Kohima...Continued

The most prominent building in Kohima which is visible from almost anywhere in the city is the Nagaland Police Headquarters. This brightly painted blue and white building stands imposingly on a promontory overlooking the NH39. At first glance it could easily be mistaken for a star hotel with its long flight of steps and driveway leading to the main entrance. But the boldly painted title of the building would immediately dispel this doubt.

Perhaps Colonel Keating, the then Chief Commisioner of Assam, chose Kohima as the erstwhile headquarters of the Naga Hills, because of the Sky above Kohima, and not just for its strategic location.

The sky in Kohima is an uncanny shade of cornflower blue, so deep, so clear, it’s almost surreal. (I have seen the same or slightly deeper shade of blue in the heights above the Gulmarg valley…so it must be something to do with the altitude and total absence of airborne pollution.) The weather conditions must have influenced the decision for, on lazy summer days, when the sun gets a little too warm, there will still be a cool breeze rustling through the stoic Alder trees. Maybe it was all these and more—a far cry from the concrete skyline and asphalt jungle of the world outside. (Well, Kohima too seems to have acquired its own concrete skyline as I could see numerous concrete buildings clustered in the bowl of the valley. If this is not curbed or at least controlled as it is being done in Kodai, Tamilnadu, Kohima will become as congested as Shimla or Darjeeling.) This charming hilly hamlet offers visitors rare and vanishing vistas—of horizons beyond serried mountain peaks, of clouds bending to kiss these mountain tops, rolling hills of emerald green and Prussian blue, and at nights, the lights spread a sparkling carpet at one’s feet.

But if you think the people in Kohima to be dressed in tribal costumes, then you have to think again. The various tribes and especially the Angamis who inhabit Kohima and surroundings are completely anglicized and westernized. The young men and girls who strut about the roads would do any European fashion show proud with their latest designer clothes and accessories. They are mostly Christian, which means they have broken away from their tribal origins. They are regular church-goers, observe the sabaath strictly and have first names like Jack and John.