H. CHISHI
For a cause
Kohima, Sept. 5: It went from hippie to punk to grunge — carrying the load of social activism. And now it is ready to rock the Nagaland music scene with AIDS awareness, quite literally.
Rock music, which has long been a powerful expression of revolt against restrictive social norms, will be used as a means to rouse youths about the dangers of the immunity-impairing disease.
The Nagaland State AIDS Control Society will launch a statewide rock concert, Rockaware, a Red Ribbon superstar campaign, from September 10. The concert will cover all the 11 districts, with 100-odd bands as participants.
With event partners like Rattle and Hum Music Society and XL Foundation, the winner of Rockaware will be invited to perform at the next Handshake Concert on World Music Day to be held in Bangkok on June 21 next year.
The co-ordinator of the event, Theja Meru, said Rockaware is a statewide band competition with the vision to create awareness about HIV/AIDS and also provide a platform for the musicians of the state to showcase their talent.
The theme for the music campaign, of course, will be “AIDS is our problem. We care”.
Nagaland is one of the six high HIV-prevalent states in the country, with a rate of 1.27 per cent.
The seriousness the effort is evident from the fact that the event is being sponsored by the National AIDS Control Organisation, with Music Task Force as the chief patron, and the government of Nagaland and Legislators’ Forum on AIDS as the chief partners.
Besides, to draw crowds, Rebeni Pdyuo, Naga Idol 2010, has been named the brand ambassador for Rockaware.
The contest will be in two parts — at the district level and then at the state level. The district-level competition will begin on September 10 in Kohima and the grand finale will be held at Dimapur District Sports Complex on October 15. The winners of the district-level competitions will compete at the grand finale where the top three will receive cash prizes of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 60,000 and Rs 40,000.