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Thursday, 13 June 2013

Chattisgarh Chronicles IV - Tokapol Haat and Lal Chinti ki Chutney!

We were hungry as we left Tiratgarh. Chetan suggested that we go to Makri dhabha on the way to Tokapal haat which was our next stop. We were not sure how the food in dhabha would be as we had not seen many in Chattisgarh. Wherever we go, we try and eat local cuisine. Unfortunately, we were not able to get much in Chattisgarh. The dhabha served us typical Punjabi dish. Surprisingly, the food was very good. The best part of lunch was the Kheer.

Weekly haats or Weekly market in Chattisgarh is a scene not to be missed. Every village has a weekly haat. These are something similar to weekly markets we have in our villages. The haats in Bastar generally starts by afternoon and end by sun set. These haats are held on one of the days in the week. The weekly haat in Narayanpur is supposed to be largest and most colourful. Since it is held on Mondays, we had missed it and had to settle for haat at Tokapal which is held on Tuesdays.

These haats are the nerve centre of Chhattisgarh’s economy. This is also the place for social networking among the tribals. As we moved towards Tokapal, we could see tribals walking over long distances on bare foot to the haat with their produce.

What makes Bastar's weekly haats a “not to be missed” event on any tourist itenarary is the amazing vibrancy and energy it has. It is also a place to buy mindboggling variety of items. Everything is sold and bought here. From home made jiggery (gur) to dried fish to dried mahua flowers and fighter cocks! If lucky, you can taste local cuisine as well. We had Bajjis and samosas and washed it with Salfi, the freshly brewed palm beer. Salfi is light beer and taste little tangy and good. We were looking for liquor made of mahua but could not get any. Women in colourful dresses dominate these haats and obviously make the place very colourful.

Mounds of Home Made Jaggery

Women in all hues and colours

As we were moving around, we stop at a stall selling a familiar looking sweet. It looked like what we call it as “Haalu bai” in Kannada and is made of Coconut, Rice and Jaggery (Halu in Kannada means Milk and Bayi means sweet). We were surprised to see it being sold in the market in Bastar! It almost tasted like ours. I could not get the recipe from the lady selling as she could not speak Hindi!

Jaggery and Rice sweet similar to our "Haalu Bayi"

Moving on, we saw mounds of dried Mahua flowers being sold. I asked Chetan, our guide as what do they do with it. I get a surprise answer from him “Liquor”. Yes. The tribals brew liquor out of these dried Mahua flowers. Mahua trees grow in abundance in the region and they produce mildly scented mahua flowers which tribal women adorn their hair with.

Dried Mahua flowers

We continue our exploration of Haat soaking in its vibrant colours and energy. We stop suddenly to see this woman selling live red ants! Is it “lal chinti ki chutney” (Red ants chutney), I ask Chetan. He nods in affirmative. We could not believe our eyes. These were live red ants peppered with Masala!! Like Russian caviar and French blue cheese, this has to be an acquired taste. Either you like it or despise it. We did not dare to experiment being veggies. But for non vegetarians it should be an experience of life time! We had read about lal chinti ki chutney and we were seeing it live now!

Live ants marinated in Masala - Lal Chinti ki Chutney!!

We come out of the Haat and see a group of people negotiating the price of a cock. I ask Chetan what was this all about. Chetan say that these are fighter cocks and prized ones! Cock fighting is a big game in Chattisgarh and huge bets are laid during these fights. It is also a prestige issue for owners. Fierce competition ensues in these cock fighting sessions. We could not see any in Tokapal haat and Chetan said it was being held at a place which was ten KMs away.

Negotiating to buy a fighter cock!

It was getting late to go to Chitrakote falls. We had to drop the idea of seeing the cock fight.

Next post in the series - Chitrakote falls, the Niagara of Asia!

If you are planning a trip to Chattisgarh, you may follow this series. The last post in the series can be found here -

Chattisgarh Chronicles III - Caving in Kutumsar and Tiratgarh falls

Chattisgarh Chronicles III - Caving in Kutumsar and Tiratgarh Falls

We bid good bye to the colourful Bison Horn Maria tribe and head towards discovering Kanger valley park and Tiratgarh Falls.

The drive is nice and through woods. The forests here mostly are dry deciduous and the landscape is generally brown at this time of the year (October). I was asking Chetan, our guide, whether we will be able to spot “Hill Myna” - the beautiful bird which almost imitates human voice - seen extensively in this area. I was a bit disappointed when he said that the probability was remote as these birds have been either shot and eaten by tribals or captured and sold as pets. There could have been a possibility to see them early in the morning. But definitely not at 12 Noon!

The reception kiosk of Kanger Park was not crowded and the lady behind the counter issue us entry ticket to go to caves and falls. There are no safaris or naturalists as guides in this park. Kanger is spread over large area and sustained by numerous streams and rivers. It is a bio-diversity hot spot. The park has Leopards, sloth beer, etc. But still, you don’t have any one to help explore the area which is tad sad.

Kanger has three clusters of caves – Kailash, Kutumsar and Dandak. Kutumsar caves are at a distance of 12 KMS from reception and you drive through the pristine forest. This journey itself was like a safari and we were eager to spot any animals. We were not lucky though. Parking done, a guide with torch joined us to take us into the caves.

Panoramic view of Kanger national park with Tiratgarh falls in the background

Caving is fascinating. Kutumsar caves were discovered in eighties and are one of the finest stalactite caves in the country. The caves are open only after October and are closed during monsoons. You enter through a narrow creek – one person can enter at a time – and has to struggle to get inside.

Once inside, you will be treated to an awesome array of stalactite formations. Since the roof is high, it gives feeling of huge room. The length of the cave should be around 300 meters. It is very humid inside. There is absolutely no sunlight. This place is also known for “Blind fish” or “Albino fish”. We could not see any. We had seen them in the “Planet earth” documentaries on Caves by BBC. The guide was showing us the formations and I was trying to capture them on camera when the battery drained out. We normally carry additional set and it was kept in the car which was far away. Anyway, we were not able to capture these sights in our camera.

Narrow entry into the cave. Yours truly in striped Tee....

Lovely Stalactite formations - I

Stalactite formation - II

Entry to the main hall of Cave

We climb up and return to the parking lot. We notice tribal women selling a kind of fruit. We got curious and started talking to the ladies asking them what they were. They said it was “Tendu” fruit and a bowl would cost five rupees. I had heard about “tendu” leaves which are used to make beedis - a kind of local cigarette - but never knew it also bore fruits! The fruit looks and tastes similar to Chiku and has big seeds.

Caves done, we were eager to see Tiratgarh falls. The excitement had started well in advance as we had seen the falls through binoculars from a view point on the way. It looked lovely. Another drive through forests for 10 KMs brought us to the falls.

Every waterfall has its own character and beauty. At Tiratgarh the Kanger River gently cascades over layers of rocks. Thanks to the fact that the river is not dammed, there was enough water even at this time of the year. The best time to see any waterfall is after monsoons. Nevertheless, it made a good spectacle.

Tiratgarh falls cascading over the rocky cliff

Climbing up from the falls was tiring and it was close to lunch time. We were now in search of good dhabha for a well deserved lunch!

The pictures of Kutumsar caves is the courtesy of Aravind G J. His experience of caving in Kutumsar can be read in his excellent blog here. - Visit to Kutumsar Caves

Next Post - Weekly Haat (tribal market) and Lal Chinti ki chutney (spicy wild ants)

If you are planning a trip to Chattisgarh, you may follow this series. The first two posts in the series can be found here.

Chattisgarh Chronicles 1 - The Drive from Bangalore to Bastar

Chattisgarh Chronicles II - Dancing with Bison Horn Maria Tribe!

Chattisgarh Chronicles II - Dancing with Bison Horn Maria Tribe!

As we continue our meanderings in Central India, our first stop is Bastar.

A good night's sleep in Bastar Jungle resort had got us prepared for next day’s excitement. Richard, our resort manager was a good bloke. An Anglo Indian from Jagdalpur - very few families still live here - the guy was always smiling and helpful.

The day was packed. Tribals, waterfalls, caves, tribal weekly haat and Lal cheenti ki chutney!!! He had arranged us a guide - Chetan - and we were to pick him up on our way to Nainanar, the tribal settlement, our first stop for the day for a tete-a-tete with tribals. We were visiting “Bison Horn Maria” tribal settlement and see their famed "Bison Horn Dance". This tribe is dispersed in and around Jagdalpur. They are not as remote as "Muria" tribes and seemed to have adapted well.

The name of the tribe is dervied from the head gear worn by the men when they dance. Made out of Bison horn and ornately hand crafted with beads, it is very colourful.

Men and women perform the dance together. While men wear their colourful head gear, women wear colourful dress with silver jewelry. Men beat drums as they dance. Women sing and join them in dancing. The dance is rhythmic in circles with easy steps. The women carry iron rod like structure – not sure what it is called - and they hit the ground with it along with their steps! The dance is performed in festivals or during social occasions. We also join them and try to keep the steps with them.

We end the dance session. The local toddy seller arrives in the village with freshly brewed toddy. It is a mobile toddy shop on the wheels. The toddy is tapped fresh and has to be consumed same day. We get toddy to all the performers. I ask Chetan if it is fine to taste the toddy. He gives go ahead and we also have a taste of it. It is light, tastes tangy and nice.

We bid good bye to the colourful maria tribe, we head to explore Kanger valley park and Tiratgarh Falls.

Getting ready....

The easy steps to rhythmic drum beats.....notice the rods with women

Men in their Bison Horn head gear

The tempo increases...

It is my turn to beat the drum!!

The group picture

Well deserved Toddy break!

A nice video of the dance i found on the web

Bison Horn Maria Dance

If you are planning a trip to Chattisgarh and need help, please drop a email to poorna62@gmail.com.

Happy to help.

Related posts on Chattisgarh in this blog :-

Chattisgarh Chronicles 1 - Drive from Bangalore to Bastar

Chattisgarh Chronicles 1 - The Drive from Bangalore to Bastar

We did this road trip in March 2011. It was six months after we got our Scorpio. As soon as we got the delivery of the vehicle, we had done a road trip to Maharashtra covering Kolhapur, Pandharpur and Ellora. This time we wanted to go longer. After brainstorming on the places to go, we zeroed in on Chattisgarh, which still remains unexplored. This was a fascinating journey of 5000 plus KMs.

Ride on with us to experience it.

We left early in the morning on 05 March 2011 around 5 AM. The merit of leaving early hit us when we crossed Mulbagal, 100 KMs from Bangalore. The four-lane road ends at this place. Starting early helped, we did not encounter trucks. We could see early morning sun caressing the brown hills of Tirumala when we reached Tirupati around 8.15 AM. It was a lovely sight. A quick breakfast and we were back on the road. When we reached Naidupeta, we were welcomed by a lovely tarmac of NH5.

The green expanse at this time of the year was a big surprise and soothing to tired eyes!! These lovely roads have spoilt all of us as we could comfortably cruise at 130 KMPH. Miles and Miles of Lush green fields, streams and rivers makes drive on NH 5 very pleasant.

The green expanse on either side of National Highway 5

.............And the lovely tarmac

Our Initial plan was to stay in Vijayawada. Driving on excellent road, we reached city at 2.30 PM. It was then that we decided to continue to Vizag and spend night there. This would help us leaving comfortably the next day morning to Jagdalpur. Vijayawada looked a clean and good city. River Krishna is wide and there was not much of water. We had good Biryani lunch in Hotel Ilapuram recommended by a friend who is from Vijayawada.

The best part of driving on these Golden Quadrilateral roads is that you don’t encounter any villages or towns as most of them have bye pass, which will help you to maintain the speed. Vijayawada to Vizag drive was again without hassles. As we neared Rajahmundry we were excited to see sun setting over Godavari. But we were disappointed as the span of Godavari is small here as the river splits creating islands unlike while travelling by rail over the country’s longest railway bridge. Nevertheless the sunset over Godavari was still good.

Sun setting over Godavari

We reached Vizag around 8.30 PM and were ready for a well-deserved rest.

Breakfast done, we started the second leg to Bastar from Vizag. We had read about the train journeys on the famous Vizag – Jagdalpur train by well-known travel writer Bill Aitkin that is supposed to be an experience in itself as tribals extensively use it. Though we were driving, we were expecting to get a firsthand experience of the region ourselves. As we crossed Vizianagaram – any cricket lover will remember this city as Maharaja of Vizianagaram was a great cricketer and Vizzy trophy is named after him - the mountains appeared. Winding roads with beautiful valleys greeted us. The valleys here are quite long and wide unlike the Western Ghats, which are smaller. The land looked brown and dry and must be stunningly beautiful if you come here after rains.

First views of valley as we climb

The winding road through the mountains

This is the tribal heartland of Orissa and we could see them attired in colorful dresses at many small towns and markets. Being Sunday, there were many village markets thronged by people. Overloaded jeeps bring them to markets as we saw this one in Pottangi. These tribals looked happy and contented lot. On outskirts of Koraput, we were greeted by this large expanse of clear water from Kolab Reservoir. The setting looked beautiful.

We reached Jagdalpur by 3 PM in time for Lunch.

Bastar jungle Resort is a new resort, which was opened six months ago. Spread over 15 acres next to forest – in fact one has to go through forest check post – it gives one a serene feeling. The rooms are well laid out and really big. The food is good as well. Checked in and lunch done, we ventured out to see Jagdalpur town.

Bastar Jungle resort

Jagdalpur used to be the headquarters of the largest district in the country – Bastar – before it was split to create four more districts. This is the heartland of tribals in Bastar. The Dasara in Jagdalpur is celebrated over 70 days when tribals from remote areas come to town to celebrate and enjoy the festival. We missed the weekly market in Jagdalpur as it is held on Saturdays.

This is a well laid out clean town with colorful roundabouts featuring statues different tribes. There is nothing much to see in the town except for the Dantedevi mandir – the name Dantevada takes after the name of this goddess – and so called “Jagdalpur Palace” which is more like a huge bungalow than a palace.

Bastar Palace

As we returned to the resort to enjoy a quite evening under the skies, we were excited to what was in the offing on the next day– Chitrakot Falls, Tiratgarh falls, Kutumsar caves and lal chinti ki chutney or red ant chutney!

Back of the Blog - Dokhra work (Bell Metal Craft) of Chattisgarh

Chattisgarh is an amazing state. The state is rich in handicraft tradition with skilled tribals practicing myriad crafts.

When we were planning on a road trip in 2010 to this exciting state, one of the reasons for us to decide on Chattisgarh was the handicrafts of the region. We knew about the richness of Dokhra work or delicate Terracota or the works from wrought iron or the wood carvings - these were always exquisite. While we were keen to take away some excellent terracota stuff, we were sure that it won't sustain the long road trip we were under taking. So, the ideal take away was the "Pride of Chattisagrh" which is the Dokhra work.

The cradle of Dokhra tradition in Chattisgarh is a small town of Kondagaon which falls mid way between Jagdalpur and Kanker. We stopped at a place where Dokhra sculptures were being made by skilled workers. A cumbersome and time consuming process involving making of clay models, pouring molten alloy of metals, allowing it to cool and then carve them nicely to get a refined figure. The process requires skills and patience which were abundant among the boys who were busy in doing the work.

We also went and met Mr Jaidev Baghel, Master Craftsman and National Award winner for the craft. A simple man he was kind enough to show us his designs.

We bought along a beautiful sculpture of "Rudra Shiva" and "Saraswathi" which now adorns the living room of our home.