Visitors to the 25th edition of Hornbill Festival at Kisama, the Heritage Village, had mixed reactions about the cultural dance and sports including traditional food and handicrafts.
Talking with visitors, especially the first-timers, most were impressed with the rich variety of cultural show and the quality of the presentations etc. However, the visitors who expected much from the famed traditional Naga cuisine were disappointed when they visited the food stalls.
The food was supposed to be hot and tangy but the foodies were in for disappointment. The food served were at best lukewarm which totally robbed them of the expected ‘traditional tangy taste’. Further, the prices of food items were also on the higher side and that only added to the disappointment.
Also, several people, who tasted the local brew/rice beer questioned the quality of the drinks. The most disappointing were the prices of various traditional arts and handicrafts on sale whose prices were to the roof. Most of the items were 50% above normal rates in the open market.
There were many other issues which the visitors raised such as acute shortage of toilets. Many visitors felt there was need to locate toilets at various areas for the ten thousand-plus visitors daily.
All these throw up questions on whether the organisers had time to consider the nitty gritty of the programmes or were solely focused on putting up a great show on stage?