Talent alone is not enough

The news of Mokokchung’s local talent Sunep A Jamir being declared one of the four ‘Super Winners’ of the NEXA Music Season 2 is proof that there is no dearth of talent in Mokokchung, and in Nagaland for that matter. While this news should particularly be of great interest and motivation for the music community in town, it also goes to show that opportunities are now opening up for our talented youngsters more than ever before. This is not the first time that a local talent from this rather sleepy town of Mokokchung has won the admiration and respect from across the country and certainly won’t be the last. For those who have not been following the news, NEXA Music Season 2 saw a total of 2400 competitors in the fray from across India. Before the Super Winners were chosen, the Top 24 were handpicked by AR Rahman, the maestro who needs no introduction. There were three singers from Nagaland among those 24. That speaks volumes about just how talented our youths are. NEXA Music is a platform curated to promote aspiring Indian musicians to showcase their talent and create original English music of global standard.

Having said that, it must be borne in mind that talent alone is not enough to succeed in life. There may be exceptional cases but it’s never the rule. Along with talent, one needs hard work, a strong support base, the right ecosystem and proper planning. This is true with all professions. Unfortunately, despite having so much talent, places like Mokokchung lack the other ingredients that are needed to produce successful young people in various professions. It is sad to note that most of the efforts exerted at reducing the growing rate of unemployment is unidirectional and focused at government jobs. It is difficult to believe that a musician has the opportunity to earn a decent livelihood in Mokokchung. We simply lack the economic base for that. Therefore, our focus should be set beyond our town. The same goes with almost all other professions. What we can do at the most is encourage, motivate and promote the talented individuals and then hope for the best for them.

Some of the greatest personalities in the world of sports, for instance, come from humble backgrounds. They were talented and they worked hard, no doubt. But they also were introduced to an ecosystem that offers the right environment for them to achieve their goals. We can say that we also have many sporting talents in Mokokchung. Unfortunately, we cannot say that there is the right ecosystem for them in Mokokchung. Thus, it would do well on the part of concerned citizens to find ways to help our local talents get access to such platforms beyond our town where they can get the opportunity to achieve their goals. For instance, sports talent scouts from India regularly come to places like Kohima and Dimapur. Why don’t they come to Mokokchung? We may not have the ecosystem but we can always send our talented youths to where the ecosystem exists. So many talented young people have ended their dreams in Mokokchung simply because of the lack of the right ecosystem. How many more will?