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Today, Chalo Loku celebration is not confined only to the district headquarters Khonsa but is celebrated at Itanagar, Deomali and other places wherever Noctes reside. I had the great fortune of attending Chalo Loku celebrations at Khonsa in 1974. We were taken from RKM School, Narottam Nagar in a truck on 25th November to witness the festival.
I was very young then and I vaguely remember the event. But I was fascinated by dancers in full traditional trappings. The then Lt. Governor late KAA Raja was a great patron of Chalo Loku and all indigenous practices.
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A festival is one of the mediums of preserving and promoting our rich Nocte cultural heritage. A society without its cultural ethos as a strong base, can never thrive and prosper. The sad and painful demise of the soul of the Chalo Loku in many Nocte villages; the Khapah folksong, is a matter of grave concern for all. Academicians and intelligentsia must sit together and have serious brainstorming sessions to devise ways and means to safeguard the fast-dying rich Khapah folksong. Now, exploring possibilities to document it for the next generation, has become sine qua non.
Chalo Loku celebration without Khapah folksong is a misnomer because the Khapah folksong is synonymous with the Chalo Loku celebration. As a matter of fact, Khapah dialect spoken only by 3 villages of Noksa, Pullong and Tupi, is by far the richest dialect among all Nocte dialects. Khapah describes Nature, relation of man and Nature, romance, struggles, hardships and joy of villagers very lucidly. The dialect can be termed as ‘a poetic or musical dialect.’
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Today, there are so many ways of preserving it. In the past, the rich folksong was passed on orally (from mouth to mouth) without using any written codes and other gadgets. The danger and tragedy of losing Khapah folksong forever, must be addressed by all on top priority.
The RGU authorities can also be requested to depute scholars to help the Noctes preserve the fast-vanishing Khapah folksong in a systematic and scientific manner for the posterity. It is now or never. The services of the Khapah folksong exponents may be gainfully utilized to document the folksong song. The elected Nocte leaders may also contribute their mite to save the dying folksong.
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Now, I get to see lots of preparations being made to celebrate the 56th Chalo Loku at Khonsa with great fanfare, grandeur and a sense of purpose by including various attractive programmes. But I reiterate that such pomp and show will end in smoke if the very soul of Chalo Loku; Khapah folksong is not preserved and promoted. My father was a renowned Khapah folksinger but my greatest regret in life is that I could not master a single line. My best wishes to the organizers.
(The writer is former Deputy Director of DIPR, Government of Arunachal Pradesh.)