Back in 2017, over a glass of delicious home-brewed rice wine in Nagaland a friend had thrown the words ‘Dambuk Orange Festival’ at me. I was intrigued; Dambuk sounded exotic and the fact that it was an adventure and music festival held in the midst of orange orchards felt too good to be true! About…
Category: North East India
In Lake Country : Tawang to Bumla & Shungatser Lake
It was a freezing cold morning in Tawang; and we were supposed to go to Bumla. We had a reasonably late night at the Tawang Festival. It was the end of October and night temperatures in Tawang were already hovering in the negative. On top of the cold, the local alcohol that we all had…
Tribes of Nagaland – Hornbill Festival
As briefly mentioned in the earlier photo story; the Hornbill Festival near Kohima in Nagaland is a great place to have a glimpse of the different tribes of Nagaland in their traditional attire. Names of the various tribes of Nagaland are : Ao, Angami, Chakhesang, Chang, Kachari, Khiamniungan, Lotha, Konyak, Kuki, Phom, Rengma, Sangtam, Sumi, Pochury,…
Photo Stories from Hornbill Festival, Nagaland
I’d sipped a glass of delicious rice wine in someone’s home in Guwahati and had instantly made up my mind to go and attend Hornbill Festival. You see; the wine had been procured in Hornbill Festival near Kohima in Nagaland. That was the tipping point. I am rarely excited by the idea of bucket lists…
Pang Lhabsol Festival in Gangtok, Sikkim
The rapturous crowd had just been silenced. The warrior looked fierce and scary in the red mask ringed by five human skulls; he twisted and twirled as he danced. My hair stood on end in anticipation; there was pin drop silence even amid the chaos around. I instantly knew I was witnessing something special while…
Portraits from Manipur
I’ve spent only around a week in Manipur but its safe to say Manipur is one of my favourite states in the Northeast. On a usual trip, I may not click many pictures of the locals because sometimes they are not outright friendly – but it wasn’t so in Manipur. Even in the capital Imphal,…
Must Have Experiences in India : Loktak Lake
Manipur was turning out to be a destination that would change my perception of the North-East. Exploring Imphal was a breeze; also because the weather was perfect after a downpour. I had a day and a half to spend at Loktak Lake and was totally clueless about it. As the shared taxi rolled into Moirang,…
Life on Loktak Lake, Manipur : A Photo Story
If I ever made a list : Top 10 Experiences in India; it would have to include Loktak Lake in it. It is a unique eco-system with floating phumdis (land mass) on the lake housing moving homes. I know it sounds superficial or too good to be true; but thats exactly what this jewel in…
Places to Visit in Imphal : My Experiences
It had been pouring down in Kohima and I was trying to somehow get to Imphal! After having had my fill of rice wine during the Hornbill Festival near Kohima in Nagaland; I had to reach Imphal (in Manipur) because my flight was booked from Imphal airport. After standing in the rain for over 2…
Photo Story : Snapshots from Tawang Festival
An icy breeze blew as we reached Sela Pass (Se La) and the words ‘Welcome to Tawang’ dangled on the signboard. The prayer flags made a vociferous sound with the dramatic landscapes and little snowflakes fell from the clouds as we wandered around Sela lake. The lake was a sizeable waterbody just after crossing the…
Cherry Blossoms in Nagaland, India
After a lucky ride to get to Pfutsero in Phek district (what? where’s that!) of Nagaland, and sleeping soundly in the tourist home, we were roaming around town. I’d spotted a nice green valley and we were all keen on just walking around and knowing more about life in rural Nagaland. Then someone threw the…
Stunning Beauty of Umngot River in Dawki & Shnongpdeng
It was already 3 in the afternoon. The days end early in the north-east. Not one vehicle stopped for what seemed like an eternity. Then a cab slowly came to a halt; I ran toward the driver. I asked him ‘Dawki’; he didn’t understand it. Turned out that he knew neither hindi or english; but…