Vishü Rita Krocha
Kohima | July 21
Nagaland may be known as the only state in India to have officially recognized music as an industry, but many aspiring musicians continue to struggle to find a space to express themselves. A few accomplished ones have carved a niche for themselves, making a career out of music, but the majority of them are just waiting to be discovered.
This is where M.O.M, an acronym for ‘Meet Over Music’ comes in as a ray of hope for many upcoming artistes. Conceptualized by Oren Mozhui, a musician himself, M.O.M takes place every first Friday of every month at 6:00 pm at Dream Café, solely with the view to give a stage for the “upcoming and unnoticed artists.” “Most organizers prefer to entertain only the renowned artists and that’s why, the upcoming artists are nowhere to be found,” he said.
The past few episodes of M.O.M have shown great promise with artists and bands from all over Nagaland performing at the show. Musicians from as far as Tuensang apart from Mokokchung, Wokha, Dimapur, Pfutsero, Jotsoma, Jakhama, Tuophema, Ghaspani, Zhadima, Merapani, Okotso, etc have performed in these episodes, comprising of 34 artists and 18 bands. Also indicative of the upcoming artists’ desire for a platform, a total of 203 musicians including 74 bands and 129 artists have already registered to perform at the M.O.M. These artists and bands are selected to perform after a round of audition through Whatsapp, wherein they are required to send their live concert videos, original mp3 songs or simply a voice recording to determine their musical talent.
At M.O.M, there is no age bar and is also accommodative of all genres of music. ‘Woodland Band’ that performed in the July edition, comprises of 5 members within the age group of 35-40. Although all the band members are married and have different occupations and families to take care of, they meet and practice during weekends (or whenever they are free) to follow their greater passion, which is music.
Further, as pointed out by one of the musicians, ‘music contest shows’ are of little help for the aspiring musicians as it involves the contestant shelling out money for voting cards. “After getting selected for the next round, we have to buy voting cards on our own, and we also have to sell it”, Thansawati regretfully said. However, many upcoming musicians found M.O.M to be a great platform in promoting their music. Gugu, a guitarist was of the opinion that there are many good hidden artists but they don’t get the platform to perform. He is therefore, happy that M.O.M came into existence, not only enabling them to perform for an audience of music lovers, but also connect with their fellow musicians.
Lack of events and
entertainment
On the other hand, for a town that has no night life and is rarely buzzing with recreational activities, such an initiative serves as good news, especially for the younger population. The monsoon season is particularly starved for events with most of them confined to the famed Hornbill Festival.
Emphasizing that young people need space to express themselves, Director of YouthNet, Lezo Putsure said this is essential for them to be able to use their energy in the right direction. “Like in Nagaland, it’s either involved at the church or nothing to do. It’s good to see gyms come up, but we need space like movie theatres, parks, also clubs such as reading communities, outdoor games etc.” “Many young people, especially young professionals have nothing to do after work in the evenings. Many of them also get into bad habits such as drinking, or watching too much TV”, he also observed.
However, with few promising initiatives like the M.O.M, Neingulie Nakhro, Managing Director of Unitex is of the opinion that something good is happening in Kohima. As far as music is concerned, “this monsoon is a boon and delight for artists and musicians”, he impressed upon. While the M.O.M is sponsored by Theja Meru, Chairman of Dream Corp by providing Dream Café for free use including refreshment, Unitex is assisting with the sound system.
Neingulie felt it’s time to give back to the society. “Let us be part of the change, and make Kohima a better city,” he said.
