North-East Road Trip

When my friend Hemant Soreng of Rustik Travel told me he was going on an All India Road trip across all the states and union territories of India, I was green with envy. That is something I would have loved to be a part of, but unfortunately I could not take 6 months off from work which was the planned duration of his road trip in his Honda City. But then I could definitely take a week off and join him for one small leg of his epic driving expedition. And that’s what I did. I joined him for 8 days in the North East India leg of his road trip.

North East India is a lesser known region among travelers but utterly beautiful with dramatic landscapes, rich cultural heritage and warm loving people. I landed at the Dimapur airport in Nagaland on Saturday 25th Dec 2021 and was picked up by Hemant along with Ranjit, Kshitija, Preeti and Ram Prasad who had joined him a few days ago. Since we were so many, we had another Toyota Innova also with us driven by Chandan, a wonderful person and a great driver. We drove to Kohima, the capital and reached there after dark. Since India has only one time zone with the meridian crossing Mirzapur almost central India, the sun rises very early in the entire north east, and sets very early too. So by 5 o clock it is pitch dark. Kohima is on the hills and since it was Christmas, the whole town was lit up and we could see the shimmering lights from across the opposite hill. Early next morning we went on a trek to the stunning Dzukou valley at an altitude of close to 2450 meters. It was an arduous trek but totally worth it when we reached the main valley. The rolling hills sitting high among the clouds, green hillocks paving the way for blue mountaintops are a sight to behold. Dzukou Valley is most famous for its multicolored carpets of flowers that bloom in summer, most notably the Dzukou lily which is found only in Dzukou Valley. It started snowing while we were climbing and it was wonderful to see snow patches, though thankfully it didn’t snow a lot else we may not have been able to continue. We took lots of photos and selfies that I will definitely put up as my dp! If you have the proper gear, Dzukou Valley is also a great place to camp, but we returned back the same day. I have carried so many wonderful memories of the valley, the hills and the scenic beauty of the valley.

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Next morning I went for a walk to the local market called T.Khel market. It was a maze with hundreds of stores across the ground and 3 floors underground. They had everything one could think of from fruits, vegetables, meat, clothes, shoes, to luggage, toys, home needs and anything else you could think of. It also had a wet market where they sold live animals to be eaten. There were frogs jumping inside a polythene, white mice in a cage, rabbits, snails, silk worms and a lot more. I was told Dog meat is very popular with the Nagas. We tried some different fruits like the ground apple. Most of the stores were manned by women! The Naga women are extremely beautiful and well dressed. The dominant religion in Nagaland is Christianity and so most of the shops and stores were closed. We then went to the Kisama heritage village is the main site for the Hornbill festival which is held every year in December. This year though it was canceled in protest of some civilians who were accidentally killed by the army. The village has replicas of Morungs or schools where the culture and ways of the Naga tribes are taught. There are 16 major tribes in Nagaland and each has their own style of making houses, weapons and rituals. And all of these are displayed in this heritage village. During the hornbill festival there are dances, food and cultural activities by all tribes on display which am sure would be a fascinating event. I will definitely visit it someday.

The next stop was the Kohima war memorial, the site of the Kohima battle of World War II. It is a beautiful site atop a hill from where you can see the Kohima city. There are graves for all soldiers martyred in the war across several levels. Beautiful flowers and plants adorn the graves. Several epitaphs indicate the unidentified soldiers. The epitaphs also have the age of the soldiers which show many of them were very young as young as 20 years. Our guide Theja told us that till today families of these soldiers come here and pay their respects. On 28th Dec we drove to Imphal to capital of Manipur, which means the land of jewels. Imphal is a lot more developed than Kohima. All major brands have a presence there, there are good wide roads, and the city was buzzing with activity.  We reached in the afternoon and Vikas from Bangalore had joined us today and so we were 7 of us. Our first destination was the Kangla Fort. Situated close to the banks of the Imphal River, the Kangla Fort is a symbol of Manipur’s glory and has a special place in the hearts and minds of the Manipuri people. The word ‘Kangla’ means dry land in Manipuri.  The fort dates back to 33 AD when the mythical God-King Pakhangba first ascended the throne. In 1891 the fort was taken over by the British army after the Anglo Manipur war. Later the Assam Rifle took control till 2004 when it was handed over to the Manipur State government. The fort is spread over 200 acres. It still dotted with several shrines that are still revered by the locals. At the entrance of the palace there are two mythical creatures called Kanglaishah which has the head of a dragon with deer antlers and the body of a lion. The fort has well-manicured lawns and the world’s first polo ground. Close by is the Shree Govindaji temple, a historic Vaishnavite center. We reached just in time for the evening Aarti. It is a huge temple made of marble and entirely white in color. I have not seen more open space in any other temple. The priests were singing and beating drums while performing a subtle dance to the rhythm of the drums. It was a beautiful experience.

We started the next day with a visit to Ima Keithel or mother’s market. The market that has hundreds of shops is run entirely by women from several centuries. In fact no one quite remembers when it started. In Manipur, women play an important role in the family and in society and have a say in important decisions. The shops sold everything like shawls, handicrafts, knives, pooja essentials, food, meat, veggies etc. We picked up a few snacks and fruits that tasted delicious. Loktak lake in Moirang district was the next stop. It is the largest natural freshwater lake in India spread over around 287 sq. km. 50% or more of the lake is covered in floating vegetation called phumdis. These phumdis do not reach the floor and are floating in water. But they are so strong that one can stand on them and not sink. We climbed a hill nearby and the view from there was absolutely breathtaking! I have not seen anything like this before and I have traveled quite a bit. The fisherman create circular enclosures with the vegetation to trap fishes. And when you see from the top, it is quite amazing to see the circular patterns interspersed with  phumdis and boatmen leisurely wading through the waters. We also took a boat ride through the miracle and had lunch on the boat. Wonderful experience this. On the way back, we stopped by at the INA museum in honor of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj. There are many personal effects of Netaji and his photographs in this small but lovely museum. Since Manipur has several sporting heroes like Mary Kom, Mirabai Chanu, Kunjarani Devi and others, we kept asking our guides and drivers to take us to their homes! Obviously we were being overzealous! But Manipuris are very athletic and sports is an important part of their lives. Driving through the city of Imphal, we saw many stadiums and grounds with kids playing football and other sports. Apparently 7 players of the Indian football team are from Manipur!

The drive to Silchar the next day was a long and arduous journey. The roads are almost non-existent. In some places the potholes were so deep I wonder how we managed to cross them. I was at the wheel for a few hours – to earn bragging rights for being a part of the exquisite road trip! Ram Prasad’s playlist of yesteryear Bollywood songs made good company. On the way, we came across a bunch of local men and women in traditional Manipuri clothes performing a ritual taking blessings from their ancestors. They were singing and dancing and it was so colorful and lively, that we had to stop by. When there are beats, I cannot stop myself from dancing and so I joined the group and matched their steps performing their ritual dance. It was so much fun! They welcomed us, and a woman tied their stole around me. We performed a few dances and then their local priest blessed all of us! It was such a wonderful experience. I had admired the earrings of one of the women and she happily gifted them to me.

The next day was again a drive but this drive from Silchar to Aizawl the capital of Mizoram was the most scenic and the best drive of the trip. We were constantly driving at an elevation from one hill to the next through valleys and spectacular forests and betelnut plantations. Thoroughly enjoyed the drive through quaint little villages with the locals going about performing their daily tasks. Men and women had laid out their wares and children were playing about. It was such an idyllic landscape, I just could not take my eyes off the panorama. Of course we made many pit stops for selfies. We had packed lunch on the steps of a roadside abandoned brick building. Everything about the day was charming and alluring. As we neared Aizawl we could feel the hip vibe of the city. Like Kohima, Aizawl is on the hills and we could see the beautiful city from the opposite hill. Young men and women were zipping past us in their cool motorbikes. There was a young and happening pulse to the place. The roads there are winding with ups and downs, In fact there is not a single straight road. I don’t think i have the confidence to drive through the steep roads there! It was 31st evening and we went for a walk through the main street which was buzzing with activity and young crowd out to celebrate. Due to Covid there was night curfew after 9pm. So we went to a cafe called Chocolate room, had their local wine and some finger food. It was Ranjit and Kshitija’s wedding anniversary so we raised a toast for them. We then went back to our hotel and talked about old times and shared our stories. Ram Prasad is a great conversationalist and having worked in the ad industry and marketing for a long time had a lot of interesting anecdotes to share.

On the last day of the trip, we went to see the Solomon temple, which apparently looks similar to the namesake church of Jerusalem. The church has a seating capacity of 2500 and the courtyard can accommodate 10,000 people. Reportedly the church has been made using especially imported white marble. There is a lovely park with trees and flowers in the courtyard. From there we went to a view point on the hill opposite the main town from where we could see magnificent views of the town. It was then time for us to go to the airport and thus came the end of our whirlwind road trip of the north east.

This was the first time I went on a trip with total strangers. In fact I had met Hemant just a couple of times and did not know anyone else. But it was a motley group of very interesting and fun people and I had a great time with all of them, made new friends and learnt many new things. It’s always a pleasure to meet new people with different world views and life stories. It makes your life that much richer. One thing that I missed was trying the local cuisine. All the local food is non-veg and me being a vegetarian there was hardly anything I could try apart from some snacks and fruits. I had the Zobai vegetarian curry in Aizawl which was quite nice but nothing apart from that. But all in all, it was a fantastic trip and I have brought back a sack load of wonderful memories that I will cherish for a long time. I wish Hemant and Rustik Travel the very best for the rest of the journey and hope to embark on my own personal journey someday.