Monday, November 15, 2010

32nd Hundred Drums Wangala Festival ended on a colourful note

32nd Hundred Drums Wangala Festival of The Garos ended on a colourful note. The Meghalaya Chief Minister, Dr Mukul Sangma has called upon each and every citizen to join hands in preserving their rich traditional culture and customs of the region while addressing the  Festival at Asananggre, the headquarters of Rongram C&RD Block, West Garo Hills, 18 kms from Tura town on November 13, 2010.


Dr Sangma said that through the Wangala Festival, the cultural heritage of the Garos can be preserved. He urges upon the people to participate and contribute towards promoting the festival to higher levels making it a more spectacular event, particularly, as a tourist attraction. To achieve this goal, the youth has to be motivated and should be involved in the process, he added.
He also said that Wangala Festival has always been a major tourist attraction in the State of Meghalaya and by preserving it, the economy of the area in particular and the State in general will definitely grow. Besides it will keep alive the cultural identity of the Garos.
Mukul also informed during his speech that the Chief Minister’s Youth Development Programme has been enhanced for preserving and promoting the culture and traditions, like music and dances of the indigenous people of Meghalaya.
Later, the Chief Minister also released the magazine of the A’chik Literature Society called "A’chik Ku’rang."
It may be mentioned that altogether 10 Wangala dance troupes drawn from different parts of Garo hills took part in the festival and competed against each other to be the winner of the best Wangala dance troupe 2010. Apart from the competition by the dancing contingents of Garo Hills, this year the Wangala dance troupes from Bangladesh, Assam and Nagaland also displayed their skills at the festival.
Among others who attended the festival were Chairman MTDC, Mr R V Lyngdoh, Ismail Marak, Francis P Sangma and Samuel Sangma.
The other highlights of the day were the performance by the Wangala drummers of Garo Hills who participated during the opening ceremony of the recently concluded Commonwealth Games 2010 held in New Delhi., For the first time troupes from Assam and Nagaland also participated besides Bangladesh.
This year's  winners are Sadolpara Troupe (First Place), Tura (Second Place)  Ampati (third Place)

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Garo drums fest gets off to thunderous start


The 100 Drums Wangala Festival – the harvest festival of Garos – entered its second day on Friday in this sleepy hamlet 17 km north of Tura in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district.
Catapulted to prominence following its performance at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, the thanksgiving harvest dance, was converted into a community event 32 harvests ago under the patronage of then chief minister Capt Williamson A Sangma.
The festival which has grown exponentially in size and popularity is organized in a competitive format to integrate the scattered ethnic group across state and national borders while preserving and promoting indigenous A’chik culture globally.
Each year 10 contingents drawn from as many a’king or community- owned clan holdings converge on the community development block of Rongram where they wow domestic and overseas audiences with their percussive skills.
Initially restricted to the drum- dance competition, the 100 drums festival is increasing in popularity as audiences continue to be enraptured by the mesmeric staccato of the 2- 2- 1 beat of the dama – the A’chik long- drum, and the saber- rattling war- cry of the “ nokma.” Tailored to meet the requirements of a spectator “ sport,” the competition increases in intensity by the second day with teams vying to out- drum and out- dance their rivals.
What makes this year’s festival special is the extension of its duration by one day in which the organizing committee has managed to squeeze in an exposition of Garo art, culture, handloom and handicraft, indigenous herbal medicine, a gesture that has not been wasted on domestic and foreign tourists who are flocking to buy the arte- facts and memorabilia being sold at the “ 100 Drums Souvenir Shoppe” - a move by the organizers to provide visitors with souvenirs and keepsakes for themselves and friends back home.
According to the Organizing Committee Chairman and A’chik elder L K Marak, the organizing committee had been presented with a “ brand identity” by the Shillongbased corporate consultancy, Cognet Solutions.
Eminent litterateur and poet- musician, Llewlyn R Marak, a key personality in the organizing committee, expressed happiness that the festival was finally getting its due prominence in the outside world, which was long overdue.
Welcoming the introduction of a brand identity for the Festival, parliamentary secretary in- charge industries, Ismail R Marak said this would put a “ face” on the annual event and help market it to tourists in India and overseas. He said the 100 Drums Festival was suitably poised to become the flagship festival of the state.
State Medicinal Plants Board chairman Tony TC Marak, who is steering an ambitious state venture to promote its rich non- timber forest resources, said publicity and packaging played a vital role in the promotion of tourism, art and culture. His organization is showcasing herbal “ wonder” remedies that promise painless and permanent “ organic cures” for a host of diseases and afflictions. He said herbal oil massages by indigenous “ ojas” - barefoot doctors – would provide tourists the opportunity of experiencing the legendary curative powers of A’chik medicine.
Meanwhile, the festival is to conclude on Saturday with the grand 100- drums tattoo in the presence of Chief Minister Dr Mukul M Sangma and other prominent members of government and civil society.

Garo Hills grooves to beat of A'chik Dama


The deep rumbling echoing in the bowl like depression of the Asananggre community development block reverberated around the Garo Hills on Thursday. It came not from the thunder of rain clouds but from the 100 dama – the long-drum of the Garos – assembled under a autumn sky to give thanks to Misi Saljong, "the giver," marking the beginning of the 100 Drums Wangala Festival.
In the 32 summers since it was introduced as a humble attempt to promote and preserve indigenous A’chik culture, the thanksgiving harvest dance has fascinated audiences from near and far with its mesmerizing rhythm and perfectly synchronized steps. The festival, which has evolved from being a symbolic congregation of drummers and dancers representing the length and breath of the Garo Hills, is a commendably orchestrated and perfectly choreographed exposition of A’chik culture. Extended this year to cover three-days, this year’s drum fest is showcasing much more than the culture alone. Indigenous sports – first mooted by retired IPS officer, Skylance G Momin, a decade ago – indigenous rituals and a number of presentations on the sidelines of the festival promise to make this year’s edition a turning point in the celebration.
While the star attraction of this year’s festival is a presentation by the drummers and dance troupe who performed the opening act under the tutelage of maestro A R Rahman, at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games, another feature is the registration of an official "brand-identity" as a registered "trademark" by the 100 Drums Wangala Festival Organizing Committee. Created by globally-renowned Shillong-based design house, Cognet Solutions, the "brand" was developed to give the festival a modern and contemporary feel without diluting the cultural significance of the event.
According to the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, L K Marak, the initiative was both "timely and significant." He said the trademark, which stood in the name of the 100 Drums Wangala Festival Organizing Committee, had been "gifted" by Cognet chief executive and lead designer, Sanjay Sharma, a noted journalist, who has worked and covered the Garo Hills extensively in the last 20 years and founded the first full-fledged Garo weekly, Janera.
Meanwhile, the Industries department, which has organized an exhibition to showcase art and craft and organic produce, including medicinal herbs was inaugurated by Meghalaya Parliamentary Secretary Ismail R Marak. Speaking on the occasion, he lauded the work put in by the organizing committee and the industries department and said such initiatives could only strengthen the image of Meghalaya to the outside world. Welcoming the introduction of the brand identity for the Festival, Marak said it would put a "face" on the annual event and help market it to tourists in India and overseas.
State Medicinal Plants Board chairman Tony TC Marak, who is steering an ambitious state venture to promote its rich non-timber forest resources, said the products on show in the SMPB stall were to promote the cultivation of medicinal herbs as a preferred protocol of treatment that was increasing in popularity. He was all praise for the wide range of mementoes which have been introduced by the organizers, and lauded their novel way of helping to raise funds through the sale of festival merchandise, while also publicizing the event to global audiences.
The festival is to conclude on Saturday with the grand 100-drums tattoo in the presence of Chief Minister Dr Mukul M Sangma and other prominent members of government and civil society.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Merchandised memorabilia to debut at 100 Drums Fest

Merchandised memorabilia to debut at 100 Drums Fest

In the 32nd year since it was first celebrated, the 100 Drums Wangala Festival is to see the advent of merchandised souvenirs for the very first time. Reacting to a popular view that the indigenous festival of the A'chik needed to get a more 'global' feel to bring in the tourists, the organizers will be introducing, curios and mementoes for display and sale to visitors from outside the region and country. These include heirloom quality ceramic plates, wall-hangings, keychains, vanity mirrors, travel flasks, coffee mugs, T-shirts and badges among a host of other products.

Mirroring the festival theme of a hundred dama (the A'chik long drum), the brand is a combination of representative symbols in vibrant colours using graffiti style of writing to give it a contemporary feel. Super-imposed on a splatter of autumn colours are the words, "100 Drums Wangala Festival 2010." At the apex is a plume of cockerel feathers - the kotip - the head-dress worn by male dancers bound to the numerals 100 by a bright red sash that wraps around the writing to suspend the dama. The entire element is given the shape of the Greek character 'Delta', which in silhouette resembles the head and shoulders of a drummer. In the background appears several palm prints in white, a familiar icon in most rural A'chik dwellings that is considered a talisman to ward off evil. 

An initiative by prominent members of the A'chik society, the merchandising 'idea' is being promoted as a pilot project to help the organizing committee achieve a two-point agenda of raising funds that will in turn help organize the festival better in future. A venture mooted by top-notch Shillong-based creative designer studio Cognet, the aim of introducing the merchandise is to create a brand for the festival and increase its visibility and make it a talking point.

The introduction of the merchandise assumes special significance following the scintillating performance by the A'chik cultural contingent at the opening ceremony of the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games that was choreographed by renowned musician AR Rahman. But this is not the first time the Wangala dance has occupied centrestage. It was an integral part of the opening ceremony of the Asian Games held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in 1982. 

Meanwhile, the response of the public to the memorabilia and mementoes has been overwhelming. The studio which is playing a nodal role in the first-time project, said while the demand was likely to outstrip the supply of the mementoes this year, those who were unable to procure any for themselves could leave their contact details and their orders would be couriered to them within a week after the date of booking. It is also reliably learned that the mechandise would be available online and at select outlets in Tura and Shillong; sources said, limited numbers would also be stocked by airports in the North Eastern region.