Again I was bitten by the travel bug. After more than a year, I could not resist my desire to explore an unknown place in Nagaland. North east India treasures its most fascinating places with rough terrain, hostile surroundings and simmers of a violent past. Nagaland happens to be one such treasure. Its struggle for freedom, survival and territorial unity continues till date with violence brewing in many contours of its domain. Deadlocks in dialogue, factional disintegration and occasional clashes with the high and mighty have not marred the spirit of freedom, self identity and pride inherently present in every Naga. This time I headed towards the historic village of Khonoma in Kohima district of Nagaland, where the seed of the struggle for identity and independence was carefully sown.
My journey started from Guwahati in Assam which is the congested gateway to any north eastern state. Somehow I lured my travel friend Alpana to accompany me in this journey. She agreed to come as we wanted to explore the Dzuku valley of flowers which is blooming at this time of the year. We rushed out of Guwahati by the overnight intercity express to Dimapur on September 1, 2011 in order to beat the terrible heat in Guwahati. After about 5 hours of train journey we reached Dimapur and boarded a taxi to go to Kohima the capital of Nagaland. On the way, we got a glimpse of the eastern most district of Nagaland called Mon, as our co-passenger happened to be from there. His version of Mon district was quite bleak, as he was fed up of the lack of development in that district. I tried to cheer him up by asking about food specialities and scenic attractions of Mon, which he gladly shared. He took pride in saying how Mon is blessed with its geographical terrain and has tremendous possibilities of trade with Myanmar. He said even today barter system exists between the villagers of Mon and Myanmar. He said how the house of the village headman is situated on the international border of India and Myanmar. The headman probably eats in Myanmar and sleeps in India inside his own house. I kept wondering how borders ever mattered to people living on them. We are fighting wars and formulating policies to maintain these borders but I keep thinking whether borders could ever make peoples’ lives better in today’s shrinking world. I thought that our lucky headman must be having dual citizenship of two countries and hopefully enjoys the privileges of being a citizen of a democratic republic and that of a junta raj.
Once we reached Kohima, our dreams of going to the wonderland of Dzuku valley were shattered as the weather played dirty tricks with us. Our local friends suggested that instead we take off to Khonoma from Kohima and try to explore Dzuku from there. Luckily friends in Nagaland could swiftly make sure that we were comfortable in a taxi which took us to Khonoma from Kohima. In an hour’s time, we were at the welcome gate of Khonoma. Just as we were entering, a huge monolith captured our attention. It said, “Nagas are not Indians; their territory is not a part of the Indian Union. We shall uphold and defend this unique truth at all costs and always.”- Khrisanisa Seyie, first president of Federal Government of Nagaland, 1956-59. Incidentally I wore a T-Shirt that day which said ‘Freedom is my birthright’ and had 3 feathers in the colours of the Indian National Flag. Somewhere the spirit of freedom merged well, I felt at that moment. Suddenly a chill went down my spine, thinking if both the sentences stood against each other.
My friend Alpana was thrilled to see the greenery and wild butterflies in Khonoma. She was literally running after the butterflies with her camera. Our guide Mr Michael was a hunter-turned-conservationist who is an inspiration to many youths in the village. He has been able to promote Khonoma as a green village in the real sense, not just for Government sponsored projects and forestation programmes but he has mobilised the community to stop felling trees and hunting wild animals and birds in the village forest area. He doted on the fact that the ancestral demarcation of land as the forests on top, jhum field in between and terrace farms below was the most scientific process of conservation and farming which sustained this village for so long. His concept of conservation is very unique and indeed needs a lot of support from respective quarters.
Michael took us around the village where he showed the gateway used by head-hunters in olden times to restrict enemy inflow. He traced back the history of Khonoma to 1879, when the villagers of Khonoma killed the British officials and armed soldiers. Just like any other kingdom of pre-independent India, Khonoma also battled with the British and sacrificed almost 40 of their best soldiers in the war of independence. This fact seems almost unknown to the nationalists of mainland India. Meanwhile Michael was busy showing us the round table ground which accommodates the whole village during a feast to be given by the affluent sections of the village. The feast takes place for almost 10 days with rice beer and juicy meat cooked in authentic Naga spices for community members. This is a mark of respect, well-being and prosperity for the family and in return the whole village shower their blessings and goodwill to the family. Another significant part of the village was the Morung ghor or the dormitory meant for young boys, as Uncle Sakhrie Tsilie, a respected village elder puts it, “it was the first school for learning various skills like life skills, age-old tradition, woodcraft, basket weaving and farming where the village elders passed on this rich treasure of knowledge to their younger generations.” But today, young people go out of the village to gather such knowledge and move on in life. We tried to catch a glimpse of a Morung ghor with huge plates, spoons and a sturdy bed made out of single wood. These are used during community feasts and festivals. Michael also wanted us to have a close look at the hand-made gun which was used during the war against British soldiers which is still used by the community during festivals. Alpana and me tried to pick it up together and posed gleefully for a picture.
Khonoma today boasts to being the lungs of Nagaland, where nature is bountiful and conservation is the primary agenda. The frequent inflow of tourists from different parts of the world and rest of India has also opened up many avenues like the hospitality and transport business. Khonoma’s violent past is treasured as a very significant historic event both at the time of the British and also at the time of the Federal government of Nagaland. Even today, I realised that if it had not been this struggle for freedom, Khonoma would not have been able to maintain its unique identity.
The homestays in Khonoma were very basic, clean and comfortable but the hospitality of our hosts was priceless. We came back with bag full of home-grown garlic and squash, free of cost which will never happen in other homestays. The local cuisine of Khonoma was rice, smoked pork curry, king chilly chutney and fermented bamboo shoot curry. But we settled for homemade egg curry, lentils, fish chutney and hot rice.
Our journey to Khonoma was incomplete as we could not explore the forest, Dzuku valley and the rocky mountain with a human face, thanks to the weather gods. Hopefully, we can complete these in our next visit to Khonoma. Alpana also got some wonderful shots of moths and butterflies after a long struggle and we got back to Dimapur after a refreshing getaway. Our visit was a prelude to a longer time in Khonoma. The aromas of misty Naga Hills are very hard to resist. I am signing off from Khonoma now, till I get back again to unwind another adventure.
Travel Facts
• Guwahati to Dimapur: 290 Kms can be covered by road, rail and air
• Dimapur to Kohima: 74 Kms by road only
• Kohima to Khonoma: 15- 20 Kms.
• Travel time from Kohima to Khonoma: 1 hour by taxi and bus, Cost: Rs 600-700 Full taxi, Bus: Rs 30 per head which has specific timings.
• Homestays in Khonoma: Ranges between Rs 1100-1800 per person which includes food and stay.
• Travel guide cost: Rs 500 per day.
• Full Taxi hire from Khonoma to Dimapur: Rs 2000-3000.
My journey started from Guwahati in Assam which is the congested gateway to any north eastern state. Somehow I lured my travel friend Alpana to accompany me in this journey. She agreed to come as we wanted to explore the Dzuku valley of flowers which is blooming at this time of the year. We rushed out of Guwahati by the overnight intercity express to Dimapur on September 1, 2011 in order to beat the terrible heat in Guwahati. After about 5 hours of train journey we reached Dimapur and boarded a taxi to go to Kohima the capital of Nagaland. On the way, we got a glimpse of the eastern most district of Nagaland called Mon, as our co-passenger happened to be from there. His version of Mon district was quite bleak, as he was fed up of the lack of development in that district. I tried to cheer him up by asking about food specialities and scenic attractions of Mon, which he gladly shared. He took pride in saying how Mon is blessed with its geographical terrain and has tremendous possibilities of trade with Myanmar. He said even today barter system exists between the villagers of Mon and Myanmar. He said how the house of the village headman is situated on the international border of India and Myanmar. The headman probably eats in Myanmar and sleeps in India inside his own house. I kept wondering how borders ever mattered to people living on them. We are fighting wars and formulating policies to maintain these borders but I keep thinking whether borders could ever make peoples’ lives better in today’s shrinking world. I thought that our lucky headman must be having dual citizenship of two countries and hopefully enjoys the privileges of being a citizen of a democratic republic and that of a junta raj.
Once we reached Kohima, our dreams of going to the wonderland of Dzuku valley were shattered as the weather played dirty tricks with us. Our local friends suggested that instead we take off to Khonoma from Kohima and try to explore Dzuku from there. Luckily friends in Nagaland could swiftly make sure that we were comfortable in a taxi which took us to Khonoma from Kohima. In an hour’s time, we were at the welcome gate of Khonoma. Just as we were entering, a huge monolith captured our attention. It said, “Nagas are not Indians; their territory is not a part of the Indian Union. We shall uphold and defend this unique truth at all costs and always.”- Khrisanisa Seyie, first president of Federal Government of Nagaland, 1956-59. Incidentally I wore a T-Shirt that day which said ‘Freedom is my birthright’ and had 3 feathers in the colours of the Indian National Flag. Somewhere the spirit of freedom merged well, I felt at that moment. Suddenly a chill went down my spine, thinking if both the sentences stood against each other.
My friend Alpana was thrilled to see the greenery and wild butterflies in Khonoma. She was literally running after the butterflies with her camera. Our guide Mr Michael was a hunter-turned-conservationist who is an inspiration to many youths in the village. He has been able to promote Khonoma as a green village in the real sense, not just for Government sponsored projects and forestation programmes but he has mobilised the community to stop felling trees and hunting wild animals and birds in the village forest area. He doted on the fact that the ancestral demarcation of land as the forests on top, jhum field in between and terrace farms below was the most scientific process of conservation and farming which sustained this village for so long. His concept of conservation is very unique and indeed needs a lot of support from respective quarters.
Michael took us around the village where he showed the gateway used by head-hunters in olden times to restrict enemy inflow. He traced back the history of Khonoma to 1879, when the villagers of Khonoma killed the British officials and armed soldiers. Just like any other kingdom of pre-independent India, Khonoma also battled with the British and sacrificed almost 40 of their best soldiers in the war of independence. This fact seems almost unknown to the nationalists of mainland India. Meanwhile Michael was busy showing us the round table ground which accommodates the whole village during a feast to be given by the affluent sections of the village. The feast takes place for almost 10 days with rice beer and juicy meat cooked in authentic Naga spices for community members. This is a mark of respect, well-being and prosperity for the family and in return the whole village shower their blessings and goodwill to the family. Another significant part of the village was the Morung ghor or the dormitory meant for young boys, as Uncle Sakhrie Tsilie, a respected village elder puts it, “it was the first school for learning various skills like life skills, age-old tradition, woodcraft, basket weaving and farming where the village elders passed on this rich treasure of knowledge to their younger generations.” But today, young people go out of the village to gather such knowledge and move on in life. We tried to catch a glimpse of a Morung ghor with huge plates, spoons and a sturdy bed made out of single wood. These are used during community feasts and festivals. Michael also wanted us to have a close look at the hand-made gun which was used during the war against British soldiers which is still used by the community during festivals. Alpana and me tried to pick it up together and posed gleefully for a picture.
Khonoma today boasts to being the lungs of Nagaland, where nature is bountiful and conservation is the primary agenda. The frequent inflow of tourists from different parts of the world and rest of India has also opened up many avenues like the hospitality and transport business. Khonoma’s violent past is treasured as a very significant historic event both at the time of the British and also at the time of the Federal government of Nagaland. Even today, I realised that if it had not been this struggle for freedom, Khonoma would not have been able to maintain its unique identity.
The homestays in Khonoma were very basic, clean and comfortable but the hospitality of our hosts was priceless. We came back with bag full of home-grown garlic and squash, free of cost which will never happen in other homestays. The local cuisine of Khonoma was rice, smoked pork curry, king chilly chutney and fermented bamboo shoot curry. But we settled for homemade egg curry, lentils, fish chutney and hot rice.
Our journey to Khonoma was incomplete as we could not explore the forest, Dzuku valley and the rocky mountain with a human face, thanks to the weather gods. Hopefully, we can complete these in our next visit to Khonoma. Alpana also got some wonderful shots of moths and butterflies after a long struggle and we got back to Dimapur after a refreshing getaway. Our visit was a prelude to a longer time in Khonoma. The aromas of misty Naga Hills are very hard to resist. I am signing off from Khonoma now, till I get back again to unwind another adventure.
Travel Facts
• Guwahati to Dimapur: 290 Kms can be covered by road, rail and air
• Dimapur to Kohima: 74 Kms by road only
• Kohima to Khonoma: 15- 20 Kms.
• Travel time from Kohima to Khonoma: 1 hour by taxi and bus, Cost: Rs 600-700 Full taxi, Bus: Rs 30 per head which has specific timings.
• Homestays in Khonoma: Ranges between Rs 1100-1800 per person which includes food and stay.
• Travel guide cost: Rs 500 per day.
• Full Taxi hire from Khonoma to Dimapur: Rs 2000-3000.
