The Ao Naga Choir Makes A Mark With Its Stirring Performance

By Shevlin Sebastian

When the Ao Naga Choir members step on stage at the Bastian Bungalow, Fort Kochi, at a recent show, organised by Spic Macay, they immediately catch the eye with their striking costumes: the men, in white shirts and black trousers, with a red sash across their chests. As for the women, they are in red, white, blue, and orange skirts and wraparounds, with traditional beaded necklaces.

Lanu Yaden, the man behind the choir, and a participating singer says that the red sash is of the Ao Naga tribe, which is one of the larger tribes in Nagaland. “There are more than twenty tribes,” says Lanu. “The different colours worn by the women represent the different tribes.”

Following an introduction, the concert began, unusually, with a Rabindranath Tagore poem called 'To the unnamed light' which had been set to music by the late Filipino composer Francisco Feliciano.

It took a while for the audience to get into the rhythms of the band since there was hardly any musical accompaniment. “Our strength is in the A acapella (a group or solo singing without instrumental accompaniment),” says Lanu.

The songs continued: Alleluia by composer Ralph Manuel, 'My Heart is Steadfast', a songcomposed by Naga composer James Swu, works by British composer John Rutter and even a Mozart classic, 'Ave Verum Corpus'.

The singers, despite the name of their choir, are all based in Delhi. They work in various professions but the majority are music teachers. Set up in 2009, the 'Ao Naga Choir' is steadily gaining in reputation. They have performed thrice for the President of India and twice for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. They have participated in concerts in Colombo and Salzburg, where they sang Mozart's Coronation Mass at the Cathedral. “It was a proud moment for all of us,” says Lanu.

In July, the band will be touring Budapest and Vienna where they will be performing at the United Nations Office. They will be presented with the 'Angel Of Peace Award' at the World Peace Choral Festival, for promoting culture and world peace through choral singing. 

Asked about their repertoire, Lanu says, “It could be anything from Renaissance music to western classical, all types of church music, operettas and Broadway musicals.”

Meanwhile, wherever they perform, whether it is India or abroad, they are always asked whether they are from India. “While abroad, this question enables us to talk about our Indian culture and its diversity,” says Lanu. “In India, some know where Nagaland is. For others, we have to sketch it on our palm and explain that we share a border with Myanmar. Many are aware of the Naga regiment of the Army.”

As for the band members, many of them were coming for the first time to South India. “Most have only been to Mumbai,” says Lanu, who is an exception. He did his Plus Two from St. Joseph’s College in Bangalore. Later, he completed his Bachelors in history from St. Stephen's College, Delhi.

For all the band members Kochi was an eye-opener. “There are a lot of European influences, especially in Fort Kochi,” says Lanu. “It was a wonderful opportunity to educate the younger members about the history of Fort Kochi. We enjoyed seeing the Chinese fishing nets, which we had only seen in photos.”

The choir members also appreciated the liberal culture. “The waiter in the restaurant that we stayed in was a Brahmin, but he had no qualms about serving us non-vegetarian food,” says Lanu. “We said, ‘Will it offend you?’ and he said there was no problem. It was reassuring to know that people accepted differences with grace and harmony.”

And they also had heart-warming experiences. There was a group of tourists from Salzburg, Austria. “After the event was over, they came running after us to say that they were so happy to hear Mozart in Fort Kochi,” says Lanu. “They have always heard it inside a church with the accompaniment of string and bass instruments, which usually drowned the vocals. They said that hearing the song in a foreign country and in such a setting was surreal but exciting, as well. We were all very touched and elated.” 

(The New Indian Express, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram ands Kozhikode)