Month: October 2017

RootsandLeisure_Succulent_Northeast

These People Are Obsessed with Their Succulent Collection and We See Why

The succulent craze is taking over the world (well the Instagram world atleast!).  We know atleast one friend, who is crazy over succulents – and it’s a growing tribe! So we reached out to some of the people in Northeast, India, who are somewhat obsessed with growing succulents as a hobby.We caught up with them to check out their collection, their most prized item from their collection, and of course, to hear from them directly as to what it means to grow succulents as a hobby. Note : Succulents are plants that store water in their stems, roots, and leaves, and they exist in beautiful shapes – some of them imitating interesting flowers, forms – and hence making them an interesting collector interest 1. Imchawapang Walling “Succulent and cactus as a hobby is very addictive and needs a lot of patience but the joy and pleasure you derive from keeping those delicate plants alive is worth all the effort. Eulychnia castanea cv. varispiralis cristata, is my most prized item. It’s a very rare crested form very much sought after …

RootsandLeisure_Travel_Longsa

Land of Mystical Tales, History and Folklore | Longsa Village, Nagaland

For the lover of ancient culture, tradition, digger of history and folktales in you! Longsa – a picture postcard village, some 29 kms away from Mokokchung town, is hugely popular for its deep rooted cultures and traditions, shrouded with myths and mysteries, echoing rich poetry of the time millennium folklores. Definitely a place that you need to visit once in your lifetime, if you still miss your grandma’s fantasy stories! Lovely natives, stories of the village and of course, its beauty, are some of the key highlights of this place. It was recognized as a Green village in 2006 and is the only Ao village on the other side of Dikhu river. By any chance, if you happen to be a huge historical buff then this might be the place for you to escape to. Visit the Koralong stone that sits at an altitude of 1521 m above sea level, about two kms away from Longsa village. On a clear morning, you can see the Himalayan mountain ranges from here. A sight to behold. Awatsu is a …

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Catching Up with Biak Hauzel | Wedding Photographer from Manipur

Earlier, it was not everyday that we stumbled across accomplished people often who followed their passions over 9 to 5 professions and achieved greater heights in the same. But today, the scenario is completely different, as we see more and more people opting out to make off-beat career choices over regular jobs. It is all the more surprising to know that they had no prior intentions, ambitions or whatsoever to take up their current choices and had only landed there by pure accident. We caught up with one such individual from Manipur, Biak Hauzel, who took up wedding photography as his career choice years back and has been creating a rage ever since! Hi Biak! Tell us a little about yourself. I was born and raised in Imphal, Manipur. I finished my high school and then moved on to pursue my BA at the St. Joseph’s College of Arts and Science in Bangalore. To be honest, it’s been only 3 years since I’ve taken up wedding and event photography for a full-time profession and I …

RootsandLeisure_Recipe_Crab

Recipe | Smoked Pork with Dried Fern

What’s cooking for lunch today? Here’s a quick and simple recipe for a delicious home made style smoked pork recipe cooked with dried fern, that you can try out! Ingredients : 6-8 pieces of smoked pork (medium cut) 5 green chillies (finely chopped) 1 large potato (cut into cubes) A handful of dried fern leaves 1 medium sized onion 2-3 pieces of naga garlic Salt to taste  Direction to cook : In a large saucepan, put all the ingredients together, except for the naga garlic and potato Add water till the level of ingredients Cook for about 15 min then add the naga garlic and potato Bring it to a boil (in medium heat) until the water thickens up Ready to eat. Serve it hot with rice. Recipe contributed by Ien.

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Faces | Painting the Town in Culture and Art – Graffiti Artists Across Kohima

“What I like about this is that rather than the graffiti art, these young artists across Kohima choose culture and art. They choose locations across the town and very artistically paint walls and over bridges. All the paintings depict culture and heritage of the Nagas. Surely, an act of channeling creativity with a purpose!” ~ Amba Jamir  

Manga Artist and Animator | Dechen Tenzing from Sikkim

Has any one ever binge watched anime’s like Naruto, Full Metal Alchemist, Bleach, Death Note etc. ? Some of us in the Roots and Leisure team have 😉  There is something about these Japanese animation that is so captivating. For Dechen, it inspired her to write her own mangas and create animations which are based on tribal tales, fantasy and nature. D.P.Tenzing, 23,  is a Manga Artist, Illustrator and Animator living in Delhi. She is originally from Mangan, Sikkim. Hi Dechen! Tell us something about your art. How did you begin in the first place? When I was a kid I always loved watching cartoons and anime but after a certain point my mother started getting worried about me. Thinking something was wrong with me because at my age people would start watching normal T.V shows. Back in my village, I was watching Animax for the first time and Inuyasha was being aired. I was like “WOW!”. I  then took out a pen and I was like “HOW?”  and the rest is history. What is …

Introducing Chocolatier Easter who just Launched her Venture at the Maker’s Market

“All you need is love but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt” – Charles M Shulz Today it gives us immense pleasure to introduce a chocolatier for the first time on our blog! Meet Easter Tepa from Dimapur, Nagaland.  She has completed her diploma in Patisserie from ‘Lavonne Academy of Baking Science & Pastry Art’, Bangalore and has worked in ‘Amande Patisserie’ and Food Hall, Bangalore. ” I am so nervous and excited to launch – finally!” Having tasted her chocolates while she was still getting trained in Bangalore, we knew her stall would be a hit. R&L team had a chat with Easter. Why chocolates ? I returned home (Nagaland) in 2016 with the intention and hope of venturing into the food industry – particularly pastry and chocolates. It has been my passion for a long time now, and although I haven’t set up shop yet, I hope to launch very soon. I am excited about the adventure in this industry, and I plan to start with chocolates 🙂 Have you thought of …