Dreamy-eyed, I asked a teacher from Manipur, whom I had just met at the University Guest House, "How is Manipur?".
Coming from Delhi and now at Hyderabad, my mind was wandering all over the yet-to-be-seen land, wondrous in imagination, capturing it in its idylllic form. Mountains, meadows, lush green earth, chirping birds, cows and yaks grazing about peacefully, big smiles on faces of people. Picturing never-before-seen sceneries. Relishing new taste of delicious hot cuisines. Gathering experiences to tell.
The Orchids!! Of course.
"Just like this place", pat came the reply. I fell. Almost. From the highlands of the heaven to the lands of planet Earth.
I gathered courage, thought to prod along. "And food?", "Just like this"!
Where is the Indian diversity being told about from the school days and even experienced in fullness in childhood?
Where is that sumptuous richness of India?
Where have we forgotten our dreams? Our imaginations taking wings?
I had been musing all along, and then along came a girl from Nagaland. Visa! I saw her explaining the extracted DNA bands in the gel documentation software to her juniors. What energy! What self-confidence! Thank God. We talk every other day. Bit by bit, I will know about the mysteries of North-east land, leaving some mysteries to my own imagination...
