Hornbill Bamboo Carnival underway
Morung Express News
Dimapur | December 8
The 3-day ‘Hornbill Bamboo Carnival’ on the theme “Bamboo, Art, Food & Music” was formally launched here at Nagaland Bamboo Resource Centre, 6th Mile (Sovima), Thursday afternoon.
Organized by the Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency (NBDA), the carnival was inaugurated by NBDA team leader, Peter Lichamo. The carnival features sales and exhibition of bamboo products along with food courts, live music and other activities for family and children.
Talking to the Morung Express on the sidelines of the launching, NBDA team member, Amongla C, said the concept of the bamboo carnival is to incorporate bamboo with food, art and music and propagate bamboo as a lifestyle.
The NBDA team member said since stalls are limited at Kisama Heritage Village, the main venue of the Hornbill Festival, the bamboo carnival also provides an opportunity to local bamboo artisans and craftsmen to exhibit and sell their products.
There are 10 stalls catering to bamboo crafts and products, 10 food courts, fun and games section and Kids Carnival besides the evening music extravaganza.
In the evening music extravaganza ‘Rock the night’, local musicians and guest bands including Medo Zumu, Vila Keditsu, Gold Planet and Menwhopause, entertained the visitors with their melodies and decibels.
New Year feast from bamboo basket sale
Sixty-two year old Sikhiam Khiamniungan, a bamboo craftsman has come all the way from Kiangpao, a small village under Noklak sub-division in Tuensang district, to the Bamboo Carnival to exhibit and sell his bamboo products.
A father of eight children, the local craftsman said he learnt the art of weaving and crafting bamboo baskets and other products when he was a small kid. Presently, he is able to raise his children and feed his large family of ten through the back-breaking traditional method of weaving bamboo products.
Sikhiam, who is participating in the Hornbill Festival for the first time, expressed gratitude to the Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency (NBDA) for giving him the opportunity to exhibit and sell his products.
“A certain person from Tuensang ordered 100 bamboo baskets from me but in the eleventh hour he canceled the order and expressed regret for the same. I was at lost but just in time the NBDA invited me to open a stall at the Bamboo Carnival”, he said.
Sikhiam said he came to know the NBDA and its members after he attended a NBDA training programme last year to upgrade his skills.
“This coming New Year, I have planned to give a feast to the whole village and the sale proceed from this carnival will be used towards the feast expenditure,” he said.
