Dimapur, Dec. 1 (EMN): The Hornbill Festival for 2019 commenced with cultural and entertainment fanfare on December 1, in Nagaland’s capital town Kohima and business district Dimapur.
Our Correspondents and desk reporters, besides the department of Information and Public Relations (IPR) gave updates on Sunday informing about the various features of the Hornbill festival and associated events.
Pedestal for Gandhian values at Kisama
Our Correspondent
A multi media exhibition commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi was inaugurated by Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Sunday at the World War II Museum, at the symbolic Naga village Kisama in Kohima.
The concept of the event is to highlight Gandhian values and principles to the people through contemporary representations.
AM Farooqi, deputy director at the directorate of the ministry of Information and Broadcasting in Guwahati, spoke about Mater Thakkar, known as ‘Nagaland’s Gandhi,’ who invoked Gandhiji’s values and principles during his lifetime and contributed significantly to the betterment of the community.
He said Thankkar made Nagaland his home and founded the Nagaland Gandhi Ashram at Chuchuyimlang village in Mokokchung district in 1955 to propagate the Gandhian philosophy and peace.
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio felicitated the family of late Natwar Thakkar during the inaugural function.
Wrestling introduced in govt. schools
Our Correspondent
The School Education department has on December 1 introduced wrestling in government schools as part of the school education programme Samagra Shiksha scheme for Nagaland, at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Kohima.
Speaking during a programme marking the discipline, the principal director for School Education Shanavas C said launching programmes is easy. Carrying the programmes forward is a challenge where the Nagaland Wrestling Association (NWA) has to exert collective efforts to successfully implement it, he said.
Dr. Kevizakie Rio, joint mission director for the state’s Samagra Shiksha, also spoke during the occasion. He said priority will be given to ‘non wrestling districts.’
Neivikuolie Khatsu, president of the NWA expressed gratitude to the department and the government officials for making the sporting aspiration a reality.
He assured the association will give its best to successfully implement the programme.
The new initiative will be funded by the Nagaland Samagra Shiksha while its implementation will be by the association.
In other matters, a Naga wrestling referee clinic also was conducted during which 17 veterans and 22 newcomers attended the training event. Hukhoneyi Soho, Kezhalelie Keretsu and Chisazo Dawhuo were the resource persons at the event.
Certifications were awarded to all the trainees.
Hornbill International Photo Fest inaugurated
Our Correspondent
The Hornbill International Photo Fest was inaugurated by Toshi Wungtung, advisor for Information and Public Relations on Sunday at Kisama village in Kohima.
The annual photo festival is organised by Portrait Studio at Kisama. This year it is being supported by the Tourism department and the department of Information and Public Relations (IPR).
M Ababe Enzung, coordinator of the photo event told Eastern Mirror that around 135 photos from 61 photographers are on exhibition at the gallery. This year, he said, the photographers have been grouped in senior and junior categories.
The photography competition in the senior category consists of photographers from Nagaland and outside including from countries abroad.
The winner will receive INR 40,000, the first runner-up INR 20,000 and the second runner-up INR 10,000. There will be two consolation prizes of INR 5,000 each.
In the junior category, the winner, first runner-up and second runner-up will win INR 10,000, INR 5,000 and INR 2,000 in that order.
The winners will be declared on December 9 and the prizes will be distributed on the 10th, updates stated.
Keneingutuo David Sorunuo, art curator at Portrait Studio, said the event has also artwork such as paintings, sculptures and mouldings made in terracotta, aluminium, bronze and clay among others.
IPR staffs at the photo festival’s venue are distributing brochures informing about various government programmes and activities.
Artist Corner
The Artist Corner at Kisama village was inaugurated by advisor for Art & Culture and Tourism, Khehovi Yepthomi on December 1 at Kisama. The department of Art & Culture organised the first state art exhibition in the year 1976. Since then, art programmes such as contests and workshop are conducted all year around.
The department had earlier jointly organised programmes with the Lalit Kala Academy New Delhi, All India Fine Arts and Craft Society, zonal and regional art centre which enabled local artists to actively participate outside the state besides earning awards and recognitions. The Artist Corner was introduced by the chief minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio in the year 2010 with a vision to facilitate and promote livelihood, and sustainable art products in the state.
Heritage archives
The Archives Branch of the Art & Culture department is exhibiting historical records of the state such as maps, public and private papers, newspaper clippings and photos at Kisama near the World War II museum. The Archives was inaugurated by advisor for Tourism, Art & Culture, H Khehovi Yepthomi on December 1.
The archives branch will be organizing the “20th State Archival Exhibition” at Kisama with the objective of creating awareness about the importance of historical records. The Nagaland state archives is the central repository meant for housing non-current records and serves as the custodian of the state’s historical records. With more than 20,000 records, the archive branch assists and renders services to administrators, historians, researchers and scholars, students, individuals and agencies.
Departmental publications on Naga tribes, research publications, festivals, folklore etc are available for sale in the archival exhibition stall.
Jio partners With IPR, IT and Nagaland Tourism
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd is the digital partner of the IT, Tourism and IPR departments at the Hornbill Festival 2019. Jio is providing data connectivity by installing free WiFi booths at different locations of the festival areas.
Jio has been working closely with the Nagaland Government for the last three years for promoting the cultural and ethnic fabric of the Hornbill Festival.
Every year the Hornbill Festival is gaining popularity and global fame, attracting tourists from all corners of the world. As the Digital Partner, this year too, Jio is providing good internet connectivity, through free WiFi service, to enable visitors to remain connected to their near and dear ones.
Last year, an exclusive communication channel was set up on the Jio Chat mobile app. People from across the globe got access to live streaming, video clips and photographs of significant events at Naga Heritage Village in Kisama. It was the first festival of the East to have data streaming of the event on social media. Net Login Banners were installed at strategic locations at the Naga Heritage Village- Kisama and Agri Expo Dimapur, which aided people to make voice calls and access free data.
This year too, Jio is providing live streaming of the event for 10 days on Jio TV. It may be mentioned that a continued and resolute trust in Jio, has made it the No. 1 Operator by revenue (AGR) across the entire North-Eastern Region and the digital partner for the forthcoming Festival.
Craftscape
Chief Secretary, Nagaland, Temjen Toy inaugurated the Craftscape, near World War II museum, at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama on 1st December, 2019.
Craftscape seeks to highlight and create awareness on the fragile status of some of the vanishing craft traditions rapidly fading away for lack of patronage and facing threat from substitutes of cheaper alternatives in plastics and other man made derivatives.
During the hornbill festival, many of the artisanal crafts will be available for sale directly from the artisans.
Kids’ Carnival
The Hornbill Kids Carnival is being organised by Synergy Group Enterprise in collaboration with Tourism Department. Scheduled events at the kids carnival include Essay writing competition for group B&C on second day, Kids dance Fiesta and Painting, Drawing and Coloring on 3rd & 4th day, the Voice of Kids Carnival (solo) on 5th day, Teens Kpop singing competition and Baking & Chocolate making on 6th and 7th day respectively. For any query one can contact Ph.Nos – 9089942433, 9077712048.
Handloom and handicrafts
The department of Industries & Commerce organised an exhibition and sale of local indigenous products such as handloom and handicraft at the Bamboo Pavilion, Naga Heritage Village Kisama.
The advisor for Industries and Commerce, Imnatiba said that the department of Industries and Commerce has been playing an important role in exhibiting and giving opportunity to indigenous people dealing in handloom and handicrafts.
This year’s Hornbill Festival has 111(one hundred and eleven) stalls allotted to genuine Handloom and Handicraft artisans for Exhibition cum sale of their Products. The exhibition cum sale of Handloom and Handicraft Products at the Bamboo Pavilion promotes the artisans for exhibition of their products and marketing avenue.
Agriculture
The minister for Planning & Coordination and Land Revenue, Neiba Kronu inaugurated the agri products stall of the department of Agriculture at Kisama. The agri products for sale at the stalls are all farmers’ products which are organic, and carry a ‘organic’ tags. These products at the stall are from the farms coming from different parts of the state which are geographically indicated as Organically Certified Area by the department of Agriculture after soil testing conducted by the department.
The farmers’ products put up for sale at the stall are processed food, cereals, pulses and oil seeds, spices and tubers and root crops.
‘Artsy Naga’ gallery
The art curating foundation, Artsy Naga, debuted an exhibition at the 2019 Hornbill Festival with the theme, “Think Art, Think Nagaland.” It was inaugurated by the advisor for Tourism, Art & Culture, H Khehovi Yepthomi.
The art exhibition-cum-sale is a juried show, featuring some of the best artists from Nagaland and their selected artworks. A total of 46 artists are participating in which Artsy Naga is curating with the core objective to lay the foundations for making Nagaland synonymous with art. Selected artworks of young artists (Under 17 years) are also on display, standing a chance to win cash prizes under ‘Young Talent Award’. There are seven categories in which the participating artists will win cash awards and certificates; one of them being “Viewer’s Choice Award.”
A variety of daily activities like Live Portrait sketch, face paint, etc is also being held with an interactive experience with events like “You can paint,” where the visitors can try their hands on painting beside a professional artist doing live art demonstration.
One of the prime attractions at the gallery some rare paintings of Late Pangikala who was a pioneer in the field of Fine Art in Nagaland. These paintings are 80-90 years old and is being made available for public viewing for the first time outside of private collection.
Sculpture stall
Advisor, Tourism, Art & Culture H. Khehovi Yepthomi inaugurated Lemtur Sculpture stall at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama on 1st December 2019.
Meren lemtur, a professional sculpture exhibited his works for the first time at the Hornbill festival 2019. He began his wood working two years ago and most of his sculptures have been inspired by movies and personalities of people.
His works are also displayed online on instagram 7_lemtur@instagram.com
‘Traditional evening park’
The Hornbill festival has begun with great pomp and fanfare. With it comes the hope and aspirations of many hardworking Nagas who plan to make the most out of the sudden surge of international as well as domestic tourists who visit the state’s capital town during the festival.
One such venture that is not only providing a platform for local entrepreneurs to showcase and sell their products but also promoting Naga traditional and indigenous products, is the ‘Traditional Evening Park’ at Kigwema’s local ground.
The Traditional Evening Park, was started in 2018 during the Hornbill Festival and was based on the idea of providing a platform for the local entrepreneurs and Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the Jakhama sub-division to come together and market their products during the festival.
The huge success of the venture in its initial year prompted the village leaders to organise the event for a second consecutive year.
The second edition of the Traditional Evening Park was inaugurated by Athel O Lotha, secretary for Rural Development and Mission Director of the NSRLM, on December 1 at Kigwema’s local ground.
Speaking at the inaugural programme, Athel O Lotha congratulated and commended the village leaders as well as the SHGs in Jakhama for taking up such a noble initiative. The official hoped that all the people involved would work with great zeal and enthusiasm. She encouraged the entrepreneurs to have a sense of competitiveness among them and to keep striving for improvement.
The Traditional Evening Park Kigwema is a venture that is making a difference in the lives of many by providing sustainable livelihoods to many and thereby contributing to community development. Hornbill Festival is not just a festival for showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the Nagas but it has also become an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to sustain their livelihoods through the tourism industry.
The Traditional Evening Park at Kigwema will continue till of December 10.
One can visit the various stalls set up at the Kigwema Local Ground. The products on sale ranges from traditional hand woven fabrics to hand made traditional jewellery and other indigenous hand made tools. There is also a number of stalls that one can visit to get a taste of traditional Naga cuisine. A visit to the Traditional Evening Park is a must for all festival goers who wish to have an authentic Naga experience.
