Friday, June 20, 2008

Caves and churan




Since I feel a bit like this these days, am posting these pictures of me in Mawsmai cave. 19 May 08. Teja was photographing the cave, so you'll have to peer hard to find me.

I have to peer hard to find me, these days.

Why should anyone want to go traipsing through a cave? Rather squeezing through, crawling and groping through one. All I can say it cheered us all up immensely, apart from making us very hungry.

The cave's been lit up now with artificial light, which our friends hated. They said it was much more fun in the days when you had to find your way through, with a torch. Apart from the fact of course, that the lamps are fancy, plastic flowers, which don't "match" the caves, at all.

The path to the caves too has been paved, making the whole exercise like a walk through a public garden (see the step in the picture). Thankfully, the path in the caves is not paved.

What was on sale in the car park was bundles of cinnamon sticks, plucked straight from the trees (were they? or my fancy as always?). And 'churan' made out of 'bor'. Teja bought all the churan the lady had. I found the packets weeks later in his camera bag.

Oh, by the way, the full name of the Mawsmai cave is Mawsmai Nongthymmai Elaka Krem Pubon. Meghalaya. I saved up the entrance ticket. Ha!


Churan - a sour-sweet-salty powder, usually liked and licked by kids.
Bor - a sour-sweet berry.

9 comments:

dipali said...

Awesome pictures- they look like good abstract art!
Nice profile, Banno:)

SUR NOTES said...

banno with her hair a flaming orange. i found you!

have always found it very easy to find you with or without the flaming orange hair:)

Banno said...

Thanks, Dipali. Yes, Teja's interest in my profile had nothing to do with me, only with the lines.

Sur, :):)

Anonymous said...

yikes! makes me claustrophobic to look at the caves...but you are a fine addition to these fine photos, Banno. Love your hair in the first shot :-)

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Is having that much fun legal? :)
You really should put up more pix- these are beautiful.

Banno said...

Memsaab, yes, I was wary myself, hate closed spaces. But it's a very short journey.

Shweta, fun is a strange thing. You often have more in retrospect, ever felt that? Yes, will post more.

Anonymous said...

Guess what? Been there, done that :)

It was far more amazing than anything else to be done at nearby Cherra.

I had for company a junior official who was shocked out of his wits to see 'Madam' indulging in child-like thrills in dark confined spaces :P

Thanks for sharing this and refreshing my own memories of fun.

Banno said...

Yes, Shankari. That's what it was, very childish fun.

Anonymous said...

It was only after reading the comments, that I looked for your hair, and noticed you! And the second pic shows your nose too!

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