Kaka D. Iralu
I have heard that many people in Kohima as well as in the funeral convoy cried when they saw the Rainbow that appeared over the skies of Kohima just as the funeral cortege of late Kevilevor Phizo entered the outskirts of Kohima town. For me also, I found it very difficult to drive as my own tears had completely blurred my eyesight. That Rainbow appeared just as the funeral cortege reached the Orphanage area with Kohima town in the backdrop.
Now we all know that a Rainbow cannot just appear in the skies on a sunny day. It is also a scientific fact that for a person to see a Rainbow, the sun has to be at the back of the beholder and droplets of water before the viewer’s eyes. In other words, Rainbows can be seen (appear) only when the sun’s light gets refracted on circular water drops and beams back to the beholder’s eyes.
The second point that I want to state is that man cannot control the timing of rains to fall at some precise time or set the sun at a particularly right angle so that some people can see a Rainbow at exactly a pre-arranged spot and time. Yet, on that unforgettable day, after a particularly heavy downpour which started from Pedugei and lasted until Dzuza bridge, as the convoy proceeded on, that Rainbow appeared just as the convoy saw the northern side of Kohima town. The sight of Kohima town in the background and the funeral convoy slowly winding its way towards Kohima with a brilliant Rainbow welcoming them was a most beautiful and moving scene. As far as I am concerned, no other hand then that of our Heavenly Father’s hand “set his bow” (Gen. 9:13) over the skies of Kohima to remind all Nagas that He still loves us. After all, the Rainbow is the symbol of our Naga national flag.
I would also like to believe that he is reminding us that he has not forgotten our blood and our tears shed for love of our lands and also honoring Kevilevor and many others who had given their all and their best for our nation’s freedom.
The Rainbow is one of the most beautiful sights in the world. Within its bow, it encompasses all the variant colors of the universe itself. The Rainbow is an image where God seems to have condensed all of nature’s beauty into a visual image. And I am most surprised that though in human history, many other nations had preceded us in choosing the symbols of their national flags, they had all chosen other symbols and kept the Rainbow aside. This looks as if, all down the centuries of human history, the Rainbow was kept reserved just for us. Ultimately, when our time came to become a nation state, our history tells us that as A. Z. Phizo returned from Burma to take over leadership of our freedom movement, he saw a spectacular Rainbow over the skies of Kohima and chose the Rainbow to be the symbol of our national flag. Many will also remember that when his mortal remains came home in 1990 after thirty four years away from his beloved country, a Rainbow saluted his return over the skies of Dimapur Airport.
Long live- The Rainbow colored national flag of Nagaland. May you soon adorn the Asian skies with your unsurpassable beauty in total freedom and sovereignty.
