Eilleen Ovung Studio, representing Timeless Elegance

Designing, for Eilleen Ovung was an outlet for her creativity, blending in well with her desire to create products that were classy and versatile, beautiful yet functional and adaptable to different occasions and needs.

Eilleen Ovung Studio or EOS as it is known in short, is her very own line of handbags and accessories, based in Chennai. Having started this venture with its focus on Nagaland and with the idea to cater to the stylish Naga lady, she says, “even if I couldn’t be there full time, I wanted Naga women to get an access to affordable luxury products.

Well, Eilleen Ovung Studio happened in May this year, after the Economics Graduate from Indraprastha College for Women under Delhi University, decided to further transform her love for art into products. She is an alumna of the prestigious National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi, where she earned her post graduate diploma in Leather Apparel Design and Technology.

Delhi is like a second home for the designer, who was born and raised in Nagaland, but spent over a decade in the capital, both for studies and work. Over the years, she has gone on to create a niche for herself in other bigger metropolitans even as work took her places including overseas.

“I learned a lot from the first job in 2004 at BCC Overseas (where I interned twice during the course at NIFT) whose owners were young and energetic and gave me the freedom to design and guided us in all other areas of work so that we were well rounded in our understanding of work- not just designing”, she gratefully recalls.

Then, she freelanced for Varun Sardana, a reputed Fashion Designer in New Delhi and later, got along with a NIFT batchmate Zeenat Tanvir to design and market Leather and Textile accessories under ZEST in New Delhi area. She was also called on by NIFT during her freelancing days to be a visiting faculty for the same course she had completed. “It was great to interact with students and get a fresh perspective on things as well as share my experience in the industry”, she expresses.

Further, she had a stint with Unnayan, New Delhi- an NGO that promotes and revives Indian Crafts. This led her home to Nagaland to carry out research, documentation and designing. Then, in her words, “Colehaan happened in 2010 which meant shifting base to Chennai, quite far from home! It was a bit of a struggle to be here as compared to Delhi but I started to enjoy life in Chennai...I had great colleagues at work and made friends back at my accommodation and others from NCF Chennai and former NIFT friends.”

She had wanted to learn more about Product development as well as Production Process in detail from this historic company, and so, joined as a Development Manager for India for Women’s Handbags and Accessories (Small Leather goods and Belts). In the following year, she was given the charge of Development, Production and Quality for both Men’s and Women’s Accessories which, she shares, was quite a challenge.

She goes on to say that, “it was a tremendous amount of work as well as a huge learning experience. In my time with Colehaan, I got to interact with the top level management of Colehaan US, Asia, Nike India, Simone Accessories (Vietnam/ Korea) and other China factories and suppliers as well as have daily interaction and work with our factory partners in India. It also led me to travel to China, HK, NY, Maine, New Hampshire (US), HCMC (Saigon), Vietnam for meetings/training activities/work which was a superb opportunity for me.”

Ask her where she enjoyed working the most, and she is quick to reply, “Colehaan” but definitely not without reason- “I had the best of colleagues in India, China and the US and the guidance of our Country Manager, Mr. A. Nambi to whom I reported. He gave me the freedom to work and made me learn a lot about how to manage people, situations, work smart, communicate effectively, etc and also sent me for training abroad to learn from the best. Moreover, he believed in me to be able to work abroad and gave me the opportunity to take up an assignment in Vietnam for 3 months in the beginning of 2014 as a consultant for Colehaan, in Asia’s biggest handbag factory Simone Vietnam (owned by a Korean national). It was one of the best experiences I’ve had.”

Her decade long experience in the industry has inspired her to start her own venture, post Colehaan. “I had seen and learnt from the best and decided I was ready to venture out on my own in a small way! Friends and family were supportive of this and it looks like it was the right decision!” she puts across.

However, it wasn’t without struggle that she got it working. “My struggle was to start from scratch and source good manufacturers who would be willing to do small quantities to start with. Also, leather being an expensive material, I wanted to source and buy from the best in India. I was fortunate to reach out and meet like- minded people in the industry and then, I stated sampling and after initial hit and misses, things were smooth after a couple of rounds of sampling and corrections,” she enlightens.

She would like to believe that it’s mostly God’s blessings, the prayers of her family, friends and well-wishers and also lot of hard work, determination, self-belief, setting goals and being honest in my work that have brought her thus far.

The Designer, who is inspired by nature, art, people, places, books and theatre, has just rolled out her First Fall 2014 Collection (Women’s Handbags and Accessories) which is available online on her Facebook Page- https://www.facebook.com/EilleenOvungStudio/timeline?ref=page_internal , by appointment in Dimapur and at an upmarket store “Home & Style” in Chennai. She will also be starting a Classic Men’s Accessories line in future seasons.

As one of the rare Nagas who have ventured out of their comfort zones to pursue something worthwhile, Eilleen Ovung’s mantra seems to be this- “Just believe in yourself, you can be anything you aim to be and the sky is the limit. Also, be realistic about your goals- They should be attainable plus challenging enough to motivate you. Learn from your mistakes but remember not to repeat them! Don’t forget your roots, be helpful and stay true to yourself and most of all, enjoy what you are doing!”

“It feels great to be finally doing what you want to do and on your own”, she enthusiastically adds, although she also believes that, “there are a lot of difficulties that need to be overcome and challenges to be met.” “But those are just minor issues and you can look at the positives which far outweigh the negatives,” she further says.

Dr. Hovithal Sothu, beating the odds

Dr. Hovithal Sothu belongs to the rare breed of people who did not have it easy in life, but despite the odds, worked hard to get where he is today. He earned every bit of the position that he currently holds as the State Coordinator of Disaster Management Cell at the Administrative Training Institute (ATI).

One would easily associate him with trainings as he is mostly seen imparting knowledge to government officials and NGOs alike. But not many people know what his growing-up years are made of. It isn’t often that a child of a single parent goes on to become somebody in life. Especially not when four children banked on a single mother, whose only means of livelihood was agriculture.

Dr. Hovithal Sothu with his mother, wife and children

Dr. Hovithal Sothu lost his father when he was very small. “It was very difficult”, as he recalls. “I couldn’t enjoy life like the other children of rich people. I would go to my mother for everything”, he confesses. But on a more positive note, adds, “I think the death of my father prompted me to become more mature than others my age.”

He received his primary education from St. Joseph’s School, Viswema and finished high school from Loyola School, Jakhama. Then, he joined Kohima Science College to pursue his ambition of becoming a doctor. But in the pursuit of his dreams, his first disappointment perhaps came when he failed to secure enough marks in the pre-university. (There was no Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) those days and one’s admission to a medical college was determined by the marks secured in the 12^th standard.)

He, however continued to pursue B.Sc at Science College, Jotsoma until his third year proved to be one of those defining years in a student’s life. He found an employment opportunity in the PWD Department and started his career as a peon on fixed pay. As opposed to the craze for white-collared jobs, Dr. Hovithal Sothu did not mind at all. Instead, he says, “I enjoyed working as a peon. It was the first time I was earning some money, and without my father around, it was a big thing for me.”

Interestingly, he recalls that the employees never sent him on errands such as buying paan/tobacco, as is the popular trend. His B.Sc standard probably helped! Closely watching them work, he realized the tasks were simple and offered his services. Soon, he was helping the Engineering Wing by way of maintaining their stock register, writing cheques for contractor payments, etc. He especially remembers learning a lot from a fellow Nepali peon who was supposedly illiterate but knew so many things. “When I want to learn anything, I have no problem going to anybody to ask,” he expresses.

Richer by two years of experience as a peon, he simultaneously earned his B.Sc degree. All along, he is grateful to his uncle who helped him in his educational pursuits. He went on to complete his M.Sc, after which, he sat for an interview and was immediately selected as a lecturer at Science College.

“I bank on God and He has been very gracious”, Dr. Hovithal Sothu gratefully puts across. He taught at Science College for a few good decades until he chanced upon a vacant post for an associate professor under Home Department in the Nagaland Disaster Management Cell. ‘A teacher’s ultimate goal is be a professor someday’, he explains. Well, that’s how he got associated with ATI. In between, he also managed to earn his doctorate wherein, he lightheartedly adds that he became a doctor after all, although his dream of becoming a medical doctor failed.

On a more serious note, he says, “I keep thinking it must be God’s plan because after I came here, I found that so many things can be done, besides my reason for being here, which is Disaster Management.”

Over the years, he has been closely monitoring trainings on Nagaland Services Rules, Disciplinary Rules, Human Rights, Consumer Rights, Elections (for which, he is also the State Master Trainer), basic office procedures, motivation, leadership, etc and more recently, Issues on duties of citizens and Rights and Welfare with People with Disability.

He is especially concerned that most of the government servants do not know the basic rules whereas Nagaland Government Servants Conduct Rules is supposed to be the guiding rule for any government servant. “It is the bible for government servants”, he emphasizes.

Outside this realm, Dr. Hovithal Sothu shares, “election was one passion I pursued.” “If elections can be done right, a lot of things can be done right. Till today, I keep thinking, if we get the right person to represent us and get the system right, there will be change in the development as well as the society”, he firmly states.

“Many things go wrong because of ignorance”, he adds and therefore, stresses on training people at the grassroots level. Naga people, he feels ‘are moving very fast in the way we eat, in the way we dress, but deep within, we are still not up to the expectation.’ He goes on to regretfully add, “we as Christians are living superficial lives…in the church, we are all holy holy, but then outside the church, what do we do?” He believes that the process of change should begin from the church and is deeply concerned that Christians should live a Christian life.

His basic principle has always been, “live and show.” Needless to say, he strives to achieve this in his daily life. Not every government official makes it a point to be in the office by 9:30 am, but he tries his best to do so, every working day.

“I believe in God and Hard Work”, he also presses on. It’s not hard to see that his beliefs have largely contributed to his success. Notably, the father of three children has also published papers in the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) and Indian Landslides Journal. It isn’t everyday that you come across a well educated man, who has beaten the odds and continues to richly manifest the values he believes in.

Salome Taka, Living her Dream Job

To replay a scene that took place 9 years ago, Salome Taka was waiting for the local train to reach an Interview venue when she received a call from her dream PR Agency, with whom she had an interview a week ago.  They were offering her a job!

“On a very hot May afternoon in Hyderabad, towards the end of my Master’s course, I finally received the official tag of ‘PR Professional’ at a railway platform! And I have never once looked back!” These words describe a very defining moment in the life of Salome Taka, who is currently the Associate Director at South East Asia’s largest PR Firm.

She rose to her prestigious position from a very humble beginning as a fresher. But in less than 2 years, she was already managing a team and further headed a department in less than 4 years. Remarkably, she has also had 6 promotions in the last 9 years, which only goes on to prove how well she has excelled in the field she has chosen.

The reason why she chose to be in this field, as she says, is because, it had the scope of letting her pursue the many interests -writing, speaking, strategizing, negotiating, Ideation etc, she had in the field of Communications. Notably, she has also had the privilege of pursuing and exploring these interests by working for Brands like Mercedes Benz, Google, Manchester United, Airtel, Ebay, AXN India, Atletico Madrid, Nokia, AHM – India’s 2^nd largest Marathon just to name a few.

However, starting out as a fresher came with its own share of challenges. Because, in her words, “I had to learn everything and I was apprehensive of making mistakes that people would not forget! I realised in my 1^st week at work that this is one industry that is hectic and erratic and has no fixed hours. I had no weekend breaks for the first 3 months. Your social life takes a hard hit because a PR Person has to be available 24 x7 and it is an added responsibility if one has a client that is Crises prone.”

“But the opportunities in hand in the long run and the passion for this career path I had chosen was a huge driving force to not give up. It has not been easy but it has not been impossible to reach where I am today – and that is such a huge source of happiness”, she adds with contentment. 

She confesses that, “I have always wanted to be in the field of Communications for as long as I can remember.” Clearly, the likes of Journalism, PR, Advertising, Events, Broadcast, Documentaries, Sports Agent, Marital Counsellor  are her areas of interest. But it was also necessary for her to focus on one interest professionally, although the different interests listed above all came under one umbrella (Communications).

‘So I invested lot of time talking to people involved in similar professions, read books online and offline, took those fun-but-sometimes-silly-‘which career should you choose’ quiz….’ She says, even as she recalls being exposed to many of her own strengths (networking, flexibility, detail oriented, effective communicator) and weaknesses (impatient, very impatient, technically challenged). This, she explains, “helped me narrow down on a Career prospect that would allow me to use my plus points extensively. This is why I strongly endorse everyone I meet to be open to feedbacks and suggestions they may have on you and to always ask a question, however silly it may seem, if in doubt. The responses you receive may just help you find a career path as it did for me! Importantly I decided to pursue Public Relations as it gave me the window to involve bits of all the interests I have in the Communications industry.”

Salome with her friends in Hyderabad

Looking back, she would term “the unbelievable scope to keep learning” as the most rewarding phase in her profession. “I have been in this industry for 9 years and I am still learning because it is an ever evolving industry that is moving extremely fast. To move and be in sync with reality, one needs to grab the opportunity to learn. The other and most important aspect has been the opportunity I have to work with people across all levels (Junior, Senior) in a cross cultural setting. In such a platform, I have had no choice but to work very hard in cultivating my patience with people and situations in hand. And the ability to being a more patient person has helped me personally too.” She generously shares.

Salome Taka, who describes herself as- “Proud Aunt. Fierce Football Follower. Wannabe Chef. Musically Challenged. CR7 Loyalist. Dessert-holic. Believer. Incurable Optimist” is eternally grateful to her mother.

Salome with her family

The following lines explain why her mother is truly special- “Her whole life has been dedicated to ensuring we were brought up in a family-friendly home and that we received all the attention required. She married young, decided not to pursue higher studies, missed her siblings’ weddings and other family get-togethers as we became her priority. She has been that constant unwavering support for my Dad and his profession. My mother has never been able to participate in conversations revolving around ‘Santa Barbara’ or ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ because the shows timings clashed with her children’s arrival from school. And she chose us over the decades most happening TV shows. Her personal sacrifices, and not forgetting Dad, has encouraged me and my brother to aim for the best and achieve those – this has been our way of saying ‘thank you’”

Apart from a strong supportive family, what does it take to make it Big? Salome Taka has seemingly lived by these rules- “Start early – explore who you want to be professionally when you are still a student. This will give you plenty of time to pursue your dream or to move tracks quickly if you realise your passion lies elsewhere. Mingle and network- do not always look for people ‘from my hometown’. Connect with people from different cultures and it will open up a world of opportunities and possibilities. Ask a silly question, always – If your doubts are cleared, no question is too silly. Love God – If you do this, you are already on the right track.”

And well, it has perfectly worked out for her. The alumna of Patkai Christian College and Hyderabad Central University, says that, “To come back home and share our knowledge for growth is definitely a yes…. it is just a matter of When.” She also strongly feels that, “currently, the important aspect is to contribute and be a positive influence wherever we may be. I also like to believe that working outside the State is a great platform for others to understand and realise that there is talent and potential amongst the Nagas as working professionals – a departure from us being seen as just students coming out to cities to study.”

With the liberty to dream big, in the near future, she hopes “to work as a part of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Social Media Communications Team which can do so much better than its current offerings for the Global fan; Help fight food poverty by volunteering at a Non-Profit; Get married; Find time to travel and soak in different cultures; And many, many, many more!”

           

A Hotelier’s Story

Kethoyie Yhome

26 year old, Kethoyie-ü Yhome comes across as a sensible young lady, who values honesty and sees herself as a strict woman when it comes to work, but is loving and caring otherwise. Born and brought up in Kohima, she grew up in a very big family as she puts it, and had multiple ambitions like any other kids her age while growing up.

She received her early education from Don Bosco Higher Secondary School Kohima and went on to study in St. John Higher Secondary School, Shillong before pursuing a course of her choice and earned a B.Sc degree in Hotel Management and Catering Technology from IHM Chennai. This, ultimately defining her dream to be a hotelier one day.

She believes it was part of God’s plan for her to take up Hotel Management because she had no idea what a hotelier was, as a kid. But her interest for the profession began to show when she was in high school, eventually helping her decide when she sat for JEE for Hotel Management, which, she got through, and then, to find herself in one of the top most institutes of hotel management in India.

Following her graduation, she worked with the reputed Oberoi Group of Hotels and Resorts for one and half years, and also at the Regus Business Centre for a little over 2 years, before she decided to leave the city life and come home to Nagaland. This decision came about as her earnest desire to train and work with our people, and also share with them, whatever she has learned while being away.

One could say, she has extensively generated her knowledge about management while she served at Hotel Vivor, which is part of Niathu Group of Hotels and Resorts in Nagaland, for a period of 30 months. She was the General Manager at the hotel.

Looking at this experience, she confides that the most challenging part of her job was enabling the employees to maintain a professional work culture, which, she adds, is very challenging especially for Naga people. But apart from that, she has greatly enjoyed meeting people from all walks of life, while making special mention of the recent visit of Her Royal Highness of Thailand  to Nagaland, who stayed at Hotel Vivor, Kohima.

Having completed a milestone of 6 good years in the industry, Kethoyie-ü Yhome feels happy and wonderful, recalling her great experiences as a hotelier. But of course, she says, “the hardships I went through are not to be forgotten”, because she explains that those hardships are responsible towards making who she is today.

To be in a profession like hers, she also shares, requires qualities such as punctuality, sincerity, hard work and passion. These are the most important qualities to be in this profession, she enlightens.

In the meantime, she found it rewarding to see her employees working under her in a very professional manner. ‘Watching them, it was fulfilling to know that coming back to Nagaland was not a waste’, she adds with contentment.

Kethoyie-ü Yhome is also an entrepreneur, who has invested in a garment shop at High School Junction under the banner, “Blue Bird”. She started this venture very recently and is exclusively meant for ladies. All the products are imported from Bangkok, and she looks forward to expanding it in the near future.

With enriching experiences of being a hotelier to share, the charming lady, when not working, is trying out her own cuisines, listening to music or catching a movie. She also likes spending time with her family and playing with her two little nephews when not occupied with work.

The young hotelier has covered miles but truly, it isn’t without hard work and struggles that one reaches that far; and her few words of advice to the young people would be- “Stay humble, do not be ashamed and be ready to do any work; be faithful to yourself and above all, put God in the first place, in your life.”

‘Prayer & Hard Work are my Mantra to Success’: HSLC Topper, Sholu Movi

Sholu Movi

Securing the Top 28 position in the recently declared High School Leaving Certificate Examinations, Sholu Movi has made his school and community proud through “prayer and hard work”, which, he says are his mantra for success. He exemplifies sheer discipline, especially of that group of students, whose parents are mostly occupied with agriculture in the villages, while sending their children to better schools outside their homes. Sholu Movi hails from Zhavame Village and lives with his three other siblings in a rented house in Kohima, sometimes taking the responsibility of cooking and cleaning before and after school.

When asked if it was more of a challenge not having his parents around during his high school days, his answer is a pure reflection of his positive attitude to life. For he says, “when you have your parents around you while you are studying, you tend to take your studies more lightly.” Well, he has definitely proved that one’s challenges can be transformed into positive results, and the position he earned in the HSLC is testimony to it.

Son of Motesou Movi and Liarhü Movi, the young boy passed out from Christ King Higher Secondary School, Kohima with an overwhelming percentage of 91.67% and clinching the Top 28 position while also scoring distinction marks in all the subjects including English, Science, Social Science, Mathematics, IIT and Alternative English.

So, did he hope to make it to the top 50 list? And his answer was a firm ‘NO’, while explaining that he did not do so well in Mathematics and Social Science. And yet, he still managed to score distinction marks in these two subjects, securing a total of 88 marks in Social Science and 89 marks in Mathematics respectively. Needless to say, the rest of the subjects have all crossed the 90 mark.

Mathematics, being his favourite subject, it is also natural that his favourite teacher in the school happens to be his Math teacher- Madam Prasana, as he puts it.

Success is well deserving for somebody who made it a point to study little by little, every working day, leaving him room, large enough for revision during examinations. However, matriculation being a crucial period in a student’s life, he devoted a generous 5-6 hours of preparation everyday, two to three weeks before the examination commenced, while also dedicating 3-4 hours of revision on days when he appeared for the examination.

He did confess, that laziness was a big hurdle, “but whenever I felt lazy to study, I always thought of the good result that I wanted and that’s how I overcame laziness”, he enlightened.

His parents are understandably proud of his achievements. Their immediate reaction to his good result was, “We are very happy. We thank God and we thank you.”

For Sholu Movi, the important qualities to succeed as a student is, firstly to put God before everything else, to work hard and to make a habit of studying everyday.

The young boy aspires to become a doctor in the future and is currently in the process of getting admitted to Kohima Science College. His privilege as one of the toppers is also, direct admission to the college. He also enjoys reading and playing computer games in his leisure time.

MAD Team: Walking the Talk

Sometimes, it takes just a small gesture of kindness to spark a revolution, that would go on to impact the lives of many common men. Founders of MAD, Mele Pucho and Chiset Disong are ardent believers of change that can come through positive work and love for others.

The young duo were exceptionally moved by the sight of a Naga mother who was helplessly seeking assistance of a meager amount of Rs. 200 from a non-Naga tailor, so she could pay her son’s school fees. Eventually, it was them who happily offered her the money, which she accepted with profound gratitude; her eyes filled with tears, and all she could say at that moment was a whisper of, “May our God Lord bless you.”

This particular incident has been greatly instrumental in challenging them to start MAD in October 2010, which stands for, “Making A Difference.” “We realised that there are many of our own brothers and sisters who are struggling so much in life and we need to reach out to them in whatever way possible and lend a helping hand”, they express.

“Another reason behind this team is to contribute in small ways to try and beautify our land especially Kohima town. we are all very tired of the kind of roads we travel everyday. There are no proper dustbins, no proper clean toilets for public, no safe drinking water facility for free, no proper place to hang out and rest peacefully. The only thing we have is lots and lots of DUST. We are not saying we can achieve to provide all this things but we believe whatever small work we do for our society can bring a lot of change which is much needed”, they further press on.

It is, in short, a team that walks the talk in bringing about a few positive change in our society. They recognize that everybody has a desire to bring change and help others but  also aware that it becomes difficult on one’s own ability, the whole idea is to bring people together who has a desire to help others and  contribute to the society. It functions with a minimum contribution of Rs. 50 from its members every month, and use the money to spread some good deeds in our land especially targeting Kohima, to begin with. 

Towards this endeavor, they explain, “most of us spend money unnecessarily when we  have. To spend 100 Rupees in a day is not a big thing anymore for most of us but at the same time there are a lot of people who work very hard to earn that 100 Rupees everyday, not to spend that money for themselves but to take care of their families. Today our society is facing a lot of problems and there are lots of good works that we can do but we still keep on depending on the Government, hoping and praying that something good will happen but it’s high time we wake up from our sleep and take care of our society.”

The Team also has a desire to beautify our small town in whatever way possible even as they speak their minds when they say, “we believe that change is only possible if we all take the responsibility to contribute in small or big ways. We believe and practice the saying, ‘Action speaks louder than words’.”

Action, indeed speaks louder than words and they have definitely walked their talks, evident from what they have achieved so far. Just to list a few, the MAD team organized a one day seminar called the Initiative of Change in February 2014 at Zubza where people, both young and old from Nagaland, Australia, Lebanon, Maharashtra, Odisha, Gujarat, etc came together to interact and discuss social issues and how to bring change and impact our society.

The Team also donated 15 Garden Umbrellas to our Naga mothers who sell vegetables at BOC with the prime objective of providing shelter as well as beautify the market place, and also contributed clothes and furniture to Tabitha Enabling school (a school for differently abled children).

And yet, it’s never easy to work together as a team, even as they confess that in a place like Kohima where corruption is the biggest problem, it’s really a big challenge to work for change. “Everyone is so caught up in their own world  trying to be  richer and richer every minute that we have all forgotten to check the things that need to be taken care of. We all talk about change but sadly very few walk the talk”, they rightly point out.  

However, as a team, they strive to reach out to as many young people as they can to let them know that change begins from oneself. “On the other hand we want to create an awareness of our  responsibility as a youth in society. It has never been so easy to reach out to all our youths but we are taking one step at a time. We hope that everyone will come forward to play their own role to bring change in our society”, they express with optimism.

CORE TEAM MEMBERS ~

Mele Pucho: Proprietor of ‘Symphony School of Music/ Symphony School of Rock’

Chiset Disong: Proprietor of ‘Pinks and Blues’

Avino Tase: Kohima Doordarshan

Ketoriavi Sakhrie: Teacher

Lichan Humtsoe: Government Servant

Apong: Student

Vira: Entrepreneur

ADVISORS~

Theja Meru

Ayieno Kechü

“Use your imagination, sky is the limit"~ Cynthia Kolakhe

“I love what I do and I do what I love” is Cynthia Kolakhe’s bold statement of deriving happiness and fulfillment from her occupation even as she firmly professes, “Art is what I love and when you love doing what you do, you get the satisfaction”.

Cynthia’s association with Art dates back to her childhood, although she had not realized then, that one day she would become an artist. “I would draw on the walls, on the papers, and wherever there is empty space”, she recalls. The artist in her was already at work then, but it wasn’t until she graduated from the College of Art, New Delhi, prior to receiving a one year diploma course in 3D animation from Picasso Digital Media, Delhi that her works received more accolades.

Her artworks and designs have captured the attention of big media houses like the Hindustan Times, Asian Age, Asian News International, magazines and newspapers when she held an exclusive exhibition at Nagaland House, New Delhi over a year back. By now, she can pride in having her works being exhibited in quite a few countries including India, the United States of America and Hong Kong. She has also held shows for the University Evangelical Fellowship, the Kingdom International where she won the first prize for the best Painting, besides a solo show at Vasant Continental Hotel, Delhi, and Urban Naga Fashion Show in Kohima to name a few. 

It is clear that everything makes her want to sketch when she confesses that, “I feel like sketching, whether it is raining or sunny with a little music in the background.” “Music drives me to paint”, she further affirms.

Cynthia Kolakhe will soon be exhibiting her designs in Bhutan this month with Among Longkumer, at the Indo Bhutan Exhibition. One may find her engrossed mostly in her world of art, but when she is not painting, she expresses, “I am a social networking freak, I explore, check out what's new, what's in…fashion, art, design etc and I don't ever miss to check Manish Arora's latest collection.”

Ask her about her most fulfilling moment in her profession and without any second thoughts, she is quick to say that, she does what she loves to do, which is obviously Art. This, she says, she has enjoyed “from the moment I started painting till today.” 

She has also been able to develop her own brand under the banner, “Urban Naga”, which is best explained in her words, “we live in a modern world.” She continues to paint in the modern art form using the mediums of charcoal, oil, fabric on canvas, techno art, etc, but she is definitely looking at bridging the gap between folk and urban.

Leaving a few thoughts for her fellow artists before signing off, she says, “Don't ever regret being an artist because we can still change and create the world into a beautiful place to live in, proclaim a good news or can create an alternate creative world through painting. Use your imagination, the sky is the limit".