THE BEAUTIFUL NORTHERN SUMATERA

  

          Lake Toba, Brastagi, Sumasir and Paraphat, these are the  Places that   would enchant anyone who would   visit Northern Sumatera. Medan is a very heaty town with concrete buildings and with the highest rate of population.     The climate at these places is Mountain cool, so it’s best throughout the year. For the first time I saw avocado trees with fruits near the shore of  lakeToba. Which looked like an ocean?    

        The trip with my teenage nephew Pravin and my nieces Dine and Dharshinee with their mum, gave a pleasant moment to my mind and soul. Our trips were on 2 different days. Due to the very tiring and long journey. Our first trip was to Paraphat and Lake Toba, and the second trip was to Brastagi.

         Brastagi reminded me of the western countries due to the cool climate and the farms with the farmers who dressed more like westerners in their worn out coats and blazers, but these farmers were much smaller in size. The Sumatrans are much smaller in size compared   people from other nations.      Their food is very simple food. I mean the daily meal. We managed to buy fresh oranges that were just plucked from the trees for a cheap Price. 
       
       Spicky cucumber was very cheap, each was sold for only 10 cents . My niece’s landlord was asked to arrange for transport for the second time.  ’Angkut”  a vehicle which is commonly used there as a mode of transport. Its like a coaster suppose to accommodate only 6 people but the  landlords relatives squeezed in with us. So 12 of us travelled in that angkut to Brastagi and to another hill which is very popular for visitors.

         Some thing I would like to share here is the mother tongue of these Northern Sumatra Indians has been forgotten. Only the 'senior citizens’ converse in the language, but the younger generations spoke only Indonesian language. Even their way of dressing is more like westerners.

       The oldies who came to visit us wore skirts and gowns. None of them wore chudithar or saree. I was a bit sad to experience  their culture. They are still Hindus who practice all the customs and festivals but  mother language has been  neglected

        But these Northern Sumatrans are very capable of taking care of themselves and to look good always. These women here consume a soup or liquid prepared from cumin, coriander and turmeric every morning when they get up. According to them, this herbal drink makes them look slimmer and avoid them to have flabby thighs and tummy.this drink is known as "jammu".  Jamu is sold at the roadsides by middle-aged women and each glass cost around 5 cents.

    So preference given for beauty and outlook.  This  is something that disturbed my mind and soul, during my eight days stay in Northern Sumatra, I was unable to find a bookshop or book vendor or even any Newspapers in English. Reading materials in English could not be found there. That’s the most sad news. People seemed to be very friendlier to outsiders.
   The famous Hawkers food is pecal and gado-gado. this is  avery simple and tasty meal prepared by using leafdy vege known as "kangkung" add with cucumber fingers and ponded roasted groundnut with chillies. It taste yummy. A plate  cost around fourty cents.
   During my stay in Northern Sumatera what I learnt was the food, life style and daily life of these peopel is too simple. Hence these peopel are very happy and live as happy as they can.