When you go home, tell them of us

Cemeteries are, generally gloomy places!! Kohima's second world war cemetery, however, is not such a place. No place so beautifully situated, so superbly maintained, and dedicated to the memories of those who sacrificed their fives regardless of race, nationality or religion can be gloomy.Kohima War Cemetery offers a space for a quiet moment of a contemplative stroll with friends & family. This is a symbolic memorial raised as a citation for the supreme sacrifices made by the officers and men of the allied forces, to halt the tide of the Japanese onslaught during the Second World War. This was their last post. The cemetery is beautifully and meticulously maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The cemetery lies on the slopes of Garrison Hill, in what was once the Deputy Commissioner's tennis court which was the scene of the Battle of the Tennis Court. The epitaph carved on the memorial of the 2nd British Division in the cemetery
"When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say,For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today"
has become world-famous as the Kohima Epitaph. The verse is attributed to John Maxwell Edmonds (1875 -1958), and is thought to have been inspired by the epitaph written by Simonides to honour the Greek who fell at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.

The Kohima war cemetery is serene and beautiful. Roses bloom in season, the grass is always billiard-table smooth and two tall crosses stand at the lowest and highest points of the cemetery overlooking Kohima. between them, and stretching all the way across this gently rising hill in the centre of the town, are stone markers with shining bronze plaques. Each commemorates the name of a single man who gave his life for freedom. At the base of the upper cross there is an inscription which says : "Here, around the tennis court of the deputy commissioner the men who fought in the battle of Kohima in which they and their comrades finally halted the invasion of India by the forces of Japan in April 1944".
To one side of this memorial cross, and often missed by visitors, there is a tree with a small plaque on it. The plaque says: This flowering cherry tree is of historical interest.
The original tree was used as a sniper's post by the Japanese and was destroyed in the fighting which raged round the tennis court and marked the limit of the Japanese advance into India. The present tree is from a branch from the old one.

Nagaland-"Switzerland of the East"

Nagaland is a small hill state located in the far north eastern part of India. Due to the geographical seclusion and also the less exposure of Nagaland, people around the world and even in India don't know about Nagaland. And what is the best way to let the world know about this beautiful state which is so often called 'Switzerland of the East'? a BLOG. Now, the beginning might be like reading a chapter out of your social sciences text, and i know this is the last thing you want to be reading on a blog, but let's just say....you are reading it as if you want to!! So please read on, and I'll try to make it as interesting as it can be (which is almost impossible!!). OK so here we go. With a population of nearly two million people, it has a total area of 16,579 km, making it one of the smallest states of India. The most striking feature of Nagaland? MOUNTAINS!! The Naga Hills rise from the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam to about 2,000 feet and rise further to the southeast, as high as 6,000 feet. Mount Saramati at an elevation of 12,552 level is the state's highest peak. About one-sixth of the stae is covered with tropical and sub-tropical forest. If you go to these forests you might make a few friends. Friends like pangolins, porcupines, elephants, leopards, bears, many species of monkeys, sambar, deers, oxen and buffaloes thrive across the state's forests. The Great Indian Hornbill is one of the most famous birds found in the state. And by the way there's a Hornbill Festival every year during the first week of December. It's a great experience of the ethnic culture of the Nagas. Temperatures in Nagaland range from 70 degrees to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. In winter, temperatures don't generally drop below 39 degrees Fahrenheit, but frost is common at high elevations. It''s actually quite pleasant the whole year round.You know, it's not like Antartica or Sahara!!Nagas are a race of many tribes. The tribes of Nagaland are Angami, Lothas, , Ao, Chakhesang , Chang, Khiamniungan, Konyak, Phom, Pochury, Rengma, Sumi, Sangtam, Yimchungru, Zeliang of which the Angamis, Aos, Lothas and Sumis are the largest Naga tribes.I know, your first reaction must have been-"HOW DO YOU SAY THESE NAMES!!". And these names are a result of this-Nagas speak 60 different dialects belonging to the Sino-Tibetan family of languages!! Nagamese, a variant language form of Assamese and local dialects is the most widely spoken market language. One interesting part is every tribe has their own mother tongue language and these tribes communicate with each other in Nagamese. As such Nagamese is not a mother tongue of any of the tribes and nor is it a written language. English, the official state language is widely spoken in official circles and is the medium for education in Nagaland. Actually I think we speak better English than most of the exotic tribes that they show in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC..................As far as religion goes, Nagas are predominantly Christians with an average percentage of more than 90% of Christians. It is the only state in India which has a Christian population of more that 90%. The largest of Asia's churches dominate the skylines of Kohima, Dimapur and Mokokchung. Among Christians, Baptists are the predominant group constituting more than 75% of the state's population. Nagaland, is known as "THE MOST POPULATED BAPTIST STATE IN THE WORLD". The state's population is 1.988 million, out of which 90.02% are Christians, 75% of the state's population are Baptist, making it more Baptist than Mississippi (in the southern United States), where 52% of its population is Baptist.OK! I think that was enough GENERAL KNOWLEDGE for my first blog. I hope you look forward to the second one..................??