Author: Roots & Leisure

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Meet Hopong – The Photographer Behind the Exclusive Cosfest Photos

Published by Roots & Leisure

Meet Hopong Chang – the guy whose coverage of the wonderful Cosfest that was held last week in Nagaland has brought the event tons of publicity. We caught up with Chang to find out more about his work. “I am actually not a full time photographer. I work for the forest department here in Nagaland but I try to find time for my hobby. Ever since I was a kid, I walked around with a camera and shooting subjects that were intriguing to me. But I started taking it more seriously only in 2013 – that was when I bought my first DSLR camera. People inspire me. So shooting portraits, weddings and a little bit of fashion photography comes natural to me.” Nagaland Anime Junkies (NAJ)4th Annual Cosfest July 2016, Kohima | Cosplay-Ciel &Sebastian Michaelis (Black Butler) Cosplayers-Meyidem Yaden& Tiajungla Here are a few more pics from Hopong’s fashion and wedding photography portfolio:         

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Giant Hydrangeas in Shillong – Scotland of the East

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“We wanted a break from work and go on a trip, but we just had 2 days so Shillong was the best bet – since it’s just around 350 Kms from Dimapur, Nagaland. We are having a ball out here! On our way to Cherrapunji, we came across rows of really tall pine trees and massive bushes of hydrangeas (Just look at them!!). It is super refreshing to take a walk after the rains . .the mystical clouds – almost touching the pavements (we could barely see beyond 5 meters), were breathtaking!! Feels like we had enough fun for the next 6 months in these 2 days! 🙂 We even made time for the new Bollywood movie ‘Sultan’ :D”  

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World Music Day in Nagaland | An experience shared by Arenjungla

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Reader’s Post: Our reader Arenjungla shares her experience at the World Music Day celebration at Mokokchung, Nagaland. If you were given a choice between watching your favorite football player play and attending a concert of your favorite music band, what would you choose? Our reader Arenjungla had to make that choice and she shared her exhilarating experience with us when she finally chose to attend the World Music Day celebration held at Mokokchung, Nagaland. I thought I was already late when I reached the venue at 5:00 PM as the pamphlet said the event began an hour earlier. Turns out my friends and I had actually reached the venue a little too early and things were just beginning to warm up. Taking advantage of our early arrival, we thought we’d go ahead and grab a good spot for us near the stage. All this while, my excitement was getting out of control as I couldn’t wait to catch my favorite band Tune up Channel  (declared as “Best artist from Nagaland” during the Hornbill Rock Contest 2015). As luck would …

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Meet a young Entrepreneur from Thailand | Tanyapat

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Meet Tanyapat Witayapreechasilp. You can call her TK 🙂 She is our first international guest and we are extremely excited to feature her on R&L! So say hi to this 27 year old passionate entrepreneur based out of Chiang Mai, Thailand.   Speaking to her, we could feel the connection that she shares with the 700 years old city Chiang Mai city even though her family is not originally from there. The city has hosted 20 different tribes over the centuries and has culminated into a hub of inspiration and creativity for not only people from Thailand but across the world. Drawing inspiration from the city, its culture and people TK now owns a business named “FIFTEEN” which is an online fashion brand and hopes to expand globally soon. “Hi! I live in one of the most charming city in Asia Pacific. I am in love with Chiang Mai. After I graduated in Creative Arts from Chulalongkorn university, I joined my family business [an architecture firm]. While at home, I used to travel to the mountain villages …

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WINTERMADE TEES BY ARTIST SHINOBI | MOA LEMTUR

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Remember Shinobi from a while ago? We wrote about him and his art in an earlier post. Well, we have an announcement to make! He has launched his ‘WinterMade’ collection of tees, with his original illustrations. They are limited edition tees and are available in three (3) variations : Black, White and Dip Dye [Black ones are sold out]. “Why WinterMade? Well, am glad you asked. I am a December child, and I love Winter. The art I do doesn’t always look jolly or colourful. I’ve always been drawn towards art that takes a person through a journey – a journey that speaks about situations & stories, that are not-so-pleasant[dark] but teaches you valuable life’s lessons. I value such experiences as it enlightens you in a way that is deep and long lasting.” Hence the name WinterMade – Art served Cold.   Love them? Then good news! You can buy them online  HERE. Priced at INR 850/- to INR 950/-

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Restaurant Review : The 115th at Dimapur, Nagaland

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Review by : Pur Lkr When a culinary dream meets an appetite for business risks and that journey is deftly guided into unchartered territory, even largely common dishes get served up with beautiful twists. At least that’s what our experience at The 115th, a perfect fine-dining space in Nagaland that was established less than a year ago, tells us.  The restaurant is the dreamchild of  a young lad –Kezhabu Rio, whose expertise and creativity of harmonising new tastes with the old has brought forth his new restaurant venture in the quiet town of Dimapur. The 115th is located at Shoppers Point, Kohima Road – which promises a wonderfully scenic ride and is ever bustling with shoppers in the weekend. So, if you’re looking for a nice family lunch, a romantic date night, or a get-together with your old pals, the 115th may just be the place – with its relaxed ambiance and the delicious food! The 115th’s decor will strike you as a quirky balance between cool ambience, modern design and simple structure. The place is lit up …

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I’m 80 and I love bamboo weaving

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“When I was younger, our family used to go out in the wee morning hours to work in the paddy field. After a long day there, I would come back and do bamboo weaving. I’ve been weaving since I was a child and I looked after my family with whatever I earned from it. With age (I’m 80), I’m not able to do hard work in the fields like those days but I’m so happy I can still do weaving – something I really enjoy doing. My advice to the younger generation is to never stay idle; find something you love doing – it will make your days much more fulfilling – especially when you are older . . .”

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Product Design & Photography | Meet Menuolhoulie Kire

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Today’s incredible social media growth and its level of invasion in our private lives have driven most of the youth to feel the much-feared word – ‘FOMO’ aka Fear Of Missing Out. And although it can have a very negative effect on us, it can also play out positively depending on how we turn things around. FOMO is not about just peer pressure anymore. It is also about stacking up your career against everyone you know on the digital platforms. And it’s not surprising, that only pursuing our daily lives without pursuing other hobbies and interests is considered, if nothing else, boring. This time at R&L, we caught up with one such talent who is pursuing two careers and is scaling heights. We met up with Menuolhoulie Kire (M.Kire) from Nagaland who’s delving into two very creative fields – furniture design and photography. R&L : Hi. Tell us a bit about yourself! M.Kire : I am a dreamer and love to push myself to materialise new ideas. I did my Masters in Design from IIT Guwahati. …

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I make Handcrafted Jewellery – Abenla

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Say hello to Abenla – A beautiful talented artist from Nagaland, who makes the most exotic handmade jewelry. In addition to running her jewellery business,  she also works with an NGO in the development sector (Fida International), serves as a part of an eldership team with her husband at a local church in Mumbai, and above all manages a home – just being the wife on the other side. Her handmade jewellery are characterized by unique craftsmanship and are replete with a mix of tribal and modern techniques – that are so distinct to her brand. To find such a distinctive voice, there has to be a fascinating story – which we were hoping to find out when we reached out to the designer herself. How did you get started? Did you get any formal training in jewelry design? Not really. I learnt most of the skills online. In fact this whole thing started when I was in college, when a friend of mine – Ran introduced me to jewellery making. I used to enjoy breaking things apart and making new stuff out of …