Children’s activities, Indi-rock concert, exhibition and cultural presentation and choral singing marked the second day of the Maati Ke Rang 2015 festival which got underway at NEZCC complex, Dimapur.
Children’s activities which started today was conducted from 11 a.m. -1 p.m. where 31 children took part in a fancy dress competition. Children came dressed as Mother Teresa, a chef, fairies, a Barbie doll, in traditional attires, a cowboy, a take on social media projected contemporary patterns of communication, and one even became a pack of cigarettes focusing on the message ‘Smoking is injurious to health.’
Ilivika Aye (6), in a charming performance as a Barbie doll, won the competition.
There is a painting competition slated for the children on January 15, a dance competition on January 16 and a solo singing competition on January 17 at the Maati Ke Rang cultural festival.
The children’s activities were followed by popular Indie-rock band from Nagaland, We The Giants, who played from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. The band is part of a music festival that would feature other artistes like Alobo Naga & The Band (January 15), Alo Wanth (January 16) and Tali Angh (January 17) from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Alongside, a Buddhist exhibition of stone carvings of Buddha’s life was one of the main features of Maati Ke Rang 2015. The pieces that were brought to Dimapur from Nalanda in Bihar depict the various stages of Buddha’s life through which he got enlightenment. Harsh penances as the path towards enlightenment by the Buddha are portrayed through the carvings in stone. It is a rare exhibition of its kind in Nagaland.
Naga wood sculptors were also seen carving a monument out of two pieces of wood at the stone part in NEZCC complex. The artists have learnt the art of wood sculpting as part of their traditional heritage, the knowledge passed on to them through their ancestors. The underlying message of the woodwork is of the inherent cultures of the people of the North East that cross ways, leaving us all in one space, one home. Through art, the aspiration was to give the message of peace.
In the evening from 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. saw the audience cheering ‘Thang Ta,’ a form of martial arts from Manipur. The stunning martial arts form showed the combat strategies and warrior skills that sustained the Manipuris through a long period of independence. The martial tradition signified values of sacrifice, chivalry and honour, respect for life of all statures, proper safeguard of all women and children, morality and truth.
From 5-6 p.m., the stage erected at the stone park saw traditional performances by international artists from Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal. Bhutan, for instance, presented the Shinji Phomo, or a ‘pair of yak,’ which is a traditional form of dance that originated in the 8th century, created by Guru Rinpoche. Performing for the first time in Dimapur, the artists performing the traditional sequence have come to the North East India for the first time from their village, Tashigang, Radi.
As dusk moved to dark, the evening turned into a harmony of sounds and colours as cultural troupes from various parts of India collated on the NEZCC complex. Dancers from Bengal amalgamated with those from Punjab while a Rajasthani routine ensued in front of a hut constructed by Bhil adivasi artists from Madhya Pradesh. The NEZCC complex rose into a whirl of colours and sounds.
“The preparations here are really nice,” said Renchano Humtsoe, a visitor to the Maati Ke Rang festival on January 14. “This is a great platform where cultures from all regions of India come together — it is very difficult for people like us to travel outside, so this festival provides for great exposure. Naga people should learn to appreciate the arts and cultures of other people as well,” she asserted.
From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., choral musicians from Nagaland and Mizoram, including Nagaland Singing Ambassadors and Bel Canto, performed on the main stage of the Maati Ke Rang festival at the NEZCC complex, Dimapur.
Thursday, February 19, 2026