[Assam] maniki-madhuri-joha etc.

Dilip/Dil Deka dilipdeka at yahoo.com
Wed Mar 8 08:46:29 PST 2006 

O'Mahanta,
  Our Kaji Nemu bore fruits last year and is doing so again this year. Thanks for the cutting you gave us. It seems to like Houston climate. The new leaves do curl up and get hurt in winter but spring weather heals it back.
  The Gwl Nemu you gave us is growing like Arnold Schwartznegger, tall and big but is not very interested in reproduction and fruits. I am hoping this season we will get to harvest a few and use them in my gin and tonic. Someone told me there is a trick called "Mekhela Pindhowa" to help in pollination. I am wondering what kind of Mekhela it has to be - Muga, Pat or just cotton. :-)
  O'Deka

Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net> wrote:
        My own experiences likewise. Joha saul, if you can find it, has hardly any flavor. Gwl-nemu is rare, even though the Kaji variety is widely available in upper Assam. I have done my own share of conservation in far off Missouri--have two almost 14/ 15 years old gwl-nemu ( 12' tall) in our greenhouse, where we get ALMOST year round gwl-nemu. Quite by accident I have also found out that I can trick the plants to flower twice a year, thus almost a year-round supply of fresh fruits. And when the fresh is not available, I can freeze the juice, in small plastic bottles that keep a fair amount of its unique flavor, even though not entirely.
  

  On the kaji nemu front I have not only grown them here but also gave cuttings to friends in several states. Hope my friends are taking good care of them. My own plants are not doing all that well, after producing abundantly for over a decade.
  

  A gin and tonic is nothing without fresh gwl-nemu or kaji nemu juice :-).
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  At 12:58 PM +0800 3/8/06, Rajiv Baruah wrote:
  Maniki - Madhuri Joha is available but is no longer the real thing. The abundance of artificial fertilizers, especially urea, does make the crop grow lush, but the depleting trace elements in our soil ( which is hidden by the abundant application of the same nitrogenous based fertilizer) means that the flavour, the aroma and the taste is completely absent. But more surprising is the absence of the indigenous lemons - I did not find the juicy "kazi" nemu and or the aromatic "gol" nemu in the Guwahati market this winter. Just that poor imitation of a "nemu" from north India - "gol" to look at but with neighter aroma nor juice.
  Having said that, this time round, I found neighter a bullock cart nor a "nongola" [ those barriers across a property which comprises of three or four banboo poles slung across two posts] this time around in our ancesteral village near Titabor.
  Welcome to the 21st century where the whole world is being homogenised to the lowest common denominator.

rgds
  Rajiv
  
------ Original Message ------
Received: Wed, 08 Mar 2006 05:45:42 AM SGT
From: "Himendra Thakur" <hthakur at comcast.net>
To: "Ankur Bora" <ankur_bora2000 at yahoo.com>
Cc: assam at assamnet.org, Ginima Barua <shivadoul at yahoo.com>
Subject: [Assam] maniki-madhuri-joha
  My dear Ankur,     Thank you very much! So, komal saul is still available in Assam! That's a very comforting news! Now, can we have it here in the USA in our next Bihu?     What about "maniki-madhuri-joha"? Please find out about it. I am sure your friends in the Assam Agricultural University will be able to help, if not, they ought to!  I am sure they can find some seeds, and multiply them, and make a huge field of maniki-madhuri-joha, .. and you will have the aroma from miles away!      With love to everybody,  Himendra     ----- Original Message -----
  From: Ankur Bora  To: Himendra Thakur ; Shantikam Hazarika ; Dilip/Dil Deka ; Alpana B. Sarangapani  Cc: hthakur at comcast.net ; assam at assamnet.org  Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 4:10 PM  Subject: Re: [Assam] komal saul, doi and gur  
  And to add few lines to your story.     I heard komal saul was the staple food of  Indian soldiers fighting in Siachen , located in the peak of Himalaya ,the highest battle field of the world.     In the bitter cold night , surrounded by frosty ice and snow , they could not use fire to cook food. They were survivng on  Komal saul so convenient to use because they just needed to soak in water.     This may be an "icing" to the story.     Ankur  Dalls , Texas 

Himendra Thakur <hthakur at comcast.net> wrote:
  To:  Ms Alpana Sarangapani  Mr. Shantikam Hazarika  Mr. Dilip Deka     Dear Alpana, Shantikam and Dilip,     Many thanks for your encouragement. When Shantikam mentioned the name of Tarun Hazarika, an avalanche of memories came to my mind --- the stories of Major Tarun Hazarika (and some of the stories of his younger brother Bhaimon) will sparkle as jewels in our mind ---  they were so lively, vivacious , full of verve, full of positive humor in real life, at the same time complimentary to people without hurting anybody ---  a true representation of the cheerful life-force of the Assamese people ! I have second-hand information about a few episodes that I’ll like to share, just for the fun. If I make any mistake, I ask forgiveness, and I request people to send the correction.     Major Tarun Hazarika was senior to me by several years. We used to call him “dada” in private, and “Sir” in public. I met him only a few times. Before I left for the USA, I met him in a wedding party, and
 told him in a very low voice: “Sir, I have a few stories of yours that I’ll like to get verified.” With a typically “naughty” smile, he hushed to me, “Not here, not in front of so many people! Maybe some time later!” Unfortunately, I never met him again.     Major Tarun Hazarika was very fond of dressing up in different costumes of our tribal brothers. Suddenly, he would arrive at a high-power meeting of the Governor and the Army Generals in a full-fledged Naga Gaonburha costume or an Apatani Chief costume. In addition to the fun and frolic, he drove the point that we are very fond of our tribal brothers, who must be respected beyond all protocols and regulations. He would also pose as a Punjabi Army officer, a South Indian bureaucrat, or a Sikh businessman --- there would be surprise after surprise! I have a feeling that he was trying to break all the barriers between people.     His love for all kind of costumes was so unpredictable that some of his relatives and friends would
 ponder: Why should he come to an Assamese wedding party in a full military uniform?     While driving to a wedding in an Assamese family in a village somewhere near Mangaldoi, he saw two Assamese villagers walking on the roadside, carrying a bhar (a horizontal bamboo shaft on the shoulder, stabilized by one hand) with two loads hanging at two ends, bouncing in a rhyme as the carriers were walking. Seeing that one of the load was a tekeli (earthen pitcher) and the other load was a pachi ( a basket), Major Hazarika stopped his jeep and came down to talk with the two Assamese villagers.     Posing as a Punjabi Army Officer who did not understand Assamese, Major Hazarika asked the villagers in “broken” Assamese, “Ki achey? Iyate ei bilak ki achey??” (What do you have in that tekeli and pachi?)     “doi aru komal saul” (yogurt and soft rice), the villagers replied.     Hearing the word “komal saul”, the eyes of Major Hazarika brightened. Coming down from the hills, where he must have
 missed “komal saul” for a long time, he was now having some ideas!     Maintaining his ignorant look, he asked, “doi aru komal saul ? doi aru komal saul ?? seibilak ki??” (What do you mean by “doi aru komal saul”?) as if he did know what it was!     Typical to the inherent hospitability of simple folks all over the world, particularly our Assamese village people (on which Major Hazarika was now pushing his luck), two villagers put down their load on ground.     “khai sabi neki alapman?” (Will you like to taste a little bit?) They asked the “Punjabi” Army Major.     Mangaldoi is famous for excellent “doi” (yogurt) --- that’s why the name Mangaldoi --- and you don’t have to ask Major Hazarika about it! Keeping his posture as a Punjabi Military Officer, he tasted the combination of komal saul, doi and gur (brown sugar) on a kalpat (banana leaf) to his hearts content, praising the villagers whole heartedly “khub bhal ache, khub bhal ache, apunalokbhi khub bhal manuh ache” (very good,
 very good, you guys are great) etc.     Not knowing that their  “guest”  understood every bit of Assamese, one villager told the other villager, “gahoritok di deson aru alap, kiman khai khaok !” (Give a little more to the pig, let him eat as much he wants!)     Later, when he arrived at the wedding party, Major Hazarika burst out laughing when he told the story to everybody! For such komal saul, doi and gur, he would love to turn into a pig many more times, he said ! However, while he was carried away by his story-telling, he saw, to his great consternation, that those two villagers were coming to the same wedding, and they were responsible to bring a part of komal saul, doi and gur to the same wedding party!     According to one account of the story, Major Hazarika had already changed into traditional dhuti-kurta and the two villagers never recognized him. The other account says that the great Major Hazarika went to hide in a back room. But, according to a third report, he was
 caught red-handed when he was busy telling his story sixteenth time the same day, and was oblivious of the two villager friends who were watching him!     Well, you can make a movie out of Tarun Hazarika’s escapades! They will excel over all the TV shows that are flooding Assam.     With love to everybody,  Himendra     PS: For information of younger generation who may not know about “komal saul” , I must inform them it is a unique variety of rice that is available only in Assam in the entire world --- you don’t have to cook it! You just soak it in water, and it is ready! There is another delicious rice called “maniki-madhuri joha” --- a very fragrant, aromatic basmati rice. I am told that these varieties of rice are not available any more. That’s a tragedy. The Assam Agricultural University should conduct a thorough research and restore these priceless grains. In fact, mass production of “maniki-madhuri joha” in Assam will outsmart all other basmati rice in the market and spread
 the aroma of Assam all over the world. Young persons should take up these projects. We should try some “komal saul, doi and gur” in our next Bihu one month from now!     ----- Original Message -----  From: Dilip/Dil Deka  To: Himendra Thakur  Cc: assam at assamnet.org  Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 8:36 AM  Subject: Re: [Assam] Letter to the President of India - story completed  
  Yes, you should write more. What you write may not be acceptable to all but that shouldn't stop you. You will enrich the diversity in the community by writing on your favorite topics though some may not quite agree with you.  I am sure you talk about your experiences in life at Oxomiya parties. Talking in this net is nothing but an extension of that. You just need a topic to open so that others may chime in.  Dilip
  ----- Original Message -----  From: Shantikam Hazarika  To: Himendra Thakur  Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 3:37 AM  Subject: Re: [Assam] Letter to the President of India - story completed  
  Dear Mr. Thakur:  You have a flair for writing and such stuffs are what life is about. You must continue writing. Did you meet Tarun Hazarika in Nagaland?  Incidentally I did not know you have scripted a play in 1993, I thought Assamese drama lost you when you went to US.  Regards  Shantikam Hazarika
  ----- Original Message -----  From: Himendra Thakur  To: Alpana B. Sarangapani  Cc: Manoj Das ; J Kalita ; assam at assamnet.org  Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 1:31 AM  Subject: Re: Letter to the President of India - story completed  
  Dear Alpana,     I am very happy that you liked the story. Those four years  in Nagaland gave me a very rewarding time in of my life! Do you think I should write more?  With love to everybody,  Himendra     ----- Original Message -----
  From: Alpana B. Sarangapani  To: hthakur at comcast.net ; dasmk2k at gmail.com ; ankur_bora2000 at yahoo.com ; barua25 at hotmail.com ; cmahanta at charter.net  Cc: jugalkalita at yahoo.com ; assam at assamnet.org  Sent: Sunday, March 05, 2006 7:05 PM  Subject: RE: Letter to the President of India - story completed  
  what a beautiful (true) story, Himendra-da. It brightened my day. thanks to all the netters who asked Himenda to complete the story here.  Thank you. - Alpana.
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