Kisama Heritage Village in Nagaland. (Representational) Credit: Amlan Jyoti Das
Know that feeling when you see something for the first time and go “I wanna see that in real life!”? That was me, eight years ago, when I was watching an anime and came across the pink flowers of the cherry blossom tree.
A Google search on the subject followed, and since then, it has been on my to-do list. Luckily, I did not have to go to Japan, for the Northeast, especially Meghalaya and Nagaland, has many places where the mesmerising sight of Cherry Blossoms is a common occurrence.
With Fujifilm X-T30 in hand, I visited Kohima, Nagaland with the sole aim of capturing this pink beauty. And suffice to say, I was not disappointed.
Patience can be a fickle thing. A three-hour drive from Dimapur to Kohima and then another hour to Kisama Heritage village felt like a lifetime in comparison to eight years of waiting to finally see the pink blossomKisama Heritage Village should have been brimming with tourists coming to the annual Hornbill Festival. But due to the pandemic, the village looked deserted. But the cherry blossom in full bloom and the almost-eerie silence transformed the village into a scene right out of a fairy taleSitting beneath the pink canopy was indeed a breathtaking experienceThe mandatory ‘Sakura bokeh’ click The cherry trees do not just boast a single shade of pink. Different trees showcase a kaleidoscope of the colour pinkEven if its ‘sakura viewing’ and photography, proper norms of using masks had to be followed Finally, a jubilant me of finally being able to witness the cherry blossoms in their full glory