It could pass off as an unfinished village road, but for the fact that this is NH-2 and connects four states—Nagaland and Manipur in this sector. Cars zigzag up the hills and also simultaneously zigzag on the asphalt, to avoid massive craters, one nearly every 15 feet. It’s only 60-odd km from capital Imphal in the Meitei-dominated valley to the ethnic Naga-flavoured Senapati district up in the north, but the road makes it a nearly three-hour drive. Metaphors may be the last thing on a traveller’s mind, but the state of the physical link in this case really does mirror the psychological distance between the two zones.