Young girls serving tea during the Christmas Carnival in Kohima in Nagaland
These photos were taken in Kohima in Nagaland in December 2009 during the Hornbill Festival. Every evening, the main market would close and the streets given out to those who set up stalls to sell food, gifts and more. These included youngsters out to make pocket money, business, NGOs and some church bodies. All in all, great fun to walk around interacting with the locals.
Click on any image for a bigger view. You can also go to Facebook or Flickr to see the complete set. [continue reading…]
Tagged as:
Christmas Carnival,
festival,
Hornbill,
Kohima,
Nagaland
An evening view of Mokokchung in Nagaland
Even Tolkien couldn’t have just imagined a place so stunning. His fabled Misty Mountains in Middle Earth, those lofty sentinels of Rivendell, seem inspired by the forever fog-draped mountains of… no not Switzerland, not New Zealand… but Nagaland. Yup, Tolkien was there.
Why Nagaland, you ask? Why not, we say! The mountain peaks are perennially enveloped by magical mists. The people are cheerful and hardworking, always game for festivity. They may be shy but once they befriend you, they make you feel totally at home. Despite its small size, Nagaland is home to an unmatched diversity of local tribal cultures, costumes, dances, foods, dialects, music… And then there’s the spectacular Hornbill Festival. [continue reading…]
Tagged as:
Himalayas,
Hornbill,
Khonoma,
Kisama,
Kohima,
Misty,
Mokokchung,
Mopungchuket,
mountains,
Nagaland,
Sumi,
Tribes,
War Cemetry
I have just returned from the north-eastern state of Nagaland, for long a state affected by political violence and underdevelopment. Even before I left, friends and family expressed concerns over my decision to explore this volatile region. The usual expression was, Why Nagaland? I could not answer this before I left, but now I can.
For starters, safety is currently a non-issue. And hope it stays that way. I spoke to Government officials, Army and Police personnel, locals and other tourists – they all gave a thumbs up. They were not wrong. [continue reading…]
Tagged as:
festival,
Himalayas,
Hornbill,
Nagaland,
North-East
