New Delhi: Delhiites will get a chance to savour ethnic delicacies of the northeast like Aksa-Dol and Ngatok at a festival here this week showcasing the rich culture, food habits, tradition and diversity of the region.
The first North East Festival at the Indira Gandhi National Centre For the Arts on November 8 and 9 will be a potpourri of events in a carnival format with live musical performances throughout the day in the amphitheatre while serious discussions on business, economy, social-political issues of the region will take place in the conference halls.
The event is organised by socio-cultural trust Trend MMS in association with North East MP’s Forum and IGNCA, with support from the Ministry of DoNER, North East India Image Managers and various students’ organisations.
The idea behind this unique festival is to bridge the gap between the northeast and other parts of India and promotion of myriad tourist spots and music culture of the region among others, the organisers say.
Both the evenings would see some of the best performing artists from the northeast making a mark in national and international arena performing live at the main stage area, while there will be exhibition of handloom and handicraft items at the exhibition area.
Bollywood singers from Assam Zubin Garg of ‘Ya Ali’ fame and Kalpana Patowary, who has sung the chartbuster ‘Gandi baat’, rockstar Lou Majaw, Manipuri folk musician Guru Rewben Mashangva and rock band Alobo Naga will be among the performers.
There will be a special tourism zone as well, wherein 25 tour operators from the region will take visitors through a virtual tour of the northeast and also spot sell various travel packages at special rates.
One of the biggest attractions of the fest is the North Eastern Food Zone wherein chefs Mary Lalboi and Atul Lahkar will serve ethnic food from all the eight states and various tribes and communities of the region.
The menu at the food zone also includes Dohkhlieh (pork meat salad), Sana-Thongba, (paneer curry with herbs), smoked fish, Jadoh (minced pork with rice), Kappa (Chicken curry with soda), Maroi-Bora (snacks with herbs) and Iromba (an eclectic combination of fish, vegetables and bamboo shoots).
The opening day will see speakers with strong connections with the region deliberate in a seminar on ‘Look East Policy and Internal Security of North East’.
The participants include Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami, actor Victor Banerjee, former foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai, former home secretary G K Pillai, peace process interlocutor P C Haldar and Land Ports Authority of India Chairman Y S Shahrawat.
The second day will have two sessions – a B2B Session on North East Tourism “Paradise Unexplored” and “Empowering North East- Entrepreneurship in the North East- Success Stories, Skill development strategy”.
People will also get a chance to interact with northeast icons like Olympic medallist boxer M C Mary Kom; Anshu Jamsenpa, the only mother whole scaled Everest twice; and Bolywood actor Adil Hussain, who is also the brand ambassador of the event. (PTI)
