The two day North East festival in Delhi on January 19-20 last is appropriately named , ‘Cultures of Peace.’ Organised by a publication organisation, Zubaan in collaboration with event management NGO, Khublei, the festival drew a huge audience on both days. Unfortunately the bulk of the audience were students and professionals from the region who are currently based in Delhi. The idea of having a conference, workshop or cultural fest of the North East in Delhi is mainly to educate the obtuse and indifferent population of the national capital about the rich cultural heritage and history of the region. But, while conferences on esoteric topics organised by lesser known organisations are well attended by the eclectic intellectual class of Delhi, this particular conference which prised open several aspects that trouble the region and were articulated very candidly by speakers from all seven states, did not excite that same crowd despite the media preview.
The reasons why Delhites did not attend could be varied. On 19th January the rain Gods poured their wrath with unseasonal heavy downpour. This clogged the streets and sent the temperatures a few notches down. Then the publicity campaign could have been better. The organisers created a facebook page and invited people there. They got several hundred hits but those who liked the page were not necessarily from Delhi and could not be physically present. It was a shame because the folk music was incredibly melodious, the discussions vibrant, the dances exquisite and the films educative and poignant. Zubaan pulled all the stops to make this festival a success and in terms of attendance they could not have asked for more except that we from the region ended up talking about ourselves to ourselves. There’s got to be a better way to make a splash in Delhi.
However, there were stirring narratives and stories of courage and strength that were new even to the North Easterners. That there are at least four eating joints in Delhi serving Naga food is not known to all. Two of them in Green Park are fine dining spaces. One in Hauz Khas serves authentic Naga food as confessed by the owner herself who sources her herbs, fermented bamboo shoot and soya bean from Nagaland. All three are run by enterprising Naga women who shared that it was an uphill task but not an impossible one. This story has got to be the highlight of the Festival. It’s a story of new beginnings away from home, where young women are no longer hurting but enjoying their new found freedom.