A glimpse into everyday life as India embarked on a new era…

Korobi Saikia writes of a childhood ensconced in the mesmerising beauty of Shillong and the lush plains of Assam soon after the end of colonial rule. Tracing her family's history back to a migration which, as legend has it, was from the Gangetic plains to the plains of Assam centuries ago, the author describes her grandparents' lives in Assam and talks about how the old ways her parents grew up with were recast in Shillong, a cosmopolitan melting pot in which people of various communities lived together in harmony, showing respect and appreciation for each others' practices and often participating in each others' festive celebrations.
 
In the years since she left the hills of Shillong, the author has lived in a town in England close to the famed vistas of the Lake District and in cities across India, ultimately settling down not far from the Sahyadri mountains. She has travelled extensively in Europe and has, at various times, worked as an advertising and publishing professional, an educator, and a corporate trainer. After about half a century as a rolling stone, Korobi Saikia now looks back at her childhood spent amidst verdant beauty which she has tried to find reminders of all through her life.