Kalaktang Diaries

I am posted in Kalaktang, West Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh.

The place is well connected via road to different places of West Kameng town/ villages and with neighbouring state Assam.

Guwahati, International airport is around 6 hours from the town.

It also shares its international border with Bhutan.

The people here are majorly Monpas and also we has Sherdukpen and Bropas living around the area.

The place is scenic and rustic, a good place for touring and home-stay.

People follow Mahayana form of Buddhism.

River flowing through Kalaktang Town

This is a place to burn pyre... One can see such construction in every corners of the entire district... It makes me feel respectful of the place and understand that after we die, we become one with the nature... 

Prayer flags are posted everywhere, from road to houses, from farms to shops, etc... This a resting place along the way to Tenzingang...

 This is a Gompa in Samdrung village. The Gompa is very small but it is a reflection of Tiger's nest Gompa of Bhutan

 Autumn 

Autumn/ Winter blooms

 Early spring plum blooms...

 Kamlanchen Village...

 Towards Balemu road...

A cowherd tending his cows on the way to Balemu...

 Balemu scene...

 Across Balemu, somewhere in Assam...

 Free-rider, somewhere in Assam...

 Changing colours, early spring in Kalaktang...

 A closer look at the foliage...

 Chicken and Beer on the riverside...

Machete found commonly in Arunachal Pradesh... out of focus...

She is Anna, our neigbour's daughter. Caught her in a grumpy mood after she just work up.

Big Pixel, our dear cat

She is Midula. She stays with us and studies in Standard II (passed and now in Standard III)

This is a footpath in Kalaktang town with Buddhist inscriptions...

I often see this large mixed Tibetan Mastiff roaming about in the town... he got cherry eye symptoms... Poor him...

Golgappa/ Pani-Puri, a street food from the mainland India especially North India is very famous in Arunachal and there are two such stalls even in Kalaktang...

 A small dingy hotel with no name which has very tasty food. At times, we got here for lunch...

 Rice, beef curry, Lentil curry, Potato fry, Cauliflower fly, Shizchuan Chutney and beer!

 Strawberry in a Nursery in Udalguri, Assam. Nearest town for major shopping for us... Leica DG Summilux 25mm/F1.4 Lens test

Flower in Udalguri Nursery. Leica DG Summilux 25mm/F1.4 Lens test.

 Uninvited guest...In Udalguri while buying stationery for office...

 Hanging buckets outside a shop... 

Tenzingang, West Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh

Hello 2019!

I've not posted anything the whole 2018. The year was a mix bag for me. I changed my job and got busy with so many other things... well.... I am now in a new job which is not very taxing and also the place I am posted in; Kalaktang, West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh is scenic and a serene place.

I've recently got a used Panasonic Lumix 14mm f/2.5, Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4, Panasonic Lumix Leica DG Summilux 25mm/F1.4 and Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/1.8 Lens to go with my Olympus O-MD EM-5 Mark II.

Tenzingang is a Tibetan settlement area. Established in 1972 to rehabilitate initially 34 Tibetan refugees who came from Tibet during the Dalai Lama's exile in India.
The people living in Tenzingang are into agriculture. The land is very furtile and wet and mild climate throughout the year.
The main crop they harvest are Apple, Kiwi, Apricot, Maize & different types of vegetables. One can sea valley of cabbage plantation in the area which makes for a very picturesque scene.
For more info click the link below: 

https://www.centraltibetanreliefcommittee.org/doh/settlements/india/northeast/tenzingang.html

Below are few photos from Tenzingang. I may keep updating more photos in the later date.

A lone farm house in Tenzingang

Tenzingang township

This was taken pre-monsoon. The land is dry but it is being prepared for various vegetable plantation, mostly cabbage.


Another scene of the dry valley and the winding road...

A farmer's house in Kamlanchen village, near Tenzingang is situated on top of the hill. Mountain rising from deep gorge below makes for a melancholic and beautiful scene.

A home-stay in Tenzingang. Tibetans are well known for their good business and hospitality sense. So home-stay is mixture of their best attributes.


Tenzingang from an angle

The photo was taken during early spring when one could see plum blossoms...

Plum blossoms...

A man tending his plants. Beautiful varieties of plant grows in Tenzingang throughout the year because of its weather.

A garden behind a house... very pretty...

Shopkeeper... Old but very smart...

An old man doing his daily chores... Tibetans are hard-working and even in their old age, they keep themselves busy this way...

A cute cat...

Puppy seems to be curious and need for love...

An excited puppy greeting us...

This flower is common here and is called as Channa-phool. It is very pretty and comes in different colour... 

Jio telecommunication has done major deal with the Indian Govt. and is laying mobile phone cable all around Arunachal Pradesh. Such digging for the underground cable is a common sight here...

The valley without cloud...


The valley with cloud...

This is a traditional watermill which churns the wheel and the wheel rings the prayer bell throughout the day... Lovely...

 A Nepali farmer in Tenzingang in his modest abode...

House of a farm helper. Such houses are common because the farmers need more helpers who are mostly Nepalis and Adivasis from Assam for their intensive farms...

This was taken during His Holiness The Dalai Lama's Birth anniversary celebration in Tenzingang

Flowers were kept in a bucket outside the homes in honour of The Dalai Lama on his birth anniversary 

Flowers were kept in a bucket outside the homes in honour of The Dalai Lama on his birth anniversary 

It's monsoon and the valley is green now...

A quite moment taking in the lovely scenery during the Birth anniversary of  His Holiness The Dalai Lama

Tenzingang settlement from the school campus in Tenzingang

 Triplets... 3 monks, 3 women and 3 children...

 A friendly dog we met on the way...

 A girl going to the farm... It was sunny and yet overcasted... Just after taking this photo, we had a sudden cloud burst which is a common phenomenon in this part of the world.

Rain burst somewhere far down... 

After the sudden cloudburst, the road was all wet and it made for a lovely scene...

A Nepali cowherd with his cow who was kind enough to give us cabbages once when we met him... He was attending the cow even in the rain...