Shodh Yatra is a course offered to 2nd year students at IIM-A, wherein a group of students led by Prof Anil Gupta, visit an Indian place with the objective of learning from the local people, nature, from our colleagues and ourselves. This year, a group of 27 students visited Mizoram in the far North-east, a state about which we knew little. Going there with open minds and looking for new experiences, for most of us it was a great opportunity to tour Mizoram and have a good time with friends.
Day 1
We took a connecting flight from Ahmedabad to Aizawl, via Delhi and Guwahati. Once at Aizawl, we met our guides, Robert and Bawitlung and learnt that we were to undertake a 10 hour bus ride to Champei, the 3rd largest city in Mizoram. Stiff with cramps though we all were, we played Antakshari for long hours, catering to different genres like mawali, romantic [;)]. Stopping on the way at a teaplace to grab a bite, we finally reached Champei which was in the south of the state at close to 4 am in the morning. Exhausted, we collapsed in our rooms, little knowing that this was the last time we would be seeing anything akin to a hotel or villa for the next 5 days!
Day 2
Refreshed after a long sleep in the cold, we ate and were briefed by the professor on what was expected from us during the course. We met our trekking guides, Mafaka and Angu and finally embarked on the trek! After an introduction session sitting down on a rocky path, all of us enthusiastically volunteered to take a shortcut that would bring us closer to the forest. We started an arduous uphill climb that offered some breathtaking sights of the surrounding mountains. Often, we stopped to drink water at the local houses or simply to look at the adorable kids! We took every chance to splash ourselves with ice-cold water from the waterfalls everywhere.
Towards evening, we walked to our campsite on the outskirts of the village, Ngur. It was beautiful, watching the sunset, the mountainside bathed in a golden glow, the sky a seductive shade of blue and orange. The first of our discussions took place with all of us sitting in a tent, which ended with Milam asking for some much needed 'food for thought'. Dinner was quite an experience, under the clear star studded sky. It was time for some fun after the tiring trek. A couple of guys collected firewood and Patwa started a fire (using his 'desert skills'). What followed were some amazing song and dance performances. Anna (for Chane ke khet mein {we would have more of that later}) and Lars (for all the enthusiasm and walking on hands!) deserve a special mention.
Day 3
The day started with a bus ride to the entrance of Murlen National Park where we were told that we would have to carry all our requirements for 2 days as the bus could not traverse those tracks. Okay, bad idea to carry all your stuff while trekking up! It was a quiet walk, on narrow paths snaking around picturesque tree covered hill slopes. The intense sun made it a tiring walk, though the passion fruits, "Happy Powder" and walking sticks we extricated from fallen tree branches eased things a lot! Around afternoon, we reached a beautiful clearing which housed 3 forest lodges and learnt that that was to be our campsite for the night. A discussion on "Learning from Strangers " ensued, which Daddu successfully turned into a discussion on "The generation gap between parents and children". A hot topic indeed, we continued to talk about it during our night session as well!
At 3 in the noon, we walked down to a village and visited the house of the village headman. All of us enjoyed having locally made grape wine so much so that we carried back a few bottles for later consumption. The 4 level cooking mechanism and the crabs they were cooking for dinner held our fascination. On reaching back, we settled in one of the lodges and played "Truth and Dare" which saw some brilliant questions, answers and dare suggestions (read "Rahul S K"). Geeta wrapped it up with a very realistic sounding "Save me Please!" drama in front of our guide Bawitlung. Dinner and we were back in our sleeping bags, Dhiresh trying to eavesdrop on people's conversations. [;)] The only disturbances during the night were fireflies and Parcel grunting as he kept hitting the wall in the 5 ft of space he was trying to sleep in.
Day 4
The next morning saw us up early as we wondered what we would face that day (we were told that it was to be the longest and most difficult trek so far). The 'jungle trek' was tough no doubt, but the most memorable yet. At the start, we merely had to find our way through ankle deep mud and slosh, wade through narrow streams, walk on dirt tracks in grasslands (which many claimed were sure to grow marijuana), all the while being bitten by leeches and scraped by nettles. The forest was too dark and dense to follow the people ahead and see the ones behind, and we were soon divided into smaller groups, each one calling out to the others to Wait! We realized very soon that we were probably the first group of trekkers to go there, by the absence of clear tracks. In no time, we were taking the support of bamboos, rocks, hanging branches, walking sticks and one another to climb up or down. The slopes, wet with mud, made it easy to simply slide down them. Leroy let loose little landslides every time he slipped, and there was a close competition between some (including me) as to who fell or tripped the most. [;)]
The forest was beautiful and pristine, with trees and wild moss growing unevenly over the slopes. Tree stumps burnt black and log structures, now hidden by overgrown grass, were remnants of the practice of shift and burn cultivation practiced in those parts of the country in earlier times. Exhausted and bruised as we were, the sight of a clear path was a refreshing change for all. Singing as we walked back to the bus, the most entertaining sight was when we all turned around to see Daddu running top speed towards us! Just before leaving, we spoke to a few villagers who were very keen on knowing where we had come from, why we were there and what we thought of the place.
We were then taken to a stream near the village of Vapar, and it was with great relief that we bathed and washed ourselves off 2 and a 1/2 days of accumulated dirt. Climbing back to our campsite, where a tent had been set up as an extension of a shed, we had a discussion on "The role of Perfect Strangers". And finally it rained! (thankfully we were done with trekking by then!) The rains lashed outside, almost threatening to blow away our tent. At night, we went for walks on the bridge over the stream. Even our weariness could not help us fall asleep while being attacked by an army of mosquitoes. After trying unsuccessfully to sleep till 2 am and listening to Parcel shouting about a snake slithering over his sleeping bag (he still claims it was there), a few of us moved into the bus where we had an extremely sound sleep and which, after the tent, felt better than a Deluxe Suite.
Day 5
It was the day of reflection. After the traditional meal of rice, dal and potatoes, we all moved to find a place where we could have visible silence (we could not see one another). The 4 hours that we were left alone were a perfect time to explore the countryside and nearby farms. Sitting on some rocks in a stream, taking respite from the blazing sun, it was wonderful to reminisce about the pure fun we had had. In the afternoon, we left for Aizawl, a 13 hour journey which left us all dead tired. With a short halt at Champei and the same teaplace we had stopped at on the way there (here we were treated to some wonderful tasting Mizo delicacies), we reached the Yatri Niwas guesthouse at 4.30 am and simply crashed on our beds.
Day 6
Finally we were back amidst civilization! We were scheduled to meet the Chief Minister of Mizoram, Mr Pu Lalthanhawla that morning to discuss our trip, what we had come across and what we felt about the place, and to discuss possible steps to improve tourism in the state. We were treated to an extremely interesting talk on how hunters and poachers had nearly wiped out the wildlife of Mizoram. A meeting with the IT minister was up next, after which we were taken to a market to shop or eat as we wished. We had a good time browsing through the shops and checking out the collection of cane items (including an incredibly useful stool designed like cow skin) and locally made shawls.
And on the final day of the trip, we did manage to get wet in the rains! A treat was ensured to all meat lovers as we had chicken, mutton and pork momos in the evening. That night, we had our longest yet session with Prof Gupta discussing characters from books, movies and real life who had influenced us. That was the most enjoyable, educational and inspiring discussion we had on the entire trip.
Day 7
We had to wake up early the next morning and leave for the airport. Standing before our bus, we felt strangely emotional as we thought of the amazing times we had had in the last 6 days. [:)] An hour bus journey (which felt amazingly short considering the trips we had been making over the last few days) and "senti speeches" from our guides later, we had checked in at Aizawl airport. Parcel and I entertained the tiny audience with a dance performance on 'Jai Ho', originally meant to happen during the campfire on the 2nd night.
Our group split up as we had different flights to catch. With a stopover at Guwahati which was spent browsing the handicrafts store at the airport and Delhi, from where we went to Ambience Mall in Gurgaon, we landed at Ahmedabad at close to midnight. The last journey was one Kingfisher ensured would live up to the excitement of the last few days. It was rough weather, and in the last 1/2 hour of the flight, the lights to the emergency exits turned on as the plane shook violently causing Anna to exclaim "Aaj mera Sabarmati mein swim karke wapas jaane ka sapna poora hoga!" [:P]
That was it! A brilliant, truly awesome and memorable, magnificent trip full of great fun, entertainment, beautiful forests, sleeping bags and leeches, meeting new people, campfires, singing and dancing, and of course great trekking!!
