Kohima through our eyes

Maisnam Chanu Liklainu *

A road in Kohima :: March 2009

"When You Go Home,
Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today"

This was the powerful lines from the famous Kohima epitaph. Who wouldn't be touched by these lines? The Kohima War cemetery was neat and eerily beautiful when a group of us visited the place. The incredible impact we felt and the romanticism we carried stirred me to attempt this piece. The inscription made us think and gave us a sense of wanting to go back to those days in the second World War.

The exciting part came when great music, mountains and poems greeted us to this place called Kohima. We saw the grandeur of the craggy and imposing mountains. The mountains were scaled easily by the people. I am a huge mountain lover and Kohima has plenty of it. Mountains adorned the beauty of the place.

It was always a pleasure to go up and down the hill. The various birds that we saw and the sound of the fluttering wings mesmerised us. As we moved from one place to the other we heard the wings flapping violently and saw broken wings of a bird. We spotted a bird with beautifully coloured plumage too.

Going further there was a ground which was not well tended and there we watched the little children swaying on a swing. Some herbs grew in abundance along with hallucinogenic herbs. Vibrantly coloured butterflies and bees swarmed the place and it was quite a sight. A gate swinging back and forth captured our attention and this was followed by the unexpected shower.

Kohima was immensely beautiful and the landscape gave an enchanting view. The smells and sounds of the place delighted us. The music they played was loud and boisterous and as we descended it was replaced with soft and gentle music. The songs that we hear were mushy, meaningful, emotional, heart breaking, depressing, honest and real that relate to their lives. The warmth of the people was unforgettable. Concerts, shows, meetings and interactions were frequent. The food was good with different flavours.

We love Kohima for the Tetseo sisters. Their music is great, music runs in their veins and this is specially true of Nagaland. The sisters are passionate and dedicated to their craft, they have the charisma and talent. They are hugely popular, more and more people are taking notice of the band. They combine a variety of musical styles with glitzy music videos.

They play folk fusion and world music on various themes, their songs have beautiful flows, they keep producing music that will keep them in touch with their roots. It's a refreshing change to listen to these sisters. The girls are lively and engaging and they look super cool. They are hard to recognize, it's not easy to figure out who are the youngest and the oldest of the sisters.

Come December and the month will be packed with action. The Hornbill festival and Christmas are fast approaching; the Tetseo sisters will entertain the crowd once again and it's the perfect time to visit the place.

I was introduced to Naga poems by my South Indian friend Deepa Velluyatham. She was in awe of the poetic talents from this region, I happened to read Naga poems with her and was enthralled by it ever since. As I flipped through the anthology of collected poems, I discovered that the poems were classy, engrossing and thought-provoking.

I felt proud instantly of our sister state. Once our English teacher admiringly spoke about Kohima. She often used to mention about the lush green, the dewy morning, the sound of church bells, flowers blooming, hearing the sounds of birds from distance, the rain and the springs. All these things left an indelible impression on her mind. This teacher had a glimpse of moon through a window to explore her mystical side. A bright moonlit landscape gave her the sense of romance and mystery.

The Nagas have good taste and this was visible in their unique taste of flowers. There was something truly admirable about how attractively they arranged their seasonal flowers in vases. I spotted daisies and dahlias and I couldn't resist taking a few shots. The seasonal flowers were widely grown and they used it on special occasions.

The flowers shone and it was beautifully laced at the binded point. There was something vibrant and spontaneous about this place. I saw only beauty in the things they do and create. It was such a joy to visit Kohima for friends, mountains, poems and music.