Bordering on change

Manipur in India is marked by inter-tribal conflict, a violent insurgent movement and a restrictive society. It shares a border with Myanmar and is not visited often. On the crack-of-dawn flight from Delhi, I dreamt of a barren, blood-soaked land. The background score: Gunfire and Miles Davis’. I visualized myself in a hotel’s basement, overhearing sirens and grenades. The ubiquitous on-flight wailing infant competed with Miles. The subconscious knowledge of traveling to a “dry” state added to the uneasiness. Flying low, the tranquil beauty of the infinite, rolling hills calmed me. The impending nervous breakdown, now delayed. Reaching Imphal, Manipur’s capital, my local contact Mr.Y, picked me up in a noisy purple jeep to inspect a hospital in the town of Chandel. Crossing paddy fields, we discovered, on reaching, that all facilities were shut because of an insurgency threat. Mr Y suggested that an evening return to Imphal would be unsafe so we headed to Moreh, the town bordering Myanmar. We reached Moreh by 3pm, passing through small hill villages and military outposts. We made a sharp descent to Moreh, in the Kabaw Valley. We decided to go straight to the border. An open gate with Indian and Myanmarese flags on either side greeted us. We got off and walked across to Myanmar! An officer told us to be back by 5pm or we’d be arrested. We reached a bustling market in the town of Nongphlaw. Everything changed – the time zone (an hour ahead), the climate (warmer), the people, the language, the currency, the food, the availability of liquor! The transitions seemed dramatic, though somehow natural. We took a 20 minute rickshaw ride to another town - Tamu, where we enjoyed a Burmese meal (and Burmese beer), saw a Pagoda and a golf course stroll. I bought local chillies and noodles before re-entering Moreh to stay at a dilapidated guest house. The next day we drove 4 hours to Imphal from where I flew 4 hours to Delhi, returning changed, somehow!