Senapati, June 12: Not every festival can take root in a new city and feel like it always belonged there. The Poumai Naga Tsiidoumai Me Bangalore (PNTMB) hosted the second city-based edition of Paonii at the All Saints’ Church. Paonii, traditionally celebrated in the remote, rolling villages of Manipur, marks the beginning of the agricultural season for the Poumai Naga people. It is a festival of the land. But in Bangalore, it became something more- a reconnection, a reckoning, a reminder.
The festival brought the stories, the silence between verses, the kind of laughter that survives generations. The pride of every young face that had only heard of Paonii through stories was witnessed under the city lights.
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The music was more than music- it was memory, melody, and message. Siirene Rova, Veino Pao, SK Shila, Pahriilou Pearson, Shoveine, and Vei Mi enthralled the audience and created a sense of belongingness. When they sang the Poumai hits, it wasn’t just a set list. It was a cultural bridge between the hills and the Garden City. Somewhere between those notes, the distance between Bangalore and Manipur disappeared.
Mr and Miss Paonii 2025 also unfolded with Tharinyio Epao from the Chakhesang community and Lina Zhimo from the Sumi tribe winning the title respectively. They represented a truth many quietly knew- identity is not inherited, it is lived.
This year’s event was opened to non-Poumai participants, a choice some may have questioned, but few could argue with when they saw what heart and representation really look like on stage.
Moreover, the Poumai wrestling championship— raw, grounded, and full of pride— took centre stage with Avio-o of Tunggam clinching the title, followed by TS Khuingai (Ngairi Raidulomai), Mehsud-o (Phuba), and Koveidu Paodukhumai (Tungjoy). Roars and cheers filled the air. Strangers became a crowd. A crowd became a tribe. And a tribe became one voice.
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Another significant highlight of the event was the authentic Naga cuisine buffet. As plates filled with smoked pork, ooti, buff entrails, and eromba, so did the conversations around them. Young professionals, grandparents, curious friends from other communities, all connect over spice, stories, and second helpings.
The ambassadors of the second edition, Banner Lanamai James and P. Achevei also sent powerful messages of support for the festival virtually, reminding everyone that even absence can carry “presence”.
Making the entire event smoother and more accessible was the official online portal, powered by visuals. For the diaspora and the curious alike, the portal turned into a digital doorway into the soul of Paonii. Paonii 2025 wasn’t about looking back. It was about bringing the past forward into new cities, new lives, new stories.