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My shared sumo to Tawang came way too early to pick me up. I took a look at my watch and it only said 3:30 A.M. I better get ready, I thought, I couldn’t sleep anyway.
I found out it was drizzling as I stepped out of the hotel and onto the sumo. The driver was a slim, short man who swiftly took my backpack and parked it on the carrier stuck on the roof. A waterproof plastic sheet protected the bag from the rain. I got myself in the front seat, thinking it was the reward of getting picked up first.
One by one, we picked up the passengers, the sumo wasn’t full and the driver finally took it to the bus station. We waited at the bus station for a passenger who was late. I requested the driver to take down my bag so that I could get some essential stuff out of the bag. For god sake I had my laptop in the bag! I could not possibly leave it to the mercy of rain and supposedly waterproof plastic sheet.
The passenger were waiting for finally arrived and we took off. But not before the passengers were rearranged, the direct consequence of which I look my front window seat. Turned out that there was a seat no. allocated to each of us and I had gotten a middle berth squeezed with three other people.
It was still raining and continued to rain until it was well past 7 AM. It wasn’t a regular time, leaving so early to Tawang from Tezpur. Driver drove with a sense of urgency trying to get us out before the break of dawn. There was a reason behind all that, the NRC issue had taken Assam by storm and well it was 15th August, independence day. It was still dark when we passed through the check post, I felt little confused as we were not not stopped for the Arunachal ILP check. I secretly wished for it just as I wished some of the co-passengers to not have it.
I cannot remember but the fellowmen who were travelling with me were either CRPF or CISF or from some other paramilitary force. Some of them struck cord after they figured out common connections. But as it turned out the conversations died soon as nobody had the energy to do so; except perhaps the driver who was talking to the winds.
On the first glimpse Arunachal felt like any other Indian hill state, except that there was an unusual calmness to it. The chaos that we all had been so used to was far less, if not missing completely.
In due course our shared sumo made a stop for breakfast, it was more of a brunch as we stopped well past 10. Maggi came to rescue once again as Puri bhaji wasn’t available, we were told it was due to the power cut. The dhaba which was completely run by a group of women was still not fully open. Over the hot food that we were having in the smokey kitchen of the dhaba, I made friends, sorta, with the young man who was so far had been sitting quietly beside me in the sumo.
He was also from the same force as other passengers, it was just that he didn’t mention it in earlier conversations.
“I have gotten a posting in Tezpur, I am building my own house in Tawang” The man told me excitedly.
‘How I never had an urge to own anything’ I wondered.
When we passed by Rupa, there was a sense of jubilation, excitement in the air. Scores of young men and women thronged the street and we saw many more as we passed by the football field. People have gathered from all over the state to watch the important football final as two local teams faced each other. Football fans were at their fancy best, cheering loudly for their favorite.
xx reminisced about the good time when he was there on field, playing for his town. Tawang should win this time, he declared confidently. They were not really strong contender at the beginning but they are playing with lot of passion this year, he said.
“The zeal to win.” I added.
I forgot to mention that all this while we two were chatting in Hindi. One odd thing that would make your head spin is the command people have over Hindi. Several curves passed, we were driving comfortably, for now, the roads were wide and nice, and as the sumo made a slow winding turn on one such curve, I let my curiosity better of me.
“How’s that you and everyone else I see here, speak such good Hindi?”
“We have 18 different dialect in Arunachal. If not Hindi, how do you think people will communicate with each other?”
I sat confused for a moment, the guy had a point, it was just that I couldn’t fathom people in far east speaking Hindi as their main language.
We crossed Bomdilla, a bustling town, at some time past 11. I so wanted to visit Bomdilla monastery, enticed by the pictures I had seen on a travel blog.
From Bomdilla to Tawang there is a direct shared sumo at 6 am. Otherwise, you will have to wait for the whole day. If you think, the journey from Tezpur is too long for you, take a day break in Bomdilla. Bomdilla has a beautiful monastery and few other things to do.
We crossed Dirang by 12:20, which was an indication we were on time so far.
(While returning we broke for lunch at AMA hotel, just before Sher gaon, by the side of the road. It is quite a popular one with many sumo drivers making a stop here. I took the Veg thali which only rice, a dal and a sabji, at INR 100/- it was way too expensive, not too mention the food wasn’t good at all.)
The sumo to Tawang kept on taking us through one beautiful vista after another, and one rugged stretch after another, through the lush green to the barren. Sometimes, the road gave up, broken and run down but we kept moving… we kept moving…
The road seemed to go on forever, but we knew all too well, with every spin of the wheel we were getting closer …
It was 5:30 when we finally reached Tawang …