By Oken Jeet Sandham
KOHIMA, May 16 (NEPS): The Stella Higher Secondary School (SHSS), Kohima has got another feather in its cap after the work of creative illustrations by their students on the basis of the folklores of Nagaland was published by famed Delhi based Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).
Last year under the banner of INTACK and Adivasi Arts Trust, a Workshop on Illustrations on the folklores of Nagaland was conducted for the students of SHSS at its school conference hall here at Kohima from February 22 to 29, 2012. Altogether 16 students took part in the “Workshop on Illustration” under the guidance of Lepden Jamir, who is a sculptor, painter, cartoonist and illustrator and a recipient of Governor’s award in 2008.
The creative illustrations by the 16 students found place in the famed publisher’s list and finally their works which were based on folklores from Nagaland got published in the name and style of “Tales of the Tribe – Folklores from Nagaland.”
The aim in producing this book is to create new multi-lingual material to revitalize the storytelling tradition and to entertain, says Tara Douglas of the Adivasi Arts Trust.
The book, which is first of its kind, contains 39 folklores of Nagaland along with illustrations. The folklores were on Konyak, Ao, Pochury and Yimchungru and have a very interesting tales.
In a simple but meaningful function to honor those sixteen student illustrators of the school held here at SHSS on Thursday, SHSS Principal Kechanguno Ajen lauded the students for their excellent illustrations that got published in a book form under the name “Tale of the Tribes – Folklore from Nagaland” recently. She also thanked the Delhi based Publisher, INTACH for publishing the illustrations of their students that would not only give interesting and thoughtful rich folktales of Nagaland to other people of India but also other parts of the world.
She also thanked Jamir for his successful guidance to their students during their “Workshop on Illustrations” and explained that because of his experienced guidance during the workshop, their students could produce such wonderful “results.”
Earlier, the students whose illustrators were published in the “Tale of the Tribes – Folklore from Nagaland” were honored with each copy of the “book” by SHSS Proprietor J Krose.