Blogs

We apologise for the delay in writing on the blog! The end of August finds us in Delhi, doing collective work on writing up what found in Tawang.

Yak Cheese Sauce with Monpa Ghost Chilies
(recipe and instruction courtesy of Yangkee Lhamo)

-dry a load of ghost chilies on the roof in the Tawang sun
-heat a fair amount of oil in a wok-like, non-stick pot
-rinse chilies but do not remove stems
-toss a whole load of chilies in the hot oil (stand back!)
-prod gently with a wooden spoon until the seeds come loose in the oil
-throw in a few handfuls of chopped red onion and salt to taste
-add several heaping spoonfuls of yak cheese and one pre-packaged slice of American cheese (don't ask..)
-stir until melted and blended

It's bright and crisp in Tawang Town and children are jostling for sweets downstairs on their way to school. Yesterday saw the end of a whirlwind trip by Tata Sumo up to Zimithang on the Tibetan border, on through Gorsam to Shakti and Lumla, and then deep down in the valley to Pharmey and Muchut. We've made dozens of recordings in the past small handful of days and my appreciation for the ease and quality of our donated (and lent) sound equipment continues to grow.

As I write from our ‘base-camp’ in Tawang Town, Ben, Nakul and Sarah are in the village of Lhou, about one hour away from here, recording among others a homely woman with stature, poise, and a beautiful voice which we first recorded three days ago.

For the past week Tawang Town has been in a fog so heavy it is rare to have a clear view of the shops across the street. The car horns down the old bazaar road are just that much more vigorous than usual and from dawn to evening remain a cacophony of recognition, warning, and what I can only imagine is the joy of honking loudly displayed again and again and again.

A couple of days ago we returned from our first visit out of Tawang Town: a fascinating journey to the villages of Mukto and Gongkhar, where we made our first recordings of Monpa folk music.

Much about Tawang is familiar from other Indian small towns – the quick ease one develops with the streets and the shops of the central thoroughfare, the unhurried pace and lack of overt ambition, the early closing times of shops and restaurants.

Many eagerly anticipated events in the past few days. From Tezpur we made the long long Long journey to Tawang town in Arunachal Pradesh by way of Bomdilla where we picked up a Tata Sumo 4WD and met up with Leki Norbu, the fifth member of our expedition team.

Day three in Tezpur. We spent the morning with Robin Eastment of the Balipara Foundation who has been helping us secure all the important little bits of kit we'll need over the next month in Tawang like jerry cans, iodine, and Inner Line Permits for the restricted areas of Arunachal. After trips to the pharmacy, the market, and the permit office we hitched a ride to Balipara to look around at the tea plantations and taste the Assam blend. (You can check out Robin's work here: http://baliparafoundation.com/)