To give people a glimpse of the rich culture of North East, including traditional dance forms, handicrafts, exotic food, handloom and handicraft products, music, art and films, eight state governments of North East, North East Community Delhi and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) are organising the annual North East Festival at IGNCA, Janpath here. Running in its fifth edition, the festival was initially established as an attempt to create awareness about North East India among people. However, this year, it will offer a treat to remember by bringing together fashion designers, music performers, artists, food curators and dancers under one roof.
Shyamkanu Mahanta, chief organiser, North East Festivals, says, “The idea is to help create an understanding among people about the north eastern region and familiarise them with the traditions and culture of North East. The festival will bring together beautiful art forms of North East along with exotics crafts of this region. We are getting 150 weavers/artisans from the grass-root level to show their magic in exotic handloom and handicrafts products. We have connected to some clusters such as Moga clusters of Assam and Nagaland. Handicraft products that are cane and bamboo-based will also be showcased.”
The festival will also bring the colourful mosaic of North East including 30 dance forms such as Naga warrior dance, Thang ta of Manipur, Hojagiri of Tripura, Bamboo dance of Mizoram, Wangala dance of Meghalaya, Lion dance of Arunachal Pradesh and many more. Famous Mukha Bhaona of Samaguri Sattra of Majuli of Assam will also present masks from Assam.
Women performing Bagurumba dance at North East Festival 2016. Bagurumba is a folk dance of Bodoland, Assam
Rhythms of Manipur, a group of 20 drummers from teh state, will perform. Elaborating on their performance, Rhythms of Manipur theme leader Sanatomba Singh, says, “We will perform three music compositions picking the quality and beauty of our state, Manipur. In our group, there are two drummers, three (women) sitar and xylophone players, a dancing drummer (who will dance along with drumming) and I will be playing pena, which is one of the oldest instruments of Manipur.”
Showcasing exquisite collection on the ramp will be 20 designers of North East who will add colours to the evening. Fashion designers Asa Kazingma, Payal Oshan Goswami, Mehzabin Eshad, Arita Kashyap and Payal Oshan Goswami have put together a unique showcase for the audience to fimilarise about the crafts and culture of their regions.
Fashion designer Payal Oshan Goswami, a third timer at this festival, feels proud to continue her participation at the festival. “This is a big festival. Showcasing our culture is great because in Gawhauti, we do a show in a month. However, in Delhi, North East designs are not easily available and people here eagerly await for an opportunity to experience our showcase.”
The Assamese designer is using Assam silk in the showcase. Talking about her collection, she says, “All costumes will be in silk—be it tussar, mulbery or Assam silk. I am bringing elegant designs that will use plain silk with small shorts and long jackets. It is a colourful collection. Focussing on winter, I have used jackets with shorts.”
This is the first time that organic fruits and vegetables—lauki, tindi, ginger, king chilli, green chillies, turmeric, Assam lemon, pineapple—grown by the local tribal farmers of the region will be showcased at the featival. Explaining the idea to bring forth organic food, Mahanta clarified, “People in Delhi do not get these products easily. We are bringing these from local tribal farmers from rural areas. Some of them are also involved in small time farming, organic farming, wood processing and make pickles as well.”
Singer Papon performing at North East Festival 2016
To pump up the spirits of people, the evening musical stage will see some of the finest musical talents of India. Several acclaimed artistes such as Papon, Zubeen Garg, Alobo Naga, rapper Borkung Hrangkhal, heavy metal bands Pulse Pandits, Girish & Chronicles (GATC), Traffic Jam, Avora Records, Lucid Reccess, International DJ Teri Miko and many others will perform under one roof. The daytime stage will see around 20 young musical bands performing non-stop. A three-days rock metal competition will be held among different colleges in Delhi.
Also, the food will also be a major highlight of this festival. Besides authentic hotels and restaurants' participation, this year around 45 stalls of Naga, Mizo, Assamese, Manipuri and exotic dishes will present delectable North Eastern cuisines, with predominantly non-vegetarian food. The festival is also a cultural treat for movie and art buffs. An exhibition of North Eastern films, art and photography, graphiti and doodle art will also present young artistes of the region.
The North East Festival will be held from November 3-5. The entry to the festival is free.
