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Why North East India isnot so simple to live

 

You may be from any part of India, always have noticed & enjoyed all benefits, ease of day to day life. But today, my focus would be on North East India, which is no matter what, politically as well as geographically isolated from the rest of India. I will be discussing on each sector separately, stay strong till the end.

Living in North East India is not as simple as it seems. Although the scenery is breathtaking and the locals are warm and welcoming, there are several factors that make life difficult here. The terrain is rugged and transportation is limited, which makes accessing essential goods and services difficult. Additionally, the weather is unpredictable and prone to extreme weather conditions, such as flooding and landslides. You also might read one of my article with Nagaland – where I have depicted the tribal cultures of Nagaland.

 

  • My work culture:

It might be different for person to person, but particularly in my case, my work style was a big constraint. Life is difficult in North East India, specially if you are in the farthest corner of India , – Arunachal pradesh. Being a Drive Test Engineer its also tough. As a drive Test Engineer, my schedule time used to start from 4-5 AM, here early in the morning and this process used to lastΒ  till 7 pm. Staying without toilet, bath, foods for the whole day is kind of difficult thing I guess.

 

  • Living Cost – Cost for living :

Living cost is too expensive. I mean I’m not a tourist that I need to stay only 3-4 days, If I need to work here for 3 weeks at least, I should rent a room, but after lots of searching I could not manage a rent room but hotel rooms- costing 300 bucks per day excluding meal costs. A whole days meal ( 3 times food) may cost up to 170 bucks , You can make a decision if that cost does not suit you.

 

  • No night life- night activity :

No good timepass, no nightlife. Literally nothing. You will surely feel boring (though its from my perspective, because I need to stick to one location, so therefore I cant roam to other parts, besides, I didnot bring my cam. After 7 PM, no nightlife. All streets,markets turn into dessert with no man. I just had one thing to do after 7’o clock, – to wait until I feel asleep.

 

  • Instability:

Random strike for indefinite period of time. Kidnapping of merchants over there is very common, as a matter of fact market committee anyhow decides to shut down the market & stores for indefinite time interval until the problem is fixed. So you need to stay hungry, without your meals, necessary articles.

 

  • One-way transport system:

Transport system is lacking here too much, it costs more than time. Only available train is a train to Delhi (once in a week) from Naharlagun station. If you wanna pay, then a helipad also there, but no other alternative being a common man except the eternal bus ride. Bus routes available from Naharlagun to Siliguri/kochbihar(2pm- 5AM);Β  Nahalagun to Guwahati (5pm-5AM).

 

  • Inner line Permit :

You need to renew always you ILP(inner line permit), its the permit to stay in Arunachal Pradesh. they can always give you maximum 7days to 10 days permit for 300 bucks. Before the end day, you need to seek for the extension or renewal.

 

In conclusion, it is evident that living in North East India is not as simple as it seems. The region is fraught with political instability and ethnic conflict. Moreover, the infrastructure and facilities are not as developed as in other parts of the country. Thus, it is important to do adequate research before making the decision to move to this region.

7 Responses
  • Arpan Jyoti Mahanta
    April 9, 2016

    This is about Arunachal Pradesh more than the entire NE i guess..
    1) True that general amenities are few and far between quite true. But then again you mention that this is the farthest corner of India (as is ladakh, the Himalayan reaches of Sikkim, or even the Kutch of Gujarat for example) – so how justified is the issue here?
    2) Room rents in general are much higher for ‘non-locals’ like you and me . Then again, the locals in Arunachal barely ever feel the need to stay in rented accomodation anyway.. In any case, is Mumbai or Delhi any cheaper? Quite the contrary i guess..
    3) Nightlife? Expecting a ‘nightlife’ in such a far-flung area is an absurd demand, considering the harsh lifestyle of the people here; where you need to be up by about 4AM and make use of the daylight as much as possible and just sleep the night out. Not easy to get used to for us city-dwellers.
    4) Such incidents are actually much rarer in Arunachal than in, say, Manipur. In any case, these are on the decline too as the L&O situation gradually improves.
    5)Strikes are indeed a huge problem but being from Assam myself, i can see that the situation has greatly improved from before.
    6) The completion of the East-West corridor, Stilwell Road project and the Trans-Arunachal highway will hopefully, take care of the transport issue to a great extent. In any case, road development in such terrain is a huge challenge.
    7) Well do you really expect Butter naan and Tandoori in Arunachal :D… ? If you want to eat cheap, learn to survive on the local cuisines. Thukpa(in arunachal) ans the local rice may taste bland, maybe, but they’ll sure save your money .. Dont expect ‘mainlander’ cuisine to come cheap anywhere in the NE, at good quality.
    8) Nagaland recently relaxed its ILP norms to a great extent, and hopefully Arunachal will soon do the same. The good thing about the ILP is that it has maintained the indigenous culture, economy and society of AP ; something that states like Assam and Meghalaya have already failed miderably at.

    • TANMOY BISWAS
      April 9, 2016

      Arpanjyoti, Istly Thank you for your comment . yes what have you told I agree with completely.

      **Nightlife was just nothing. infact I stayed at Assam, 9pm still I think I can roam around the roads, even sometimes, I was late for dinner at 9:30 pm (then found very very less foods, I agree πŸ˜› ) , I am from kolkata where I used to roam even in 2AM, so suddenly habituating with 8PM’s sleep, market closure were a bit odd for me. so no offense pls . πŸ™‚

  • VENKATA RAMANA
    July 14, 2016

    I am a south Indian working in a bank in one of the remote area of Tripura. I am pure vegeaterian. I come from one of the nicesr city in the country with nice beaches and all.

    Now imagine how i spend my time here. But after staying here for one month what i discovered is…people are good. You get to know many people. Food..you can manage. I cook my own food. Yes we dont get shopping experience
    But what we get to LEARN if living under means. You get what you NEED not what you WANT. And yes we dont have train route here. The only way to get out of Tripura is either catch a flight or take bus to Guwahati and then take a train. In my case its not so adviseable as i will be using 40-50 hrs of my sanctioned leave in travelling only one way.

    So North East India- Tripura in particular is one place whrere you get to face something that you most probably will not find elsewhere in the country except for Leh-laddakh

    • TANMOY BISWAS
      July 19, 2016

      Dear Venkata Ramana, Yes I absolutely agree with you – you reminded me of those days I spent in Arunachal pradesh. I controlled my expectations of getting quality foods there. so as less expectation, more happiness. πŸ™‚
      And in Arunachal pradesh, there were no Airports. πŸ˜€ I travelled all along 30-35 hours in Bus – Bus- Train( Itanagar- Guwahati – NJP – kolkata).
      still my conclusion would be North East India is enriched with its hidden treasure of natural beauty.

  • […] You can also read my article about why lifestyle of North East India is why so hard based on my own living experience in North East India, you can give it a read from where. […]

  • […] If you’re looking for an offbeat travel experience, staying with locals in homestays is a great way to immerse yourself in the local culture. And what better place to do that than Kibithoo village? Nestled in the Himalayan mountains, this quaint little village is a world away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The locals are friendly and welcoming, and you’ll get a chance to experience their way of life up close. I stayed here for a night. And they offered me some of their uniquely made tea made with Yaak milk. Well, it was a lifetime experience for me. Although I have mentioned lots and lots time that experiencing life in North East India is not so simple like other cities. Of course there are reasons. You can check out my post why north east india is not so simple to live. […]

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