The missionary influence introduced the Victorian-era ideal of "romance": monogamy, chastity before marriage, and the church wedding as the ultimate goal. The free-spirited, pre-Christian courting grounds were replaced by the Sunday School picnic.

To fall in love in Nagaland is to fall in love with a landscape of contradictions. It is arguing about which tribe has the best pork curry. It is walking home in the pouring rain because there are no taxis in Kohima at 10 PM. It is saying, "I love you," while knowing that your mother will interrogate your partner about their clan surname tomorrow.

For the uninitiated, "Nagaland relationships" might conjure images of tribal customs. However, the modern Naga romantic storyline is a fascinating collision of ancestral legacy, radical Christian conversion, Western pop culture osmosis, and a fierce desire for modernity. To understand love in Nagaland is to understand the soul of its people—the Nagas.