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Music,
me and Kohima
By Bombay Jayashri |
Chennai to Kolkata. Kolkata to Dimapur. Each flight
was two hours. The first was a big plane. The second
one was a 20-seater bumpy ride to the North-East
of India.
Every time I told someone that I was going to sing
in Kohima, people looked at me with a huge surprise.
Where is it? Is it in Japan? Are you going to sing
Carnatic music there? These caustic comments only
heightened my desire to visit Kohima. In fact, I
and my fellow musicians - Embar Kannan and Poongulum
Subramanian - were equally thrilled about the whole
concert. And, we were awaiting Kohima to happen.
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The event was Spic Macay’s
annual convention. It was held at this exotic destination
for its volunteers and supporters. There were 1,300
students.
And, the week-long convention, which also featured
workshops on various arts, culminated in an all-night
concert, which included my concert, too.
From Dimapur, which is the only flat district of
Nagaland’s seven districts, we started our
journey up the mountains. Hills, gorges, waterfalls,
a winding river to escort us, rain mist - all in
one good winding stomach-churning ride up the hills.
Nature in its bounty!
Kohima looks like a picture postcard, which one
may never expect to see in real life. Pretty houses
dot the small lanes of Kohima - the abode of the
Nagas, who speak Nagamese. It is almost like an
alien land. Most of the natives speak English other
than their mother tongue. The fluttering of birds
and the sound of crickets rent the land, which is
covered in thick foliage.
The concerts began at 8 p.m. in a lovely tent constructed
specially for the event. Students ran around, arranging
and co-ordinating. Our turn came at 1 a.m. and I
sang until 3 a.m. And, everybody got soaked into
the music which continued through the night and
lasted till 6 a.m. the next morning.
I thank God that music took me to the wonderful
land of Kohima.
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