UKHRUL – Little Paradise On Earth

The Tangkhul Naga of Ukhrul

Ukhrul town in Manipur lies 83 km northeast of Imphal. The nerve centre of politically sensitive Tangkhul Naga, it is the highest hill station of the state. Kaleidoscopic landscapes and undulating terrains dotted with exotic orchids and rare birds are the characteristics of the area.

The district covers an area of 4,544 sq km with a population of 98,000. Besides the Tangkhul, the Kuki also inhabit many places. Rice is grown in the fertile river valleys of the Thoubal, Nungshangkhong and Iril. On the steep hill-sides, shifting cultivations are widely practised. Sweet lime (Heithum in Manipuri) and other citrus fruits are abundantly grown particularly in the Kachai village area.

The Siroi Kashong range is the natural habitat of rare birds like Hume’s Pheasant (Nongyin in Manipuri) and Blyth’s Tragopan. While the former is the state bird of Manipur, the latter is found only in Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.

Different kinds of plants are found in this sub-tropical pine forests including Siroi Lily (Lilium mackliniae sealy) which is the state flower of Manipur. Exotic orchids are grown besides the well known blue and red Vandas amidst the sylvan surroundings. The range in fact is the favourite haunt of botanists and ornithologists. A tourist home has also been constructed in this place.

The Khangkhui limestone cave lies about 11 km southeast of Ukhrul town tucked away in a range of cretaceous origin. Artifacts of pre-historic man belonging to Palaeolithic culture were reportedly discovered inside the dark caverns. The waterfalls at Chamu Khayang bordering Myanmar and at Sirarakhong are picturesquely breathtaking. A guest house has recently been constructed at the latter. Hundung mini cement factory, Nungshangkhong micro-hydel project and pottery of Nungbi village are the other tourist spots of the district.

A typical Tangkhul Naga home of good old days

The bus fare from Imphal to Ukhrul is Rs 25/- only. There are several hotels and a couple of bungalows. In the market pork, beef, dog-meat are sold along with chilli and ginger. A tasty fish called nunga (psilorhynchus microphthalamus) found only in the hills is another delicacy. Hand-woven Naga shawls in strikingly beautiful colours and patterns are moderately priced. Ukhrul – the home of rare birds and plants is a little paradise worth visiting.

Konjengbam Kameshore

(Courtesy: North East Sun, New Delhi, Jan 29-Feb 4, 1994)

NB: The writer was district cooperative officer of Ukhrul from March 2009 to February 2010.

Yongchak -- A Popular Manipuri Dish

A Myanmarese girl selling yongchak

 at Indian border town Moreh, Manipur

Ask any Manipuri, who has been outside the Northeast for a good period of time, what he missed most in his daily menu; lo and behold, he will retort "yongchak iromba". Known by different names such as stink bean, bitter bean, twisted cluster bean etc., this tree bean, yongchak, has occupied a unique place in the culinary delights of every Manipuri in particular and every Northeastern tribal in general. The inclusion of this item, as a side dish, in the Ningol Chakouba festival of the Manipuris, held every year in the month of November, is considered privileged. Being a seasonable produce, the availability in the market just starts trickling in around this time and hence the scarcity galore. A couple of pods cost much more than what is in normal time.

An evergreen rain-forest tree, it is grown mostly in Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland. The height of the plant is about twenty five to thirty metres and leaves are evenly bipinnate, thirty to eighty cm long. Known as Manipur-urohi in Assamese, Manipuri-seem in Bengali, zawngtah in Mizo, with wide spreading crown having yellow white flowers, the pods are about thirty cm long, pendulous and greenish before ripe, black and shining afterwards. A plant of the genus Parkia in the family Fabaceae, both its flowers and pods are fondly eaten either raw or cooked by the Manipuris.

 Loklei (galangal) a ginger family

The demand for yongchak is so much that the farmers of Manipur cannot meet it and therefore have to purchase from outside the state. Namphalong, near Indo-Myanmar border town of Moreh, and Silchar in southern Assam via Jiribam, are the known routes of this vegetable for Imphal market. Due to soil and climatic variation of different topographical areas, the flavour reportedly varies from place to place. This could perhaps be one of the reasons why it values in taste in some areas. Known as Kampai, among the Rongmei tribe of Tamenglong district in Manipur, the pods of the plant at Dailong village generally mature ahead of others. Imphal bound passengers rush for it in their morning market.

For preparing the famed yongchak iromba, a host of local spices as ingredients are needed to enrich the aromatic and tangy flavour. Loklei (galangal), lomba (esholtzia blanda), maroi nakupi (Chinese chives), tokningkok (chameleon leaves), phakpai (Vietnamese coriander), koukha (arrowhead), along with ngari (fermented dry fish) and fresh indigenous fish like ngakra (clarias magur), and Meitei ngamu (channa orientalis) are just some of them besides coriander, spring onion, Manipuri red potato, chilli etc. In fact a fish or chicken preparation is less expensive in terms of money and time than a yongchak iromba dish. For vegetarians who do not eat fish, yongchak can be cooked in many ways. Cooking with fermented soya bean, locally known as hawaichar, is one good combination, while stir-fry with koukha (arrowhead) and shrimp is another tasty option.

Lomba (esholtzia blanda)

Another equally popular item is yongchak singju -- a Manipuri style raw salad. Peruk (centella), pheija (flower of a wild plant), tender pea leaves, etc., besides yongchak make the preparation not only rich in anti-oxidant but also wholesome. In fact, peruk and pheija are never planted generally but grow wild naturally in the nearby hills and valleys. This makes their nutritive food values organic. The flower of the yongchak plant is also used in singju. 

Known commonly as petai or pete in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, mai-karien in Myanmar, karieng or riang in Thailand, cupang in Philippines, the plant is native to Southeast Asian countries, including the Northeastern part of India and Bangladesh. It is said that no southern Thai meal would be complete without stir-fried stink beans. Indonesian nasi goreng kambing pete, fried rice with goat meat and stink beans, Thai mu phat sato, pork stir-fried with stink beans, are just some of the popular dishes.

Much had been said about Look East. And now it is about Act East. But what about Eat East? It is right time now to rediscover some of the traditional cuisines of the Northeast.

Konjengbam Kameshore

(Courtesy: Eastern Panorama, Shillong, March, 2015)

NB: The writer is not responsible for use or abuse of blog caption "Kameshore's articles" in any form, manner, site, whatsoever by anybody.

Konjengbam Kameshore

Imphal, Dt. 24.07.2015

THE YOGI AND THE SCEPTIC

Drought in Ethiopia (photo courtesy -- AFP)

            India being a rich country inhabited by the poor, the beliefs and convictions of its teeming millions are wide ranging and varied. It is a land of not only snake-charmers and rope-tricksters but also of flamboyant yogis and flying swamis who run a gun factory even as they chant mantras (like the ilk of Swami Dhirendra Brahmachari).

A certain chief minister (or for that matter, N. T. Rama Rao of Andhra Pradesh, to be exact) who reportedly wore a sari and an ear-ring on his left ear for seven consecutive nights to appease the goddess of luck but propagated against the evils of adult illiteracy and the resultant social backwardness is the popular hero in his State; like a yogi, who claims can bring rains on parched earth by the swish of his hand and is still a much venerated soul in our country.

In this context, the thirsty city of Bangalore (“Bangalore Turns to Yogi for Rain”, May 6,) is at least richer by a yogi than Ethiopia or Sudan. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board, (BWSSB), has reportedly decided to avail the services of the yogi to get rains.

While the reluctant swami in R. K. Narayan’s The Guide was compelled by the circumstances to undertake a fast for fourteen days to propitiate the rain gods, Shivabalayogi’s spiritual feat would be at the request of the BWSSB. However, the late Dr. Abraham Koovoor, (had he been alive), might not like the spiritual hardware of a yogi to materialize in this mundane world of shredded metaphysics and, as such, it would be wiser on the part of the respected Yogi to consult weather reports before a date is fixed for him to squeeze the rain clouds.

Konjengbam Kameshore

(Courtesy: The Telegraph, Calcutta,

 Wednesday, 22 May 1985)