3: The Village Fair and the Sherpa

Anini, the capital of the Dibang Valley District, lies about 500 miles northeast of Guwahati, the capital of Assam. Anini wore a festive look. Colourful streamers, banners and lights adorned the Fair. Reh is one of the most important festivals celebrated in Anini. In this festival, buffaloes and mithuns are sacrificed in the name of different Gods and Goddesses. A mithun is a cow-like animal commonly referred to as the sacrificial ox found in the higher altitudes of Northeast India.

Nevaeh looked adorable in the emerald-coloured wrap-around skirt woven with goat’s hair and tree bark. The beautiful floral prints and zig-zag lines stood out. The Yak hair-filled skull cap and traditional ornaments gave her an ethnic look.

Mayuka and Kiana wore silk waistcoats over sleeveless, knee-length dresses in scarlet and yellow. The long, colourful bead necklaces and hair tied up in a bun with carefully placed coloured feathers gave them a royal look.

Ahren never wore traditional clothes. He liked his coloured T-shirt and shorts. The only native item he wore was a deerskin headband adorned with bird feathers and green beetle wings. He always strung a catapult around his neck.

Cyan came wearing a soft helmet made of deer and bearskin adorned with tiny cane pieces. His traditional yarn-spun costume was knee-length in a mix of white, yellow and red colours.

Igashu looked majestic with his hair knotted over his forehead. He had a ceremonial sword secured with a waistband over a black and red woven wrap-around that went just below his knees.

Igashu’s father was also at the Fair. He asked Igashu to meet Tenzing, the Sherpa who would be selling coloured beads and deerskin at the Fair. “Tenzing is my good friend. Talk to him, and he will guide you well”.

After a quick snack of bamboo shoots with momos and a refreshing drink of apong, a type of rice drink, the gang headed towards the far corner of the Fair.

Sherpa Tenzing’s stall was easy to locate as it was the most colourful stall at the Fair. Tenzing was a short and heavily built elderly man. He was clad in typical Sherpa clothing of thick, coarse wool in bright red and green colours. A black sash was belted around his waist. Despite his snow-white hair and wrinkled face, his sparkling eyes and friendly smile gave the impression of a likeable person. He patiently listened to Igashu and his gang’s desire to cross the mountain and head towards the ocean and beyond.

“Bravo! You’ll sure are an adventurous lot. The shortest route, in that case, would be to go over the Patkai Hills, which are part of the Eastern Himalayas. This hill range is not too high at 4000 feet. Once you cross the Pangsau Pass, you will be in Myanmar”.

“Noooo! We want to go over the highest mountain”, said Ahren.

“Son, you are too young to climb mountains, and so are you, and you”, said the Sherpa pointing to Nevaeh and Cyan.

The youngsters were disappointed by Sherpa’s comments. Seeing their sad faces, the Sherpa consoled them by explaining, “we Sherpas have lived on the mountain slopes for thousands of years. Yet, we don’t take our young ones over the steep ranges. Let a few years pass, and you will be ready to explore all the higher ranges”.

Looking at Igashu, the Sherpa continued, “meet me early morning at Wakro the day after tomorrow. I will take you across the Patkai Hills”.

Disappointed and confused, the gang walked towards the centre of the Fair. This was where the buffaloes and mithuns were to be sacrificed to the Divine Mother as part of the Reh festival celebration.

Mayuka said, “Yes, the Sherpa is right. It would be unsafe for Cyan, Nevaeh and Ahren to join us. The climb can get rough”.

Igashu and Kiana nodded in agreement. “Don’t feel bad. We will plan a trip to the south after this. There are no high mountains there for sure”, said Igashu.

Ahren stomped his feet to show his disappointment and grunted loudly but said nothing.

Just then, one of the buffalo to be sacrificed escaped by jumping over the bamboo enclosure. This buffalo came charging directly toward them. Zino sensing the danger, swiftly blocked the buffalo’s path. Everyone, including the gang, spontaneously scrambled for safety. In the resulting stampede, Igashu and his team were separated. People seemed to be running in all directions.

Mayuka suddenly realised Cyan was holding onto her hand tightly as she ran along with the crowd. Igashu quickly sheltered Ahren and Nevaeh from the throng by pulling them safely to one side. Kiana and Zino found themselves together. Zino instinctively guided Kiana safely to one side.

Igashu was anxious. He had to find Mayuka, Kiana, Cyan and Zino soon. Many thoughts raced through his mind. Were they together? Were they hurt? Would Zino be able to protect them? Nevaeh looked worried, whereas Ahren seemed amused with the unrest and commotion. Igashu carefully climbed up the closest lamp post and scanned the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of his gang.

He immediately noticed Kiana and Zino a short distance away. Igashu quickly climbed down the lamp post. Instructing Ahren and Nevaeh to remain in the same place and not wander off. Igashu ran speedily to fetch them.

Igashu found Zino standing on his hind legs, straining to look over the heads of the people around. Zino spotted Igashu running towards him. Wagging his tail and bleating loudly with joy, he nudged Kiana towards Igashu. Giving Kiana and Zino a quick hug, the three briskly walked toward the lamppost. Embracing each other fondly, the five jumped in delight to be reunited.

“Where’s Cyan and Mayuka? We need to find them”, said Kiana.

In the meantime, Igashu climbed up the lamp post once again to look for the missing two. There was no sign of them.

“Ahren, climb up that big banyan tree. I am sure you will be able to see better from that height”.

Even before Igashu could complete his sentence, Ahren had already climbed up the highest branch.

“There, I can see them. Mayuka and Cyan are heading toward the exit gate”.

“Oh yes! I can see them too. Ahren, ride Zino and bring them back safely. We will wait here”.

Ahren quickly mounted Zino and disappeared into a cloud of dust.

Cyan was overjoyed to see Ahren and Zino approaching at full speed. Tears of joy ran down his cheeks when Ahren hugged him. In contrast, Mayuka wasn’t too worried. She knew there was only one exit to the Fair; sooner or later, she would meet the rest of the gang there. Ahren insisted that Cyan rides Zino as they made their way back to Igashu and the rest. There was relief and joy amongst them to see no one was hurt.

The gang felt proud of their leader Igashu. He had quickly reunited the scattered team. Excitedly, they walked back home, eagerly looking forward to recounting their experience to the family members.

Igashu’s reputation got a huge boost with his handling of the situation at the Fair. All the village elders realised that Igashu could think logically and act responsibly even under challenging conditions.

Little Ahren, however, did not feel that Igashu had done anything spectacular. He thought that the actions taken by Igashu at the Fair were what he would also have done had he been in charge.