Lam Grace Touthang & NK Naga with Advisor to CM, Abu Metha, TaFMA Advisor, Theja Meru, YRS Director, T Akumla Chuba & others during the felicitation of the two artists. (Morung Photo)
Morung Express News
Kohima | July 7
There was a time when the dancing sensation from Nagaland, Lam Grace Touthang slept on the streets of Mumbai and Goa just so she could save money to return home after participating in the Indian Hip Hop Dance Championship in 2018 and 2019 respectively. In these consecutive years, she made it to Top 6 for both the championships.
“There were so many struggles and I didn’t have any sponsors but through God’s favour, I had the support of the church and friends who helped with my registration fee, fares, fooding and lodging, when I travelled to participate in these championships,” she relates to The Morung Express.
Lam Grace Touthang, who started dancing as a young girl got into fulltime dancing after graduation despite having to prove herself. “I used to give Math and Science Tuition and I saved that money for dancing,” she puts across.
“It’s so hard to convince our parents whose mindset is focused on government jobs. It took a lot of time because there would be things that people say to my parents against me and they (parents) would tell me- what are you trying to do? But all this pressure pushed me to work harder,” she says.
There has been no turning back since she got into dancing fulltime even as she has gone on to manage Nagaland Dance Fiesta for the last 4 years. Proving herself once more, Lam Grace Touthang, who hails from Bungsang village in Medziphema just recently, won the “Global Dance Visual Competition” in the Solo category.
In this regard, Lam Grace Touthang, along with NK Naga, the first Naga to be a playback singer in Bollywood were today acknowledged by the Task Force for Music and Arts (TaFMA) for their accomplishments in the presence of Advisor to Chief Minister of Nagaland, Abu Metha, Advisor to TaFMA, Theja Meru, Project Director, Hovithal Sothu, Director for Youth Resource and Sports, T Akumla Chuba among others.
NK Naga who belongs to a family of musicians, whose father is a drummer and mother, a guitarist and a singer, started singing at the age of nine.
“I have struggled for more than a couple of decades but finally got the chance to be featured in Bollywood,” he says. He has been invited to attend ‘Bharat Mahotsav’ in Geneva, Switzerland from September 7-11, 2021, where he highlights that he will be representing Nagaland. The event is being organized by Confluence in association with PMI Geneva.
Clearly elated about the upcoming event, he expresses that “I never expected that I will go international. With this opportunity to travel to Switzerland, I want to thank God and the people of Nagaland for their immense love and support.”
He is simultaneously working in a few Bollywood movies. To get into Bollywood, the largest film industry in India, he says that “one should have patience and the more you fail, double up the practice and I urge people to make mirror your best friend. Sing for the mirror, do not compete with people but with yourself.”
During the felicitation, Advisor to Chief Minister of Nagaland, Abu Metha also congratulated them for bringing laurels to Nagaland. Stating that it is a proud moment for us that a Naga artist is today successfully performing in India’s largest film industry, he expressed confidence that it will encourage many more young talents.
To these two Naga achievers, he said, “wherever you go, whatever you do, you are an ambassador of the Naga people. Continue to be positive ambassadors of Naga people. Naga stories must be told through youngsters like you. I hope the two of you will encourage many more.”
Stating that “we become what we celebrate,” Theja Meru, Advisor to TaFMA expressed that “these are very inspiring human stories of hard work and success and TaFMA takes great pride and joy in acknowledging and celebrating their success.” “It is of utmost importance that we discuss ways we can further help them grow their area of influence and reach more career milestones”, he said.
He further observed that “with social media literally flattening the world, our artists are at a huge advantage to be discovered and participate at global platforms.” In this regard, he encouraged them to continue to put themselves and their talents out there, to dream big and work towards those dreams.
