GUWAHATI: The Hornbill Music Festival, held as part of the annual Hornbill Festival of Nagaland, has tied up with V-Rox Festival of Vladivostok to explore avenues for exchange of music, art and culture between India and Russia.
A joint statement from the two festivals announced the partnership on Monday, stating, “V-Rox festival in Vladivostok, Russia, and Hornbill Music Festival, Nagaland, India agree to be festival partners and we shall explore avenues and platforms for the exchange of music, art, and culture, between the two festivals and countries in the days and years ahead.”
Welcoming the partnership, Nagaland chief minister Nephiu Rio took to Twitter to say, “I am happy to know that V-Rox Festival – Vladivostok, Russia and Hornbill Music Festival, Nagaland, India, will be festival partners. Congratulations and I hope the collaboration will foster bilateral interest in music, art and culture and will be enriching for both the countries.”
The Task Force for Music and Arts of Nagaland, recently created by the state government to encourage Naga musicians to take up music as a profession, acknowledged the chief minister and thanked him for inspiring the arts industry.
Praising the development, Theja Meru, adviser of the Task Force for Music and Arts, and an accomplished rock-vocalist, also tweeted, “It’s a historic day for the two music festivals of two great nations.”
Held every year in Kisama (near Kohima) between December 1 and 10, the Hornbill Festival celebrates the cultural diversity of Nagaland and upholds the culture and heritage intrinsic ties of all the seventeen major Naga tribes.
However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and surge in positive cases in the state, there is some uncertainty over the feasibility of hosting the festival in December this year.
Nagaland tourism adviser, H.K Yepthomi had told the media last month that the state tourism industry “was in a dire condition due to the pandemic and if the situation doesn’t improve, the state government may not be in a position to host the Hornbill Festival.”