The abode of the wild

Nagaland Zoological Park (NZP), Rangapahar, the only zoological park in the state, is emerging as one of the biodiversity hot-spots in the Northeast despite multiple problems faced by the authorities in the upkeep of the park. Spread over 176 hectares , NZP was inaugurated in August 2008 and in the past few years, drew attention of biodiversity scholars and observers from within and outside the state.

“Nagaland Zoological Park is one of the 25 models zoos in India as per the Central Zoo Authority of India,” says ZNP chief wildlife warden T. Lotha, while pointing out that the zoological park has the potentials to develop into a world class park. This means there is the need to seriously consider the number of animals and birds collected for the zoo including those endangered and rare ones.

Since its inauguration, the park has also been making attempts to increase the number of captive wildlife species. Currently, the park boasts of more than 100 different species of captive wildlife comprising of mammals, birds, reptiles and those belonging to the cat family.

One special characteristic of the park is the seamless mixture of a lush green-landscape filled with copious botanical species and representative presence of wildlife including indigenous species.

Keeping in view the natural landscape, NZP has the potential to develop spots like deer safari and free animal ranch where the species would get natural feeds, fodder, forage and water, all provided by nature.

With the primary objective of conservation and protection of biodiversity - both flora and fauna, NZP’s mission, as of now, includes inculcating a deep sense of not only appreciating the flora and fauna but also promoting awareness of wildlife besides providing the much needed recreational facilities to the people of the state and biodiversity enthusiasts.

“First of all we must understand that the richness of a zoological park is not counted by the amount of revenue or profit collected or procured from it. It is counted by the number of animal species collected. One of the primary objectives being educating the people including children so as to encourage the love for animals,” says T. Lotha.

New animals for the zoological park could be procured through exchange programmes with other zoos in the country or through wildlife enthusiasts who at times bring the species to the zoo voluntarily.

It may be mentioned that female leopard ‘Rani’ of NZP recently got a companion named ‘Doom’ from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation & Conservation (CWRC), Borjuri, Kaziranga National Park Assam.

What comes as a blessing to the wildlife authorities and enthusiast is the location of the zoological park in a naturally simulated environment.  The park has the rich potential to develop and adopt the two known methods of conservation - in-situ and ex-situ methods.

In-situ conservation method is the on-site conservation. It is the process of protecting endangered plants, animal and bird species in their natural habitat. It has been considered as the most appropriate way of conserving biodiversity. Different species of indigenous and migratory birds that dot the park beyond the enclosures falls under this category of conservation.

Another potential capability of NZP is the preservation of components of biological diversity outside their natural habitats known as ex-situ conservation method. This method involves conservation of animal genetic resources. The method draws on a diverse body of man-made techniques and facilities.

Around the world, zoological parks have started captive breeding of animals with possible reintroduction into the wild. Many zoos have now begun collecting living organisms for other zoos, aquaria and botanical gardens primarily set up for in depth research and public awareness.

“Basically zoos are the genetic pools of animals and birds where they are monitored in a controlled environment. We know that to enhance genetic viability, the animal species have to get themselves adapted to the environment. We must also note that inbreeding dilutes the purity of genes,” says P. Thirumalainathan, NZP asst. research officer.

He also emphasized that NZP has at least 14 Schedule I listed species of (Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972). They are the black soft-shell turtle, black kite, capped langur, common leopard, crested goshawk, crested serpent eagle, great Indian hornbill, Himalayan black bear, hoolock gibbon, Indian peafowl, leopard cat, rufous-necked hornbill, slow loris and wreathed hornbill.

NZP authorities have also been engaged in a vision-oriented planning in an effort to tap the full potential of the park. In order to expedite the process, NZP officials have started mulling tying up with different state departments for effective collaboration.

So far the main source of funding for NZP have been the state forest department and Central Zoo Authrority. Currently, NZP is working out collaborations with departments like irrigation and flood control department and also Nagaland bamboo mission.

The other areas that need to be addressed currently include recruitment of adequate manpower. As of now NZP runs with just about 45 staff members starting from range officers to store keepers.

One problem, NZP faces is the absence of a fulltime veterinary doctor permanently attached to it to oversee the health of the animals in times of need. So far, NZP has just one volunteer veterinary doctor who comes to see the animals when they fall sick. NZP authorities wish they could at least have one veterinary doctor deputed from the animal husbandry department. 

Besides the health of the animals, another issue that has kept NZP authorities on tenterhooks is the fact that they have found it very difficult to maintain the park with the schedule of budgetary allocation by the government. Here, it simply means that the NZP authorities want the budget allocated for the animal feeds to be granted along with monthly salaries of the staff unlike the current practice of getting the same quarterly.

This, they say is important as most of the times, NZP authorities have to stock animal fodder and feeds on credit or procure them after getting a loan. 

The difference in the system and schedule of fund release would definitely impact the physiological upkeep of the animal and bird species in the zoological park, argue NZP authorities.

Despite many difficulties, NZP authorities are not willing to give up their hope of elevating the park with world class facility. For this to be achieved, T. Lotha says NZP has to work out on certain plans.

These plans include maintaining the two identified water bodies inside the park; connectivity interface; amenities for visitors including cafeteria/restaurants, dwelling houses, children’s park; uninterrupted power and water supply; health-care system; rescue and trauma centre and of course developing a centre for breeding of rare indigenous wildlife species.

NZP authorities hope that with the participation of the government and the public, the ideal development of the only zoological park in state would be possible.

Breaking sound barriers: When we deaf awaken

Helen Keller (1880-1968), the American author and political activist once said “I am just as deaf as I am blind. The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex, if not more important than those of blindness.” However, she turned what was considered a “fait accompli” into an opportunity to prove to the world that there are always ways and means to change one’s destiny.
Keller eventually went on to become a world-famous deaf-blind speaker and author. She has been remembered as an advocate for people with disabilities and many other social and political causes.
Comparing her experience with normal people, she said “Children who hear acquire language without any particular effort; the words that fall from others’ lips they catch on the wing, as it were, delightedly, while the little deaf child must trap them by a slow and often painful process. But whatever the process, the result is wonderful. Gradually from naming an object we advance step by step until we have traversed the vast distance between our first stammered syllable and the sweep of thought in a line of Shakespeare.”

And it was perhaps not without a reason the famous American author invoked the bard of Avon, William Shakespeare, the doyen of English literature and dramatic texts. Keller in many ways seemed to have noted the inner core and the burning talents of children with hearing and speech impairment.
And we are not far away from such children of God, not of the lesser one or kind. Perhaps for the first time ever in Nagaland, twenty-seven children from the Deaf Biblical Ministry, Dimapur staged a full-fledged “evolved play” called “The Wedding” on July 12 evening at Imliyanger Memorial Center, Dimapur. 
The play has been aptly termed as “fruit of love and labour” by the director Bendang Walling of Lytel Feather’s Film and Theatre Production.
After conducting an intensive workshop with the extremely talented children who are deaf, Bendang who was trained in the art and science of theatre at the National School of Drama, Delhi in a rather humble projection of the effort writes on the little brochure of the play “The play revolves around a ring and a watch. Human conditions, emotions and thoughts are displayed through the two objects and the inseparable bond that we as human beings have made with material objects.” 
Anyone who was there to watch the play would have experienced much more than the two liner introduction about the play.
The story of the play revolves around a wedding ring and a wrist-watch. The owners of both the objects lost their prized possessions triggering a chain reaction filled with all human emotions aptly and ably enacted by the twenty-seven children.
The play brought to life the seemingly hidden moments of life as experienced by those who are rooted to their surroundings. It brings to surface the darker side of human beings’ localized obsession with worldly objects while trampling inherited decent values in the every-day world as experienced by people in Nagaland.
The 40-minute play opens with a wedding scene and exchange of rings between the bride and the groom that sets off a series of cascading and humorous sub-plots with truly animated gestures that looked so natural and real with slices of humour thrown in where they mattered.
The pursuit of meaningless materialism and shallowness of life dependent on objects have been given a new lease of life with symbolic necessities. The play ends with another wedding scene, perhaps a subtle reminder that the circle is not run yet. 

What attracted the audience was the easy negotiation of the spatial and temporal aspects of the play by the children. Within a month, the twenty-seven children, ten girls and seventeen boys were trained by Bendang to master the stage. By dramatic standards, the result was indeed beyond expectation though there were moments some discerning audience would have loved to change few plots or perhaps the effective use of props and lights.
Whatever the minute-critical issues the play had, Bendang expressed satisfaction with the production of the play. Here, the proverbial tension between the child actors and the young director collapses into real love and fondness found missing in many professional dramatic circuits.
However, the total impact of the play was not as easily set into motion as the spectacle portrayed-for the director had to doubly ensure that the children knew what they were doing.
Bendang said the idea behind the project was to make the children realize that they were no different from any other human beings. He had to first deconstruct the notion that spoken language was the only way of communicating between human beings. Bendang also wanted to break away from the understanding that learning the sign language was essential for communicating with the deaf without underplaying its importance.
 “As much as possible, I tried not to use the sign language with them. I did not want them to have insecurities, so I treated them as normal,” he said. 
Bendang proudly discloses that the story of the play including the plots was all evolved by the children during the workshop.
“Interestingly, The Wedding was evolved by the children themselves during the workshop. I had only guided them and directed the play”, he said adding that “That’s what we do. We use theatre art to reach out to these kids and make them realize that they are just as normal like you and I.”
However, when one closely watches the play, there is a realization that the story or the thematic content of the performance text was quite different from any normative or conventional children’s play. 
Bendang concurs with the observation but adds “It is true the story is meant for adults. But since the same was evolved during the workshop, I realize these children are not free from the day to day events and happening around them.”
What the director expressed alludes to the fact social realities do not discriminate impacts on the minds of human beings, be they adults or children.
For instance, some of the scenes of the play portray the culture of gun that has become so rampant in societies afflicted with conflict. The use of gun culture and unabated alcohol consumption do have definitive impact on the minds of these kids, opined Bendang. He however, quickly adds “We tried to do it in a farcical way with humour because it is our style, the Naga style. That is what we like,” he said. 
Another aspect an observer could not skip noticing was the way how Bendang picked up children who just fit into the charted characters of the play. In the absence of a well crafted conventional protagonist and antagonist, the characters of the play aided by the plots could build up the climax in such a way without traces of space and time hiccups. 
While the children displayed their variegated skills, there are two individuals who have been equally responsible for nurturing their talents - Rev. Yanger Walling and his wife Amongla who started the Deaf Biblical Ministry in 1987. They received special training on deaf psychology & education under Bruce and Ruth Ann Schwalbe of the United States. If anyone notices the self-confidence in each of these gifted children on and off the stage, both deserve honest accolade for showing the children, the way and making them break the sound barriers and awakening all. They speak with their actions.

Rooting for experimental theatre

When asked why he chose the risk of picking up theatre as a career option in a society which invested little in performing arts, he replied, “I’m sure that my state is a treasure island of performing arts tradition. It is just that others as well as the people there were yet to pick up these raw diamonds scattered all over and polish them to let the world know, we also can shine and immensely contribute to the world tradition of performing arts.”
This reply by Bendang Walling impressed Dr. Anuradha Kapur, his professor of acting and direction at the National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi whose seminal work ‘Actors, Pilgrims, Kings and Gods: the Ramlila at Ramnagar’ has been nationally and internationally read for providing rare insights into a community’s negotiation with religion besides exploring unique theatrical tradition in India’s heartland.
Since the day Bendang entered NSD, the country’s most prestigious theatre institute in 2009 and his sojourn in the country’s national capital New Delhi, he has formally learnt the art and craft of theatre. Along the way, Bendang also learnt many more things which he never thought were possible if he had chosen to stay back in his home state. He rediscovered that Nagaland did not really lack behind in performing arts with the rich cultural mosaic that have dotted the entire Naga landscape for centuries. All that he had to do was embark on a dream and fulfill the onerous task of infusing new ideas and thoughts to folk and craft traditions blooming in Nagaland.
According to Bendang, for a society which has variegated cultural patterns and numerous ways of narrating folk stories, Naga artistes have not been able break the barrier and march forward with an experimental theatre not necessarily ‘avant-garde’ as understood in the west.
Acknowledging that the blending of Naga performing folk arts with that of modern theatre could give birth to something unique that the world could talk about, Bendang opines that the tradition of western proscenium theatre perhaps came to Nagaland with the advent of Christianity and modern education in the state. However, “We have not been able to come out of the typical western conventions of theatre productions save the imitations of the trends prevalent in the west, be it in the realms of Shakespearean dramas or Broadway musicals”, he said. 
Perhaps, there was an element of truth in Bendang’s understanding of the current trends of music and performing arts in the state. Despite this, some artistes and musicians have already made attempts to go the experimental way albeit with the extra large room for improvement in the craft of production or the usage of props et al.
Veteran Naga musician, Arenla M. Subong of Abiogenesis made one fantastic effort to retell the story of Lichaba’s Daughter, an Ao folktale in a musical format taking creative liberties to infuse dramatic elements into the narrative. The same musical based on a Naga folktale was also staged by Dreamz Unlimited, a theatre group based in Dimapur, making serious efforts to add Nagaland into the world theatre map. 
Though this play was staged successfully and also drew the attention of theatre aficionados outside the state, the absence of patronage, support and critical observation have made staging of such works a rare occurrence. Yet, those who are engaged in the art of theatre still have not given up hope to experiment with more Naga folktales infusing their rich musical content and investing their creative best. It may be recalled that Dreamz Unlimited’s version of Lichaba’s Daughter has been staged in Gantok, Imphal, Guwhati and Delhi and elsewhere. Dreams Unlimited under the guidance of Rabijita Gogoi, an NSD alumnus from Assam also took the play Technicolor Dreams at the 12th Bharat Rang Mahotsave, Delhi 2010. 
Despite the gradual recognition and existence of many young and talented Nagas, there were many more obstacles associated with experiments in theatrical forms. This, according to him has a lot to do with the overall perception as well as the understanding of what actually are performing arts. 
He asked if it was just enough to sing folk songs or perform tribal dances. He wondered if theatre and films Nagas produced ended up with the imitations of what has been experimented in the west and still stuck up with the imageries of Hollywood or Bollywood productions. He is still trying hard to find the answers for all despite possessing a three year degree from NSD on the nitty-gritty of the art of theatre.
When asked about the physical obstacles in the development of theatre in Nagaland, Dreamz Unlimited’s president Tiakumzuk Ao said the absence of technically sound performing spaces or a permanent standing theatre auditorium exclusively for theatre in Nagaland have always been a problem. He says even by conventional standards, most of halls and auditoriums in Nagaland were not made considering the needs of either proscenium or experimental theatre.
Tiakumzuk also says the primary need invariably is sponsorship. Does this imply that the level of patronage for performing in arts the state is abysmally low or is it the failure of the state authorities to identify theatrical talents who can shoulder the responsibility? 
It is worth noting that over years, the state government has taken several steps to promote the musical efforts of its people. In 2006, Nagaland government started a special Music Task Force with the intention of encouraging young people to take up music professionally rather than just as a hobby. The state board of school education has even introduced music as a subject in its higher secondary curriculum. When the state gives such patronage to music, the moot question one can ask is can the state government do the same for the large but less visible immensely talented young actors? Or is it the failure to infuse new thoughts and ideas in the productions process.
Bendang says apart from patronage or sponsorship, another issue that has dogged performing arts, particularly theatre is the absence of a well organized standing institute where the art could be learnt in its entirety including theory and practice of the theatrical arts.
“Each Naga tribe has its own distinctive folk dance, story-telling tradition, folk tales etc. We know for sure the content is also abundantly rich. Now the question is how do we transform these into theatre. Even after drafting the folk stories as scripts of plays, most of us engaged in this field for some reason are not fully equipped with theoretical issues like the uneasy relationship between the dramatic text and the performance text or the script writer versus the director issue,” says Bendang.
There are enough indicators to the presence of stories rich with content in Nagaland which could be transformed into dramatic texts and the strength of the rich oral tradition could also be easily transformed into stories that can be not only retold but also re-enacted just as Bendang says, “The content or the text is already there, we just have to concentrate in further enhancing the dramatic text as well as the performance text.”

Comics, graphic works: Towards animated belief

If names like Phantom, Mandrake, Tarzan, Superman, Batmen, Spiderman, Titin, Asterix or Bahadur and Chacha Chaudhary are familiar signifiers, you surely have consumed numerous sequences of images in the multiple-panel sequence of comic strips or comic books.

These characters from the comics have managed to weave magic into our imaginations and left our minds with imageries difficult to erase from the mindscape.

The popularity of these characters has been made possible through the art of comic book making and production. The art has also been majorly responsible for spawning a surge in interest for graphic novels in contemporary times. Graphic novels are narrative works in which the stories are told/shown to the readers using sequential art adopting experimental presentation or resorting to the durable traditional comics art format.

Lee Falk, an American writer, theater director and producer was responsible for creating The Phantom or Mandrake the Magician.

Belgian Georges Prosper Remi also known as Hergé is known as the man responsible for 23 comic books of The Adventures of Tintin series.

And who can forget the immortal Asterix and his friend Obelix, co-created by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo.

All these immortal characters were shaped and mould through the superlative imaginative ability of these creators. Many of these characters and their stories have now been immortalized and rendered into films too.

However, far away Nagaland may seemed to be with the development of world history of comics or comics characters, contemporary Naga youth have not lagged behind in catching up with the global interest and resurge in comics art, comics character generation and animated filmmaking.

Take for instance the works of Vito Chophy who had a short stint with 2CA Ventures (P) Ltd. Bangalore as a digital rendering artist & asst. studio coordinator. Chophy has also contributed in generating characters for Gotham comics studio.

A comics work executed by Vito Chophy.

The studio was set up to handle the outsourced work for Marvel and DC Comics with the emphasis on creating characters based on Indian mythology. 

Chophy says though his works have been primarily focused on “comic art rendering”, he has ventured into comics generation of Naga folktales and have done strips which have been published both electronically as well as through hard prints. 

Chophy is looking forward to coming up with independent full-fledged comics series. He has also worked for Ape Entertainment Studios.

Another young talented Naga youth who had also been contently and quietly working to produce similar but distinct art albeit as a trained animation hand is Vito Sumi, who wants to describe himself as graphic designer, short-filmmaker and freelance photographer. 

Vito Sumi, equipped with a Master’s degree in Mass Communication from Bangalore, is keen on streamlining a proper character generation process for animation works out of the real life situation that the Naga society sees today. 

He is not adverse to producing comics but says he wants to deal with a non-commercial works as of now. Currently, Sumi is making a short film.

Vito Sumi who worked at Pedestrian Pictures, Bangalore says he wants to pick political issues adopting a satirical and critical approach to ongoing issues that dogged the society. 

He has also worked with award winning documentary director Ritesh Sharma, director of The Holy Wives. “During my stint in Bangalore, I was taught to be more critical and analytical while enhancing my skills – be it in filmmaking or photography”.

Vito Sumi was the associate director and editor of the film – The Silent Field (Yenguyelei Qua), a documentary project depicting traditional rituals and songs that were vanishing due to the influx of western culture. 

This film was supported by Endangered Language Development Project (ELDP), The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London. 

His current work under-post production stage is titled ACE. Vito Sumi says this film deals with a “figurative representation of the present Naga political crisis through the game of cards, adding that the film would give the audience a chance to reflect and introspect the whole process of “decisive political discourse.”

While the film is at the post-production stage, Vito Sumi has also begun working on a graphic novel tentatively titled: The Cradle, which would be a fusion of modern and traditional art in recreating a history likely to be out of public memory soon. 

“Though the characters are fictional and the event is recreated, original institutions of the Naga legacy are maintained to make it look authentic. The three characters are based on a rhetorical expression of political system, the church-moral police and the “revolutionaries”, says Vito Sumi. 

Stating that he loves using “hard hitting colours” such as black and red, Vito Sumi says these colours also represent the brutality and dark side of the Naga times of the headhunting yore. And the characters are bound to be sharply defined in his works.

Another Naga artist and ace illustrator Akanito Assumi, who was part of a team that produced the excellent piece of graphic collection of folktales from Nagaland titled - Shadows, volume one, says his group DesignStash follows two pronged steps while dealing with folktales and stories.

Talking about generation of characters, Akanito says that when he gets a folktale to work on, the first thing that comes to the mind is ‘verification’. 

By verification Akanito means verifying whether which one is the authentic version in the event of more than one versions of the same folktale. For this, he says, the team ensures to consult village elders and experts to point out the “authentic narrative.”

Once this process is complete, Akanito and his team go for the second step in trying to understand the aura and personality of the characters as depicted and sketched by the oral tradition.

Converting or generating characters out of folktales is not an easy task and hence the necessity of reference in Akanito and his team’s work. 

He feels that the process also include referring to available tangible objects for figurative imageries and also the landscape of the bygone era. For this, there is the imperative to refer to old, archival pictures and photos too. 

Akanito and his team also are keen on making animated films based on folk characters and the stories surrounding them. 

These three young Naga artists are well versed with the latest trends in the world of comics, graphics and animated filmmaking. 

With such pool of talents showing the way, there would be hundred others blooming with brimming implementable ideas and thoughts. 

And those who quest for our own comics, graphic and animated heroes can find solace in the thought that someday, there would also be Naga characters immortalized and edged sharply in our mindscape.

Underground activity: The art of beekeeping

A review of NBHM’s “Traditional underground beekeeping in Mima Village, Nagaland (2012)” written by Susan Waten, 73 pages 

Not all advocacy books/manuals related to human trade and occupation come packed in little boxes of information. The detailed ones too do not necessarily make one understand the whole gamut of information with interesting twists and turns to keep the attention span of those who hunger for finer aspects of descriptive narrative intact. 

However, the recent books, journals and brochures published by Nagaland Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM) have managed to set an exemplary bar for providing facts and data and making them interesting to the lay readers about achievement and activities of departmental initiatives. 

NBHM''s recent book "Traditional underground beekeeping in Mima Village, Nagaland (2012)" written by Susan Waten is not just about a noble profession or occupation that the villagers of Mima had set with destiny but much more than what the title suggests. 

To use the author''s own words, the book has been conceptualized with a "discerning and meditative ''inner eye''." It serves as not only a "flash light" in the dark caves but also holds that attention of readers with Susan Waten''s unique narrative style. 

What was perhaps conceptualized with just an idea of informing the public about the success of traditional beekeeping business in a village have been turned into a narrative which may invite the envy of documentation experts, researchers or even anthropologists trained in the art of participant observation. The reasons are not far to seek if one spares some time to browse through the book excellently produced with not only memorable vignettes but also photos that tell a thousand words.

But what does the book really tell? Mission Director of NBHM, Mhathung Yanthan has succinctly put it in his forward to the book. The book is all about NBHM''s concern about the uniqueness of traditional underground beekeeping practice and its attempt to ensure that the tradition continues in collaboration with modern scientific techniques.

However, as one goes through the book, one will realize that response to the adaptation of modern methods requires time. Perhaps, NBHM also along the way, realized that there is a need for a seamless synergy between the traditional and the modern in the most creative fashion.


The author''s ability to grasp the nuances of traditional beekeeping practice in a local setting through a meticulously spanned out field-visits, participant observation and interviews with the doyen and pioneer of beekeeping in Mima Village, Metsilhou Livi and others have given birth to a treasure strove of knowledge for generations who are conscious of the existing abundant skills and resources of Nagaland.

Suzan Waten''s knack of little facts that lead to bigger and ever interesting narrative would keep any discerning readers glued to the work. 

Thanks to her sense of the "inner eye", we know that while the Japanese and British troops were engaged in the battle of Kohima in 1944, Mima village actually began to streamline and concretize what we can now proudly call a tradition of beekeeping.

According to the author, before that, not only villages in and around Mima but all over the state were engaged with honey bee harvesting from the wild. She mentions that Naga forefathers had discovered and collected honey combs from the tree trunks or rock crevices in their paddy fields and forests.

For ages, no one seriously thought about beekeeping as an occupation until, Metsilhou Livi, a nonagenarian and an enterprising young man then embarked on the mission now ably taken over by NBHM. It was truly a mission for the villagers of Mima to have emulated the way shown by Metsilhou Livi. Mima village is now called the The Honey Village.

While the author details the tradition of underground beekeeping, she also simultaneously manages to weave numerous other parallel tales of the beekeeping pioneer, the legends and folk stories surrounding Mima villages and even touches upon historical tit-bits from the history of World War II and the economy of the region ravaged by war and inter-clan strife.

The two case studies she has picked up spanning two generations not only represent the contextual history of Mima but also contemporary realities set in motion since the beginning of “Naga national movement” in the first half of the 20th century. The days of trials and tribulations faced by the Naga people resisting the onslaught of Indian armed forces attempting to suppress the Naga armed insurrection. Metsilhou Livi, as described by the author, is a nonagenarian of different breed who not only has sharp memory but also is capable of contextualizing the entire history of traditional underground beekeeping. 

Apart from the details of traditional beekeeping, the author''s insightful coverage of Metsilhou Livi''s life indicates the fact that when one writes about an occupation, there is no escape from understanding the socio-political context under which we all are placed. No wonder then, the “history of Naga national movement” was also a part of Metsilhou Livi''s life. Yes, he had spent his days as an underground (''national worker'') too and perhaps for many years, an individual like underground beekeeping expert Metsilhou Livi will continue to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs based on the rich skills and resources of the land. It is indeed a mission. NBHM and the team members are not only passionate about what they do but also know where they are heading. 

(Photo credit: NBHM)

Big Brother Watching

http://vivabooksindia.blogspot.com/2010/12/big-brother-watching.html

For Power and Profit

http://www.businessworld.in/bw/2010_09_18_For_Power_And_Profit.html