Calm, scenic and breathtaking Mount Kazingmalung of Pushing Village is covered with Kazingwon, a pink flower that blooms in exquisite abundance in the month of July.
TFM Ukhrul Correspondent
Locally known as “Kazingwon”, a flower commonly known as ‘Pink Orchid Ginger’, blooms in abundance during the month of July and lasts till the first week of August. The flower belongs to the Zingiberaceae family with a botanical name ‘Caulokaempferia secunda.’
To see the beautiful flower, one has to climb for an hour from the old PWD Road that connects Pushing to Ukhrul headquarters. The green pine trees and the misty fog enveloping the expansive peak give one a feeling of mystery. And as you take the old British road constructed during the Second World War, crossing the 14 Mile engraved on a stone by the Britishers gives one a feeling of completion as if you are entering back to history.
It is said that the name Kazingmalung was given by the Britishers, translated from “Heart of the Sky”. As the story goes, there was one particular spot where the rain never fell even if it was pouring everywhere, and the Britishers during the Second World War would ‘take shelter’ there under the open sky whenever it rained. Only a few people have come across the spot and experienced the mystery but they could not identify the place when they travelled back.
The expansive Mount Kazingmalung is home to a variety of florae. Red and white rhododendrons bloom in abundance during the month of February. Come the month of May, you would find Blue Japanese Iris carpeting a vast portion of the Mount Kazingmalung and a few Lilium mackliniae (popularly known as Shirui Lily) blooming at the topmost portion of the peak.
President of Pushing Katamnao Long, Mashunngam Horam told this correspondent that around 2,000 saplings of indigenous cherries were planted starting from their village settlement towards Mount Kazingmalung. “We will continue to monitor and nurture the sapling for their healthy growth. We hope this will add beauty to the landscape” added Mashunngam Horam.
Thotreingam Keidang of Pushing stated that “so far, no department has surveyed this area. The mountain is about two to three kilometers from the village settlement. The only motorable road all the year round to the village is through the old PWD road from Shingcha which is about 5 to 6 kilometers. Kazingwon has been in bloom for ages but we could not promote it earlier. Now, the village youth is hoping to promote the place for ecotourism. We would like to turn it into a hot tourist destination with the help of the community and assistance from the state government. But, to do so, the road has to be in good condition, and we wish for blacktopping of the old PWD road. So far, it has been the comminuting taking care of the road.”
Mark from Longpi Kajui, visiting the place for the first time after learning about the place through social media, praised that “the place is very beautiful. I find it really pleasant.”
Pushing village is about 45 km away from Ukhrul Headquarters and has about 210 households consisting of 950 population.