Month: April 2016

R&L_Rongsen

I’m a Game Designer & Mountain Biker | Rongsen Jamir

Mafia Wars, Castleville, Bubble Safari, Cafe World . . ever played any of these video games? We’re sure you have or atleast know someone who has. So who are these super human beings behind these addictive video games and how do they do it? Well, we just found out that someone sitting next to you could have played a role in the creations! Meet Rongsen Jamir, a game designer working in Zynga  – a game designing company that has produced some of the most popular games like Farmville, Zynga Poker, Mafia Wars amongst others. Originally from Dimapur Nagaland , he is now based out of Bangalore. “I got introduced to video games pretty early when the whole idea was still relatively new – back home in Nagaland. Games used to intrigue me so much that I would start thinking about playing my own creations. I feel lucky to have had this opportunity (creating games at Zynga).I take inspiration from genius game designers like Will Wright, Todd Howard and Hideo Kojima”   By now we are convinced that gaming …

RootsandLeisure_Artist

Artist | Meet Beatboxer Zonimong

Some people are just born with an innate talent for making music and this artistic flair usually start at a young age. Talk about Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber  or Ed Sheeran and we all know their stories. Today, the music industry in Nagaland have also taken a U-turn from folklore to more contemporary production.A total new genre of talents are on the rise making us believe that ‘we are no less than them in the west.’ Yes! DIYers are the next big thing in almost every market now. And today we have one such talent to talk about here at R&L. Meet – Zonimong Imchen who is one of youngest talents we have here in Nagaland. Just 15. Come again? Yes! 15. R&L: Tell us something about yourself? How did it all start? Zoni: I’m a student of 10 grade studying in Kohima. I started beat boxing at the age of 12. One afternoon, I came across a link ‘best beatboxer in the world’ while I was browsing the internet. I didn’t even know what beatboxing was before …

RootsandLeisure_Recipe

Recipe | Smoked Pork and Kidney Beans Salad

Today we chat up with restaurateur Elvis Khevito –  owner of Hornbill Cafe, Delhi. Lee is here to share with us the recipe of ‘Ki Baa’ – a favourite of his customers. Ki Paa | Kidney Beans salad with Smoked pork – an original recipe of the Khiamniungan tribe, Nagaland Ingredients : Handful Red kidney beans 5 gm Ginger 8-10 Green chilies Coriander leaves 8-10 Cooked Smoked pork Directions: First boil the kidney beans and set it aside. Then cut the cooked smoked pork into small pieces Ground the ginger and chop the chilies. Mix the smoked Pork, kidney beans,the grounded ginger and green chilly together along with some coriander leaves and salt to taste . Mix them well together and preheat them in a microwave at 180° for about 2 mins. Serve Warm.  

People in Fashion | Meet the Sister Duo behind J&Sasha Clothing Line

  With new fashion brands being created everyday, personalization can very well be the next big movement in the fashion industry – taking the concept of self expression to a whole new level. We are definitely excited about to see crazy growth in this space, but it also means growing competition. Creating and running an independent brand isn’t easy – but few have been able to carve their own niche  – like the two sisters we have here today. Meet the founders and owners of J & Sasha – Jessica Kent and Shanisha Kent – the sister duo from Nagaland, who started their own clothing line J & Sasha in the year 2015. Let us get to know them a little better – through a brief chat. So tell us something about yourselves. Jessica Kent: I did my graduation from National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Delhi, and my younger sister Shanisha Kent did her graduation from Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University. We are currently at home in (Dimapur) Nagaland – but we are planning to …

Rootsandleisure_recipes

Naga Dish | Steam Fish in Bamboo shoot

This Naga style Steamed Fish is an authentic and simple dish that can be found on a lot of home dinner tables. It’s such an easy and delicious way to prepare fish. Just make sure you buy a good fresh fish. We hope you will try it soon in your homes too! Ingredients : 8 red dried chilly 5 cloves of garlic 1 whole fresh fish <approx. 1 kilogram>  (Here, we have used Rohu; commonly called the Ruee, Rui or Tapra.) 2 tablespoon of bamboo shoot juice 500 ml of water Salt to taste Directions: Clean the Fish and cut it into uniform medium size slices as seen in the picture. Put the fish in a wok / saucepan with all the ingredients together , cover and bring it to boil. The dish is ready when the water dries up. Once it is done, make sure you keep the lid open for the dish to cool down. Best served when its cooled or the morning after. Serve with rice.

RootsandLeisure_Awono5

Awono Ezung from Nagaland is a Photographer Whose Every Photo Appears to Tell a Beautiful Story

Meet Awono from Chumukedima in Dimapur Nagaland –  a self confessed “old homebody” who is blissfully using up her time as a photographer cum storyteller, and a pet caretaker. We met up with her over tea and after slowly and wonderfully we saw a lot of her personal work unfold over the conversation – which until then, were sitting precariously on her laptop and an old photo case. Just a tad bit too shy but finally she agreed for an interview with Roots & Leisure.  “I’m kind of in-between being a professional and a hobbyist.” What is your style of photography? I am more into portraiture and prefer working in natural light.I like taking pictures of friends and my sister. They understand how I work so it’s a little less headache for me. I still shoot with films (analog). I would love work with films as much as possible but these days it’s not easy finding film rolls in Nagaland. And there is probably only a handful of shops that develop them. Of course, there are digital works too. …