New Delhi, Nov.23 : Nothing perhaps bridges the gap among communities as does the cultural celebrations. It was with this purpose in mind the Honrbill festival was held in New Delhi by Nagas this past week.

Though Hornbill festival is generally held in the first week of December in Nagaland’s capital Kohima, it was celebrated in advance in the national capital.

Organized by the Naga students and artists, the Hornbill celebrations drew sizable crowd in the cultural cosmos Delhi Haat, located in the heart of the national capital.

The three-hour function aroused lot of curiosity and tickled the consciousness of many who were amazed to find so much cultural richness and musical talent among the people of Nagaland.

When a Netherland tourist visiting Delhi Haat asked “Where have these people come from?”, a Naga student from Jawaharlal Nehru University standing nearby, immediately responded: “From the North Eastern part of India”.

On one side, the festival made people of Delhi aware of the culture of Nagas and, on the other, it demonstrated the urge of the Naga society to be recognized and identified as an indistinguishable part of the nation.

Nise Meruno, a well-known Naga artist and musician, attended the celebrations to make others know what Nagas represent and how eager they were to contribute to the nation.

"Delhi being the national capital is the best platform to showcase all these things. The culture that we have is so different from other parts of the country that we should enable others to learn about it. People must know that we are of the same country but yet we are different, which people don't get to see here", said Meruno, who performs in embassies and high society of the capital.

Akumdong Jamir, an artist, said: "Actually, northeast is so far off and majority of the population in the country doesn’t know about the northeast. So, we are trying to bring north east to this place."

Atula, a student, said: "Younger generation is brave and we are getting more exposure today on everything going in and around the world. So, I think that we are quite
brave and walking towards a unity with rest of the India and also among ourselves."

The group singing traditional songs and performing dances was an attraction for a lot of visitors here. Not many were aware why such a celebration was taking place and what the elegantly dressed up participants wanted to convey.

An important purpose, which such cultural programme serves, is that it presents a different image of Nagaland than what people know.

Most of the people view Nagaland as an insurgency-prone and disturbed area. Naga youth want to change that image by showcasing that the State has other faces and is running fast on the development track. They represent the cultural diversity of the nation.

In 2000, Nagaland government decided to bring together all tribes of the State through a festival.  Thus was born the Hornbill Festival.

Named after the hornbill, a universally liked bird that figures in the folklore of most of the State’s tribes of Nagaland, the eight-day festival brings them all together with dances, performances, crafts, parades, games, sports, food fairs and religious ceremonies.
(ANI)