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Tribesmen in woven headgear and ethnic attires participate in one of the cultural programmes at the Hornbill Festival. The fifth day of the festival at Kisama village featured a variety of tribal presentations. (EM Images/ Caisii Mao)[/caption]
Kohima, Dec. 5 (EMN): The fifth day of the Hornbill Festival at Kisama village in Kohima district, on Dec. 5, began with a cultural session organised by the department of Art and Culture.
Nine cultural troupes comprising the Ao, Chakhesang, Chang, Garo, Khiamniungan, Konyak, Lotha, Phom, and the Kuki community sang and gave dance performances during the segment, which began from 10 in the morning.
In the afternoon, a Korean cultural team from the Korean Cultural Centre performed. The team entertained the gathering with music, dance and dramas. It was performed to promote Korean culture in India, particularly Nagaland. The Korean team was hosted by the department of Tourism.
The Koreans performed in two parts: the first part consisted of the tri-coloured dance called ‘chook-won’ dance; ‘choon-hyang’ story, jeng-gahng dance, and ‘jin-doh’ drum dance. In the second part, the team performed ‘heung-bu’ song, ‘gahng-nahm’ song, ‘the-pyung’ dance, ‘ari-rahng’ medley folk song, which is said to be one of the most popular folk songs in Korea; and ‘nan-gahm-na-neh.’
The Korean performance was followed by a pineapple eating competition, conducted by the department of Horticulture. 21 participants from outside of Nagaland including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chattisgarh, Punjab, Italy, and Australia ate their way into the competition.
The winner was decided based on who consumed the most number of pineapple pieces within a minute. Eli Stalidzans, a young enthusiastic man from Australia, who was on his first visit to the Hornbill Festival won the competition by consuming four pieces of pineapple in a minute. The winner was given a certificate, as were all the participants.
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Members of a visiting Korean cultural team from the Korean Cultural Centre perform during a segment of the Hornbill Festival. The Korean team is being hosted by the department of Tourism. (EM Images/ Caisii Mao)[/caption]
The evening session continued with Cultural Connect. Eight cultural troupes representing the Rengma, Sangtam, Pochury, Kachari, Angami, Zeliang, Sumi, and the Yimchunger community performed in the arena.
The Union Minister for Tourism, KJ Alphons; chief minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio; and the vice-chairman of Niti Aayog, Rajiv Kumar were among the dignitaries attending the event.
An official from the department of Youth Resources and Sports informed that there would be a tug-of-war competition on Dec. 6. Officials from the department of Horticulture also mentioned that the department will be conducting a ‘Naga king chilli’ eating competition on Dec. 7.
The two competitions will be held at Kisama’s main arena at 12 pm.
Union Minister for Tourism KJ Alphons addressed the event. He said that his ministry would like to work with the government of Nagaland in its effort to make the tourism ministry the fastest growing sector in India.
“The diversity of Nagaland, the culture, the colour, the music, the dance, the food, embellished with amazing people; the epitome of hospitality, I would like to work with your government,” Alphons said.
The minister said that the ministry has financed two projects in Nagaland. The first project estimated at INR 97 cr. and the second project INR 100 cr., which totals to 197 cr., in Nagaland for the growth of tourism. Alphons said he was interested in investing more funds for the growth of tourism in the state if any interesting projects come up in the future.
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Calling tourism the future of the entire Norteast states, especially Nagaland, Alphons said that the Union government has sanctioned funds for the Northeast. He believes that the Northeast is the window to the east for the government’s Look East policy.
Appreciating the beauty of Nagaland, Alphons said that there was nothing under the sun that was more beautiful than the Northeast, particularly the ethnic attires worn by the Nagas. In awe of seeing the beauty of the state, Alphons said that his native Kerala was known as ‘God’s own land.’ However, he described Nagaland to be “God’s own paradise.”
The tourism minister said to have spoken with the Civil Aviation minister to provide helicopter services from Guwahati to Dimapur, Dimapur to Kohima, Kohima to Imphal, Imphal to Dimapur, and then from Dimapur to Guwahati.
Further, Alphons appreciated the chief minister of Nagaland describing him as a ‘hyperactive chief minister’ who is trying his best to provide basic infrastructure to the citizens.
The minister also said that there were 84 million employees in the Tourism sector. He said India ranks number three in tourism after China and USA, in which the ministry contributes seven percent of the Gross Domestic Product to the country and 13 percent of employment.