ON THE TAIL OF a tale

C ollecting stories from the green heart of Nagaland.

The land of picturesque hills and verdant landscapes, of brave head-hunters and fierce warriors, and a receptacle of ancient traditions – Nagaland is a sweet enigma waiting to be unravelled. A closer look and a warm interaction dispel many a myth about the quiet, shy yet very friendly people who love to tell stories about their deservedly proud state. A story seems to be hidden in every corner – from hunting legends to spiritual tales. I follow the story of Khonoma, India’s first 'Green Village'. Located around 20 km from state capital Kohima, Khonoma is a scenic village overlooking green paddy fields and surrounded by horizon-kissing forested hills. It's home to the brave Angami Nagas, an indigenous warrior tribe.

My guide is Vibhu, an Angami inhabitant of the once “warrior village”. He starts with a story of how Khonoma’s fierce soldiers resisted the British. And then he narrates, with great pride, the story of how the villagers launched a campaign for nature conservation. Traditionally, the villagers depended on the surrounding forests for their livelihood. Between hunting, foraging and logging, the forest cover was being depleted drastically, even leading to a fall in the numbers of the much-revered pheasant, Blyth's Tragopan, Nagaland's state bird. In 1998, the village elders decided to ban logging and hunting. A part of the forest was demarcated as the Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary, a conservation reserve. Villagers became guardians of the green and members of the local bodies monitored conservation efforts. Over the years, the forest healed, wildlife was restored and conservation became a part of everyday life in Khonoma.

In the idyllic and spotlessly clean village, with flourishing kitchen gardens outside most houses, every drop of water is conserved and recycling is a habit. The villagers practice terrace farming, store water flowing down the hills in small reservoirs and their farm produce is organic. We walk along a winding cobbled path lined with red poinsettias and wild lilies, as life leisurely goes on inside the rustic tin-roofed houses with mud floors and bamboo walls. Men and women with khophis (conical cane or bamboo baskets) strapped to their backs, climb the stepped path effortlessly, carrying food and household goods. The forests here are rich in bamboo and cane, hence the art of basket making is quite evolved. A few other villagers tend to animals and warmly smile when they spot tourists.

Some of the women practice traditional weaving, producing shawls in unique colours, patterns and designs. After they finish gathering food from the nearby forests and doing their daily chores, they assemble in a village common room, where