Thatched House

The huge Juniper tree in front of my house at Kikruma village is legendary. My grandparents used its shade as home. It also served as home for ghosts where they raised their young ones. Now, I want to make dwarf plants (Bonsai) out of it. (Strictly speaking, Dwarf plant is not a synonym of Bonsai) I have been reading about Bonsai for some years. My interest in Bonsai began when I went to a plant exhibition in Imphal around 2003-2004.  It is time I put into practice what I have read. Juniper trees are said to be ideal plants for growing Bonsai, but it’s hard to find Juniper saplings. So, I have to manage with cuttings. I took around 20 cuttings each from the two juniper varieties that were available at home. Out of about 40 cuttings, only 2, one from each variety survived and developed roots. That’s a success, actually. These are the two.    My mom already had these other 2 saplings (below); again from cuttings.  So, here we are, set to begin. Keep a close look at ...

Thanamir Village of Pungro Block, Kiphire District is the last village in Nagaland bordering Myanmar.  Trekkers to Mt. Saramati hold the night at Thanamir and prepare for the climb the next day. The villagers provide the trekkers with Potters and Security Guards. Why Security? To protect the trekkers from wild Yaks. Recently Thanamir has also earned the 'Apple Village' title for the juicy apples that are grown in the village. In the middle of July, 2010, I made a trip to the village with a few friends from the Nagaland Missions Movement.  Here's how it began: We filled our tanks at Pungro Town, my base The road in this bend held us for almost an hour. You cannot see any house here, but this site is proposed for setting up a new town called Khongsa. Villagers from neighbouring villages will come and settle here. EAC office is the only house constructed so far. While we were held up by mud, I clicked this double-peaked mountain. I think someone else clicked it too and put i...

:-) The first Saramati Apple Festival was held at Thanamir Village on September 29 with Dr N. Benjong Aier, Mission Director (TM-NE), Directorate of Horticulture, as the chief guest. Apple Store The Festival was organised by the Department of Horticulture in collaboration with the Nagaland Missions Movement (NMM) and Thanamir Village Council. Sale. Sold Out within an hour Yummy In his speech, the chief guest pointed out that the apples in Thanamir Village came as a gift of God, a gift that grew out of friendship between an Army personnel and J Yungbokhiung of Thanamir Village. He has urged for a partnership among the villagers, the NMM and the Horticulture Department to develop apple cultivation so that the present state of apples being used for personal consumption could be turned into a rich source of income for the villagers. The Department has already provided few thousand apple plants last year brought from Himachal Pradesh which are also doing very well. He e...

Clicked on 16th July 2010 The first tree, since 1981 Fruits from the first tree, smaller yet sweeter J. Yungbokhiung at Pungro CHC MO quarter Thanamir Village Fruits in 2009 clicked by Tangit Longkumer Apple Saplings at Thanamir