MANIPUR Travels

Exploring the Jewel of India.

- Rupa Motwani

The joy of 1 is immense.

It becomes all the more interesting when you are accompanied by your children, one of whom has just crossed over into adulthood, the other into teen-hood and both have adventurous spirit and have been co-planners for this trip.

So, after a lot of debate, research and persuasion (to whom else but to the last man - my husband) 'we' a family of four decided to take a short holiday trip to Manipur.

A holiday for a middleclass family like ours should include adventure, leisure and pleasure - all in one trip. It's like the combo deals of the malls.

With these thoughts we set out on our vacation to the beautiful state of Manipur. This was one of the places where last minute tickets were available at reasonable rates as many had not yet discovered the charm of Manipur.

The flying time is 1 hour 20 minutes and we landed at the military airport of Imphal, called Bir Tikendrajit International Airport.

We could feel the freshness in the air as we stepped out and our lungs started gulping in cool unpolluted air much like a person who has been resuscitated or smacked back to life.

We couldn't wait to move out and, in a few minutes, got the necessary visiting permit to stay in the state for 15 days and we were finally all set to explore...

Manipur is located at a height of 790m above sea-level and is wedged among hills on all sides. It is called the 'Jewel of India' - again unknown to many.

It is surrounded by Nagaland in the north, Assam in the west, Mizoram in the south and Burma in the East.

This northeastern state has an amicable climate; we went in October, which was very pleasant. It has distinct summer, winter and rainy seasons. The valley gets the reflection of the heat in summer, and cold in winter from the surrounding hills.

Historically speaking, it merged with India in 1949, when Maharaja Bodhchandra Singh was the ruler.