Kedi Haralu
This years Motor Rally which was a part of the Hornbill festival, was one of the most memorable event, with cash prices totaling Rs 10, 00,000/-. Participants from the metros and also multinational companies added the spice to the flavor, and the showmanship of professionalism was portrayed for the first time in Nagaland. If such events become a trend, the future of Adventure Sports in Nagaland will be taking a quantum leap, on the positive side. It is also a welcome sight to see so many companies, both locally as well as national are willing to sponsor such events. In the past there were only a handful of local sponsors and sponsorship from National and Multi National Companies was unheard of. This was one factor that had stopped and stunted the field of Outdoor Activities. Even the Government was literally naive and new to this type of activities, for when one talked of sports, the only thing they understood was Athletics, wrestling and Football. I remember when a few of us just returned from abroad youngsters decided to put our heads together 'and introduce Adventure Sports to the Nagas, we were really short of funs. Thus we were forced to approach the Minister for Sports and Youth Resources at Kohima. Although he was all out in supporting sports and sport infrastructure, he just could not get the concept of Adventure Sports. And as all Nagas, he did not want to let us know that he did not understand our concept, but with all sincerity he took out the Works Program for the Department he was in charge of. He leafed through the pages and finally came to a conclusion - "I really want to help out, but there is no mention of funding for a Stadium for Adventure Sports." Our members laughed all the way down to Dimapur. This was the state we were in, where even the Government had no ideas of. Now, after only a decade later we have advanced at such a rapid rate, that now the future looks very bright for Adventure Sports in Nagaland. The members went ahead and thus floated an association and we coined our club/association as Nagaland Adventure Sports Association or NASA in short.
The concept of Motor Rally was the follow on action of Nagaland Adventure Sports Association, where the members had experienced the exhilaration of river rafting on Grade 3 and Grade 4 white water rapids, jumping off a plane at 10, 000 ft and climbing the highest peaks in India. Yes, it was a dangerous experience, but this sort of adventure is not meant for the weak hearted. It is the sense of achievement of "being there, done that" which is priceless and the rush one gets is better then any drug or substances, plus this rush is for free of cost. Now, since the field of adventure sports was very limited, for it narrowed down to just a few sports, it .was decided anonymously that Motor Rally should be included. Thus the result being the birth of Nagaland Adventure & Motor Sports Association (NAMSA). Motor rally was something which as a youngster, always dreamed of, plus it was a long pending vision, that one day we could also be a part of this adrenalin pumping, adventure, which utilizes the combined skill of a driver willing to go all lengths and a navigator, who has to be the eyes and brains of the driver. The Association decided to participate in the Himalayan Rally, where our team excelled, hence we thought "why don't we have a Nagaland Motor Rally? This was the onset of Motor Sports in Nagaland. The Association now decided to organize a Rally where the participants had to pay for themselves i.e. doing up the vehicle as per Rally specification and also safety in case of accidents and crashes. Here again our local drivers excelled. Local Drivers brought laurels to our State after participating in the Himalayan Rally, the Orchid Rally and numerous others. As a Motor Rallyist from the National Circuit had given this small em of a phrase, which all Motor Rallyist use as their John 3:16 "This is the epitome of team spirit, where the two individuals should operate as one using one mind, one soul and one spirit. This we call commandership. 11 But till the beginning of this year the Association had survived due to the hard work of committed members and the reward for their hard work resulted in Hornbill Motor Rally 2007. This year, since the Government of Nagaland had given much interest in these Sports, National Sponsors slowly started to be recruited. This year, the Multinational Company i.e. JK Tyres and the Department of Sports and Youth Resources, hand in hand with the Tourism Department, had made event very successful and also a memorable one. As mentioned above, NAMSA has a lot of well wishers who has put their all out trust and support for Motor Sports in Nagaland. Another aspect/factor of this Years success (Rs 10, 00, 0001- total prize money), was the all out support of our beloved, sports loving, Chief Minster. Earlier the Government of Nagaland had never given much importance to outdoor activities, challenges and new and innovative ideas, but all these have changed, plus with the Tourism Department giving NAMSA its support and logistical backing, this years Motor Rally will be remembered for decades to come. I think as we had set the ball rolling, it is now up to the new generation to capitalize on the achievement and take us Nagas further into a broader spectrum of Adventure Sports.
In conclusion, there are no losers in this sport, for just participating in such competitions, will be remembered way down in the future, where we can proudly reminisce with our children and grandchildren on the good and wonderful experiences we had gone through. It is surely history in the making. In this fast developing world we cannot be left behind and to do this we need continuous support from Sponsors and also the Government of Nagaland. Earlier Motor Rally's were an activity of only the rich, who had so much money that they could not find an outlet to spend their ill gotten gains, but now things have changed and what is more encouraging is that our youngsters ( from all be it a rich person or a poor hardworking person) have started to take interest in Outdoor Sports, and the Government support and financial backing are willing to get involved due to the humongous cash prize, which I am sure will continue to rise as the years go by. Therefore let us all enthusiasts be a party to this moment of glory and honor, and contribute to the Association in any way possible, be it cash or kind, new ideas and concepts, with one single aim and target so as to achieve the impossible.
Kedi Haralu, Member NAMSA
(Chief Safety Officer) NAMSA, Nagaland
