Kolkata is an old soul. It knows everything. She knows when to love when to celebrate when to accept bandh, when to get serious and when to not. Kolkata opens wide arms to strangers. This city is rich in heritage and full of interesting places spread in every corner of the city. Kolkata balances her personal and professional life like a pro. She has her breakdown moments too, but when Kolkata gets up, no one shines like her. She is unconquerable. Kolkata was always called Kolkata in Bengali — derived from the name of one of the three villages said to have become the modern city of Kolkata. But the British called it Calcutta. Wherever you go in Kolkata, you will hear stories of the old days.
At the festival, Durga puja, play Jenga with your emotions. Chatim phooler gandho works like a spell on your mind. Pizza, pasta, and continental become things from different planets, vaat, daal, rui kalia, khashir mangsho,chaltar chutney become things you crave, along with Chinese cuisine. I know I added Chinese to the Bengali cuisine list because chow-min and chilly chicken are very much Bengali. no debate on this topic.
We save money for Durga Puja. Celebrate the festival forgetting all the tension about the future. As a Kolkatans, the 5 days are meant to be enjoyed. This is our birthright. Like adda, gossiping, jhari mara, on Satyajit Roy, Rabindranath, gorer math. Sons and daughters are expected to fly down to Kolkata, even from hell. “Pujoy bari asbi nah, ma durga swargo theke morte baper bari chole alo, tui asbi nah”. This is our “abdar” and we are allowed to be spoiled. And this feels so good, this feels so right.
In today’s apartment culture, we hardly know each other. While taking the same elevator ride, we look at the other person and try to remember “in which floor this person lives?” “have I seen this person?” “Is he eligible for my smile?”. Scenarios changes in Durga Puja. It gives a colorful sun-glass without any lens. We all are people who can feel the drum beats inside our veins 24/7- “dhikki chikki dhikki chikki”. We invite friends, and relatives from outside, ” Tumi Durga Puja dekho ni, Durga pujoy chole aso Kolkatay. Thakar chinta ki, amar bari ache toh”.
The whole city becomes a joint family, a single home. We will hear random people giving you knowledge about when to visit which puja mandap to avoid the crowd. Our “hi”, and “hello” changes to “pujoy kota jama holo”, “Pujoy ki plan”, “Pujoy kolkatay toh”…
Durga Puja is a festival that brings everyone together. Every year, it comes back to remind people of the same lesson. And Kolkata knows this, that’s why she will cherish, welcome, and flourish Durga Puja to the world as her inherited proud symbol.
We all know Durga Puja story. Durga Puja is one of the biggest festivals in Bengal and as well as in India. And not only in India but in all corners of the world. In long years the Puja has changed in many ways. But one thing remained unchanged. That is the pure bliss, the joy, the excitement that has never changed throughout the years. The style of Durga Puja in Calcutta during the British period was a little different. Even before British rule, the Durga festival was celebrated in Calcutta even during the Muslim period. Earlier, Durga Puja was not so glamorous then, Raja Krishnachandra of Nadia was the first to bring great splendor to this festival. And seeing his glorious Durga Puja festival, those who became rich during the time of the British government also started the same glorious worshiping of goddess Durga.
From the middle of the eighteenth century till the rule of the famous Act No. 10 of 1840, Durgoutsab was the best social festival in Calcutta irrespective of the class of the society. The joy of the natives in this festival is more than that of the company. From Esplanade to Enntali, from Latbahadur to normal clerk, no one could have dreamed of leaving Calcutta during Pujo. Most of the time they were almost ready to wait when Pujo’s invitations would come from different big houses.
Nemantanne ( Invitation) never made mistakes. During Durga Puja, Durga Puja tickets or invitation cards are used to go to different houses. At that time generous advertisements were published for the common people on behalf of the big zamindars. Advertising was an invitation for everyone. Because Babura knew, even though the occasion was Durga, this festival was the festival of the company. In the beginning, just like the money given by the company, in the end, the only desire was to get the company’s favor.
British People Holiday During Durga Puja
In the late nineteenth century, British officers based in Calcutta started going out of Calcutta with their families during Durga Pujo. They went on vacations to various places in Shimla, Manali, and Darjeeling. Following in the footsteps of the British, the Babu community in Calcutta at that time used to leave Calcutta. At that time, Durga Puja meant for them to travel outside Calcutta like the British. The Barwari Durga festival did not start in Calcutta at that time. Durga Puja used to perform only in the house of the big zamindar of Calcutta. Durga Puja was not performed in large numbers, as all the zamindars or big people in Calcutta used to travel outside Calcutta. At that time Pujo was not so glorious in Calcutta. But from that time onwards this touring tradition began. So far, the people of Kolkata have gone out of Kolkata for the Pujo holidays.
Apart from various pleasures of dancing, singing, and drinking during the puja, the people of the Babu community in Kolkata used to free the prisoners who were in debt. In the old days, a class of prisoners could be released only if they repaid the loan. At that time some rich people used to repay their debts and release those prisoners. They used to release more English prisoners to please the British government. As a result, during the puja season or at the small causal court, a crowd of underage people would gather. They want to go to jail right now, before Pujo. Because the story is about the hope of liberation soon.
At that time British officials used to perform Durga Puja with their own money. One of the employees of the company used to do Durgotsab with his own money. He is John Chips, the famous manufacturer of Hunter’s Annals of Rural Bengal. The popular ‘Sree Chikbahadur’ of Birbhum. When Chips set foot in Calcutta as a writer for the company in 1782, he was only sixteen years old. Within a few years, it was heard that he had been appointed Auditor General of the company. In due course (1787) he was appointed the first commercial agent of the company in Birbhum. The company traded in cotton, silk, lacquer, dyes, etc. Chips added to that, personal business. The company’s office was in Sonamukhi, and Chips’ home was in Surule, near Santiniketan. Shyamkishore, a descendant of Lord Singh of Raipur, was the dewan of chips.
He started Durga Puja in the words of his Dewan Shyamkishore to improve his business. Chips already knew about the British company’s official mood about Durgotsab. He organized the Durgo festival of the people with pomp and circumstance. And he used to believe that this Durga Pujo was the reason why his business flourished and every year Chips continued to perform Durga Pujo in his place. Mr. Chips used to spend only fifty rupees a year on this. Pujo costs only seventeen rupees. With the rest of the money, the village people used to get new clothes, and a full feast on the day of Mahasthami.
Ancient Ganesh Temple On Chhattisgarh Blog Cover picture source by Google Image
Chhattisgarh in India is now one of the most trending destinations for all travel lovers. Chhattisgarh is a heavily forested state in central India known for its ancient temples and waterfalls. Dholkal Hill Ganesh Mandir (Temple) is now a trending destination for all travelers. This temple is one of the old ancient temples in India. The 1100-year-old this small, mysterious shrine is located atop a hill in the middle of a dense forest In the Dantewada district, about 350 km from Raipur in Chhattisgarh. The small hill shape resembles a dhol (Indian drum), and hence, it became popularly known as Dholkal. I didn’t know if this temple is man-made or if some mystery had happened. But this temple’s location and its scenic beauty attracted everyone. A great treat for all nature lovers. Chhattisgarh is now one of the most important names in India’s travel books.
Sliced off from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh is one of the newest states of India, but one of the oldest enclaves, thriving with ancient traditions and customs. Weekly Haats (markets), ancient temples, dense and deep jungles, frothing waterfalls, a well-defined spiritual circuit, and intriguing customs are some of the things that awaken travelers to a new but old era.
As per the mythology, folks believe, a battle occurred between Lord Ganesha and Sage Parashurama on Dholkal hill a long time back. This was a fierce battle in which Parashurama attacked Ganesha with his farsa (ax) and cut one tooth of Ganesha. That’s why Ganesha is known as “Ekdant“. The village nearest to the hill is named Faraspal (the name derived from Parshuram’s weapon). It is also said that, because Parshuram’s farsa fell here, the Bailadila mountain range became rich in iron ore.
According to history, In memory of the battle between Parashurama and Ganesha, the kings of Chindak Nagvanshi dynasty set a stone idol of Lord Ganesha on the hilltop in the 11th century. The 2.5 to 3 ft idol has been carved in the shape of a Dholak (musical instrument) hence, the hill has been named Dholkal. The idol depicts Ganesha seated in his typical Lalit asana or playful and easygoing posture. It’s an open-air temple. The local villager worships the idol of Ganesha throughout the year, and a special fair has held at this site in the month of Magha, between January-February.
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The Journey
The most interesting part about the ancient temple is its journey. Raipur to Jagdalpur is 300 km and Jagdalpur to Dantewada town is another 80 km. Both private cabs and public buses are easily available from Raipur to Jagdalpur and Dantewada. Dantewada town to Faraspal village is 18 km away and Faraspal to Dholkar hill another 5 km trekking in the dense jungle it would help you immensely to hire the service of a local guide to make your way through the dense conifer forests. So let’s celebrate the Ganesh festival.
Many interesting places in India have only developed from human beliefs and myths. Later people’s faith and respect turned that place into a unique one. Baba Mandir in Sikkim, India is such that kind of unique place. People believe that Baba Harbhajan Singh died while on duty. And his demise does not stop him from doing his duties. Until Harbhajan Singh’s retirement age, the Indian army sent his salary to his family every month. Every year his belongings are sent to his family in Punjab when Army officers are on holiday. His life story motivated us. Indian Government establishes a temple in his honor in Sikkim. This temple is called Baba Mandir.
If you can’t find peace in any place, head to Sikkim. It’s the place where you will truly believe in the goodness of nature and humanity. The state of Sikkim, nestled in the North-Eastern part of India, isn’t exactly on the tourist radar. But it should be. The state has so much to offer to visitors. You will fall short of words to describe its natural beauty.
The temple of Baba Harbhajan Singh of East Sikkim has been built through various mysteries and stories. Baba Harbhajan Singh is revered as the “Hero of Nathula” by soldiers of the Indian army. He was born on 30th August 1946 in Punjab, Harbhajan joined the Indian Army at the age of 20. On 4th October 1968, while escorting a mule column from his battalion headquarters at Tukla to Deng Chukla, he slipped and fell into a fast-flowing stream and got drowned. The army searched for his body for three days but didn’t find it. Believed that one of his Sepoy friends was informed in his dream about the exact location of his body with his wish to be cremated there with full military honors. Later a memorial was built at the cremating spot which came to be known as Baba Mandir.
• The people of Sikkim and Indian Army officers still believe that even after the death of Baba Harbhajan Singh, his soul is still working in the border areas. • Any army official not maintaining clean and disciplined attire is punished with a slap by Baba himself. This shows how disciplined he was all his life. • It is also believed that water kept at the Baba Harbhajan shrine becomes capable of curing ailing persons. Devotees, therefore, leave bottles of water in the name of ailing people and then give this blessed water to the sick. • There is a belief in the army that Baba will warn them of an impending attack at least three days in advance.
• Every year on 11 September, a jeep departs with his personal belongings to the nearest railway station, New Jalpaiguri, from where it is then sent by train to the village of Kuka, in the Kapurthala district of Punjab. A small sum of money is contributed by soldiers posted in Nathula to be sent to his mother each month. • The Army is on high alert when Baba is on leave. • During flag meetings between the two nations at Nathu La, even the Chinese Army set a chair aside to honor him.
The End Story
Captain Harbhajan Singh retired from the army a few years back. Indian army hadn’t promoted him from Sepoy to captain. One important thing is that his family never received a salary every month from the Indian Army directly. But the soldiers there created a fund in his honor which raises money for his family. In 2005, he was scheduled to retire.
Many places around the world are famous over the globe for their unique story, culture, and tradition. India is a land of stories, so the variety of colorful cultures and traditions also surprise people all over the world. And all these stories and traditions are found mainly in Indian villages. The moral of the story is, that the village is the soul of India. The economic system of India depends maximum on the villages. Each village has different storytelling, which makes that village, unique in India.
The villages in India that I am referring to here have retained their unique traditions over the years.
The Mattur is famous in India as Sanskrit Village. Karnataka’s, Mattur is a quaint village located 300 km from Bangalore. It’s a rare village in India because Sanskrit spoke a regional language considered Sanskrit as Dev Bhasha (The language of the gods in ancient India). And it is said that many regional languages are born from this Sanskrit language. At this modern time, Sanskrit is becoming a dead language in India. But about 5000 inhabitants of this Mattur village still speak Sanskrit for generations. The village inhabited by people from the Brahmin community for the past 600 years. The villagers know Kannada and Tamil, but they prefer the ancient Sanskrit language in their lives. Keeping a very old language alive is truly a unique story.
2: Shetphal, Maharashtra ( The Village Of Snakes)
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The people of this village worship snakes. Shetphal is a remort village in Maharashtra located 200 km from Pune, in the Sholapur district. A unique tradition in this village is where the snakes, mainly Cobra, roam around freely. These poisonous snakes can see in every household in this village. There is a separate place for this snake in every villager’s house. The inhabitants of this village believe a strong story, that worshipping these snakes makes them happy and prosperous in life. So no one from the children to the elders of this village is afraid of these poisonous snakes. They respect this cobra snake. The short story is snakes have also merged with these people. And this snake never bites any resident of this village.
3: Barwaan Kala, Bihar ( The Village Of Bachelors)
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The Village of Bachelor earned the title for this Barwaan Kala village in Bihar. The sad story is, that no one has been married in this village for the last 50 years. The reason is mainly the lack of infrastructure and amenities that no father wants to marry his daughter to anyone in this village. In 2017, the first marriage took place in this village after a decade. That became possible only when the groom, with the help of the villagers, built about a 6 km stretch of road, cutting through the hills and forest. But at this moment, the situation in this village has changed a lot. Indian Village is gradually becoming modern and along with it the perception of people is also changing. So people are now coming out of the old tradition and thinking in a new way.
4: Shani Shingnagpur, Maharastthra ( TheStory Of Doorless Village)
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The unique heritage of this village in Maharashtra creates a powerful story of this village.
Shani Nagpur is a small village in Maharashtra. People in this village live the same life as other villages in Maharashtra. But the unique story is that there is no door in the house of the residents of this village. Shani Shingnagpur is famous in India as a Doorless Village. Here villagers avoid their security because of their undying faith in Lord Shani, the god of Saturn, this God is considered the Guardian of the village. Needless to say that villagers are never feeling unsafe. Anyone can walk into your home or shop in this village, as there are no doors and no locks. Moral of the story no one will steal. If someone does, they will suffer from Sade-Sati, a period of seven years of bad luck as they believed.
5: Jambur, Gujarat ( The African Village In India)
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Jambur is a tiny village near Gir, in the heart of Gujarat. It is 24 km south of Sasan Gir. This village is famous as an African village in India. The short story is, that the people who live here are of African descent, but they speak Gujarati and Hindi languages regularly. The locals also call this village Siddhi village. These People are known as Habshis too. They are the direct descendants of the Bantu tribe of the African Great Lake region. According to history, most of the Siddhi People were brought as slaves by the Portuguese from Southeast Africa to give the Nawab of Junagadh as Present. Now they maintain a free unique balance of Indian culture and African tradition in their simple life.
6: Hiware Bazar, Maharashtra (The Village Of Millionaires)
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Hiware Bazar, a village of Maharastra, creates a unique story. This village is registered as one of the rich villages in India. There are no poor farmers in this Maharashtrian village. Out of 235 families, 60 families are millionaires. The credit for the success of this wealth goes to the Popatrao Baguji Power (village head), who has forever changed the socio-economic structure of the village. The moral of the story people of Hiware Bazar village believe in hard work. This is also a motivational story.
7: Mawlynnong, Meghalaya ( The Story Of Cleanest Village In Asia)
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Mawlynnong, 78 km from Shillong, is the cleanest village in Asia. Cleanliness is the lifestyle of this village. Mawlynnang is called God’s Garden. In 2003, Discover India named it The cleanest village in Asia. Also, this village shows a highly progressive scenario for women, ranging from a 100 percent literacy rate. They never use plastic bags and stay away from smoking. This is the real story of an Indian village.
A little village named Jumbur near Gir in the heart of Gujrat In India. Jambur is 24 km south of Sasan Gir. Actually, this village is called an African village in India. The people who live here, are of African descent but they speak the Gujarati and Hindi languages in daily life. We see many places on the planet whose traditions, culture, and language may not match that of the country. Even though Sierra Leone is a West African country, its official language is Bengali. Because in recognition of the contribution of Bangladeshi peacekeepers in the country’s civil war. Anyway, as soon as you enter this Jambur village in Gujrat it may seem as if you have entered an African city. But the demeanor of the people living here is Indian.
The people living in this village called Siddi People are originally known as Habshis. The locals call this village Siddhi village. They are the direct descendants of the Bantu Tribe of the African Great Lake region. According to history, most of the Siddhi People were brought as slaves by the Portuguese from Southeast Africa to give the Nawab of Junagadh as Present. Over time they settled in India, mainly Gujarat, Karnataka, Hyderabad, and Goa. But most Siddi people started living in this Jambur village in Gujarat. Islam was the common religion for them, many of them embraced the new belief and adapted to the environment here. As per local lore, a long time ago a ship loaded with African slaves came to the port of Gujarat and when those Africans landed they saw the lion of Gir and they thought they reached Africa. But it became a shock for them.
The Siddhi Peoples still hold their African unique culture. The Siddi community strictly married themselves, so their genes did not mix with the local Indian people. That is why they are still able to retain their unique African look. They have been living here for so long and have taken Gujarati customs as their tradition. They have almost forgotten their ancestral traditions. But they are trying to keep their few Bantu traditions preserved. They have been practicing their traditional Goma Music and that dance form. And their dance style is still the same as the African dance style. The most interesting thing is that Siddhi People have maintained their African clothing fashion trend even from India. They wear colorful and bright clothes in their daily life. They maintain a unique balance of Indian culture and African culture in their simple life.
One of the great things about travel is that it gives you the eye and time to find out good stories and good kind people all over. Do you remember the Vicks advertisement – Mother, daughter, hostel? No problem, if you don’t, I will help you to remember the heart-touching story. And this love story proves that love has saved humankind.
Today I am sharing with you Gauri’s story. Gauri Sawant adopted a little girl named Gayatri in 2008 when she was just 5 years old after Gayatri’s mother died of AIDS. She is a good human being and a courageous mother who also works as a social activist. Gauri Sawant born Ganesh Sawant adopted her daughter even though it is illegal for transgender people to adopt children. Yes, You read it right, she is transgender. She is beyond your rules, my rules, society’s rules, except love.
Gauri says “Motherhood is beyond gender. Motherhood is a behavior”
Gauri Sawant is a transgender activist from Mumbai. She is the director of Sakshi Char Chowghi which helps transgender and HIV/AIDS patients. She has started an old age home for transgender people called Nani ka Ghar, meaning Grandmother’s Home, where old transgender people will take care of sex workers’ children.
Sawant, left her family at an early age to come to Bombay. While working at an NGO, Gauri came across her daughter, Gayatri. Gayatri had been orphaned in 2001 when her mother died.
The child’s grandmother was going to sell her into slavery when Gauri met her. She decided to adopt her, and since then the two have shared a very close mother-daughter bond. Gauri is the first transgender woman to have made her way into motherhood. According to her, “There’s no gender in being a mother”. Gayatri is now studying to be a doctor and lives in a hostel. Gauri’s inspiring story came to the forefront when Vicks portrayed her journey with Gayatri in an ad that has since its release been watched 1 crore times. She was featured in that Ad by Vicks too.
Gauri breaks orthodox traditions and stereotypes prevented in her country. She is full of life, confident, and above all very loving human being. Her house is full of colleagues who adore her, and whom she has made feel safe. It is not easy to be a Gauri Sawant. I mean, having such a broad mind, modern thoughts, and a simplistic approach to life is tough. We can only talk about it and claim to have all these. But that’s what society needs more, that’s what Gayatris need more. She challenged the norm that parenting is only for married couples or male/ female genders. May she inspire her story and make more humans like her.
My Travel Cool Photos mean capturing my moments. Photo images are incredibly important because they not only allow us to capture specific moments over time. Cool photos are for future generations and enable us to recreate wonderful memories or experiences over and over again. I have captured many such moments in my travel experiences. Through these cool photos, I still do time travel to all my old travel places.
50 Rupees Selfie
50 Rupees Selfie
I met him near Changu lakeSikkim along with his yak. This little yak master has two giant yaks. The kid had something very attractive, called attitude. “Can I click a picture?” I waited for his consent, but he did not say no nor said yes but kept looking at me. I slowly took out my camera and clicked two pictures. He looked at the camera without shifting his gaze or position. “Do you want a ride? 100 bucks for 10 minutes”. he said. I said, “I don’t ride animals.” But before I could complete my sentences, he uttered, “50 rupees then for clicking pictures”. This photo is one of my favorite photos from the Cool Photos collection.
Sometimes a small word becomes the reason for your happiness. And one such is “Holiday”. And if that holiday destination is Goa, then the happiness increases a lot more. This picture was taken on a day when I had the happiest and most exciting day on my birthday. This happiness I still remember.
I believe and I feel sometimes a day is designed just for me. This picture is very close to my heart. This one day I just did nothing. On this day in Himachal Pradesh, I canceled all my plans of going out. I sat on the roof of my hostel with Bagiraa ( the hostel dog). The joy of doing nothing, makes me think again and again when I see this picture. I miss that day.
Nagaland people are very photogenic. As I was walking around theHornbill Festivalin 2018, suddenly some Naga people came to me and said let’s take a selfie. And this is the selfie. Also many more cool photos I have with them. After clicking, I transferred this picture to everyone through WhatsApp while enjoying drinking naga bamboo tea with them. This photograph really touched my heart.
“Drink heavily with locals whenever possible” This caption is perfect for this picture. This photo was taken during the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland. Suddenly connecting with new people and becoming friends with them. That day is still very special to me. And this picture still doesn’t let me miss my excitement of that day.
Hello Human
Hello Human
In Hampi, we met a cute monkey. He very quietly came and sat on my neck, took pictures, and left. Honestly, This is the story of these cool photos.
The Poser
The Poser
On the way to Sikkim Nathula Pass, our car stopped for a tea break. My friend clicked some pictures of me at that time. Suddenly the dog came in front of the camera and sat on my lap. And in that picture, that moment has been captured. I just love the picture.
The Goddess
The Goddess
In the Sonajhuri forest( Shantiniketan) I met the little goddess. She is an artist. She roam around in God’s outfit, and makeup and blessed everyone. I requested her to stay with me for the rest of the day. It is hard to find God and when the almighty is seen then who wants to leave her. By the way, her name is Pinky.
Sometimes your locality restores surprises for you. You just need an open eye and mind to see those. This wall graffiti near my home (Kolkata) surprised me with joy. Sitting on a cycle and playing with an art dog makes me feel silly. This photo always reminds me to keep alive my inner child.
I have many such cool photos with short stories. In my next blog, I would post some more for you guys.
Please let me know in the comment box which one you like most.
The long-distance train journey is like a movie to me. Lots of people, lots of characters, lots of places, lots of small incidents & crazy sounds in a journey make a train journey very memorable. Once upon a time, people used to travel the country on foot or in bullock carts. At that time travel meant a pilgrimage or to a relative’s house. With the invention of the train, travel gets its speed and people get their frequency. The train is an affordable medium for people to travel all around. The biggest advantage of a train journey is the space which gives added comfort to the journey. As the train crosses different stations, and different places travelers get to experience different cultures.
Train windows are pieces of the open world. If you want to go far away by train, the train window is the only big thing to pass the time. Through that window, every moment the scene in front of your eyes is changing. The best thing is that you get to see different people and their mundane life. To me, this window of the train is an open book. Every moment we have to learn something new as the train leaves the city, village, river, and moves towards its destination.
This is the most interesting part of a train journey to see different kinds of people. The different attitudes and actions of different people are very much seen in the train journey. Sometimes when family members travel together, they make the train cube their own home. Then you find one person for sure who roam around and see others for their entertainment. It’s their favorite time pass. Different vendors from different stations get on the train from time to time and each has a different style of selling their items. The interesting thing for me is the tea sellers of different stations. Their call, pronunciation change at different stations.
Gone – without a ticket. You can’t dare to go without a ticket. However, one of my friend’s fathers used to work for railways. He used to get passes for his two sons. I used to use one of those passes while traveling. There was always a throbbing feeling in my chest. And I used to fear if get to inquire about my father’s name. Their surname is Goswami, mine Ghosh. People may lie about their own name, but there is a dilemma in their mind to lie about their father’s name. Of course, I never caught traveling like that. But once or twice my friends were caught by the ticket checker. They used to make them wait on the platform for long hours. Lastly, make them pay a sum of 100\200 Rs. I don’t know what is the punishment now, or how much the bribe rate has gone up.
There was an intense desire to travel at an early age. I wish I could get out of the house and go somewhere but I didn’t have money then. Going abroad was unimaginable. I used to go around with twenty rupees and twenty-five rupees. Because of my friend and the train pass I got an added wing to my desire.
The advantage of that pass was that the cost of the ticket got saved, and as far as the pass was concerned, one can get off at any station beforehand. I used to drop off my luggage at a station and deposit it in the locker. Then I used to wander around freely, and come to the station at night and sleep in waiting rooms. The hotel cost used to be saved. That’s how I used to roam when I was in college.
But now when I think about it, it seems much better than today’s planned and luxurious travel. Then maybe there was trouble and a friend who would get on the train and say, I forgot to bring my wallet. Everything was done on purpose to save the little pocket money. As a result, two people had to travel on one person’s money. And in the end, it was cool.
Nagaland is all set to host the 22nd annual Hornbill Festival 2021. Hornbill Festival held in Nagaland Kisama heritage village from December 1 to 10. The festival was virtually organized last year because of the pandemic. Hornbill is one of the most colorful tribal entertaining events in the country.
The festival has been showcasing the tribal culture and traditions of Nagaland for over two decades. The 22nd edition of the cultural extravaganza this year will include 17 different tribes from Nagaland and will feature music, dance, sports, food, martial arts, folk art, walkathon, mountain biking, CrossFit challenge, car rally, wrestling, and local handicrafts. Nagaland is the destination of colors, rituals, and equally festivals. The most prominent iconic festival is the Hornbill festival. The festival is named after the forest bird hornbill; which are a cultural icon of the Naga people and part of the folklore of the various tribes of the state. During the Hornbill Festival, various tribal in Nagaland held their own festivals which extremely portray their rich culture. Naga People’s lifestyle can be seen through this festival. The festival’s 2021 edition comprises around 700 separate events.
Dimapur is the only airport in Nagaland, with a direct flight to Kolkata. For those coming by air, this is the entry point. There are government buses and private taxis from Dimapur to Kohima. You can also get a shared taxi from Dimapur station to Kohima for around 400 INR. There are also several night buses from Guwahati and Shillong which reach Dimapur and Kohima in the morning.
Kisama Heritage village is 12 km from Kohima. Taxi fare will be 200 approx.
Please Note share taxi and Bus from Dimapur to Kohima last time is 3 pm
Carry a full-vaccination certificate. otherwise, you will have to undertake an RT-PCR test at the point of entry. No testing for children below 12 years of age, if accompanied by a parent, guardian. Carry a COVID negative test report (RT-PCR/TRUENAAT/CBNAAT), undertaken not more than 72 hours before the journey, in case not fully vaccinated. This applies to those aged between 12 to 18 years.
Apart from the COVID regulations, Indians need an Inner Line Permit (ILP) to enter Nagaland. Indian can get it simply Online.
Foreigners will need to register with the Foreigner’s Registration Office (FRO) of the district they visit or the nearest police station, within 24 hours of their arrival.
