State Level Kala Utsav celebration and competition concludes
Morung Express News
Kohima | September 26
The State Level Kala Utsav celebration and competition was held on September 27 at Government Higher Secondary School, Seikhazou under the theme ‘living traditions of arts’. Organised by the Nagaland Education Mission Society-RMSA, the event was graced by Sarah Ritse, Secretary to the Government of Nagaland, Department of School Education.
“In our generation, we are losing quite a lot of our culture and traditions because of modernized lifestyles,” viewed Sarah Ritse however believing that ‘Not everything is lost’, Ritse urged the students to revive the lost cultures and traditions and to take advantage of modern technology to promote one’s culture. “We are all stakeholders to revive our culture in the State. Each of us is responsible,” affirmed Ritse while adding that the stakeholders must take advantage of the presence of Naga elders when they are alive. In conclusion, Ritse lauded the Kala Utsav programme which is a crucial programme in reviving and preserving the cultures of India and hoped that the programme will continue every year witness more participation of schools in all districts.
A brief introduction to Kala Utsav was shared by Timothy Thong, DMD & Program Coordinator Kala Utsav, who informed that the Kala Utsav (Art Festival) was initiated in 2015 by Ministry of Human Resource Development to promote Arts in education by nurturing and showcasing the aesthetic and artistic talents of the students at the Secondary and Senior Secondary state in the country.
“India is a very vast country with such diversity in language, culture and way of life and the diversity in itself has proved to be the beauty of our great motherland. But as seen and felt, with the advent of 21st Century, most of India has transformed itself for the better or worse, to westernization and thereby, the Culture, unique to us has been threatened and was being pushed to the verge of extinction,” said Thong adding that the concern to revive the traditions and cultures led to the innovative experiment of Kala Utsav. Thong also stated that the programme is one of the greatest avenues for schools to develop the different dying art forms as the practice starts from the school level, which is organised at the District level, then to the State level.
Thong also informed that the best teams in the four areas will participate in Delhi at the National level. In 2015, three schools from Nagaland –Rüzhükhrie Government Higher Secondary School, Kohima, GHSS Peren and GHSS Dimapur- participated in the National level competition in Visual Arts, Dance and Theatre.
Eight schools from Nagaland participated in the competition namely GHSS Phek, GHSS Zunheboto, GHSS Chuchuyimlang, GHSS Wokha, GHSS Kiphire, GHSS Thangjam, Jubilee Memorial School and GHSS Pfutsero. Earlier the district level competitions were held in six districts of which the best teams were shelved to compete for the competition held on September 27.
Kala Utsav covers four aspects of Art forms namely music, dance, theatre and visual arts. In the Dance category, GHSS Zunheboto won the first position followed by GHS Chuchuyimlang in the second position. GHSS Kiphire was adjudged the winner in the Music category, with GHSS Wokha in the second position. Jubilee Memorial Higher Secondary School won in the Theatre category while GHSS Pfutsero won in the Visual Arts Category. The winners will represent Nagaland in the National level to be held in Delhi.
