ODETOMYCITY
t was 1988. We moved into
our now permanent home in
the beautifully located Milan
Nagar in Dibrugarh.
Milan Nagar is a typical
countryside locality, much like what you see
in the movies. Only, it sits in a remote town
at a height of 300 ft. below sea level.
It’s a place where kids make paper boats
and wear plastic bags on their head when
the monsoons hit. Big and small, young
and old take a stroll using hand fans when
the daily power cuts of summer strike.
Neighbours cook meals together in big
cauldrons during winters when the harvest
festival Magh Bihu arrives.
Milan Nagar is divided into lanes
ranging from Lane A to Lane P. I was a
resident of Lane J, which comprised five
homes. It was one big daily party! The
brilliance of Milan Nagar was that it was
all interconnected and you could come
out of anywhere from anywhere. Lane
P had the tea gardens, whose workers
lived a basic life. The girls would work
I
the-mill hotels do exist, but of the lot, only
a few stand out. Giga Hotel in Milan Nagar
is one such. It opened its doors 60 years
ago and the earthquake of 1950 immersed
the hotel by almost half of its height. No
renovation and many years later, you need to
bend down to enter. And that has a charm
of its own.
We grew up eating Singora (samosa)
and Goja (an Assamese sweet made with
jaggery, flour and ghee) served here on most
evenings. On rainy days, they have pakodas
frying in a big pan outside and they sell
it on banana leaves for five rupees a cone.
The chutney is green and freshly made with
coriander and chillies.
Ramabadan Hotel is located in the
town centre, Thana Chariali (because there
is a thana; police station, and a four way
junction). This is where we ate dosa as kids,
and even today, they have maintained the
quality. As a kid, I was never able to finish
even one. It is rich in vegetables, quantity
and flavour. Generous indeed!
Joy Gobindo Hotel: the name is not even
I made the best of friends here. I made the weirdest
and the nicest of memories here. I had my first rush
of the hormones here. Dibrugarh has grounded me,
made me humane.
at the gardens after coming of age, as it
is considered that it requires a woman’s
expertise to choose ‘two leaves and bud”
which is eventually turned into the famous
Assam Tea. The boys find work as skilled
labourers or any job they land up with.
Hariya, a locally brewed rice wine, can be
found in roadside shops and our mothers
would die of panic, fearing we would
be attacked if we ventured on that way
during our evening strolls. I would always
take my friends there and chill in the rest
houses amidst the gardens and see the
sun disappear between tea leaves. It was
magical every single time.
Almost two decades later, most of
Dibrugarh has changed. Commercialisation
has struck. The usual franchises and run-of-
written anywhere, but that’s what locals
have known it as. Their specialty is yoghurt
sold in mud pots, covered with butter paper
neatly tied with a thread. They had their
own milk and the sweets in their shop are of
top quality always. The Rashmalai is a sweet
made from churning of milk and gravy of
thick cream, complete with pistachios and
almonds. It is the tastiest treat in this 30year-old sweet shop.
The Momo Ghor is also a favourite place
for youngsters and elderly to enjoy some
juicy pork, chicken or vegetarian momos.
Another restaurant that serves scrumptious
momo, thukpa and noodles is T Jordan. Its
colour-scheme keeps changing from time
to time. Blue now, it serves the best Tibetan
food in town.
September-October 2015 Travel Secrets 59