The Score Magazine - Archive January 2015 issue! | Page 33

Debraj Choudhury
Almost always touted as the Woodstock of
the East, the Hornbill Festival of Nagaland
isn’t about only the musical facet of
life. It celebrates music, yes, but it also
celebrates the spirit of the Naga people.
The indigenous of the state live out there
festivities with such zeal that it infects you.
The state being a Christian majority state, there is no dearth of
churches and where there is a church there is a Sunday Mass. And
where there is a Sunday Mass there is music. The exposure to music
comes very early in one’s life in the state and not before long an
instrument of choice is picked (which in most cases is the versatile
guitar) and the humming starts. Migration from gospel to other forms
by the hummers and strummers is gradual but very fast.
Evenings in Kohima
Evenings in Kohima are normal; you stroll into a
restaurant to get our fill and you will be pleasantly
surprised by a live gig happening at the place. The
ambience will be good you will set in real easy. And
the covers being belted out are flawless. The most
impressive part being the diction. Sporadically the
artists belts out their own composition and they are
nice. Nagaland being a dry state no alcohol whatsoever
is served on this strip of hills but one should try the
traditional special rice beer, ‘zutho’ (called so by one of the
16 tribes) served at any tribesman’s house and the famed
Naga chilies.
Having had your fill of music and food, which always is a
crackling combination you should head towards your room
to hit the sack so that the shot at Hornbill Festival is spot on.
Hornbill Festival
Hornbill Festival isn’t something that hits you in the face the
moment you step into it. Beginning at around 9 am it’s got its
own pace and like almost all such festivals, it’s a conglomeration
of various small festivals happening all around contributing to
the mother event. Started in the year 2000 by the State Government
its destination and time remains the same. Kisama village, 1st to
7th December; but this year as the PM visited it was extended by 3
more days.
Hornbill Festival aims to showcase the talents, arts, crafts and skills
of each of the 16 indigenous warrior tribes of Nagaland. That a lot
of thought was put into the event can be made out from the fact that
the name Hornbill is after a bird and the bird has the distinction of
finding its place in the folk stories of most of the tribes.
The heritage village Kisama was set up with the sole purpose of
hosting the Hornbill Festival. Each tribe is given its representative
hut at the festival. And each representative hut has its own food
court; serving the tribe’s delicacies, which at most times are meat of
different kind. Stalls or ‘morungs’ are also set up to sell traditional
bamboo items. They put up nicely crafted hats, caps, vases, artifacts
and utensils from bamboo to showcase and sell.
The events of the day in the festival range from traditional to modern.
Games are showcased mostly during the day. The games are simple
and the simplicity of the games at times rever berates in your mind
and realization strikes that childhood games like tug-of-war can be
adrenaline pumping and manlier. Motorcycle rallies are conducted
to support various causes and riders from almost the entire nation
participate. Apart from games and engines, there are also literature
fests, painting displays and folk stories.
The nights of the festival are a different story altogether. Every event
just recedes like the sun on the horizon and music starts claiming
the entire stretch. Every evening a music event or competition
of one kind or another is being held at the village peppered with
performances by famous bands. This year it’s the legendary band
from England, Smokie who does the honor. For those who think
Smokie is old school and isn’t worth lending an ear to, for them I
pique their interest with a bit of info that Smokie have ‘Boulevard
of Broken Dreams’ to their credit. The festival went ahead to tribute
one of the most followed artist of the state and perhaps the region
musically, Jon Bon Jovi; through the tribute band Bon Giovi from
Europe, which belted out and fed some of the Bon Jovi classics like
‘Lay Your Hands On Me’ and ‘It’s My Life’ among others. Vinnie
Moore of UFO, was also the perfect topping for this guitar crazy state
who didn’t seem to deviate one string from his special skillset.
Few of the Naga bands also participated to enthrall the crowd from
the ongoing Rock Competition in the festival. The crowd didn’t seem
to mind from which platform the music came as long as it was good
music and performed flawlessly.
The Hornbill International Rock Contest’s 2013 winners are
Underground Authority from Kolkata, the band, yes it does ring
a bell, is the very same which inspired Salman Khan in an earlier
edition of India’s Got Talent. This year bands that were shortlisted
for participation from the North Eastern region are
Restless Desire, Tura
Nightmares, Sikkim
Adroit, Meghalaya
Condemned Hour, Tura
The Royal Flush, Arunachal Pradesh
Paper Sky, Nagaland
Technicolors, Nagaland
Stereo Type, Nagaland
The first three winners of the Hornbill Rock Contest receives cash
prizes of Rs. 10,00,000 bagged by Adam’s Apple from Darjeeling,
Rs. 5,00,000 bagged by Nightmares from Sikkim and Rs. 3,00,000
by Muses of Authority from Siliguri respectively. There was
also individual prizes of Rs 30,000 each. Thus making it one of
the nation’s biggest music event doling out major moolah to
promote the music in the country.
It’s not that only within the Festival the night is
happening at the fullest. Christmas hits early in
this Christian city with Kohima Night Bazar, a flea
market of sorts complete with street food. All coming
up in the sidelines to compliment the mega event
happening. With lights, people, food and cheap
trinkets it’s just the icing on the cake. Back in the
village the organizers pay heed to the changing
music tastes of the populace and try to pack in as
much of the diversity as they can without letting
go of what was held on to in the previous
outings. For that matter perhaps, this year
EDM finds an entire night dedicated to
itself like big brother Rock.
Though the festival ends at its own
pace but in the city it doesn’t just fade
away as Christmas and New Year are
just round the corner to light up its
streets once again. Also the festival
is a kind of welcome break from
the humdrum life that becomes
our specialty once we give in to the
grind. The festival reinvigorates
you and entices you to plan for the
next year’s trip to Kisama.
The
Score Magazine
www.thescoremagazine.com
31