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Eye of time and Seven sisters
THROUGH THE EYE OF TIME. Photographs of Arunachal Pradesh 1859 -2006. By Tarr, Michael Tram and Blackburn, Stuart. Pp. 216, 203 colour and b/w photos, 2 maps, 2008. (Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands, nps).
THE SEVEN SISTERS OF INDIA. The tribal worlds between Tibet and Burma. By Stirn, Aglaja and van Ham, Peter. Pp. 168, colour and b/w photos, 2000. (Prestel Verlag, Munich, nps). Published in India by Mapin Publishing, Ahemdabad, Rs. 2750.
The land is not like our land,
Its sky is not like our sky.
Its sky sends rain down without the
Originating cause of clouds;
On its ground the green grass sprouts
Up without any aid from soil.
It stands outside the circle of the Earth
And the bowels of the enveloping sphere.
Many times I am asked; ‘Haven’t you had enough of mountains in last few decades. What new experience you can get now?’ In fact many times I wonder that too. The travel, roads, taxis, porters, peaks, camping and many things look familiar after some years. Soon you start taking interests in flora, fauna, history, geography, history and allied things to stimulate intellectual interests. This is what John Jackson in his book, of the same title, calls it More Than Mountains.
Last few seasons I have been visiting the northeast Himalaya which are untrodden and rather different than rest of the range. The above two books has widened my horizons, specially for these areas. Through Eyes of Time covers the history of Arunachal Pradesh with some rare and historic photographs. The authors undertook research through association with the School of Oriental and African Studies, London (SOAS) in consultations with many other scholarly organisations. The result is a very pleasing and authentic publication about an unknown area. More 200 pictures cover old and the new and we realise that still many traditions of the past are alive. Books like these are the best records before father time takes over and past disappears.
Authors have an eye for history too. Various tribes like Mishmis, Miri, Apatani, Khamti and many others are covered with their festivals, religious ceremonies, dances and social occasions. The photos are half archival and half contemporary reveal the tribal culture. The introductory article places the photographs in wider context. Noel Williamson, representing the British, met Governor of Rima (now in China) and that historic photo of 1910 is reproduced in the book. Next year, 1911, Williamson travelled in the Siang valley but members of his party, including himself were murdered near village of Kebang. The British dispatched a punitive expedition tilted ‘The Abor Expedition’ which burned villages, including Kebang, arrested murderers and brought them to justice. These historic events are covered in pictures, and interviews with villagers in 2005. It is invaluable record of pictorial history.
Over the years these ‘tribal’ have shown that they have an advanced society and culture while we fail to understand them. It is in this ignorance, today, what Verrier Elwin calls, we try to ‘civilise the civilised’. Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister put it correctly when he wrote;
I am not at all sure which is the better way of living, the tribal our own. In some respects I am quite certain theirs is better. Therefore, it is grossly presumptuous on our part to approach them with an air of superiority, to tell them how to behave or what to do and what not to do. There is no point in trying to make them a second rate copy of ourselves.
If the first books portrays how these areas were decades ago, the second book displays its riches and traditions as today. Between the two you get a complete picture of these lesser known states. Between these two book a wide canvas of the Northeastern state is painted. Many times people in the area feel neglected, less understood by other Indians and the outside world. Books such as these should lead to greater appreciation of their cultures and acceptance, and attract people to its time immemorial beauty. On climbing to the Apa Tani plateau McCabe wrote in 1897,
The sight is one I shall never forget, when we suddenly emerged on a magnificent plateau some ten miles in length, laid out in highly cultivated terraces watered by the Kale River. The valley was dotted with isolated hillocks, and low pine-clad spurs ran here and there into the valley from the eastern ranges. Our hearts warmed at the sight of primroses, violets, wild currants, strawberries, and I felt disposed almost to believe some of the wonderful stories we had heard of the fabulous wealth of this country.