From lush green hills to battle-hardened lands: Kohima in pictures

Let the road to Kohima — infamous for its gaping potholes — not be a sign of things to come. Brush aside the dust and wander around the hilly capital of Nagaland to find walls that pop with graffiti, cafes with dreamy decor, markets that sell frogs and the latest in Korean fashion side by side — with oodles of style, all peppered with a bit of history.

Updated: September 15, 2019 08:07 IST

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For most part of the year, misty clouds envelop the hills of Kohima. The hilly capital was originally known as Kewhira and founded in 1878. In 1963, it was announced as the capital of Nagaland. Views such as these are aplenty from many vantage points across the town. (Express Photo by TORA AGARWALA)

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April 4 2019 marked the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Kohima. It was one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. (Express Photo by TORA AGARWALA)

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A woman passes a pay-and-use toilet in the heart of Kohima town. Many walls (such as this one) have graffiti done by Project 72 hrs a community organisation by a group of youngsters whose objective is to “keep the streets of Kohima clean.” (Express Photo by TORA AGARWALA)

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On any given day, the Kohima War Cemetery, well-kept with strict rules for visitors, is filled with tourists, taking photographs or just sitting on the many perches taking in the vistas of the town. (Express Photo by TORA AGARWALA)

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The expansive Kohima War Cemetery — maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission — has more than 1400 graves of soldier who died in World War II’s Battle of Kohima in April 1944, fought between the Allied forces and the Japanese Army. (Express Photo by TORA AGARWALA)

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In Kohima village, a stone monument erected to commemorate the brave soldiers who died in the war. (Express Photo by TORA AGARWALA)

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Wall art along the streets of Kohima town. (Express Photo by TORA AGARWALA)

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Near the town’s secretariat area, a centre that exclusively promotes goods — from cloths to candles to books to pickles to dolls — by local Naga entrepreneurs. (Express Photo by TORA AGARWALA)

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Kohima today has many cafes. While the first, Dream Cafe was launched in 2005, the one pictured here is Été Coffee, first coffee roasting company in Nagaland, established in 2016. The word “Été” comes from Naga word meanings “us” or “our’s”. (Express Photo by TORA AGARWALA)