•-It is a good sight to look at the food stall run by wives of VIPs, bureaucrats and other top officials of the state government during the Hornbill Festival at Kisama. Chief Minister has also said that this year’s Hornbill Festival was the best ever. The income generated through the food stall is said to be used for charity purposes.
The bad sight is that all VIPs and other top officials are automatically drawn towards the food stall run by the wives of high officials either out of obligation or to show status symbol. The high officials give away donations after appreciating the food though it actually might not have tasted as much as they are appreciating. In the process, nearby and other food stalls are left dry as all probable customers have been absorbed by the particular food stall. There is nothing against the particular food stall as it is for charity purpose but one must also look at the effect of it. Many small societies and groups have come a long way to run stalls for some earning.
It is not that the food stall run by wives of the officials serves better and tastier food. In fact, there are better stalls where delicious and pure Naga way of food preparation are catered. The Hornbill Festival is a nice opportunity for the common people to make reasonable profit. Why cannot the high class people leave the opportunity to the common people to make a decent earning?
The Hornbill Festival is not the only opportunity for the high class people to make earnings for charity purpose. As high class as they are, they encounter innumerable opportunities to carry out such charity works. Of all those opportunities why did they choose the Hornbill Festival only to sideline the common people and be a competition to them? Common people stand to be easily defeated and business ruined to the lowest ebb.
As high class as they are, the wives don’t even need to depend on business and its returns to do charity works. They won’t become beggar themselves by simply donating some amount without doing such business. And if the rich cannot give chances to the common people to make a decent earning, the rich will continue to become richer while the poor becomes poorer and poorer. The Hornbill Festival will soon become a show of the rich and the powerful whereby the low strata of people will have all their opportunities trampled and snatched.
Hornbill Festival 2011 may not be the best ever as claimed. The common people are given chance but that chance stands to be obviously defeated as the rich and the powerful are their competitors. Is such kind of Hornbill Festival the best ever?
The bad sight is that all VIPs and other top officials are automatically drawn towards the food stall run by the wives of high officials either out of obligation or to show status symbol. The high officials give away donations after appreciating the food though it actually might not have tasted as much as they are appreciating. In the process, nearby and other food stalls are left dry as all probable customers have been absorbed by the particular food stall. There is nothing against the particular food stall as it is for charity purpose but one must also look at the effect of it. Many small societies and groups have come a long way to run stalls for some earning.
It is not that the food stall run by wives of the officials serves better and tastier food. In fact, there are better stalls where delicious and pure Naga way of food preparation are catered. The Hornbill Festival is a nice opportunity for the common people to make reasonable profit. Why cannot the high class people leave the opportunity to the common people to make a decent earning?
The Hornbill Festival is not the only opportunity for the high class people to make earnings for charity purpose. As high class as they are, they encounter innumerable opportunities to carry out such charity works. Of all those opportunities why did they choose the Hornbill Festival only to sideline the common people and be a competition to them? Common people stand to be easily defeated and business ruined to the lowest ebb.
As high class as they are, the wives don’t even need to depend on business and its returns to do charity works. They won’t become beggar themselves by simply donating some amount without doing such business. And if the rich cannot give chances to the common people to make a decent earning, the rich will continue to become richer while the poor becomes poorer and poorer. The Hornbill Festival will soon become a show of the rich and the powerful whereby the low strata of people will have all their opportunities trampled and snatched.
Hornbill Festival 2011 may not be the best ever as claimed. The common people are given chance but that chance stands to be obviously defeated as the rich and the powerful are their competitors. Is such kind of Hornbill Festival the best ever?
Kenne and George, Kohima
