The young hotelier

Akiebu Shaiza has been in the Hotel Management Industry for over a decade now, bringing alive his dream career, which he has long defined as a higher secondary student. That, he rose from the mere position of being a bartender, a dishwasher, a waiter, and eventually a supervisor before he was promoted to Assistant Manager while simultaneously being a Management Student, all in a matter of three years is a feat that not many people achieve. 

He has his foundation rooted at the Swiss Hotel Management School, Switzerland, a place reputedly known as the home of hotel and hospitality management for its establishment over a hundred years ago when the first palace-style hotels were built. He undertook a two year course in Hospitality Management at the Swiss Hotel Management School (SHMS) before he subsequently ventured into a course in Events Management. His memory of being a student there also includes being selected as the Students’ President at the SHMS, Switzerland.

Akiebu decided to shift places after a while but his experience also says that, that is not the easiest thing to do, even as he explains, “you know, for instance, from out of 100 requests, you get 80 denials…” but very clearly, he isn’t the kind who gives up easily as he found himself landing in a new place during the year 2010 at one of the largest hotel operators in Hong Kong, namely, ‘Regal Hotels International’.

Yet, he started all over again right from the ground level till he was promoted to Supervisor and looked after an overwhelming number of 482 rooms. Recalling his work experiences in these places, he says, ‘it was a challenge in the sense that we had to handle a lot of complaints, sometimes our clients get locked out, or leave their passports or credit cards in their rooms and call from the airport…things like that.’

But, “a breath of fresh air” is what he says of his experiences abroad. He also likes the fact that he gets to meet people from all walks of life, right from the well-to-do to the not-so-fortunate. Well, it has always been his motto to “work hard, party harder”. ‘This is one of the things that a teacher of ours always insisted on too!’ he adds.

He worked at Hong Kong for a shorter duration of two years, only perhaps because he had far greater plans. Although he enjoyed the rich culture and work experiences in these places, it has however always been his prerogative to travel and explore the world of management. To this end, he has been to places like Portugal, Amsterdam, France, Italy, Belgium, Norway and Germany, fulfilling both the purposes of travelling as a hobby and travelling as part of his eagerness in exploring lounges and bars.

One could say, the greater Naga in Akiebu compelled him to return home. “If people who had had exposure do not come back and let our people not know about what we have learnt, our place will not change…” is what he says about choosing home over all the fascinating places he had been to. His latest venture being the “Rattle and Hum Lounge” which opened last December in the heart of High School Junction Kohima. ‘I wanted a lounge which can cater to everybody, young and old, single and individuals”, he enlightens. Rattle and Hum Lounge specializes in Indian and Chinese amongst the varieties of items such as Pork Manchurian, Aloo Bhaji, Non-Veg Thali etc that are served there and is open from 10:30 am to 7:00 pm all week excepting Monday while Sundays are open after 11:30 am.

If there is something that the young Managing Director of Rattle & Hum Lounge would change in the Naga society as far as management and hospitality is concerned, it would be “personality” and “punctuality”. “Everybody is very shy to even warmly say, ‘can I get you a cup of tea?’” he expresses while the rest of us are all aware of the popular ‘Naga Timing’.

One of the things that he is really concerned about is the traffic while specifically pointing to the snail-paced traffic in the state capital. To this, he suggests, maybe parking on both sides of the road could be avoided or make it one way for certain time periods, even as he hopes for the traffic to get better in Kohima.

It is a sign of encouragement for the 27 year old to see private enterprises growing in the state, and it is also his hope that entrepreneurs and proprietors would build relations of trust and promote each other’s businesses instead of competing with each other. ‘There are times we could always refer clients to each other’s’, he puts across, while emphasizing on building networks of business related connections.

For the youths, he goes on to say, ‘speaking up and raising your voice is the only way you learn things, but be sure that you always put God first’, while on a special note, he insists, that he is grateful to family and friends for encouraging him and helping him be where he is today. 

Mengu Soukrie's journey through 'Love is all we need'

People have often described her as extremely professional but Mengu Suokhrie rather insists that she pushes herself to become one, and adds that “if there is something that people see and you ask where that comes from then it is pure sincerity and hard work, I take my profession seriously and didn't ever for once take it for granted.”

Well, the singer in her has added numerous feathers to her cap even as she stole the limelight on several occasions of importance. The most recent one being the highly acclaimed musical, “We Will Rock You” directed and produced by Ate Kevichusa where she carried off the role of Scaramouche brilliantly. She was also part of the commendable musical, “The Prodigal Son” and has, prior to that, performed at the National Hornbill Festival several times, besides contesting in a national TV program called “Let’s Rock”. She has clearly done a lot of shows and concerts apart from being an opener at the inauguration of the Cricket Stadium at Sovima, opener for renowned international bands like Imflame and Stryper, also sung at “The Origin” Musical besides performing at the T.Ao Opening Ceremony.

One will also see her acting in some short gospel movies to be released soon, one of which is titled, “True Love Will Wait”. Besides her debut album, “Love is all we need” was released last February, produced by the Synergy Group Enterprise and recorded at one of the best recording studios, namely, Clef Ensemble and mastered by a professional, Alfred Besu.

Talking about this period, she recalls, “I had the opportunity to work with a lot of experienced musicians and I learned all the good stuffs being around them…coming up with this album was my tool, in my songs you will hear me and my mind. Every song talks about love, there’s a song where I shared that I do feel sad and my longingness to be happy is so desperate that I wish happiness was a person and imagined and personified happiness. A song called "Kenei", a song where I shared my belief, "Beautiful Soul", a love song for my mom and friends and so if you hear my songs, that’s me there sharing something I feel about love. I treasure this gift God gave me, and I take this as the best opportunity to reach the world.”

She goes on to add that, “the experience I got is tremendously awesome, I got to learn to find myself and express myself, that is the best thing. I learned how to be more serious and take courage to stand, and in the run I learned more about music and its beauty and it is endless. You see everyday is a new experience and it gets even more adventurous....”

So, when did she start singing? At the age of 6, she was at it in Sunday School even as she expresses, “that time I didn't know what I was doing, I just did it for the fun of it. But by God's grace my interest grew unstoppably and it went on and on and from one platform to another till now.” Reminiscing a little more on her childhood, she says, “Well, everyone knows I am from a very humble background, my parents worked hard and brought me up with my other siblings. I've seen life and started life the hard way but by the grace of God I was taught to live life the right way. We don't have anything in excess but it’s a simple and good life with what we get to live with everyday.”

She would describe herself as “Stubborn”, but all in a good way, she grins. “I really don't like running on order. I like being free and expressive, I believe this life is too short so we need to hurry and live everyday doing good. I love expanding my world and reaching my true potential and as of now by God's grace, I am really happy with my family, friends and not forgetting right now, the man I’m so in love with. There are factors and things trying to put me down but I refuse defeat. I fear God because I feel God and without God I am nothing. He created me and I am living to serve Him only and that’s me.”

That’s coming from an effervescent lady who also loves travelling and trying out new cuisines. But as far as music is concerned, she opines that, “we all know our music industry is still a baby, most of the people still don't have faith in music and encourage like the way they will encourage a person to become a doctor or an engineer. I faced the same thing, but we can't blame them all.” “But yes, talking about challenges being a musician is poor market, even if we produce an album the sale is really bad, period. And so to survive with only some income from shows is really hard”, she practically states.

However, she’s been on the run, enjoying what she does and enhancing her skills from lessons on Conducting and Vocals. Her first tutor, she remembers is Miss Martha and adds, “I am still undergoing voice lesson from Madam Ajeen Longchari.” “By taking lessons I feel more polished and having the knowledge of what I am really doing, I feel more confident to deliver. When we take lessons, we learn different techniques and it sounds more beautiful and safe. I have known the benefit of taking guidance and lessons so I will encourage those people with talent to go for lessons because it'll only make you better”, she goes on to say.

She has her own list of things to do and in the near future, plans to come up with more music videos. She hopes to have her next album on stands, a Gospel album, she enlightens even as she professes, “I can't wait to share what God has done for me. Please support me and continue to encourage and pray for me.”

The filmmaker's story

The world was her imagination as she recalls of her childhood, exploring the streams and mountains, looking for wild berries and swinging in the forest with her siblings and cousins. But it is mostly with a sense of nostalgia that Vikeyeno Zao begins by saying, “the beauty of Kohima is gone forever” and adds to it that “those times were like a magical world as we would say it today.”

While such memories are reflective of her roots, she has been more popularly known for her participation in the prestigious Cannes Film Festival for two consecutive years during 2010 and 2011 where a short film directed by her on the head hunting Konyak Naga tribes of northern Nagaland and the other on man and elephant conflicts of Assam were selected for the 63rd and 64th Cannes Film Festivals respectively.

Filmmaking, for her, is a wonderful and fulfilling medium with lots of imagination and empathy when probing into the depths and getting into real meaning of life, even as she goes on to express that “it is a learning process that makes me truly alive.” Movies, she says, “have been around for quite a long time, entertaining people since its inception”. You can take people on a journey and show them a world they can get lost in. It’s quite fascinating and exciting, she states.

When asked of her struggles and what it took to get where she is, she spontaneously responds with, “Life itself is a big challenge and struggle if we look into, very closely” and gets practical even as she shares, “getting into a movie industry is tough very tough. I have struggled through the minutes to get 100 percent perfection.”

She, however has fulfilling memories of making the short film on elephants and deliberates on it saying, “we had to wait in the jungles for hours altogether, sometimes the whole night…my son would always go with me and I remember by 3:00 pm he would start packing his back pack with eatables, other necessary things, and never forgot his torch light. Sometimes we walked 10 to 15 kilometers on a rough terrain, but I never felt that I have walked that much.”

This period, she terms as very exciting and an adventure of a lifetime even as she narrates further an incident of a herd of elephants eating the paddy while the villagers were making terrible sound trying to chase them away… Slowly, she says, the herd moved back to the jungle and suddenly, a leopard appeared sitting on top on a huge stone. “The scene was so dramatic”, she adds while picturing the herd of elephants on one hand and the group of people shrieking on the other side amidst a big leopard and further on the western side three elephants trying to defend their herd from the deadly humans and in between the female elephants forming into a circle to protect their young babes. “I could not get a single picture and my husband could not film it properly of the rowdy crowds pushing from all sides. This is a real moment we missed”, she states regretfully.

“I don’t know how I got into films but I think it was always there in me, to do something nice and great, and to achieve that something is still obscure in the air”, she confesses. But if there is something she has observed in the filmmaking scenario in the state, then, she is clearly hopeful, for she says, “we are lucky to have a lot of film makers coming up today. We are still very young and have a lot to learn including myself from the world around us but reading the thoughts of our youngsters, we have a good future in film making.”

Before venturing into the profession, the acclaimed filmmaker had earlier acquired Diploma in Direction and Cinematography from Asian Film and Television Institute, Marwah Studio Complex, Film City, Noida, India.

Also with a lot of fine experiences in the field of broadcasting media, she has previously done several interview based programmes on different personalities in the radio programme- “Morning Echoes” and was also a regular announcer for All India Radio, Kohima, Nagaland besides compeering western music programme for Vividh Bharati, New Delhi.

As a film maker, she has to her credit, numerous documentary films, tele-films and serials on nature and environment of North East India as well as on social and anthropological aspects of the different tribes of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. She is currently working on a film project since the past one and half years, besides another documentary titled, “Where will I Go Now”.

The life of a fashion designer

She was never too sure if she would become a fashion designer when she grew up, but traits of her girlish days already showed great inclination towards this line of profession. Keds Krome was a model before she turned a full time designer, and got acquainted with the world of fashion early in life as a student even as she remembers being actively involved in modeling throughout her high school days.

That, she was listed amongst the top 3 out of 28 models from North East Model Hunt 2001 to undergo further grooming of 2 months’ duration at Mumbai is indicative of both her experience and quality in this area. However, she dropped the opportunity because, in her words, “further, I wanted to pursue designing.” This decision pretty much sums up how she got into the prestigious National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) at Bangalore, where she pursued a 3-year professional course.

She further worked at a ‘Studio cum Workshop’ at Bangalore, which is also significant because the period marks the official launching show of her exclusive designs under the brand name, Keds Krome. Recalling that period of working experience in the city, she says, “It was nice and interesting! You get to experiment. Your designs can bold…I was designing anything from saris to beach wears. There are no restrictions with the cut; I used to design club wears- something young, bold and energetic.”

She has also worked with some of the best in the industry such as the like of Rachel Maria (model), Pooja Pradhan (model), Prasad Bidappa (fashion designer), and Pablo Bartholomew (photographer) in due course of time.

However, she left behind the fast-paced city life and came home to a more laidback Nagaland during 2005. Regardless, hers has been a household name when it comes to fashion, as her designs were already known much ahead of the time she professionally started designing.

Over 10 years of experience into the field, fueled with passion and energy has earned her several clients, many of those who keep coming back for more. She designs anything ranging from wedding gowns and accessories to blazers and suits, as well as gowns for beauty pageants, and also catering to those people attending such occasions. However, her specialty, she confesses is corsets.

She has the fondest memories of designing the entire outfit for models (from head to toe excepting shoes) for the World Bamboo Day Fashion Show during 2010. Talking about this special event, she recalls investing 3 months for the show, designing everything based on the bamboo theme that evolves neckpieces, earrings, 100% bamboo fabric for both men and women wears. Then, there was also the time she designed a cocktail dress for a Delhi based model who contested in the Femina Miss India for the preliminary round, and numerous other fashion shows both in the state and outside.

While her designs really depend on the clients’ structure and their choice of design, it takes a creative mind to bring out a fine, end result. When asked what inspires her, she says, “our culture is there but my main inspiration comes from nature.” She agrees that Naga people are very fashionable, and are more fashionable than people in the cities, which is also one of the reasons why, she finds it a challenge to design for our own people because they are well updated with the latest in the fashion world.

Sharing a bit more of her observation in this regard, she expresses, “I can see so many talent youths who are naturally gifted…also, many of them are interested in designing but they do not want to struggle” even as she emphasizes that one has to work really hard. She is particularly disappointed when she needs to hire a proper tailor, as she goes on to explain that “we have many school dropouts who are trained in cutting and tailoring but when I hire them, I have to instruct every bit of it and it’s like they were trained out of compulsion and not out of interest.”Speaking even in terms of other areas that designing is associated with, she wistfully expresses, “I wish there were more skilled people to hire.”

And yet, by now, she has designed countless dresses and accessories, not to list the orders that continuously keep pouring in. The only thing keeping her from opening her dream boutique is her fear to keep up with the orders due to shortage of skilled manpower that is hard to come by. However a boutique of her own is definitely on the pipeline.

As an end note, if there has been a driving force in her life, it is unmistakably her late mother whom she lost just a few months back. “Mom was really good with handwork and embroidery…what I do now is embroidery of a different kind but watching her do things has influenced me a lot and I also learnt to use the machine from her”, she fondly puts across.

She is also an ardent promoter of animal cause who affectionately says, “if there was a way, I’d like to start working for the cause.” One can only imagine her affection for animals, and cat, being her favourite, she has 9 cats to keep her hands full when she is not designing. 

Tsukti Longkumer

What a meager rupees 100 failed to do in many people’s lives, Tsukti Longkumer made it a significant entry into his enterprising career, now spanning over a decade. He did not become the army officer he dreamt about as he was growing up, but he certainly grew to love the profession he eventually chose, which is now largely manifested in the service oriented business he indulges in, such as the Hospitality sector, Printing & Stationers, Rental & Catering Services.

It was a career guidance seminar he attended right after he graduated in the year 1996 that motivated him to take up private entrepreneurship. Recalling this decision, he confesses that he would not have it any other way. He received the sum of Rs.100 as a mascot gift in the seminar he attended. It was M.B Longkumer, a renowned businessman in Mokokchung, who came as resource person and gifted him the amount besides encouraging him with inspirational tips and advices. To this end, he fondly remembers him and his teacher and mentor, Akok Walling, who he says have been a source of inspiration and unmistakably ignited the interest of business in him.

June 26, 1996 is an important day for him even as he recalls going to the Nagaland State Cooperative Bank (NSCB) to open a current bank account with the mascot gift but his application was rejected since the minimum amount required to open the account then was Rs. 250/-. This led him to borrowing a sum of Rs.150/- from his parents, enabling him to successfully open his first current bank account with the NSCB under the banner, Longpok Enterprises.

“I deposited Rs. 250 (Two Hundred Fifty only) that day, so you can say I started business with that sum sixteen long years ago. 5 months later, I attended a 3 months’ Screen Printing Training at Guwahati in the later part of 1996 and started a small in-house Screen Printing Unit with an initial investment of Rs.3000/- which was later shifted to I.M Road, Mokokchung”, he says. Later on, he was also trained on “Entrepreneurship, Self Employment and Small Scale Industries” at the National Institute of Small Industries Extension Training (NISIET), Yousufguda, Hyderabad.

It is however, interesting to note that he never attended any formal business school prior to this, but ventured into the profession without any business degree or experience, and which is why, it is also noteworthy that he has come a long way with a very humble beginning of Rs.100/-.

Today, he is into his 17th year into business, which, he insists is not without struggle. “It has been a struggle, because most of the local customers prefer to do business with non-locals in and outside the state. Moreover, loans from the banks and financial assistance from the Government to upgrade the business were denied”, he explains.

And yet, it is by God’s grace, he says that his business components function under the following names- Longpok Offset Press, Hotel Whispering Winds, Longpok Framings and Laminations, and Longpok Tent House & Catering Services respectively, and has also extended employment opportunities to 32 young people.

Although, he started his enterprise with a financially zero deficit or debt record, with no bank loan, he is however pleased to see that over the last 16 years of its establishment and growth, there is no record of any Debts or Liabilities with any Financial Institutions.                 

He would describe himself as “Sincere, hardworking and ambitious but sometimes too blunt.” Well, one can say his dedication, hard work and honesty have certainly paid off today. For him, a normal day for a business man is made of ‘Low purchasing power in the market hence low transaction makes a businessman sometimes dull, without any challenges’ but he clearly enjoys interacting with different types of people each day and catering to their needs, which, he confesses is also what he likes most about his job.

“However, it is not an easy task to satisfy all the customers all the time, it is a challenge dealing with those customers who wants the BEST at the CHEAPEST rate and at the EARLIEST possible time”, he expresses.

Nonetheless, he is glad that young people are today showing keen interest in entrepreneurship, which he terms as ‘a very positive and welcome development’. He says that there are unlimited business opportunities open to those who are willing to become entrepreneurs in Nagaland, although noting that the only setback is the lack of capital for start-ups. “This is one area where the financial institutions need to recheck their policy. The government must also devise some entrepreneur-friendly programs”, he emphasizes.

He also remarks that it is very unfortunate that the society gives undue importance to government jobs. In his words, “it is not that hard to survive on a private venture if you got your plans well laid out”. Either way, his mantra in life has been, “there is not short-cut to achieving success. You have to work hard.”

In his future kit, one will find plans that include introduction of new business ventures that will promote Mokokchung as a commercial hub for the northern region of Nagaland. Tsukti Longkumer is also actively involved with the Rotary Club, Mokokchung District Arts & Council (MDACC), Associates for Performing Arts and Theatricals (APAT), Mokokchung Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MCCI) and Indian Chamber of Commerce. He is also a Trainer/Resource Person in workshops and seminars on entrepreneurship and self-employment programs.

He has represented India during the Trades and Investment Conclave between NE India and Myanmar, held at Yangoon, 2012 and a Recipient of Rotary Club Vocational Excellence Award 2000, Rotary Foundation Service Award for Rendering Service Promoting its Goal of World Understanding and Peace, 2009 and Outstanding Entrepreneurship Award from the Government of Nagaland, 2010.