5 States- Memoirs of Guwahati, Assam.

5 States- Memoirs 

"Homesickness is not a thing until you have left the place you call home."

 

 

Come and delve with me 

as I jump into the experiences 

of my four friends

 and one including my own,

 who are from different states; 

as they share their thoughts

 on what it feels

 to be away from home

 and what do they miss

 about their place the most!  

1. Guwahati- Noyonika Das

 1)What is your name and it's meaning in your language?

- Noyonika. It means someone who has expressive eyes in Bengali.

2)Which special dish is your favourite that reminds you the most of home?( Could be your state special but please do mention who makes them that makes you reminisce the feeling of back home)

- Chingri Maach er Malaikari (Prawns cooked in a coconut milk based curry), Ilish Maach bhaja (Hilsa fish fried) by my mom and pork momos on the streets of Guwahati. 

3)Tell me about the landscape of your place where you live(The weather, geography of the place etc)

- It's a valley kind of a situation back at home. It's a plain land surrounded by hills from all sides and we have the Brahmaputra river flowing through the city. The weather is generally very pleasant except for maybe a week in July when it's extremely hot. We face rainfall throughout the year and in winters the temperature goes till 1°C.

"The landscape of Guwahati is a valley surrounded by hills on all sides and the Brahmaputra river flowing through the city" .

4)There is a general vibe decided by the people living in that place.How are the people in your hometown?( You may compare it with the current place you are living in eg:Punjab)

-  It's a Bengali-Assamese population back there. So I get the best of both worlds. I feel that people in my hometown are more grounded when compared to the crowd here. I won't say they are better than the people here, but I feel that back at home people have this calm vibe about themselves. 

5) Can you please speak something in your language and translate it for us?

- Since I am bilingual and an Assamese Bengali so.....

" Bhalo theko, khushi theko" = Stay good, stay happy in Bengali

"Moi tumak bhal pau" = I love you in Assamese

6) How does your lifestyle look like in your hometown and what has changed after coming here? (Compare with providing examples like the food you eat or the pace of life here etc)

- Food is different here. A lot. Although I don't eat rice anyways, but back in Assam rice is the staple food while here it's pretty rare. I feel like we have a wider variety of food choices be it veg or non veg. The weather is like poles apart. I also feel that in Assam people are too busy to actually find fun in the little moments, while here in Punjab people actually know how to have fun.

"Rice is the staple food in Assam while here it's pretty rare. The weather is poles apart. People in Assam lead a busy life whereas people in Punjab know how to have fun."

7) Which festival is the most celebrated in your hometown? Describe in detail how you celebrate it at home as well as in your locality (Perhaps something that your mother used to make or do which reminds you of home or the overall rituals that only people in your hometown do which makes it so memorable and festive)

- For the Bengali in me, it's definitely Durga Pujo. Durga is too elaborate to be celebrated at homes, so we mostly celebrate it at different clubs and all. It's a 5 day festival in October. Guys wearing kurtas and girls in sarees is a must during pujo. Pandal hopping and hanging out with friends and family, having khichdi at the pujo pandals and waiting the entire year just to see people come back home from every corner of the world is what makes pujo special. Also since we consider Durga to be a daughter, there's this rule where on the last day i.e. Dashami, we actually eat non veg as it is a custom in Bengali homes that while the daughter leaves home to go back to her in law's place, we just can't let her go by having plain veg food (lol). So yeah.

"Pandal hopping and hanging out with friends and family, having khichdi at the pujo pandals and waiting the entire year just to see people come back home from every corner of the world is what makes pujo special."

 

And for the Assamese inside me it's Bihu. We celebrate good fortune and good agriculture in this festival. Pithas (stuffed sweets) are a vital part of this festival. We also perform the Bihu dance and wear Mekhla sador, the traditional assamese attire. It essentially marks the beginning of the new assamese year. 

"For the Assamese inside me it's Bihu. We essentially celebrate........

....... It essentialy marks the beginning of the new Assamese year."

8) Which special dishes are prepared in your festivals?

-  Khichuri labra ( Khichdi and a mixed vegetable sort of thing), shondesh, pitha. 

9)Can you give us the recipe of one of your favourite dish back home? (Please keep it original, something that your mom makes or grandmother or dad or grandfather or some local special; you can ask the recipe from anyone but the internet!)

- Shondesh is definitely my favorite. My grandmom makes them. Shondesh can either be made out of kheer or coconut. I prefer the kheer one. So basically you take a huge amount of milk in a pan and keep stirring it till it turns into thick kheer. You can keep adding sugar depending on how sweet you want it to be. Once it has reached room temperature, you put it in specially made moulds that are specifically made for shondesh making. Then you let it harden. Once it's done you can have it.

10) If you would go back home today,what would be the first thing that will tell your senses, mind and body that you are back at the place you belong? (It could be the first thing that you do, like eating some food you only get back home or taking a ride in a vehicle you only find there or the classic weather that you only find in that place!)

- Well. Assam has its own smell. I can simply get down from the flight and breathe in and know that I am home. And ofcourse there are the local buses of Guwahati. The cooler weather and the Assamese speaking locals, the chaos at Pan Bazaar and the calm and serene Uzaan bazaar with all its high end cafes. I'll know that I'm home.

"According to Noyonika, she will know she is at home the moment she smells the air of Assam after getting down from the flight."

A big warm hug to my friend Noyonika for taking the time out to answer these questions. If you too are from Guwahati then give a big shout out in the comment section! We would love to see what you relate with the most and anything else you would like to mention.

Next week we shall talk about the place I like to decribe as Nature's nest: Uttarakhand. So make sure you don't miss out on the next week's state memoirs shared by my special friend, Mansi. 

Until then.

Love and Light,

Priya.