuaries with family once in a while for this specific purpose?

“My apologies if I offended your sentiments….” I said.

He smiled for the first time. Oh my God! I have been saved.

I introduced myself and he too.

Thirty five plus Tamiyo Tatak is an Assistant Sub Inspector in Arunachal Police.

Had there been a proper road, this journey from Roing to Pasighat (100 km approx) would have been a better option. Not that there is no road. NH 52 is very much there, coursing through the mountainous terrain but being made under the suzerainty of Border Roads Organisation (BRO).  Not only that route is circuitous (145 km) but will take longer – almost double the travel time of Tata Sumo ride in multimodal format: road, boat, road, boat, etc.

I could sympathise with Tatak. To say, roads as we understand, does not exist in Arunachal is no exaggeration. Connectivity between any two points within the largest north eastern state is a challenge. Every time I tried to move from point A to point B, I have to exit Arunachal, enter into the neighbouring state of Assam, travel a certain distance and then re-enter Arunachal from a different point. Mind you, every time you exit and enter, there are border checkposts and papers are checked thoroughly. The only time, I moved seamlessly without this tiresome Arunachal-Assam-Arunachal routine was the one bone-rattling ride from Pasighat to Aalo via Pangin on NH 229 – the much talked about Trans Arunachal  Highway at least in the state – which should be ready linking 17 district headquarters with one another over the next 5-6 years under the special Prime Minister’s Package.

For instance, a ride from Tezu to Wakro on NH 52 – again on treacherous mountainous stretch – would have consumed double or treble the time over the most popular Tata Sumo multimodal ride: ride on riverbed, boat ride along with your vehicle, again riverbed ride, boat ride again, and finally ride on non-existing road. For a city folk – like me – this kind of road-river-road combo is enchanting and thrilling. Because it is one off kind of travel, not a daily routine which Assistant Sub Inspector Tatak  has to learn to live with. How long, one does not know.

By the way, the Tata Sumo ride is expensive. An Arunachal State Transport bus service – yes, such a thing does exist – will cost you almost one-third of Tata Sumo experience. If you value time highly, you won’t opt for state bus. And, no boat ride on barges because they are too heavy to be accommodated on boats. Naturally, they have no option but to go on terra firma – however long that might be. Bear in mind, these state buses are not Volvo type, but basic government owned public service buses – like in any other state. And Tata Sumo service is point to point with breaks for breakfast/lunch in between. Any Tata Sumo trip will last for a minimum of 6-7 hours and the rattled bones and flesh needs some nourishment en route.

With the September 2012 floods causing massive damage to the already frail infrastructure like bridges that had collapsed and yet to be repaired, it  is like a wild life safari for outsiders. Not for locals.

 Even the ride to Tawang at 13,000 feet from sea level via Tezpur in Assam is not a cakewalk.  Maybe 10 hours or more it may consume, given the road conditions. But it is a ‘wow!’ experience, no doubt for cityfolks – like you and me.

Pardon me, Tamiyobhai!

Send your feedback to: supplychaindia@gmail.com