Longrangty Longchar
Dimapur | September 25
‘Believe in dreams’ is the inspiring value upon which Kuknalim.com, the Naga website has been built. Seven years since its inception, its hard work and dedication was rewarded with The Manthan Award.
Kuknalim.com, which was founded Yan Murry and Jeremy Taylor, now the senior administ
ators of the website, was started in May 2001. Since then, it has had overwhelming response from visitors and members, especially from youths.
Interacting with The Morung Express after being conferred The Manthan Award, Yan Murry retrospected that he and his wife, and Jeremy Taylor, started the venture as more of a hobby, and also with a bold vision that ‘one day the internet would become very popular.’ Murry confessed that, in 2001, the internet had still not got the attention of the Naga populace;. However, today Kuknalim.com with its 7,700 registered members and 3 millions hits a month, the vision that Yan Murry and Jeremy Taylor is ‘half-fulfilled.’
Murry said that the one great thing that Kuknalim.com has achieved is letting the world know about the Nagas especially their culture and tradition, besides giving a platform for the many Nagas living in different parts of the world to come together and meet each other and share their ideas, views and opinion. In fact, it is because of this reason the Kuknalim.com was awarded the Manthan Award in the e-culture category.
“It’s a big thing for us, you know it’s like the Oscars award in the field of IT, Information Technology,” said Murry. However, Kuknalim.com has had its own share of difficult times. Yan Murry confessed that, initially when the site was opened there were no problems as such, since the internet was not popular and there was no registered Naga websites. But with the increase in the number of visitors and registered members, the site had to expand. Recently the web portal spent Rs 15,000 to upgrade its chat room to accommodate more people, Murry said.
With the passing years and with the Naga youths getting more tech savvy, Kuknalim.com has more responsibility at hand, said Murry.
“It is difficult to look at the content of every article that a member posts,” said Murry. He was referring to a recent controversy regarding an article posted by one of its member by the nickname ‘Thohe’ who opined that Kuknalim.com is against the Nagas and favors more of the non-Nagas. That article created a lot of storm, especially among the faithful Kuknalim.com registered members. The matter has been settled with the banning of that particular ‘Thohe’. “Now we have become more responsible” said Murry, even the new upgraded chat room is now accessible only for registered members.
Besides, Kuknalim.com also faces financial constraints. Murry disclosed that the site needs the resources to upgrade the technology which has been in operation for the last two years. “We need a minimum of Rs one lakhs for that,” said Murry.
However, with the prestigious award at hand, Kuknalim.com sees brighter days ahead. The work is not at ends, the process is slow but we will continue on, said Murry.
It may also be mentioned that Kuknalim.com is a non-profit venture aimed at bringing Nagas from around the world in one platform. Besides the many services and features it provides for its users, kuknalim.com also takes part in charity works and aims at promoting Naga talents and culture.
Last year, the website organized a Christmas charity programme for the underprivileged people. This year, as part of its social work, Kuknalim.com as identified an AIDS NGO in Tuensang to work together with it, said Murry.
