Temshinaro
DIMAPUR, MAY 14
As a young man Moba Inggang always nurtured the dream of becoming an artist. But it came as little surprise that as the eldest of five children of a retired police man, he received no encouragement from them. They feared that art would lead him nowhere, but they were proved wrong.
Too young to protest, the Konyak Naga from Tizit instead of rebelling pursued his interest as a hobby, even as he went on to attain a Masters degree in Divinity from the Divinity at Discipleship Bible College (DBC). He would utilize all leisure hours sketching and drawing whatever he saw.
Talking to Eastern Mirror, Moba always felt that everything was not right around him. He always felt that he was not using his real talent, ‘art’ in life.
The opportunity to share his talent came when everyone at the Bible College had to do their bit to raise funds for a cultural programme at DBC. Moba decided to put out some of his artwork on sale. And to his utter joy four sketches brought in a tidy sum of Rs. 16,000 almost making up the Rs 20,000 target.
This encouragement was the turning point for Moba who dared to believe that his artistic inclination was God given and not for him to keep within himself, but sharing it is.
He now runs a home based studio and has aptly named it ‘Lost ‘n’ Found Art Studio’. Here he spends most of his hours. Though largely self trained he learned sketching with a few lessons on painting and sketching from a private tutor from Manipur. Today his hobby has become a profession. His works are priced between Rs 1500 to Rs 35,000.
He can complete a live portrait sketch in half an hour and a normal oil painting in a day. Moba Inggang alongside his profession as an artist has also build up a career in music.
He is a lyricist and musician. His works reflect the realities of human life and draws his inspiration from the realities and the social conditions around him.
Through the years Moba has also released a few albums and also winning at a few. At the Summer Jam in 2004 he was adjudged the best soloist. He is also among the 10 winners of the NSACS “Write a Song Contest” in 2009 and in 2012, he won Hope Music Festival Solo competition organized by Adonai Ministry. His music video ‘Silent Years’ has been nominated to the 5th Music Awards of Nagaland, 2013 in the Soft/Rock Alternative Category.
There are many if not more talented Naga youth but what sets Moba apart is his hobby to perfom to the best of his ability. Few take their God given talents seriously and instead try to find themselves in ‘boxes’ which don’t fit.
Imagine what would happen if we all tapped into our talents
