Page 20 - TSB ebook

natural cup was too big to devour through eyes. There are reportedly several Trekking Trails for

those adventurously inclined.

One aspect which many of us may not know (I did not till I started making my travel plans) that
even Indian citizens need an Inner Line Permit (ILP) to visit Nagaland. This has to be produced at

various check points and pickets while traveling. These permits can be obtained from Dy.

Resident Commissioner’s Office at New Delhi / Kolkata / Guwahati / Shillong / Dimapur. The

permit is issued against proof of identity and of course being SBI staff helps.

HOW TO REACH AND WHERE TO STAY

The nearest airport and railhead is Dimapur, 74 kms from Kohima on NH-39. Kohima has only one

decent hotel (it can be called so at least by its high tariff, if nothing else), Hotel Japfu, which is in

great demand always because of bookings by Govt. A better option is SBI Officers Transit Camp,

which is reasonably clean and is located in the market. Contact SBI Main Branch at Kohima who
will in turn guide you to Mr. Paul Mao who is the Lead Bank Officer and also holds charge of the

OTC. He is helpful and will give a room if vacant. I could not stay at the OTC even after having a

booking as the GM was scheduled to visit the place on the same day and I did not want to risk

getting evicted to accommodate his entourage. Another disadvantage was OTC does not have
running water and TV in the rooms. Now why TV of all things? But what do you do when it is dark

at 4.00 pm and the market etc. closes by 4.30 pm.

There is an unofficial self-imposed curfew in Nagaland it appears. The entire town goes indoors

after it is dark. The driver of our Taxi was absolutely determined to see us inside hotel by 4.00
pm. In fact, I had been advised not to venture out after dark at the Dy. Commissioner Office at

New Delhi too. The days of insurgency are over it appears as newspapers do not report anymore.

But the life at Nagaland reflects of a typical disturbed area. Every corner has 2-3 security men,

mostly IRB – India

Reserve Battalion, with automatic weapons menacingly pointed at you in general. Once in a while

a patrolling jeep would pass by with roof mounted gun, and men with bandanas and guns cocked.

My son was very excited at the blatant display of strength. But locals are used to this