Land of Celebrations

Nagas are fond of celebrations. From festivals to jubilees of myriad organisations to weddings and birthdays, we love to celebrate. While celebrations are, no doubt, happy occasions, are we celebrating for the things that really matter? Celebrations in the olden times held merit, and so referred to as feasts of merit, and it was not meant for all but only for the deserving and who had the capacity to provide. In recent times even minor achievements associated with education and career are excuses for big celebrations to create an image of awe and wonder. Along with physically celebrating an event or an occasion, we have also become celebrators in the media. Every other day we come across at least one or few advertisements and news articles relating to celebrations in our newspapers. Certainly, a celebration gives happiness, and along with it, positivity. But whether our overemphasized celebrations are centred in around their true reasons is another thing. Our celebrations now quite seem to have become nothing less than economy draining activities. It is indeed a wonder how an penurious state like Nagaland can have so many celebrations across so many different groups. People have grown to love the big talks that “big people” make and the big wads of contributions they make as chief guests and guests of honour for celebratory events. The saddest thing is, despite all the celebrations and all the positive energy, the motivational big talks and the pomp exhibited, we are still struggling to deal with our garbage, travel on good roads, our public education system is in shambles, our society is still largely divided but we will not blink an eye when it is about celebrating and publicising our perceived milestones. It may be another manifestation of the typical Naga value system of protecting one’s own clan, morung, village and more recently one’s tribe and taking pride in these institutions. In other words tribalism is still quite strong in the Naga society though it is more than 100 years since Christianity and Western education were brought to the Nagas. Ironically it is exhibited even when small milestones are achieved in these two fields that in reality should have reduced tribalism and hero worship in the Naga society to a large extent in the last hundred plus years. The Nagas derive pleasure, a sense of security and pride by conducting and participating in all these activities of big celebrations and its associated publicity. At one’s cynical worst it can be stated that any Naga individual or group who can achieve something with all the existing rut that is all around surely deserves a big celebration and that in turn keeps the cycle on. Can this cycle be stopped?