A section of the crowd pose for a photograph after the special Tribute in honour of Dolly Parton at The BookHome.
Vishü Rita Krocha
Kohima | September 13
In a far corner of the world, miles away from where legendary country singer-songwriter, global icon and philanthropist, Dolly Parton lived, Kohima remembers her inspiring life that lifted up millions across the world.
"If I am remembered 100 years from now, I hope it will not be for looks but for books", she had once said, amplifying her deep dedication to childhood literacy and philanthropy over her famous physical appearance and pop-culture persona.
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has given out more than 300 million free books to children worldwide since it first began in 1995, helping young children develop critical reading habits before starting school.
Apart from her Library Initiative, her songs have resonated deeply with people everywhere as they often captured the struggles of rural families and the rich simple joys of country life. With many people in Nagaland, who grew up listening to her music, and still feel nostalgic at the sound of it, "we were not going to pass on a chance to honour the Queen of music and reading" in the words of Yirmiyan Arthur Yhome, founder of The BookHome Library in Kohima.
The BookHome Tribute to artist Dolly Parton featured "book reading on Dolly Parton" and "sing along to performance by MJ Jamir" on September 12.
In the year 2016, the featured artist, MJ Jamir from Nagaland took the internet by storm with her casual performance of "Coat of many colours." She had revealed in an interview a couple of years later that her cover of “Coat of many colours” by Dolly Parton would always remain the highlight of her musical journey while stating that although it was a random cover, she received heartwarming feedbacks from all over the country and that, it gave her a reason to keep going.
Speaking about the Tribute by The BookHome, Yirmiyan Arthur Yhome related that, "it’s actually very simple- Dolly Parton is called the Book Lady" while pointing to her Imagination Library that started as a tribute to her dad who was illiterate.
"I was in New York when she died and I saw the outpouring of grief not just by musicians and creative artists but libraries and schools and bookstores and children educators", she told The Morung Express.
Yirmiyan also spent half a day at Strand Bookstore in Manhattan, the largest independent bookstore in New York. Recalling that they had a whole section as a Dolly Parton tribute, she said that, "that struck me hard too, and I bought 2 children’s books on her from this shop." During the special Tribute for Dolly Parton at the BookHome, she also read from one of the books even while underlining that, "her contribution to promote children reading is unparalleled."
Further expressing that, "we are from this beautiful mountain town of Kohima and Dolly Parton loved and always spoke about her Smokey mountain town in Tennessee", she also stated that, "that connect has never left me."
"And 2 generations (or more) of Nagas have grown up to her music. She brings together two things that I feel deeply about- music and children’s literature", she added.
