The journey of Chalo Loku Festival and Khapah Folk Song
Determination and effort needed to protect Khapa folk song.
- Chalo Loku celebration without Khapah folksong is a misnomer because the Khapah folksong is synonymous with the Chalo Loku celebration.
The journey of Chalo Loku Festival and Khapa Folk Song- By Denhang Bosai- The now, famed Chalo Loku of the Noctes of Tirap district had a very humble beginning in the late 1960s. The festival was observed in a small way with very little budgetary support from the then NEFA administration, centrally at Khonsa in undivided Tirap district. Of course, the Namsang-Borduria Fund (NBF Trust) had always supported ever since its incipience. However, it was not enough to celebrate the festival in a grand manner.
There used to be a very brief programne on 25th November with flag hoisting, speeches from guests, folkdance and community feast. However, today, the same festival has grown by leaps and bounds and many other attractions like food festival, musical nite, beauty pageant etc have been added thereby making the Chalo Loku a truly youth-centric festival which augurs well for the tribe.
Unlike in the past, finance is no longer an issue as the state government gives funds generously and people also donate willingly towards the celebration of their festival. The growth of media in the state has also helped in no small measure to publicize the event and rope in more participations from across the spectrum.
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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.)
