yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

Joining the Dots Text and Photographs: Nimesh Ved and Swati Chaliha We are indebted to the people of Ungma and Longsa, and the DGZ committee for bearing our ignorance and teaching us of forests during those very wonderful days and – of course - for the very lovely pineapples. Thanks are due to friends at NEPED for sharing of Nagaland, the energies and humour. Colleagues at FES we thank for being together and for presenting the opportunity. This piece appears in the July – September 2015 issue of Hornbill ( BNHS ). Twice on the first day, the dilemma posed to us was whether we should take the tar road that snaked along the path, albeit a little further from where we had figured out the boundary lay, or cut our way through the wild growth. In both cases, after deliberation, we decided that the easier path was not the one best taken, and cut through the forest. We were walking the boundary of a Community Conserved Area (CCA) in Mokokchung district, Nagaland. CCAs are...

Ao and Sema Names Ao   Ø   Asian Elephant:                Shoti Ø   Asiatic Black Bear:          Sheom (U)/ Shirem (L) Ø   Assamese Macaque:         Shoje Ø   Chinese Pangolin:            Kelap Ø   Himalayan Brown Goral: Shok Ø   Himalayan Rat:                 Chuha Ø   Himalayan Striped Squirrel:Shekshang Ø   Hoolock Gibbon:              Shin ü Each language is like a code that describes knowledge about medicinal secrets, ecological wisdom, weather and climate patterns, spiritual attitudes, and artistic and mythological histories. The Tulu language, for example, spoken by a little more than a million people preserves epic poems of the 13th century....

Sanctuary Asia (Vol XXXIII No. 3, June 2013) carries a report 'People for Parks' by Bittu Sahgal, Lakshmy Raman, Kritika Kapadia and Mallika Narvekar (Pages 61 - 65). Placed within the report, in form of a box item, is a brief note on the Nagaland experience.   The Dikhu Green Zone In Nagaland, Community Conserved Areas (CCA) are helping to reduce hunting, forest degradation and provide valuable ecological services. CCA are natural or modified ecosystems that harbour significant biodiversity and have immense ecological and cultural value and are voluntarily protected by indigenous and local communities through customary laws or other effective means. The Nagaland Village and Area Councils Act, 1978, empowers village councils, autonomous local bodies for village administration to function according to customary practices and usages.  Conservationists, Nimesh Ved and Swati Chaliha write: ‘The Dikhu river forms the boundary between Ungma and Longsa and a commu...

Lion centric debates, in recent weeks, have been triggered by the Supreme Court verdict that could finally see lions in Kuno (Sheopur) and Valmik Thapar's "Exotic Aliens : The Lion and the Cheetah in India" which questions these two species as ever having been local. During a recent trip to Nagaland I came across both Lions and Tigers on the walls; while Tigers occur in the state the presence of Lions (on the walls) was surprising for sure! Share some images below ~ These are from the Tourist Lodge at Ungma (Mokokchung) These from a hotel in Mokokchung  And these from 2 separate villages in Zunheboto  (miss the names now and dont want to postpone the post) R A Lorrain's 1912 classic '5 Years in Unknown Jungles' mentions lions in south Mizoram; look forward to interesting readings and interactions on Nagaland!

Recently put in interesting time meandering around Zunheboto and Mokokchung . . Share some images . . .  Entrance of a house at Yehemi . . The design and neatness were striking . .  Grains put out for drying at Sumi Settsu . . A weigh-scale at Longsa . . At another village we were told this was used for weighing pigs (besides else) . .  This very interestingly named eating place was unfortunately shut when we stopped at the Akuluto junction . . The Village Council Court at Surumi and The Emblem on board of the office of the Council Court at Phuye (Old) . .  These are from a Centre at Ungma . . Elders come together here - catch up - have tea and make these artifacts which are then sold. I found this to be an amazing step taken by the Village Council. .  I missed getting one during the trip. .  Indebted to the people at the places we moved to during the trip . .

Share images from a meeting; the setting was one of the more interesting ones I have been a part of in recent times . . Meeting is on its way at residence of one of the village council members . . This is at Longsa in Mokokchung district . . Tea ( not been to many meetings without tea!! ) gets ready . . Hearth in the Ao residences is located at the center of the room . . Smoke on its way up from the hearth also dries meat . . Walls were interesting, lively and had that warmth . . And the camera I was using got confused on whether it should focus on the 'hands' or the 'Ao shawl' . . I was the least confused : hands that have toiled on jhum have been by far the strongest I have come across . . Many thanks to the people of Longsa.