A family picnic at Miao, Arunachal Pradesh, India

It was a cold evening on the 28^th of December, 2010 when I gossiped with a friend at his house in Tinsukia, Assam, India, the town where I lived back in 2010, over a cup of tea. We were thinking of going on a family picnic. That is the time of the year when everyone goes for a picnic. We called up other friends and invited them for this. But we were unable to find such a date which would suit all of us. The next day, on 29^th, we gathered at the same friend’s house and again the result was similar. So we thought we would go to some nearby place which won’t involve much travel so that everyone would be available for the picnic. After all sparing a day from the work was not very tough for anybody.

We looked for a picnic spot we had not been earlier, which would be near, less explored by people, peaceful and safe. We found one in Miao, Arunachal Pradesh, India.

This is how we embarked upon our family picnic program while 2010 was going to end.

Sometimes we seek peace and recreation in their purest form. If you travel to a distant place you lose much of your inspirational fuel in the journey itself. You wear yourself out physically, mentally and to some extent financially. The fun is when you reach your destination easily fully fresh and without being consumed. Miao seemed to be an ideal spot from all these points of view. Tourists were also not likely to crowd the place too much as it is less known and less explored. Or else the after Christmas rush to the picnic spots is generally mind boggling. Moreover it is a scenic place with a river having clear blue water.

We had a music set with a huge volume range fitted in our vehicle. We had also made arrangements to sing ourselves through a mike. Needless to say everyone tried hands....I mean throat, at it. The journey from Tinsukia, the town we stayed then in, to Miao took about one and a half hour. The journey, in itself was terrific. Imagine all the friends and the families moving together dancing, singing and breakfasting on eggs, sandwiches, oranges and tea. Since we had started early in the morning we reached the spot at about half past seven. It was hazy and cold. We had little difficulty in finding the spot.

The air was fresh. The water was blue. It was the neatest ever river bank I had seen. The music put us on fire and we all entered the blue waters of the river. A cook that we had hired from Tinsukia, started cooking. The water was cold but the sun had started beaming its rays for us. After some time the water became lukewarm. Occasionally we would come out of the water, taste a piece of chicken or fish and then again enter the water and start frolicking. This lasted for two hours in the least. Then we came back at the bank. However kids denied and they stayed in water. Since the river water was not that deep we were not worried. But we had asked the kids not to go too far as the river water flowed with an under current.

The cook had cooked very delicious dishes. For vegetarians, Shahi paneer, sweets and mixed vegetables were served whereas others were served chicken curry, fish fry and rice.

The food had added spice to our picnic celebrations. We also happened to cross the river by boat along with local rural people. On the other side of the river dense forests and hills were visible in the distance.

Since winter was on its way the day was short. Arunachal is the eastern most boundary of India and at about 2 PM the sun started getting weaker. We knew it was time to pack up. A friend of my brother-in-law who was staying at Miao, had requested us over phone to visit his house before we left. When we reached his house it was about 3.30 PM. He treated us with tea and snacks. We saw a peculiar thing in his garden. There were two separate trees with some common branches. He referred to the trees as 'Twin Trees'. Then we had a walk outside his garden observing the beautiful flowers and plants.

At about half past four we started back. Music took over again. But this tie everybody was tired. Everybody remained glued to the seats. When we reached back home it was about six in the evening.

We had come back to the city life again and the sound of running buses and the roaring traffic greeted us at Tinsukia. We were back to work the very next day but Miao visit will always remain in our memories.