A HR Professional should be an Invertor

19.07.2010

I was invited by the Madras School of Social Work to conduct sessions on Team Building at the Skill Lab for the MA in Social Work group. I did a couple of activities on Team Skills.

I made the point that a HR professional should be like an Invertor. When a person comes fully charged up we should reduce the charge by absorbing the surplus energy so that he cools down. Then he would be ready for rational debate on the issue.

When someone is emotionally drained or negative we should in turn pass on a bit of our energy so that he will be charged up again and ready for dedicating himself to his personal growth and the organizational good.

It was a satisfying day and the interaction of the students was very high as also the quality of their participation and eagerness for content absorption.

While going through the Machine Game, one set of participants demonstrated a Direction Finder. The coordination was superb although they had made the directions go around while the needle remained firm. Normally it’s the needle that moves to point to the True North.

There were two girls from Nagaland. They were a bit poor on the communication side but quite friendly. One of them comes from Woka, which is on the way to Mokukchung.

Nagaland -- Opportunity Lost?

I am now in Kolkata Airport waiting for my Indian Airlines flight for the last leg of our return back to Chennai. As I am waiting I mull over my travels in the North-East in the lands of the Seven Sisters. At least, I hope, I got to know two of them well.

I return back with a lot of memories of Nagaland…especially the picturesque Mokokchung District, Land of the Ao Tribe.

Here is an extract from a brochure on Nagaland, titled “Opportunities unlimited” published by the Directorate of Tourism, Nagaland:

“Nagaland today is in a situation where many other famous tourist destinations were some decades back. However the potentials and diversity it holds are perhaps far more than a lot of existing popular destinations. Over the years, the state has been through a lot of ups and downs (is this euphemism or pun!-Sreesri)—but this has been a blessing in disguise for it has preserved the beauty, natural wealth and the overall sanity (sic) of the place.”

The brochure goes on optimistically to state that the Nagaland Tourism Directorate is doing a lot to promote a model where the Naga villages will be used as enviro-friendly tourist destinations thus enabling the villages “to generate their own income through the communitisation of assets”

In spite of the hi-fashion attire that is sported by the men and women even in remote Nagaland, the mass of the Nagas live in primitive conditions. These complete changes in dress and culture were possible because they had the opportunity to convert to Christianity and thus move directly from primitive tribal attire and culture to western mores. They did not apparently have the existential crisis of the Tam Brahms who had to discard a complex socio-religious code including dress and food to adopt westernization and the consequent guilt trip.

All this is fine in principle…but there is a long way to go….

These are the minimum changes needed to make these wishes to reality…

v The roads should be made better

v Larger passenger transport vehicles should be made available. The currently available “Zonal Taxis” are abysmal in comfort.

v The water and power situation should improve

v The locals should come out of their apparent apathy and actively “sell” Nagaland!

v The costs of everything should be scaled down to affordable levels for budget tourists.

A major problem in Nagaland is not just reaching Kohima but reaching interior districts. For example a trip to Saramati peak in Kiphire and back would take at least ten days for someone from any other part of India. So, they need to address this issue. Inter district Helicopters are being mooted already. Again the Ecological balance issue needs to be addressed.

Currently the only big event in the Tourism Calendar is “The Hornbill Festival.” The festival is the focal point of tourism initiatives and the meager number of hotels are over booked for this event. I was talking to An Ao Naga in Mokukchung about Hornbill. I asked him if the Hornbill Bird could be seen in large numbers during this festival. He gave me that vacant look and slowly replied that the Hornbill Bird was almost extinct in Nagaland! If you really want to see a Hornbill you can look at the photograph of a wood carving of a Hornbill that I’ve posted in this blog or you can try Assam!

Well…not for me to be negative… so let me end this post on a positive note:

With sixteen Tribes and as many dialects, Nagaland is itself an example of unity in diversity. When you take this diversified unity or unified diversity and connect it to the already colorful cultural kaleidoscope that is India…what have you…well India…the never changing…ever changing country that could never be truly conquered by its several invaders.

I truly loved my brief sojourn in this state and surely hope to return en famille obviously for Hornbill!

Dimapur

04.02.2010.

Camp at Dimapur

There was a taxi strike at Kohima so we had to locate private transport to reach Kohima. The road down to Dimapur, in the plains is again a series of curves and bendsthrough the misty mountains and the verdant vales.

Dimapur, the commercial capital of Nagaland is the largest city in the state. Dimapur shares its borders with Assam. Although lower in altitude than Kohima, Dimapur was equally cold at this time of the year. There is not much to see here except for the ruins of the Kachari kingdom.

I am staying at the De Orient Dream opposite to Hotel Saramati the only other decent hotel in Dimapur. The Kachari ruins are an unimpressive pile of red brick work. As it is a “preserved monument”, it will never be renovated. It is slowly falling to pieces. What I could see was a Darwaza and a lot of stone pillars on an open field. The place is an excellent refuge for vagrants and drug addicts. According to the guide book, the ruins give evidence of a culture that is pre-Aryan Hinduism. Because the Aryan domination of the Gangetic plain did not cross the Brahmaputra, the sino-mongoloid culture which is akin to the Burmese could flourish in Nagaland and Manipur. In this sense these states are unique examples of ethnic diversity in India!

Kohima -- WarCemetry

Kohima town has gone through dark days during the Second Word War (1937-1945) when the allied forces fought a bloody but victorious battle agains the Japanese in Kohima. The battle field where this took place is in the heart of the city. A war cemetery has been built in this place.

I visited this War Cemetry today. It is basically a park with various levels. On each level neatly placed plaques bearing the names of the British and India Soldiers who died in WWII are embedded. Each plaque has name, battalion and rank.

At the top most level is a huge cross standing tall and serving as a memoriam to those who died and a reminder that peace is the ultimate solution.

The Road to Mokungchung

02.02.2010

Returned today from my trip to Mokokchung. There is no doubt that Mokochung is a great place. But to enjoy this vision of greenery and rolling hills blanketed in mist, one should be willing to undergo the ordeal of a six-hour drive in a “zonal taxi”, usually a TATA Winger or Sumo. (Hiring a vehicle is prohibitively high and assuming one could do this the journey is still titing!) The vehicle would hurtle through the narrow and tortuously winding road. Having said this, I must concede that the journey, if made at a sedate pace, is visually rewarding as the road skirts the mountains continuously on the route. (Next time you see a map of Nagaland, don’t be misled by the straight lines depicting roads. What is not depicted is the mountainous nature of the terrain. Except for Dimapur, the topography of Nagaland is pure mountain and valley. So as we travel in Nagaland, we have a delectable view of the misty valleyts on one side and mountains on the other. The road moves from one mountain range to another with towns perched on the slopes of the ranges. So everytime the ghadi turns around a bend on the mountain the traveler gets another panoramic vista of hills beyond hills which is the constant backdrop for any where innnn the ghat section of the state. Occasionally, on a distant mountain ridge a church or building would be perceived in a prominent position shining bright under the direct light of the morning sun. And then the road takes a new turn and we reach a new page in the unending picture book of nature and color that is Nagaland.

Mokokchung Nagaland

01.02.2010

As part of my tour in Nagaland, I wanted to visit a project in the Tuensang district. Being informed that it is very far off sand that the journey would be equally arduous and subject to unforeseen calamities, I decided to visit Mokokchung district instead.

Mokokchung is an important district in Nagaland. 162 kilometers north-east of Kohima it is reached by a NH61 which passes through Wokha district enroute. It was established by the British as an administrative base for governing other remote districts like Tuinsang. Built around the existing settlement of the Ao tribe, the town of Mokukchung is another extraordinary example of scenic beauty and splendor in Nagaland. In fact for natural beauty, cleanliness and ecological balance I would rate Mokukchung even above the capital city of Kohima! My view was further confirmed today after seeing the traffic, congestion, dirt and squalor on the roads of Kohima.

Mokokchung is also famous because it is the first Naga settlement and also the first place where Christianity was first established in Nagaland. Incidentally, the Angama Baptist Church in Kohima is celebrating 125 years of Christianity in Nagaland between 4^th and 7^th February 2010.

On reaching Mokokchung, we checked into the Tourist Lodge before commencing work. This building is situated on a hill overlooking the entire town. In fact, above the Tourist Lodge is a tower which can be reached after a strenuous climb up a steep incline. From the observation platform above the tower you can see almost everything for a radius of fifty kilometers around the town. (The photograph I’ve posted above was taken from this position.) Standing there you will truly feel that the world is at your feet.

Kohima and World War II

Kohima was an important location in the south east Asian arena during World War II. The war between Japan and the Allied armies was partly fought here. In fact NH 39 is built over the original road that was used to march on Imphal after capturing Kohima. The relics from WWII are preserved and displayed in the War Memorial alongside the Tribal Heritage Centre.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose spent time here and in Manipur training and developing the Indian National Army against the British in his own attempt at liberating India from British rule. In this attempt he had to join hands with the Japanese.

Another memorial from WWII is the catholic church on Garrison Hill. The church is another prominent land mark visible due to its prominent location. In fact, I can see it now from the window of my room in Hotel Grandeur. Built with financial assistance from the survivors of the Japanese soldiers who also died in Kohima along with the Indian and Britishsoldiers. The prayer on the plaque in Japanese and English is for World Peace.

The Naga Heritage

The only place where we can have a glimpse of the Tribal customs is in the Tribal Heritage Centre. Here, the culture of Nagaland is preserved intact in the Window to Nagaland area. There are sixteen different tribes in Nagaland with their own peculiar type of huts, ceremonial drums, head dress and art and culture. They have distinct languages too but by a common understanding they now speak Nagamese a combination of Assamese and Hindi. To see Nagaland captured in a single place one should visit The Heritage Centre during the Hornbill Festival in the first week of December. All the tribes assemble here at that time and display their dance, music and cuisine.

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.

Kohima

Kohima is a nice hill station with houses and buildings perched on slopes on either side of the NH39. From the balcony of The Hotel Grandeur where I am lodged currently, I can see the profusion of roof tops, shops, churches and other structures spread in arrays on the slopes and the unending series of mountain ranges beyond. In fact the approach of dusk and dark provided an even more panoramic view of the town with lights blinking on buildings like fireflies and the almost full moon shining down on the scene.

From Imphal to Kohima

Camp at Kohima--Nagaland

The NH 39 from Imphal to Kohima passes through A district called Senapati. As we were informed that there was possibility of a five day bandh in Senapati District, Manipur from Saturday evening, we decided to leave today for Kohima. The NH 39 which passes right through Imphal goes to Kohima, Dimapur and then Gauhati in Assam which has replaced Shillong, Meghalaya as the nerve centre of the North East.

The road up to Senapati is fine. It stretches straight in the middle with the Sadar Hills on either side in the east and west. Occasionally the road curves as it climbs up an incline. A river with a small trickle of water in it flows along by the sidew of the road. As the altitude rises after Senapati, we say bye to the river valley and swing a bridge between to mountains to another mountain range on the way to Kohima. We had a light breakfast of Chow Mein and Momos at Senapati.

After Senapati till Maram. The road becomes pitted and extremely rough after this till Mao Gate. The ride is a bone wracking series of jolts and twists with dust flying everywhere.

The roads in Nagalad after Mao Gate are slightly better possibly since they are maintained by the BRTF.