4th North East Riders Meet At Kohima

Peace and brotherhood at the 4th North East Riders Meet, Kohima

During one of those regular informal meeting of riders a few years back, Mark Vincent Shullai of Meghalaya, came up with a brilliant punch-line that said, “When we meet, we grow.” This flash of brilliance must have been ignited by the fire water that he consumed by the litre that night, but the catch phrase stuck a cord with the riders and it became the slogan for the North East Riders Meet (NERM).

Over the years, the saying held true and the 4th edition of NERM, held at Kohima, Nagaland from the 4th till the 8th of December saw a huge turnout of 197 riders. From the modest turnout of riders at the 1st NERM held at Kaziranga, Assam, the event has certainly come a long way.

Other than the riders from the Northeastern states of Assam, Arunachal, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram, NERM also attracted participants from Kolkota, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi and Bangalore.

The riders reached Dimapur on the 4th which basically was a day to complete the registration formalities and the real event started on December 5th. 197 bikers riding in a single file through the winding roads of Kohima in a much disciplined manner sure was a sight to behold.

The ride on 5th December was flagged off by the DC of Dimapur, Husheli Sema and it was named as the North East Friendship Rally. As the riders entered the Kisama Heritage Village where the annual Hornbill Festival was underway, they were received by Mr. Himato Zimomi, Commissioner Secretary, Nagaland Tourism in an impressive welcome ceremony outside the WW II Museum.

The Nagaland Motorcycle Club, supported by Nagaland Adventure Club hosted the event and was principally sponsored by Nagaland Tourism.

The riders who were put up in tents on a hilltop location a few kilometers out of the city limits, made a beeline for the Kisama Heritage Village the next day to get a better look at the festivities while other visited the WWII War Cemetery and rode to some of the nearby villages. The night bazaar attracted the foodies who binged on the local cuisine.

The Manipur Royal Riders have always been a charitable lot and they continued their good work at Kohima. They visited the Kohima Orphanage which has more than 100 children and donated food stuffs and a generous amount of money collected from the group on the spot.

Social games in the evening were a big draw but biggest participation was for the raffle draw. All 197 riders were in the bid to win the new Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 motorcycle and pot luck smiled on P.L. Kapkima of Aizawl Thunders.

The rock concerts late in the evening were entertaining but it was rib-crackingly hilarious every time the riders took the stage. The songs and the music took off on two different directions but who cares!! Just as no one cared for the lack of hot water (?!!) and the howling and freezing wind that numbed the bones too! There were enough rice beer doing the rounds to keep everyone happy and no one felt the cold! By the time the riders dispersed on the 8th, I’m sure many of the riders added a few centimeters to their (already protruding) beer bellies! And yes, Gangnam Style was the favorite dance number!

The 5th edition of NERM will be held at Aizwal and organized by the Aizawl Thunders, the oldest Enfield club in the country.

This NERM had an overwhelming feeling of peace and brotherhood and sure as the sunlight, NERM is going to grow to be one of the best and biggest motorcycling events in the country. We sure will grow when we meet.