Shergaon was one of the last few stops in our trip to Arunachal Pradesh. We had stayed in Bomdila a day previous. The cold was bearable by then (or I had begun to acclimatise). I had started to miss home-cooked food. 😛😛 Yeah, I can be a child. I cut short my trips sometimes just so I could reach home earlier than planned and eat a plate of home-cooked lentil-rice with mango pickles. Or is this something that adults do? 🤣

After having visited Nameri, Dirang, Tawang & Bomdila, a template had begun to form in my mind. Mountains, altitude, cold, bland food, improper tea, warm people & splendid landscapes everywhere; that’s how I defined Arunachal. I knew what to expect from Shergaon, but Shergaon turned out to be a surprise.

Beautiful Cherry Blossom trees, rivers and brooks flowing everywhere, old (really old), huge wooden houses, small & big monasteries around, hiking trails, friendly dogs and incredible hosts of our home stay, that was Shergaon.

A 500 year old monastery

There was a 500 year old monastery nearby our home stay. Along with the age-old wisdom & teachings, they had also preserved the artefacts over the centuries. Thousands of prayer flags adorned the premises that fluttered peacefully as the winds blew. This was the place where thousands of people prayed over the centuries…countless stories but pin-drop silence within the premises.

Back at the homestay, the scene was a complete opposite. The family to whom the house belonged had a 5 year old kid who was mischievous, noisy and a total delight. He was running around the whole house, fighting with every other person he could 😜😜, and keeping the environment light. We had our rooms upstairs – cosy, big & full of wooden furniture. From my room’s window, I could see a few hills and beautiful, blossoming trees. I could really use a cup of ginger-cardamom tea at that time. And then, the universe conspired to give me exactly what I had asked. The hostess got me a cup of ginger-cardamom tea, with a pack of Marie Biscuits. It tasted closer to home. ♥️♥️

After tea, we visited the backyard of the house that led to a beautiful brook. The sound of the flowing water & the sight of nature made me lose my inhibitions & I broke into an impromptu dance. 😇😀

Fearing that I would accidentally slip and fall into the water, my family asked me to calm down. When I didn’t, they reminded me of all the work that’s awaiting me at the workplace coming Monday. 😜😜 That worked in bringing my energy to normal, manageable levels. And I went out for a walk. Until it grew dark, my brother & I kept walking discussing the idea pf peace, passion, purpose…and life.

And then, I got hungry!

Dinner Night in our homestay

Our hosts made a delicious meal of all things local and nutritious. It was a large meal, and tasted different but nice. Their cats remained around us giving us company, but avoiding all the food we offered them. Cats, you know! Hard to impress them!

The owner joined us for dinner and we discussed Arunachal Pradesh and infinite possibilities of tourism in the state. During the conversation, he shared that he had stayed in Delhi for a while but left because of the indifference that Delhites can show to people outside North India. Since I probed, he shared a few incidents. As someone who’s lived in Delhi NCR for most of her life, I feel quite ashamed when I hear such incidents.

But then, this is not about Delhi. This is an ‘India’ thing. Even today in 2023 when the world has progressed so much, we Indians find it hard to look beyond our ‘state identities’. No matter how accomplished, how well-read or how “intellectual’ we are, we would still end up bringing in ‘state’ in every conversation. Someone won a Nobel prize? Oh, let’s celebrate the community/ state this person was from. Forget the country. Someone became the head of a European country? Celebrate the state once again. Someone is running elections? Those who share the same ‘state identity’ will start showing off to fellow Indians talking about stuff that makes no sense.

We find it difficult to see beyond borders, language and our native geography. We judge each other on the basis of how we look (well, that’s true of everyone inside/ outside India). We make fun of each other’s appearances, food habits & language. While most of us discount these everyday behaviours as light humour, it’s a sign of deeply seated biases in us.

I hope I live long enough to watch India truly demonstrating ‘Unity in Diversity’. And until then, I will continue to not laugh at these jokes (that are not jokes but micro aggressions) & write about it. 🙂

Speaking with the owner and hearing him recount his bitter experiences in Delhi disturbed me for a while. but then his infectious optimism cheered me up.

A short hike the next morning:

We called it a day around 10:00 pm to wake up early the next day. It was a hiking day. There were many trails nearby through the flower plantations & Apple orchards. We picked one & hiked for about 2-3 hours walking through the thick foliage, passing the little creeks, jumping above the pebbles and boulders in utmost silence. It’s beautiful. I was thinking how would it feel to work remotely from Shergaon for a month. The internet connectivity was excellent, and so was the tea. That’s all I need for a month of remote work. 😄

When we returned from the hike, it was time to leave Shergaon.

With a somewhat heavy heart, I left Shergaon. In life, we chance upon some people and places that transform our perspectives about life. Shergaon was such a place. It taught me that it’s indeed possible to find gems on unpopular tracks in life. It taught me that not everyone has the same journey but largely everyone ends up finding their own destination. It taught me that ‘love & stories’ can be found anywhere- be it the commercially popular town of Tawang or the offbeat Shergaon.

With this, Theme 5, ‘ Introducing the Land of the Rising Sun in India – Arunachal Pradesh’ comes to an end. To access the previous posts on this theme, click the following:

Post 1: Introducing the Land of the Rising Sun in India – Arunachal Pradesh

Post 2: Exploring the unexplored; travelling through Dirang & Sela Pass to reach Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh

Post 3: Braving through Bumla Pass at 15200 ft & minus 10 degrees celsius in Arunachal Pradesh

Post 4: 7 things to do in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh for a soulful experience

In March this year, we introduced a new travel campaign, ‘Rediscover India, Incredible India’, as part of which, we bring unique & magnificent places of India to you one blogpost at a time. Each month, we choose a new theme and share curated experiences relevant to the theme week after week.

We will be back with a new theme next week. All suggestions are welcome!

Till then, keep travelling! And be safe! 🙂