The cultural extravaganza of the North East states graced the capital in the third edition of The North East Festival. By Devi Singh
The exuberant milieu of the North East was recreated with prayer flags strung from the tree centred at IGNCA lawns in the third year of the North East Festival. Various stalls of handicraft, decorative flowers, jewellery, handloom, traditional clothes, et al from the states of the North East made for a vibrant spectacle. This year the festival engaged 60 artisans and textile entrepreneurs from the states in the North East region. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated the festival on Friday at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA).
The three-day long festival had performances by Aben, Traffic Jam, Abiogenesis, Pilgrim, Chakrabyuha, Nishant Hagjer and Parikrama. There were also ethnic dance performances, with exhibition of agro and horticulture products. The festival also threw light on some key issues concerning the region with various talks and discussions held on topics ranging from opportunity for Agriculture and Food Processing Industry, North East’s strategic importance to India to the conservation of the river island Majuli, the world’s largest river island being lost to erosion.
A glimpse of the North East fashion could also be seen from the indigenous designers such as, Achunbo (Nagaland), Adityam and Doichong Buchem (Assam and Nagaland), and Jagrity Phukan (Assam) who showcased some of their best creations. There were also film screenings, along with performances by big names like Zubeen Garg and lou Majaw.
Football is a major sport in the North East and has produced many of India’s top footballers. As a celebration of the association between the people of the North East and this wonderful sport, the North East Festival Football Cup was held in association with Indian Collegiate Athletic Program (ICAP) for the first time this year at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium from October 9 to October 15. The keenly contested tournament saw Sri Venkateshwar College winning the trophy.
Speaking on the same Shyamkanu Mahanta, chief organiser, North East Festival and head of socio-cultural trust Trend MMS, told us, “This year we organised a football competition where colleges from Delhi played against north eastern clubs which was a big hit. That’s our way to bridge the gap between the students of the two regions and do away with racism.”
“There was also a session on Act east policy where many intellectuals interacted discussing the issues of the North East,” added Mahanta.
This year’s event was packed with different forms of North Eastern music, exhibitions of tribes, freedom fighters, photographs, painting, cartoons, films, handloom and handicraft, and traditional sports of the region and dedicated food stalls serving delicacies of the eight states of the northeast. “We also had sessions where we concentrated on the freedom fighters from the North East and their struggle and contribution towards the Indian freedom movement as majority of people are not aware about it,” Mahanta added.
The organisers also tied up with the Delhi tourism this year to attract foreign tourists to the region. “A lot of foreign travellers come to Delhi in the month of October so what we did is we collaborated with the Delhi tourism and they instructed their tour operators to bring the foreigners here so that we can have interactions with them and lure them to visit our states. So as a whole we have tried to come up with a very different product this year,” explained Mahanta.