By Nimisha Medhi
3rd International Tourism Mart
SHILLONG: The 3rd International Tourism Mart organised by the Department of Tourism, Meghalaya, commenced at the State Convention Centre here with an inaugural ceremony. Stalls from different Northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Manipur, Assam and also a stall from West Bengal were set up to display and promote their various tourism ideas in order to open up new avenues for better prospects of tourism in these states.
Buyer and media delegates from around the world and from different regions of the country are participating in the Mart and will engage in one to-one meetings with sellers from the North East region.
Over 50 buyer delegates from ASEAN and SAARC countries including Japan, Korea, Australia, France, Spain, Russia, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, the U.K. and the USA are participating in the Mart.
The various stalls on display handed out elaborate brochures, prepared by the Department of Tourism of the states. The brochures and itineraries listed in detail the different tourist attractions and ventures by the government. Some of the stalls also exhibited a colourful fare of traditional products created by the local artisans of the state.
The stall from Arunachal Pradesh exhibited traditional garbs made by the Nyishi tribe; shawls, the head gear known as topia and the local dagger known as olyoo, made by the Apatani tribe were also on display.
Sanjeet Kumar Barchung, Joint Director, Sericulture and Weaving Department, talked about the products that were on display under the stall of Handmade Products of Meghalaya.
He said that the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo garments are made using three kinds of silks – Muga, Eri and Mulberry. Also, the vegetable dye, which is locally available, is being used to dye the garments. Barchung also mentioned that there are currently 30,000 weavers throughout the state and 35,000 poeple engaged in Sericulture farming. He then went on to explain how the products are then marketed through a number of selling outlets, one being the Handloom Production Centre situated in Garikhana.
The stall from Nagaland showcased two books for sale. First was a book on the Hornbill Festival, written by Susan Waten and edited by Aiyushaman Dutta. The other one was a book called “Birds of Nagaland” by Bikram Grewal, Sumit Sen and Ramki Sreenivasan.
A member from the Department of Tourism of Mizoram enthusiastically talked about the traditional Mizo garments in the stall. Some of items in the stall were the Siapscuap, a set of ancient garment worn by the women which consisted of a skirt and a vest made out of dried leaves or husks. Also there were Puanchei and Kawrchei or the decorative wraparound and blouse which are the trademark attire of the Mizos.
The stall by the Department of Tourism of Meghalaya however had the most number of products on exhibit, ranging from the traditional weaves to jewellery, instruments, utensils and many other products used in day-to-day life by the Khasi, Garo and Jaintia communities.
This International Tourism Mart also gave an opportunity to various cooperative societies to display their local produces on this distinguished platform. Apart from the exhibition of the stalls from the different states, there were also produces by a few co-operative societies from different districts of Meghalaya that were put up for sale. Some of these products consisted of jams, fruit drinks, pickles, traditional garments, tea, areca nut leaf bowls and plates, soap bars, honey, pepper turmeric, candles etc. The co-operative societies which came up with the local produces were the Registrar of Cooperative Societies of Meghalaya from Mowkyndeng in West Jaintia Hills, Meg Fruit Products, the Meghalaya Khadi & Village Industries Board, Nongthlung Women Weaving Co-operative Society from Diwon, Nongpoh, the Beekeepers Industrial Cooperative Society, the Urlong Tea Cooperative Society from Mawlyngot Village in East Khasi Hills and the Pynursla Sub Area Marketing Cooperative Society Ltd.
The International Tourism Mart on the whole is a great converging point for different cultures and traditions and is opportune for promotion and exchange of tourism ideas to boost the economy of the region.