Hornbill Music Festival: 20 Years on the wings of melody

“How was the massage?", quipped Vijay Basrur, the co-founder of Ok Listen, a digital platform that enables independent musicians, the moment I met him on arrival at Mengu homestay located near Science College, Jotsoma village, about 5 km West from Kohima town. I had just arrived there on the 3rd day night of the Hornbill Music Festival which had commenced this December 1st. His banter can be put in context when you are made known that the NH 29, the 74 km stretch available to transport visitors from Dimapur, the nearest airport to Kohima town where a part of the festival is happening and the way to Kisama Heritage Village, the hub of HMF, is now a flyblown pathway at best. It has been so since three and a half years when the government decided to upgrade the two-lane road to four-lane.

Completely doing away with the band competition, with which Hornbill etched its name in the country's music map, from this - it's 20th year, it's an all experiential music festival, eliciting mixed emotions. Easily the biggest music festival of India -this Festival of Festivals has grown even bigger in this edition with the advent of 'Culture Connect', a cultural annexure, while the musical bit has spread wider to encompass greater domains. That, that the Nagaland government has instituted a Task Force for Music & Arts (TaFMA), presently led by advisor Theja Meru, an accomplished and well-respected rock-vocalist himself, which handles a major portion of the music events, demonstrates how much the state gives importance to its endemic intangible heritage. In fact, the idea of this festival is to uphold the culture and heritage intrinsic ties of all the seventeen Naga tribes.

Celebrated in the name of the endangered eponymous bird, one is assured of its sighting at the Mini Zoo, Belho's Wildlife Breeding Home at Gasie, Kohima, which incidentally is also heaven for many other species of birds and wildlife.

It might take a few days just to grapple with the enormity of the festival. On our day of arrival while Papersky, When Chai Met Toast etc. was holding fort at Agri -Expo, Dimapur, the Kisama main arena was witnessing a cultural drama by BZ Entertainment Fat Circus. A day earlier they had hosted Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt at Durbar Hall, Raj Bhavan in 'Hand Shake' concert. There are plethora of simultaneous concerts in cafes, joints,night-markets, camps, etc. all the ten days, so much, that it has admitted quite a bit of entropy.

Stationed at Jotsoma we had only access to Kisama where we saw Trance Effect who are about to release their album, 'Clowns'; cover band Incipit and Hungarian folk music-dance troupe, Borsa and had to forgoe electronic/jazz act Ape Echoes, who were playing at Dimapur. We also did though manage to observe singers, dancers and quick change artists!, Tetseo Sisters end their engaging set with 'Rhosi' and on-point cover band, Divine Connection, banging it out loud.

Subsequently to take the stage will be Indus Creed, Girish and the Chronicles, Swarathma and Alobo Naga and the Band, Perfect Strangers and the likes. Not to be missed is the Ticket to Hornbill, which singled-out, through a competition, one act each from the eleven Nagaland districts, along with this inaugural editions toppers,Across Seconds, an instrumental rock band from Mumbai, Delhi-based singer songwriter-songwriter, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya) and alt-rocking Bangaloreans, Spacebar.

Besides music, one has the option of knowing the indigenous Naga handloom, handicraft, horticulture, honey, martial arts like Kiti Silat, sports like Hekko among others. Gastronomic acquaintances can be made at trival huts called morungs, set up by all the tribes and also at Naga Chef which will step into its seventh season. There's ample engagements for the kids too and adventure tourists too.

The administration has been providing full support with traffic advisories and complementary pink buses that ply visitors to & fro from Kohima town to Kisama venue.

To urban bones, the weather may be cold but it's the warmth of the natives coupled with their innate multi-disciplinary capacities, that can make Nagaland's music heritage it's 'soft power'.