The magical village of Mechuka, about 30 kms from the China border is where I am today after a grueling 9 hour , 180 km drive from Along. This is the nearest you can come to the Chinese border without going through army permissions. You can get that too and reach the actual border, but that involves a 2 day trek through bitterly cold mountains ,and that is beyond my capability. So I am content with staying here and shouting very loudly a Ni Hao across 30 kms to our Chinese brethren ! Or as my good friend with creative handles reminded me, I should say "Xin nian kuai la" (Happy Chinese New Year)

The border is the McMahon line which China does not accept (it claims the whole of Arunachal Pradesh) . This line was accepted by the then independent Tibet, British India and China under the rule of the Manchus in 1914. The Communist Party of China has never recognised this on the grounds that neither the Tibetans nor the Manchu ruler had any right to bind China !! Hence the dispute, but the McMahon line is the practical border now.

Although the road conditions were very bad, even by Arunachal standards, it was an amazing drive. The hills were taller and the scenery was even better than my previous drives through Ziro and Daporijo. And I had the Siyom for company right through – Siyom is one of the tributaries of the Brahmaputra. And in the distance, peeping through the clouds, were the snow clad mountains of the mighty Himalayas. I am seeing snow capped peaks for the first time on this trip. There is a big Army presence all over this area (after all we are close to the China border). I had two army trucks for company on the road as they were going to Mechuka as well . When we all stopped for tea, I chatted with the armymen and found that one was a Tamilian delighted to find somebody he could speak in Tamil to !

Up and down we went, seemingly endlessly, until I turned a corner after a descent and entered the barren valley, more in the Ladakh mould, of Mechuka. In a couple of kilometres, the green changes to brown. It's a beautiful , small town (a village I should say, but nicely developed). Its in the valley with hills all round and in the near distance, the snow capped mountains. What a sight.

Mechuka is the home of the Memba tribe and I am doing a homestay with a Memba family. More of them in a subsequent post.

The town of Mechuka itself is lovely. Its bitterly cold here – late in the night the mercury drops below zero. Houses are mainly wooden , and of course there’s no heating, But every home has a fireplace, where a wood fire is lit and you gather round it in the evening and have your meal there . At night you swathe yourself in a ton of blissfully warm and fluffy blankets and in the morning you wake up to see the mountains peeping at you through the window. Sheer magic.

I roamed around the town all day. Stood on the banks of a gentle Yargyapchu river and ruminated on the meaning and purpose of life ! Went up to the hanging bridge which sways with the wind and bucks alarmingly when you step on to it and , yes, crossed to the other side (have a photo to prove it !) . Decided to give my companion a similar experience with a rickety wooden bridge that groaned and croaked and had a number of planks missing in the middle ! There’s a market, a bank, a number of shops , a couple of schools , and even an internet cafe (which rarely works of course !) here. There’s a small airforce airstrip, which they are currently expanding. I waited to see if a plane would come in, but alas there wasn’t going to be one today. The strip is charming – people are crossing it all the time, and I suppose when a plane is due, the army would come and shoo everybody off and let the plane land !

Me being me, I wondered what is the source of livelihood for the population here . Agriculture is not a real option – this is mountainous terrain. Timber, possibly. But the major source of income seems to be the army. They are building roads, bridges, and have a presence all over - so they have to engage contractors to do all this, which brings people here and some jobs I suppose. A number of shops have sprung up , far too many for the local population, but they survive by catering to the armymen and the contractors. How long is this sustainable? The obvious sustainable route is tourism, for this is a truly beautiful place, but the nearest airport is 2 days away and the roads are a terror. While the mass tourist is not coming, there are a number of seasoned travelers who are coming . Mechuka is very popular on the discerning traveler circuit and again many Europeans come this way. Today, however, I seem to be the only tourist in town !

The fascinating thing about Mechuka , and the Memba tribe, is that the road on which I travelled was built only some 10 odd years ago . Until then, they were simply isolated. If they had to travel to Along, they had to walk the hills for a month to reach, Few ventured there - they simply lived by themselves, The army presence was always heavy and the army supplied them with essentials by airlifting supplies. You would therefore expect the place and the people to be somewhat behind times. Far from it. They are the most modern of people in Arunachal Pradesh. Ten years ago they rarely ventured out. Now they have dish TV, mobiles, cars, visiting foreigners, and even the rarely functioning internet cafe. Many have email accounts, the young claim they are on Facebook (I was teased for not being on it), they even know Whatsapp, although connectivity is so difficult to get, How does a group of people transform like that in just a decade ?? I am simply amazed.

The town itself has a sad history from the Indo China war of 1962. Two battalions of the Indian army was simply overrun in the town. Their retreat was cut off by snow. They were vanquished. I went in search of a memorial, but sadly there isn't one.

Mechuka is a magical place, the likes of which is rare in India,It is traditional and yet mordern. It is difficult to get to, but amazingly beautiful in a rustic and natural way, The people are wonderfully friendly. Come here , if you can, before the hordes find out about the place. Its worth the slog of coming , many times over. Mechuka, or Menchuka means in Memba - "medicinal water of snow". Maybe it is the elixir of life.

PS: I have now uploaded photos in the previous posts too.