With Love, from Manipur...

An interview with Asa Kazingmei
by Somipem Keishing

Photo courtesy: Asa kazingmei 

Asa Kazingmei is not an easy man to reach. I chased this beautiful genius for almost a month before he finally had the time for me. I had barrage a number of questions for this rising star of LFW 2012. His creation 'Immortal' created quite a stir. I spoke to him at length about his work, the journey and lots more

Lakmé Fashion Week 2012 was the usual fanfare with topnotch models wearing the creations of some of the best designers of India and the world. But what caught the attention of me and many others was that fiery red dress that stood out from the rest.

The abstract black and red print of the Tangkhul tribe was the unique and outstanding feature of the collection Immortal that caught the world off guard. The moment I saw the familiar print of my tribe, I instantly connected with this new designer Asa Kazingmei and I couldn’t wait to get my questions across to him. In his line, he had adeptly fused the ancient with the contemporary.

The traditional shawl of the Tangkhul tribe is known as the Rivat Kachon. It symbolizes bravery and courage of the warrior tribe who wore it. This hand woven cloth of the native tribe of Manipur, was given a unique and fresh perspective with artistic creativity by the young designer Asa. Through his collection ‘Immortal’ the age old story of culture and lineage was re told in the most modern way.

 

 

Photo credits:Envynde
 

In Northeast India, where the influence of South Korean music and entertainment is prominent, Asa grew up being inspired by K-Fashion. Thus the grooming of a fashion designer with a unique inclination to Korean taste began at an early age in the small town of Ukhrul, in Manipur.

Asa confesses, "To be different has always motivated me. As a youngster I always used to rework my cloth, never wore them as they were. It started way back as a teenager designing for myself and for my friend. Having learned stitching mere out of curiosity, which helped me understand the technical aspect of the subject, it is now helping me immensely in design execution".

He came to Mumbai with the hope to further his dream to becoming a Fashion designer. Asa, a post graduate of the INFID (International Institute of Fashion Design) Mumbai, has completed a one year professional course in IBM. His shot to fame came when he was selected, from among 250 applicants all over the world, to debut as one of the 7 Gen Next Designer by Lakmé Fashion Week in 2012.

Speaking of his Collection Immortal which was showcased in the LFW 2012 he says “The theme of my collection ‘Immortal’, as the name suggest, is the never dying art form of our Nation. My inspiration is from the beauty and the intricacies of hand woven textile from NE. My theme revolves around the mesmerizing beauty of the NE. I tried to create a confluence of traditional and modernity.
‘Immortal’ is a line where silhouette are simple but very well constructed and structured.
The main feature of the line is textile of the Tangkhul Naga Tribe which is very rare to see and is beautifully hand woven with traditional geometric, zoomorphic motif besides other”.

Like a true artist, every piece that he creates, he does it with utmost care in that familiar systematic procedure. His first step to designing a line is to get a “theme for the inspiration”, next he makes sure he “spends some time to get good finishing (of the cloth)”. Last step and the most important of all is the tailoring, “I should say tailoring plays a very important role for the success of my collection” he adds.

Besides couture, Asa has also designed ready to wear, casual outfits. Till date his favorite garment, designed by him, remains to be the collection which he showcased at the LFW. Though he adds willfully that more are still yet to come.

Starting early he found his way through the labyrinth of struggle that we are known to be sure to face in the cruel world of fashion. When asked about his experiences he says “Oh.... My journey has not been so easy and I have gone through those ‘hard times’....I believe that there is never an end to the hard work. You cannot succeed until and unless you have that fire, that passion, in you”.

Asa is a man forever dedicated to the art of fashion, he says that “Fashion has always been the only passion I find in my life, which is incomplete without it”. He likes to characterize his style as “experimental, edgy, exuberant and limitless”. And that, according to him, “is what defines Asa Kazingmei”.

With utmost curiosity, I dared to ask if he is working on any new projects lately. To which, he replied; “I am currently working on my new collection which will be showcased at fall winter LFW on August 2013”. There is no detail on what his new collection will be, and on what themed it will focus, however an anticipated wait is expected from many of his fans, including I.

India is defined by its diverse culture and uniqueness of each state. The collection of Asa stands as a potent example of it. Featuring the colors of the hill tribe of northeast, Immortal becomes a symbol of the great talents of the region, many of whom are still yet to be discovered.

In respect to the recognition for his work, a strong line of fans follow him, many of whom are immensely inspired. To them, Asa says “believe in yourself and your dream”

*Regards
Asa Kazingmei*

 

Special thanks to Asa kazingmei
Submitted to Leo Fernando
The above article is solely for the purpose of University project and not for commercial reasons.
It may be subject to copyright of the publisher.
Courtesy:
FASIONFAD.in
Greenscarf.com

 

  

Media Literacy

 

 Photo: In the studio with Proffessor Dr. Muhammed Zin Nordin and P.hd research scholar Manolakshmi Pandey Raj. (photo courtesy: Ronak Singh) 

A few weeks back I had the privilege to interact with Professor Muhammed Zin Nordin, faculty of ‘Modern Languages and Communication’, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia. The discourse was on Media literacy in the present world today. Media literacy as far as I know, has been overlooked by almost everyone.

Media literacy does not only confine to the knowledge of using computer and being able to access the internet or having a set of smart TV. Media literacy refers to the way in which we access information. It brings under its realm the security issues of the internet and the content we access.

Internet is now not only the game of the professionals but also the requirement of the students, housewives and the common masses. Its usage is widespread and boundless unlike any other form of media. Also it is the only form of media which is least censored and globally available with the utmost ease.

Dr. Zin Nordin had conducted a research on ‘Media Literacy Campaigns for Children’. The results of the research were not pleasant but expected. It is the common practice of the schools and teachers to provide assignments to the students on various topics. As the topics are usually comprehensive, it has become a practice to check the internet.

Without my reminding anyone, it is a commonly known fact that the tradition of copy and paste has become quite frequent after the introduction of assignments to syllabus and Wikipedia to internet. Many of the students, according to the research, were a victim to this practice.

 It was also depressing to note that the teachers, with their already over burdened tasks, are not able to rank their students fair. Scary enough was the fact that these teachers are satisfied to mark their students’ assignments, which had been copy-pasted, with comments such as ‘excellent’ or ‘great work’. It is obvious that they are not really interested in the accuracy of the content or the process of acquiring it.

The other side of the picture is even grimmer. On being interrogated the students admitted that they are not really aware if the contents that they have acquired are actually true or false. That is to say, they have no clue which website they have visited, the authenticity of the website, the security issues concerning the website, or a single knowledge of their assignment for which they have been marked ‘excellent’.

With more ignorant and underage users the security issues on internet becomes a bigger concern. However, do not be mistaken that it is only the ignorant and the underage that fall under the radar of the internet risk. So far I have only been stressing on the finds of the research.

To talk about internet security, begin with passwords. Experts say that more than 90% of the internet literate do not follow the protocol of changing their password every 3 or 5 days. Forget what the experts say, consider yourself and question if you regularly change your password every few days?

I, as a communication student, a media literate, do not bother to change my passwords for the numerous accounts I have online. To tell a lay man to change his password therefore seems a lost cause.

Here, Media literacy, comes into play. It is basically to inform people about the various risks online and the threat it can be to their lives. It believes in using the internet in the right way, so that it does not have any rebound effect.

It also teaches the people access the right contents the right way. Self censoring and self regulation play an important role in media literacy. Like I have mentioned earlier, censorship is least effective in internet. It is a medium where pornography and Doraemon are available side to side.

A senior of mine mentioned that when her 6 year old niece accessed the Youtube to watch a certain cartoon show, the half nude add of Old Spice is shown as a preview. It is in such cases that regulation becomes essential. For an under aged minor, parental guidance and elder supervision is necessary.

This guidance can be carried on until the child is old enough to know and judge for himself.

 I, a major propagator for freedom of speech, do not believe in censoring the internet so that it does not harm the innocent or the sentiment of the people. For, every rule can be by-passed, every restriction can be sidestepped.

Instead, the noble idea of self regulation should be propagated more vigorously. For, the human mind can be controlled and restricted only by him and not by any law or censorship. They should be provided with choices, so as to choose what is morally right without anyone forcing the morale down their throat.

Media literacy aims to educate the people about the various features of media and the ways to access it. It basically teaches the people how to use internet the right way so that they are benefitted without being at risk and also not being a risk to the people around them.

 

 

Special thanks to Professor Gopalan Ravindran
HOD, Journalism and Communication
University Of Madras

 

 

 

 

Passion of man

"God is it fair that for your one and only son thousand other innocent babies have to die?" cries the mother painfully, her voice bitingly cold and sharp. Her son was among the many  who have been taken away by King Herod's army.

She had gone off to the fields leaving her one month old son at home. On hearing the terrible news of the king's order to murder all male babies in the kingdom who are one month and younger, she had came rushing back, only to find a blood soaked baby cloth.

'Did we even ask you to send your only begotten son as our Savior?' she asks God bitterly. 'To protect one son of yours thousands innocent souls are slain, God! How is that justified? Man can only bear, but to a certain limit' sobs the mother.

Clutching the blood soaked cloth to her bosom she continues to cry most desperately. As she cried and looked out towards the pasture behind her house, her expression suddenly changes.

She runs out of the house, towards the pasture, ran past the sheep, knelt down beside the bush, and exclaimed 'Oh! My son! You are alive! God have saved you after all"

She lifted up the small body gently and smiles up to heaven with tears in her eyes. She asks God to forgive her for the terrible words she had uttered in a moment of weakness and despair.

She cuddles the body lovingly and rocked it to and fro. She prays again, but this time her prayers were addressed to Madonna, virgin mother of Jesus.

"Madonna, you know how i feel don't you?" she began, "for you too lost your son Jesus on the cross, you will understand how I feel".

She silently began to rant on, on the extent of misery a mother feels when the security of her baby is threatened. But now, she says to Madonna, that she is happy and content as she got her baby back.

The mother continues in an odd cheerfulness “You know Madonna, now my son is so secure here among the sheep that he will not be threaten by Herod's man ever again”, “see Madonna” she says “he is so similar to the sheep here that no one will be able to distinguish him from a sheep”.

The mother then walks off towards the fading daylight still clutching the young lamb tightly to her bosom.

                                                                         ...................................................

 

Plays have been enacted, stories have been told on the passion of Christ. But the above play talks of the passion of man, how man has learned to survive and adapt to life despite unpleasant conditions.

The play is an example of how man adapt to most terrible situations- by insanity. The poor woman, unable to accept her son's death becomes mad and took to the lamb as a replacement.

Not every person reacts to suffering the same away. There are instances where people simply choose to ignore it.

Those who are 'unfeeling' as the society terms them turns suffering into a source of gossip. The core idea of a person's suffering and the terrible scenarios are ignored, choosing to gossip about it then be pulled into it.

Some people simply don’t know why dreadful things are happening. They fail to understand why certain things are happening to them. They are the victims of situations.

Suffering has been weaved into very fabric of life from the time Eve ate the forbidden apple in the Garden of Eden.

Humanity will still continue to suffer, but humanity will still find ways to cope with suffering. Hence we call it ‘Passion of man’.

 

 





Adapted from the Bible
Courtesy to Ma'am Aishwarya of Asan Memorial School.
The play was originally enacted at theUniversity of Madras.

 

 

The hostellers of the University of Madras finnally speaks up

This morning the university of madras, girl's hostel finally decide to make their grievances known. Mother Theresa hostel under the university of Madras in the early morning of 12 March walked out of their respective rooms to protest the water scarcity that has been prevailing for the past 3 rough days

The director of the university along with the previous warden arrived on the scene to pacify the frustrated hosteller. however there is still no sign of the warden of the hostel. According to the hostellers, hey have filed a report with the warden who allegedly replied 'there is no water what can I do?"

The metro works going on around the Chepauk area have resulted in problems of water flow in the hostel according to reports.

Mrs. Sumati, HOD of anthropology department and ex warden, tried to bring the situation down by offering solutions. however the students have refused to move unless a permanent solution is reached.

According to reports the water problems have been a common scene in the hostel. The students have been bearing the water scarcity problems adjusting with the little they get and waiting for the next water flow.

The discussion between the students and the authorities in charge continues with little success.

 

One journalist dead, 4 vehicles burned to ashes

As Christmas draws nearer riots in Imphal worsen. Ironically the birth of the ‘Prince of peace’ will be met with one of the most violent protests seen in Imphal this year.

As i sit and type i can swear I heard two gunshots. Around 2pm yesterday curfew was announced in the city for 16 hours, after a journalist Thangjam Nanao Singh alias Dilip was shot by policemen in Thangmeiband,when police opened fire to disperse bandh supporters who torched the vehicle of the officer-in-charge of Lamphel police station.

Thangjam Nanao Singh, a reporter of the Prime Time Channel was taken to RIMS hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. His camera was reported missing after the youth with whom he had left it with was arrested.

The unethical act of confiscation of a journalist’s property by police is condemned by the journalists of Manipur. In act of protest a number of journalists gathered in front of the Lamphel police station last afternoon. Eventually the camera was returned to the Journalist Union. Dilip had filmed the riots where the police tried to disperse protestors by firing guns and tear gas.

The locals of the Thangmeiband area, like everywhere else in Imphal city were protesting the immoral conduct of NCSN IM cadre Livingstone Anal towards a Manipuri Actress Momoko.

On December 19 Momoko along with several artists from Imphal had gone to Chandel district of Manipur to attend a musical concert as special invitees. Livingstone Anal, Lt. Col of the militant outfit NSCN(IM) in an inebriated condition allegedly molested and assaulted the actress. When a colleague artist tried to stop it, Livingstone blank fired on them. This was carried on in the presence of a policeman who was unwilling to engage in the commotion.

Protests against the unacceptable act continue all throughout Imphal and an indefinite bandh has been announced. In many parts of Imphal clashes continue between the protesters and the police.

Natives of the hill districts are most affected as they could not return to their respective places for the Christmas holidays. While the government has provided escorts to protect the buses and vehicles bound to the different districts, reports continue of mob attacks on the vehicles despite the presence of escorts.

Differences continues between the rioters and the police with bandh and curfew being announced side to side. No solution seems near as one incident after the other only aggravate the situation. Furthermore the riot comes dangerously close to attaining a communal colour, with the ongoing issue of Naga peace talks.

 

Photo: (e-pao) 1. A scene on Imphal streets, 2. Protests by the Artist forum of Manipur.

                           Little precious Moments.

8 days ago, on December 1, i woke up complaining about my migraine as i had slept a mere 3 hours. It was World's Aids' Day and we had been assigned to cover events in different parts of Chennai City.

7 am in the morning the sun was already up and hot as i walk down Marina Lane with a flustered face.

At that moment in time my awareness was only that i had to cover an HIV Awareness program. My thought  was not on the millions of affected children who woke up knowing that this in the only day in a year that people remember them and actually celebrate for them.

2 hours later i had caught a bus but cursed myself after realising, after two stations, that I'm on the wrong bus.

After getting on the right bus i continued my way towards Nungambakkam where i was to cover the HIV Awareness program.

The Venue was 'Good Shepherd School', a catholic institute for girls. I walked in nonsensical with the sole aim to cover the event be done with and head back to hostel to get some sleep. 

There were around 20 HIV infected kids sitting on the elevated platform in front of the school, the campus was filled with hundreds of students of the school. 

There i sat and watched spell bound at how young the children actually were. I had never felt more humbled in my entire life.

One can never begin to imagine how the children live knowing their lives have been numbered mercilessly for somebody else' mistakes. Talking about suffering and living suffering is altogether different ends of the stick.

Only one day, a few hours of that 'one day', millions of people like me remember them and think about their pain.But they go through life experiencing pain each second..counting down each second of their life.

Though i was not permitted to talk to them personally, i watched them silently and they did not fail to move my proud heart to tears.

8 days have passed..there is nothing i can do for them but to share my experience with a few circle of friends. But they have done a lot for me. They have taught me in their on big way that life is merciless but it is precious at the same time, we only have to appreciate and live the best way we can.

Solomon, the pillar of rock, wise and strong.

“Tough this children look happy and cheerful now..emotionally,  they are sad” says Solomon as he looks on to the few kids grinning besides him  posing for the camera.

“Can you see the little girl over there? The dark one” he said. I looked toward his stretched finger and see a girl not more than 8 years, smilling in a confused way at the many cameras flashing in front of her. “One day she came up to me and asked me ‘appa do you not love me because i am black?’ i realise then” Solomon continued despondently, “that she is searching for the love and care that has been deprived from her by the parents”.

As Mr. Solomon continued to answer our queries, more students had joined the little ones from ‘the Shelter Trust’ for the photo session in front of the banner ‘World’s Aids, Dec-2012’.

Mr Solomon presently runs a home for the HIV infected children called Shelter Trust. The children are as young as 3 1/2 years, and the oldest at 16 years. There are a total of 33 children in his trust at present.

Though not much aid had been received from the government other than in the form of ART tablets, Solomon says ‘i am positive in my attitude’. He is currently a Ph.d scholar in the university if madras in the Religion and philosophy department.

Solomon started the Trust solely with the aim of provide a home for the ‘unfortunate’ children who he says, ‘are innocent victims of somebody else’s fault’. He first started taking care of the infected children who are left unwanted in the hospital. Then as the number of children grew the needs of the home also grew.

At present the economic needs of the shelter are met by well wishers and friends. He also works as the co-ordinator  for domestic worker and with an NGO to support both the shelter and his family economically.

Solomon who is the father of two children himself says he feels the emotional competition between the kids to gain his attention. ’How much of myself, my portion can i give to them?” he says inquiringly. When i asked if he is the only person taking care of the 33 children, he replies beamingly, that there are 7 staffs employed in the shelter as of now. What is even more interesting is that all the staffs are also HIV position persons that there.

Not only are the children cared for and sent to a regular schools, a number of recreation activities are also provided for to amuse themselves. “they have their own carom board , chess, toys and reading room” even a television he said. They are also taken out on picnics, to parks, MGM and even to the beach.

When i glanced toward the crowd of children a few feet away, i noticed the same boy who had earlier entertain the event with his dance moves and was awarded with a loud and long standing applause from the whole school. Solomon may or may not have noticed but he went on to say that some of the children are exceptionally ‘talented’. They do ‘excellent artwork’ he said, one of them had won the first title in a competition in Loyola college. ‘he won the first title out of 400 people’ he says, with the enthusiasm of a proud father.

The trust which started 8 years ago when he adopted an orphaned child infected with Aids, is now a proud shelter taking care of 33 HIV positive children. It is located in Red Hills of Chennai.

Things had been really challenging for him from the beginning both emotionally and physically. Though he says he has done what he thinks is best, he admits that there are two things that he will never be able to do for them. ”...they start crying ‘i want my mommy, i want my daddy to come’ ..if a child is crying i want his particular pen, i can go buy a pen for them..but where do you expect me to buy a mommy and daddy for them?”. This he says is ‘pretty depressing’ for him and the staff. Another problem is that even if he has all the money in the world there is no cure for the children which he says is unfair on the innocent children.

Some of the children in the shelter have single alive parents, he says but he is still the ‘Appa’ to all the kids and he believes it is his duty to be impartial in his treatment.” When a particular child falls sick”, he explains,” and needs extra care and attention” the other children feel threatened. What the children basically need is the love and care that they lacked and has been “deprived from them by their parents”.

When asked what else he would like add or share from his journey of 8 years, he looks adoringly at the children, than looks away and reflects for a moment. He then spoke  solemnly ‘in a family, when a child falls sick, you know, the parents, how much tension that they(parent) go through, here it is different..now i know for sure that the children are medically in compromise..that they are going to die”, he adds “it is very emotionally draining on me, to see children passing away in front of me”.