Outlier 2: Sneha Lata Saikia - Preserving Culture Deliciously

The outlier in this feature, Sneha Lata Saikia (lovingly known as Sneha)  is unique as she is mostly found around something we all love “good food”. She however has walked a mile further into preserving and spreading love for her land “the north east”, a comparatively lesser known part of our country with some of the most unique dishes and cooking styles. Sneha leads a one woman army to tell you about it tastefully, by actually making you taste it to remember it and her excellent cooking skills ensure you want more. Her food for now is only for the fortunate few in Delhi who are able to make it to her showcase pop-up events in association with a few restaurants. However if you approach her in her popular facebook group The Kitchen Affair or in person and ask her about any dish she will answer you in detail about it with delight. 

So allow us to educate you and ignite the hunger for the north eastern food with Sneha...

Q: Sneha tell us a little bit about yourself and your life so far?

A:  I belong to an Assamese family with a Army background and raised with equal rights along with my brothers. As my dad was in Indian Army, I have got the privilege to travel various places and learn different cultures. I am professionally a fashion designer but a food lover by soul which is slowly leading me to the food world to research and establish myself related to food. 

Q: What is the definition of “food” for you?

A:  Definition of food for me is simply to satisfy the soul "Atma tripti" in hindi. 

Q: When did you learn to cook and what was the first dish you made?

A:  Although I was never encouraged to learn cooking but a food lover inside me used to compel me to learn cooking and try new dishes. I haven’t got any formal training in cooking, I have just learned by watching people and Television shows . My first cooking was when i was in class 7, I had baked a cake on a stove . My dad who never liked me to enter in kitchen, was most proud at that moment. That was my first cooking dish, but I never cooked after that till the age of 17. At 17 I cooked a complete meal for 30 people and that too on my own birthday. 

Q: You are active on various food events and also run a food-centric group. So tell us how it all began?

A:  After joining social media, I joined many food groups and I always got attracted to people who loved food. Fashion or other discussions never attracted me. But I felt people were ignorant with entire Northeastern region. For some Assam means some other country. So I thought why not organizing food events showcasing my cuisine. Instead of arguing with people, I found this is best way to convey or educate people about cuisines of Northeast India.

Q: When and how did the idea of preserving culture with cuisine come to you?

A: Same reason, gave me a thought to showcase our culture. I do not want to show any fusion food of my region,as people are still ignorant of our cuisine, so better to show them authentic food of our region .

Q: How has the journey been so far? (Would love you to elaborate on the good and bad both here)

 A: My journey in this food world is very interesting. I got mix people, some of them are now my very close friends who are always ready to help me to showcase or talk about my cuisine. Some tried to pull me down as I do not reside in Assam and their verdict is how can i showcase an authentic cuisine living outside the region. My word for such criticism is "you can live outside Assam but you cannot leave Assam from your soul.” Whenever I go back home, I travel to village to village to learn different tribe's cuisine. 

Q: What are the peculiarities for the north eastern food that you love the most?

A: I won’t use the word peculiarity for my food. Northeastern food is fresh, healthy and flavorful. We add flavors with herbs which is healthy. Even WHO has declared our cuisine as most healthy food of India. I love the flavor of fresh bamboo shoots in curries. The tanginess of roselle leaves in meat or any veg curry, the bitter vegetables which purifies blood. 

Q: What are the dishes you love to cook?

A:  It is very difficult for me to pinpoint one dish which is my favorite to cook. But I find Masor tenga (tangy fish curry) very quick to cook.  

Q: Where can one find your recipes and taste your food next?

A: I post my recipes in my food group - The Kitchen Affair and you can relish my food on my pop up events. I had recently organized a Bihu special menu pop up on 24th of April '2016. I am planning to organize another one as soon as I get my ingredients from home, as I get my ingredients from back home. 

Q: Do you plan to go full-fledged into having your own restaurant or doing these events in other cities?

A:  I have no plans for opening up a restaurant but I am planning to go to different cities showcasing my cuisine. I have got an offer from Bangalore. I am working on it.  Sometimes people ask me where can they order my food, so this is encouraging me to start catering on demand. I still want to maintain it as my hobby.

Q: Five dishes from the north east one must try in their life time?

A: Oh I cannot limit my list to five, but here are the dishes one shouldn’t miss out on in life:

a) Sunga t diya Mangxo ( any kind of meat cooked in hollow bamboo ) .  Assam 
b) Eromba - Manipur 
c) Pork chutney- Tripura 
d) Jadoh - Meghalaya 
e) Bai - Mizoram ( Boiled veg, meat and rice ) 
f) Dry fish chutney ( Arunachal ) 
g) Pork with Anishi ( Nagaland ) 
h) Gya Thuk ( Sikkim)

Q: What are your other interests and hobbies?

A: My other interest is to make interesting concoctions with spirits and Northeast ingredients. I love listening to music and travelling. 

Q: What is Sneha’s philosophy in life?

A:  My philosophy in life is to respect human beings. No one is superior. You learn every day and on every step. 

Thanks a lot Sneha for your time and educating us about food. I am sure after reading this article we would be successful in breaking atleast the barrier of "unknown" when it coes to cuisine of North east. 

Sneha: It was a pleasure. 

If you are a foodie I am sure this is just the beginning of your journey in exploring the North east through the delicious route.

Note: Pictures courtesy - Snehalata Saikia. All the dishes in this article are cooked and clicked by her. 

Outlier 1: Mr. Sumant Batra

Once upon a time…a solo traveler while travelling through the mystic lands of Himachal came across

a beautiful village, Dhanachuli. He stopped by to imbibe in its fresh air, its beauty within him to be able to deal with mundane life in the city amidst pollution later. As he climbed the ladders of his career, he kept going back to the place, now looking at it more closely, understanding its culture, its people and unlike a tourist thought of preserving and building upon it a centre that would help this little place stand proudly as one of India’s cultural hubs on the global map - Mr. Sumant Batra. He is a Corporate lawyer by profession and one India’s leading ones at that.  He was the founder and managing partner of one of the top law firms Kesar Dass B. & Associates till 2011, where he now serves as Mentor and Chairman. He is a writer, a poet, a museum curator, collector and now moves on the path to philanthropy. His vision and mission towards restoring and building upon our nation’s natural and cultural heritage is what makes him, the first “Outlier” to be interviewed.

Q: First of all thank you sir for your valuable time, having this session with us?

A: The pleasure is mine.

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

A: I am a corporate lawyer and believe in doing my best at what I do. I  took my career very seriously, and with God’s grace, very early in life, reached the top. There and then as I had decided right at the beginning, I left when I was right at the top; which was to live those hobbies that were left somewhere on the way. The other face of my persona is that of a collector, I preserve even an old matchbox I find artistic. That sums up most of me.

Q: Why have you chosen Dhanachuli as a base for all your activities?

A: For me Dhanachuli was love at first sight. The day I stepped foot on it, I loved it so much that I didn’t want to go back. I build a house there in 1997.  I first built a resort there and slowly as I started the process I understood the place, its people and their enthusiasm, needs, etc and decided to do something more. That is where I slowly started dreaming of my work being more of a platform towards development of a place I love so much.

Q: What is your vision with Dhanachuli?

A: I aim to transform Dhanachuli into a smart village where economic opportunities are created out of art, culture, literature etc. It began with my resort which was lovingly created out of every antique piece of furniture I collected over the years.

Q: You left your career when you were at the peak, how difficult has it been?

A: Well, to be honest it was a tough decision, surely for the lifestyle that came along with my position, the respect and attention but I always knew I would take a decision to leave things when at a prime position. I was conscious of the choice and the limitations that came along with it. But yes even then it did hit sometimes for example when you do not get invited to the conferences you have been keynote speaker at etc. or fly first class but I look at the big picture then and my aim of doing something for a greater benefit of society and in that moment this feeling evaporates.

Q: What are the events so far conducted at Te Aroha and how has the response been?

A:  We have done a series of retreats – painters’ writers’, food, tea tasting, bloggers and others. But KLF is the first mega festival planned.

Q: Why a literature festival?

A: I am a writer and a book collector. My next museum – The Room of Classics is planned around the art of book making; also, I love reading. I admit I haven’t read as much as I should have during my work days, but I plan to do that now. Literature is an intrinsic part of culture and serves as a powerful tool to communicate. India is going through a massive transformation and her youth need guidance to comprehend this change effectively.  Writers and poets play an important role in mentoring youth. Therefore I decided to do a literature festival.

Q: What are the USPs of the Kumaon Literature Festival?

A: First of all it is not just a literature festival, but a complete experience. Firstly, we do not have the authors brought in, give the talk and then taken away in separate hotels away from the crowd. We have arranged every event such that the readers get maximum interaction time with their favorite author. You will go for walks with them, have all the meals with them, in short spend the entire duration in their company. This is one thing I personally found lacking in all literature events and I was very particular to ensure we do not have barriers between the writer and the reader.

Apart from this, there is much more for everyone to savor, for example there is Balad by Basanti Devi, Sufi songs by Harpreet Singh, performance by Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan, folk dance of Kumaon, for the music and dance lover in you. A trek to old Dhanachuli and Nainital, star gazing and astrophotography workshop for the nature lover. There are also cyles sponsored by Hero and one can just pick up one and ride around the region, and get in closer proximity of the natural surroundings.

Q: What were the major challenges in putting the lit fest together?

A:  To me the single challenge has been to convince people that a world-class event can be held in a remote village. Sponsors are hard to come by. Believe you me I have received an overwhelming support

Q: You have an impressive panel of authors for each session, including many big names, was it difficult approaching any of them?

A: Surprisingly No. All the people I approached didn’t show any hitch in travelling to a destination not directly connected by air. Some were even kind enough to tell us that they would reach on their own. The support from the entire community has been enormous and that is one more reason I would love to do this activity each year.

Q: Tell us a little about future events in the Kumaon that are being planned by you?

We will champion four major festivals that will become a regular feature – KLF, Dhanachuli Film Festival, a theatre and a poetry festival.

Q: What are your favorite books?

A: To Kill a Mocking Bird, Old Man and the Sea amongst the classics, and The Second Lady and Godfather amongst thrillers. They are embedded in my memory.

Q: You have been involved in so much, what is your time management mantra?

A:  It is simple. I am an early riser. I do most of my work in the morning. I am focused and determined. I do not go for parties much instead I enjoy spending that time with my family, especially my children. I ensure I spend as much time as I can with my kids, be it taking my son for cricket or reading a book to my daughter. I also ensure I spend one day of the weekend entirely with them which keeps me happy and energized.

Q: What has motivated you the most?

A: The mantra if you work passionately and honestly you can achieve any goal.

Q: In one line you call yourself as?

A: I enjoy the journey as much as the destination but I must keep moving and doing more and more.

Q: Complete the following line: The world would be a better place if…..?

A: Successful people were humbler.

Thank you so much for your time sir, we wish you and the festival all the best.

for more details on The Kuman Literary Festival please log on to http://kumaonliteraryfestival.org/

Outliers

Everyone works for themselves albeit for many similar things, the most basic ones "food, clothing and shelter". However, a society as a whole doesn't progress with everyone just doing enough for their survival. We as a race, have progressed beyond all other species in the animal kingdom not just because we think, but for the fact that our thoughts are holistic, about making our lives, lives of our families and our society as a whole better. This altruistic sense of achievement has had a huge cost on the individual, like the father of Genetics Gregor John Mendel, dying of depression, being mocked for he could reproduce his experiments only with sweet pea. A more familiar example being that of Galileo Galilei being held in house arrest for entire life and his work being condemned for supporting Copernicus's heliocentric structure of the universe. 

Going by the 80-20 principle, this 20% of population in their small yet significant ways, do more than just for themselves and their families. They step beyond their comfort zone, sometimes struggle and even fight for what they believe is needed for a progressive society. These people are "Outliers". In this section we aim to write about their lives and work, for they inspire us in those times when we want to give up. This section will cover people from every walk of life, a housewife victimized by domestic violence, turning into an entrepreneur to support women like her; to the creative wizards who entertain us through youtube, taking over the giant television industry. It highlights a step taken for the society. With a hope that when the tenth experiment of your life has failed, this section inspires you to go do the eleventh, we would regularly bring stories/ interviews with personalities that inspire and motivate you. Summing it all up by the following lines by Steve Jobs...

If you know someone that inspires you, please do write to us at matrixlife01@gmail.com.