A nurse yearning to see her mother who passed away, a pastor’s hope to set up churches in his village, a musician who feels like an outsider in the place she calls home and still counting days to a brighter future – these are some of the lives which are captured through the lens of freelance photojournalist Kekhriezhazo Miachieo in his project titled ‘The Others,’ being displayed at the Hornbill Festival, Kisama. ‘The Others’ is based on the Indo-Burma border division of 1967, to Nagas of the East(Burmese Nagas) and the Nagas of the West(Indian Nagas) and the eventual consequences of the geographical demarcation but still entwined by history, culture and religion. While the Nagas in India have been more privileged having been granted statehood, the Burmese Nagas in Myanmar have suffered a less fortunate fate. The community has seen little to no development. Education, healthcare and accessible roads are still out of their reach. Miachieo in his work ‘The Others’ captures the lives of Burmese Nagas living in Nagaland, their socio- economic conditions and their desire to seek a better future. Kekhriezhazo Miachieo, 31, is based in Kohima. He did his graduation from Bangalore University. He worked as staff photojournalist at Hindustan Times, New Delhi for 3 years. He joined India Today magazine in 2013 and was associated as a photojournalist with the magazine till 2017. Miachieo won the Toto-Tasveer Young Photography Award, 2017 for his series ‘Cycle of Street Life.’ He also covered the aftermath of the Nepal Earthquake 2015, Uttarakhand Floods 2013, Muzaffarnagar Riots 2013 and the aftermath of the Kashmir Floods 2014 among others. Miachieo’s work ‘The Others’ is on display at the HIPFEST Hornbill Festival, Kisama.
