Nagaland has dominated national news headlines over the last two years like never before, and for all the right reasons. From making a noticeable impact in the fields of sports, music, film and more, young Naga women and men are notching up their game with innovative and bold strides.

One is floored when listening to a young cab driver rap like a pro, reading about actor Andrea Kevichusa winning a Filmfare Award, and hearing the news about the two gold medals the Nagaland Chamber Choir won at the World Choir games in South Korea. The list goes on. Nagaland is truly earning many golden buzzers due to the achievements of its young people.

If you are wondering, why this sudden onslaught of success stories from Nagaland, make no mistake, it is, in fact, not sudden. It has a lot to do with the governance and the discipline and focus of the people of the state.

Collective Social Goodness

When you go up to the capital city Kohima after landing at Dimapur, you are welcomed to a different world. It has the similar structure of any typical hill station like Shimla, Dalhousie, Ooty, where I have visited.

But Kohima is different.

For starters, there is no honking. Yes, no honking. People drive patiently and will not cut queues and traffic lines. People are polite and humble. The locals are proud of their tribal heritage and culture and are not ashamed to boldly wear that on their arm while listening to English rock music on their car systems.

There is a collective social goodness that I see in the people of Nagaland. These social values translate into strengths and convert into wins in the long run.

Smells Like Entrepreneurship Spirit

There has been significant thrust in the areas of sports, music and arts. I have also noticed a lot of young entrepreneurs coming out and setting up ventures; from coffee, food, furniture to traditional fashion, young Nagas are stepping up. It is important to harness this talent, this soft power and channelize this energy to open up doors of opportunities and build success stories. The Government of Nagaland has taken initiatives in this direction for well over a decade, built capabilities and the right teams to drive these initiatives.

Thank You for The Music

In the field of music, I have been fortunate to be associated with TaFMA (Task Force for Music & Arts), a unique body in this country working in the field of music, arts and fashion. It creates platforms, physical infrastructure and facilities and builds associations to create and offer better opportunities to young talent and to help the established ones find success.

The current Government of Nagaland is in its second term. Half way into its first term, they appointed Mr Theja Meru as the Advisor to TaFMA and, after a lot of initial planning, the efforts are now bearing fruit.

While My Guitar Gently Rocks

The TaFMA Music Mentorship Program, which was rolled out a few years ago, has slowly started showing signs of fructification. Thanks also in equal measure to names like Alobo Naga and Tetseo Sisters, who took the first few steps into the music market beyond the hills of Nagaland. The recent find for the country from Nagaland, ace girl guitarist Imnainla Jamir, is a product of the same program. She ignited the imagination of people across the country when she played the national anthem on her electric guitar. Today, she is easily finding opportunities to perform in corporate shows and festivals around the country. She even performed with the rock band Parikrama recently.

Music Mentorship

Among the 40-odd musicians who are part of the program, the Bright Lights Children’s Choir is a flagship project of TaFMA directed and mentored by accomplished pianist & musician Bethel Tsuzu. In November 2019, I saw the members of the Bright Lights Children’s Choir perform under the baton of renowned Latvian conductors. It was an unforgettable experience. Another project, ‘Sunshine Orchestra Nagaland Chapter’, began under the aegis of the A R Rahman Foundation and is mentored by Vilhouvotuo Kezo, an accomplished violin player. A R Rahman himself was the Chief Guest for the closing ceremony of the Hornbill Festival in 2019.

Hornbill Grows!

In 2015, I had created an Intellectual Property (IP) for the Government of Nagaland called Hornbill on Tour. During the concerts held in some major metros, many artists and friends in the audience would approach me and ask, “How does one get to Nagaland?” To most, it seemed to be a mystical land, hidden in the fog of the hills.

By 2019, when I was doing Ticket to Hornbill on the same lines, I didn’t get a single question asking me how to get to Nagaland. Instead, I got a lot of queries around when to visit, when does Hornbill Festival take place, etc. etc. With the connectivity of air, rail, cell phone and e-commerce growing, the world had shrunk and, by 2022, we had record footfalls at the Hornbill Festival.

Beehive of Performances & Art

The Regional Centre of Excellence for Music & Performing Arts at Jotsoma has become a beehive of activity and performances. The once forlorn centre is now vibrant in not only colour but also as the rallying point of all activities as Theja and team work out of the building. In September 2019, TaFMA inaugurated the GOCA (Gallery of Contemporary Art) at the RCEMPA to display and exhibit works of local artists. In 2021, the Latvian ambassador inaugurated a studio space, Musify, for artists to practice, record, or shoot their music performances.

Brands on the Bandwagon

We have also made a lot of partnerships and associations come to life in the last few years. Dolby India and The Parx brand from the Raymond Group supported another project of TaFMA, The Nagland Collective, which comprises select musicians and artists. They released their single ‘Now or Never’ which got some rave reviews. TaFMA has just begun work on Nagaland Collective 2.0. All these programs give platforms to artists to get on board and pave a path to success and betterment. Toyota, Raymond, Parx, Dolby, Shure, Casio, OkListen, Gaana etc. are some brands who have come on board for various activities of TaFMA and also at Hornbill.

Edge of Glory

All these efforts definitely seem to be creating a positive push and a vibrant industry for artists. It is difficult to believe all artists under the mentorship program will achieve success quickly and at the same time, but the number of success stories is surely and steadily growing.

The Government of Nagaland itself has put forward a model where they are treating musicians and artists like any other industry body which requires hand-holding, skilling, support and private investments. This model, if adopted by other states, will also bear results and a positive outcome.

TaFMA has also put in more energies at the district level and started open-house nights with greater involvement and push. Each district has to manage its own social media channel and scout talent, nurture talent and use TaFMA’s resources to take talent to the next level. It is important to get more support from mainstream brands as well to do things at the grassroots level and invest over time to yield results in the short and long run.

As of now, the excitement of brands willing to invest in activities in the North East is limited. While one sees brands provide huge sponsorship in urban centres for festivals, which are only growing in numbers but hardly growing in distinction, it is difficult to get brands to invest in the North East or with artists from the region.

To be fair, there are logistical issues and it’s a small market, so sometimes the effort to rewards is a point of consideration for brands. However, they recognize that it’s a growing market and one can do innovative IPs which are not geographically bound to the region but transports the talent pool of the region to a national level.

However, I believe the volume of sheer talent, the well-known North East love for music and our collective work at TaFMA will move Nagaland and other states in the North East region from the edge of glory to the centre-stage spotlight, soonest.

Mumbai-based Arpito Gope, TaFMA Chief Consultant and Partner at The Better Earth Coalition by NYUCT Design Labs (Venture Design & Innovation), has been promoting the new creators’ economy in Nagaland for over 10 years.