Author: RNL Writer

Faces | A Day Spent at Chok Chai Farm,Thailand

Published by RNL Writer

“Me and my friend were passing through the Khorat province of Thailand, when we accidentally spotted a farm and decided to pull over and check it out. We discovered that it was the popular Chok Chai Farm – that houses in numerous animals like cows, sheep, horses, chickens and more. We decided to stay back there for a while. Most surprisingly, we even got to experience milking the cow, feeding the sheep, riding horses and basically watching the animals being on their own. We had an amazing time!” @t.prang  

RootsandLeisure_FacesSikkim

Faces | Kids Playing Badminton on a Cold Snowy Morning in Lachen Village, North Sikkim

Published by RNL Writer

  “This photograph was shot in Lachen*, North Sikkim. It was captured around 6:30 am on a cold January morning – just after Lachen had received its first snowfall (this winter). The Lachenpas woke up to see their village blanketed with snow. The two children in the photograph are little Lachenpa girls playing badminton early morning. Snowfall to these kids mean snowball fights, building snowman, running around and throwing snow at passers-by … fun times.I attempted to capture images of these raw expressions that a snowfall in Lachen usually brings. This was also a festive occasion because the community was engaged in celebrating cham dance at the gompa. So the general mood of the village was that of celebration and playfulness” ~ Mayalu Mesh (@thesikkimese) *Lachen is a picturesque tourist location in North Sikkim with just about 100-150 households. Temperatures in Winter months (Jan-Mar;Oct-Dec) fall below zero degrees, and the entire pine-clad village gets covered in snow. Lachen serves as the base for some wonderful treks in North Sikkim.

RootsandLeisure_Recipe_PorkColocasia

Recipe | Smoked Pork with Colocasia Roots (Arbi)

Published by RNL Writer

We all crave for home cooked food at some point or the other, doesn’t matter whichever part of the world we live in. And specially if it’s locally grown vegetables and ingredients, it feels like heaven. So here is another local recipe cooked using some local veggies – Colocasia root (locally called as Arbi) with Smoked Pork and garden herbs. Colocasia or Arbi is basically an edible root vegetable native to Southeastern Asia and the Indian subcontinent. They are locally grown around the northeast and cooked with different meats to create traditional delicacies. Prep : 15 mins Cook: 35 mins Serves: 6 Ingredients: 1 kg of colocasia roots/arbi, peeled and chopped 350 grams of smoked pork, thinly sliced (can be replaced with smoked beef) A handful of crested late summer mint (can be replaced with hooker chives roots or lemon basil) 1 inch of ginger knob crushed 1 inch of fresh turmeric crushed (in case you’re using turmeric powder use 1/2 teaspoon) Ghost pepper(preferably dried) as required Salt to taste Directions to cook :  In …

Rootsandleisure_Indonesia_Music

Making My Own Musical Instruments From Bamboo | Rizal Abdulhadi – Folk Music Artist from Indonesia

Published by RNL Writer

“Music is the universal language of mankind.”― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Rizal Abdulhadi from Indonesia believes this to be true. He is a full-time musician, instrument builder, multi-instrumentalist, social activist, video producer & editor and the founder of the ‘ThatBamboo’ company – a music label that uses bamboo to create hand-crafted musical instruments. The most interesting fact about Rizal is that he makes his own instruments out of bamboo. His most recent handcrafted instrument called ‘Rasendriya’ is a combination of guitar with didgeridoo and celempung (percussion).He recently came to India for the Ziro Music Festival, and we had a chat with him to know more him, his music and his craft. Rizal Abdulhadi was here in India for the Ziro Festival of Music and R&L team caught up with him to know more about him, his music & his unique musical instruments – and his experience with the people, the place and the festival at Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh Hi Rizal! Tell us briefly about yourself. Hi! I am Rizal Abdulhadi from the band – Rizal & The …