Saturday, December 19, 2009

Wild Fruits

"What would I eat in the town?" a Solung man is said to have remarked when alloted a plot at Seppa and persuaded to leave the jungle. "The jungle provide us all the food we need." No truer words could be spoken. Wild fruits like bachiñ, taro and diirañ-sañkhañ/sañchi flash in the mind.

Diirañ-sañkhañ or sañchi is the favorite fruit for children. If one breaks it, it paints whatever it touches blood-red. When we used to go to jungles during our childhood to get such fruits and did not get as many as we wanted, we would paint our lips with even one or two. This would save face and prevent other friends who stayed back from making fun of us.

It is diirañ-sañkhañ/sañchi time now. It tastes as sweet as it used to decades back when I tasted it last.

8 comments:

  1. Sir!! really that was one of golden era, when we would paint ours lips and chin etc though we we had a piece or two. It was joyous days....

    ReplyDelete
  2. This fruit is not found in the jungle of Hija Diibo and Hong. Many elder of these express ignorant about this fruit. Any scientific reason ?

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Tutho. That's a new fact I didn't know. And it would be interesting to find out the reason. But it is a fact that many plants/trees are not found in all over the Ziro area.
    By the way, the picture of the fruit here is from the jungle on the way to Pange, which is a Hong jungle. And the people from Hong call the fruit sanchi. So, I am sure the fruit is foun in the Hong areas.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hong ? am sorry I didn't quer to Hong's elder but am sure that its not found in Diibo area . Danyi myolyi=Hong-Tajang and Danyi myobya=Hapoli-Salaya

    ReplyDelete
  5. pl.don't waste time 2 probe! FYI: people of Shillong and govt. of meghalaya is making Jam out of it JUST ENJOY...make a jam out of it and other flowers. Ke

    ReplyDelete
  6. Since my childhood I have not heard/seen any new tree of drang sangkha in my village area (may be wrong) but same old trees. Since vegetation depend on climate and various areas of Ziro plateau has slight or no variation in climate. My point was .... Could it be endangered at ziro valley if left it to grow naturally !!.. Perhaps Some horti people are taking interest now to grow it at bijee or sansu or mooree .

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good points. Let us wish good luck to those horti people.

    ReplyDelete