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A chemistry professor’s quest to save orchids in Assam

In Assam, the blooming of the foxtail orchids, or the kopou phool, marks the coming of spring. 


The exotic rare orchid, which is the state flower of Assam, sparked a curiosity in Ankur Rajgogoi who decided to find out about different varieties of the plant. Over a decade ago, in 2010, he decided to plant a foxtail orchid at his home in village Kukurasora of Charaideo district as he found himself staring at the flower.


“In Assam, it is easy to get two species of the Dendrobium genus (the or...
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A Bodoland mission to help victims of conflict heal

Ever since Abdul [name changed] had seen his house set ablaze by a certain community during the 2012 riots, he had felt vengeful. As a part of the Bodoland Happiness Mission, Abdul underwent almost seven years of healing and trauma counselling, which helped him realise that the conflict between the two communities had spared no one.


“I realised ‘hinsa’ [revenge] was a part of the problem, never the solution. I have forgiven the people who did this to my home,” he says.


The 2012 riots betwe...
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She’s a lifeline for Meghalaya’s endangered western hoolock gibbons

Betsida Marak, the manager of the world’s largest gibbon rescue initiative at the Sonja Wildlife Rescue Centre in Meghalaya’s Garo hills, is committed to protecting the western hoolock gibbons. It is a species of primates found in its highest density in this region, with about 500 of them at last count. 


The rescue centre, which was started in 2009 by Florian Magne, a French conservationist, caters to 10 hoolock gibbons that have been rescued from either poaching, domestication or injury....
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He’s saving Tripura’s puppetry tradition, no strings attached!

Every fourth Saturday of the month, the terrace of 54-year-old puppeteer Prabhitangshu Das’s home near Agartala’s Netaji Chowmuhani locality, is transformed into a lively puppet theatre. Children can be seen rehearsing till 10 pm, after they are through with their studies for the day.


The terrace is a flurry of activity, from crafting colourful props, learning to manoeuvre puppets, and rehearsing dialogues to writing scripts. Through it all, Prabhitangshu handholds each of his 10 students....
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Tripura’s “suitcase water purifier” is going places

It’s not every day an engineering professor becomes a knight in shining armour. But when Harjeet Nath walked into a school-turned-relief camp for those displaced by the August 2024 Tripura floods, thirsty residents rushed around him.Though the Kalipara school was surrounded by floodwater, safe drinking water was hard to come by. So the professor at the Department of Chemical and Polymer Engineering at Tripura University offered his new innovation – a suitcase-sized portable water purifier.As the...
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Karitchi, no longer a forgotten condiment of Garo cuisine

In the remote landlocked regions of India, especially in the hilly areas, salt was once an expensive and rare commodity. The Northeast had to rely on sea salt brought in through long and difficult trade routes, making it scarce and costly for the common people. Salt was a prized item in the barter system, often exchanged for agricultural produce, livestock, or other essential goods.Due to its high price and scarcity, people sought alternatives to sea salt. In the Garo hills, one such substitute...
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A saviour school for Assam’s displaced Bengali Muslim children

The state of Assam received a lot of attention for the attacks on the marginalised  Bengali Muslim families there, who were targeted on the pretext of encroachment and became victims of violence. One big incident was the Dholpur eviction drive that happened a mere 65 kilometres from Guwahati in September 2021. Here the picture of slain Moinul Hoque, who was stomped on after being shot, sparked outrage in the national media that questioned the state’s atrocities against the Bengali Muslim minorit...
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How Meghalaya’s Tura became a chess hub 

In a leafy public park in Meghalaya’s Tura town, a new sporting experience is pulling in the crowds. On any given afternoon, the park’s tranquil setting is transformed into a hive of strategic battles, all unfolding on 64 squares of black and white. 


Chess, the royal game of kings and knights, has found an unlikely home in this part of India — traditionally known for its love of football, cricket, traditional archery and martial arts.The weekends bring several sessions of chess games, each on...
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Mithun matters – Arunachal elders ban giving native animal in dowry

The monsoon is being blamed for causing a bit of a ruckus in Mirem, a quiet village of the Adi tribe on the banks of the Remi river in East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. As clouds gather over the foothills of the eastern Himalayas and rain begins to fall, the community’s most precious possession mithuns become its most vulnerable.  Weighing in at 800 kg of pure muscle and sporting a pair of horns sometimes 6 feet across, an adult mithun — or gayal, a semi-domesticated animal similar to th...
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This Arunachal boarding school is fostering Adi tribe’s cultural heritage

A morning of herky-jerky rain sets the scene. Five cars are parked beside a signboard facing a modest school called Nilung Tungko with students from the Adi tribe, flanked on the right by a little orange orchard. The trees stand barren. It is late June; not the season for fruit.Today is admission day at the all-boys boarding school in Komsing by the Siang river, a beautiful village of the Adi tribe in Arunachal Pradesh. Parents from near and far — some as far as Namsai district over 250 km away...
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Golden needles, purple tea: Women-led estate shines in Arunachal 

For over two centuries, tea has been synonymous with Assam, home to more than 800 plantations and thousands of small growers producing around 700 million kilos of the beverage annually. This accounts for about half of India’s total tea output. Now, neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh is venturing into the tea trade, with the Donyi Polo Tea Estate leading the way.Snuggled on banks of the Siang river and flanked by Daying Ering Wildlife Sanctuary, this estate is among the first in Arunachal to cultivat...
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Assam startup tastes success with antibiotic-free poultry farming

A soft chorale greets visitors outside homemaker Archana Das’ home in the tranquil farming village of Jijiga, located in the lush, forested southern reaches of Assam’s Cachar district, where the Jiri river flows and life is typically laid-back.However, stepping over the threshold of a 50-square-foot coop behind her house reveals a lively scene. The sound grows electric with the distinct chirping of over 1,000 young broiler chickens pecking at grain, moving around and playing their favourite game...
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Flood-prone Assam village sees hope with terra water filters

Barak valley in southern Assam and perennial floods have long been notoriously synonymous. Surrounded by a sea of floodwater every monsoon, thousands of villagers in Cachar district live with the paradox of “not a drop to drink”. However, a simple technology ensures that Rakhal Dey Laskar of Sarashpur village has clean water to drink. 


Laskar, a farmer in his late 40s, wades through the recent deluge to reach a whitewashed concrete tank fitted with a terra filter, set up among a copse of bete...
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How a pungent delicacy is supporting Tripura’s indigenous community

Smoking, sun-drying, fermenting, pickling… Centuries ago, long before the advent of modern refrigeration, ingenious methods were employed to preserve food. In Tripura, one such culinary tradition that has stood the test of time is the art of making berma — fermented fish.


Berma’s potently pungent presence in Tripura’s kitchens is indispensable. Among the Tripuris, the largest indigenous community in the state, dried and fermented silver barb fish, locally known as puti, holds a special signif...
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Assam villagers ward off elephants with draw of lots

An unconventional form of community engagement is quietly reshaping the conservation landscape in Assam’s Manas National Park, where elephants roam and forests whisper tales of ancient wisdom. It’s not through protests or petitions but via an unexpected avenue: a yearly lottery.


This isn’t your typical raffle. Residents of more than 160 villages, home to farmers, participate in this ritual that transcends mere chance. Their stakes? The safeguarding of solar-powered electric fences along the p...
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How bamboo farming is transforming lives in Tripura

Sivaji Ray, a humble farmer with less than a hectare of land to his name in Brahmakunda village of West Tripura district in Tripura, can claim big achievements. He embarked on a journey 18 years ago, moving from timber cultivation to bamboo farming, showing how adaptation in the face of change can transform life.


In 2006, he received a modest sum of Rs 6,000 and a handful of seeds of kanak kaich (Bambusa affinis) — a local bamboo variety — from the state’s agricultural department. Little did...
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Display of India-Bangladesh friendship at Tripura’s Akhaura post

Akhaura, 10 km from Agartala, serves as a vital land port connecting India and Bangladesh. A zero line, marked near Agartala-Akhaura check post, symbolises camaraderie. On Bangladesh's Victory Day, guards exchange greetings, sweets, and flowers.





Before the elaborate ceremony begins at the zero line, the area is cleared of visitors. An emcee ensures silence among the seated crowd before the performance starts, celebrating both peaceful moments and friendly rivalry.


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In Tripura, balladeers of snake goddess battle drug crisis with music

The rhythmic heartbeat of tradition echoes after 8pm in Jolaibari village, around 98km from Agartala. Sudipta Roy, a 25-year-old medicine salesman, concludes his workday and converges with his band in a chosen rendezvous — be it the community hall of the nearby Ram Thakur ashram, the village marriage hall, or a band member’s house to fight drug abuse in Tripura.


In a setting reminiscent of a baithak (seated gathering) session, the lead singer weaves verses from the Manasa Mangal Kavya into th...