An account of a day in one of the locals daily life –
At the early hours of a Sunday morning “Cockroo coo.” echoed from the outskirts of hushed Tambun valley. Time to wake up everyone! announced by the primitive roosters to ‘rise and shine ..’ Hearing the roosters’ screech, Mrs Sukwant rushed out of her comfy bed to embark on another wonderful day of her life.
I still remember the aroma of the freshly-made chappatis waving across the house on that Sunday morning. It surely raised all our appetites to try the piping-hot chappatis! This was our breakfast with creamy traditional tea made from farm fresh milk. According to Mrs Sukwant, a weekday at this time would be a lot busier since her four children would rush for school while she would quickly rustle up breakfast so that they are well nourished for their cheerful day.
Mrs Sukhwant performed her household chores by merrily tidying, dusting, sweeping and mopping until midday for lunchtime cooking. We all enjoyed a scrumptious vege lunch freshly prepared for us. She finds her farm lifestyle very relaxing as the summer hours casts longer activity hours in a day for the locals. Being a tourist, you could explore so many places in one day!!
A source of income for the Singh family is to supply milk to their local customers where Mrs Sukhwant packs away milk for distribution in the afternoon. Soon after her task, she prepared some mouth-watering deep-fried snacks such as western-favourite French fries, and authentic samosa as our afternoon snacks. One thing for sure, Mrs Sukwant ensures all her guests enjoy their stay at her farmhouse by enjoying a variety of traditional Indian food, snacks, juices and delicious yoghurt flavoured drinks called lassies all day long. On the same day for dinner, we enjoyed a spicy pumpkin curry and deep-fired mouth watering puree (Indian bread). Yum! Total food heaven...
I had a wonderful stay at Mr Singh’s farmhouse. It was fascinating to encounter a day in Mrs Sukwant’s relaxing life. Touring Mr Singh’s farm, enjoying their traditional food while chatting with his family members were a remarkable experience. A very hospitable family who all guests would love to visit...
Written by: Shaz Kamal, Oct 2009
Photo Courtesy: Kathryn Cooper
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