Morung Express News
Dimapur | December 14
The Jamirs have been planning their first stall at the Dimapur Night Carnival for a couple of months now. On the night of December 14, the Carnival, to be held till December 18 at Supermarket area here, was inaugurated to an already packed house raising hopes for the Jamirs and their stall titled ‘Purely Naga.’
“We are making purely Naga food and beverages, with everything in the stall sourced locally,” said Lima Jamir who is leading the pack. Their family has already invested about Rs. 15,000 into the stall and hopes to make some profits through the Night Carnival that should last them the Christmas season. With a lack of capital to pep up the act, the whole family came together to put up the show.
The story is no different for other stalls. Making the whole Night Carnival a Purely Naga enterprise, many stalls saw siblings and neighbourhood friends put efforts together to set up shop. A stall titled ‘Carnival’ saw two siblings who live in Dimapur collaborate with their siblings in Kolkata and Pune to put up an accessories stall. A ‘Circle of Friends’ came up with a fast food stall, while ‘OSP Costumes’ saw friends and family sell funky wigs, masks and glasses. Tambola games and local handicrafts peeked out of a number of spaces.
Fundraising opportunities were galore. The ‘Special Olympics Nagaland’ has installed a food stall here for the first time in order to raise funds for their tireless volunteers. The ‘Inner Wheel Club 324 Dimapur’, women’s wing of the Rotary Club here, has put up a games and food stall to raise funds for the schools it has adopted around Dimapur to improve their infrastructure. The Muslim Council Dimapur, always ready with a regular and popular stall, is warmly in place with its beef biryani and liver. Mithun meat roll and soup simmered not too far away in another stall.
Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism C Apok Jamir, who inaugurated the Carnival, said in his address that the enthusiasm and energy witnessed at the Dimapur Night Carnival shows the growing popularity of the same.
The Parliamentary Secretary said the Carnival will not only provide entertainment during the festive season but also provide a platform to upcoming talents including musicians and local entrepreneurs.
Apok said the carnival is also an opportunity to propagate ‘Unity in Diversity’ not only in the national context but also through bringing all Naga tribes and other communities to come together and enjoy in the festive spirit.
He added that the Carnival is an extension of the Hornbill Festival which has put Nagaland on the global tourism map. He lauded the organizers for being able to set up more than 300 stalls catering to all sections and age groups.
