Farway Festival of Eclectic Esoterica

After staying away from the modern world for decades, a secret tribe in Arunachal Pradesh is reaching out with culture and colour.

- KASTURI DAS

The road leading to the land of the Lisu tribe in Arunachal Pradesh is long and arduous. If one travels by road from Guwahati in Assam, it takes an overnight bus or train ride to Tinsukia, followed by a three-hour drive to Miao. From there, a backbreaking nine-hour journey on a 4x4 pickup truck, through the dense forests of Namdapha National Park finally leads to Gandhigram, a remote village nestled in the easternmost corner of Arunachal Pradesh, bordering Myanmar.