Thatched House

1. Kiphire  Today, 10th July 2013, is a special day for me. I came back from Peren this evening. That completes the tour to all the district headquarters of Nagaland. In January 2013, I managed to step foot in all the 11 districts but only today could I visit the HQ of Peren district. Let me quickly run through each of the districts through the lens of camera. Photo 1: Kiphire district, Pungro subdivision in particular is close to my heart. After my studies from Delhi, I decided to work in the Eastern side of Nagaland and landed in Pungro Community Health Centre. This was where I learned lessons in life that I could not find in books. It taught me first hand about the realities of rural Naga life. I enjoyed the trips to villages where I spoke in the church on health awareness. My first trip to Thanamir village will always be warm in my heart even if I were to live for a thousand years. After the treacherous, yet memorable journey, we climbed the 2nd Saramati the same day...

  No one can visit the same place twice. You have changed. The place has changed. IT IS NOT THE SAME. I felt this way as I made another trip to Thanamir village, Kiphire district on 27 th April, 2012 with the NRHM team. It was my 3 rd visit to the last village in Nagaland bordering Myanmar. Trekkers of Mount Saramati stop here to prepare for the climb. The villagers provide guides and potters. Also the village has become popular for its SARAMATI APPLES . Apple festival is organized annually from 2010. On my way, I can’t help but think of my first visit which was better by miles. And I protested inside to see that IT IS NOT THE SAME. I fondly remember my first visit each time I see the pictures and I relive them again. And I want to keep those memories alive. I don’t want anything to change. But IT IS NOT THE SAME anymore. It all seems polluted now. Now, when I think of those first fond memories, images of the subsequent visits come in and distort the vivid sequence of eventfu...

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...