SHILLONG: India’s northeastern region is blessed with numerous rivers apart from the few mains that are widely known. The two-day Asian Confluence River Festival, 2016 titled ‘nadi listen to the river’ starting from July 15 is not only unique as the concept suggests but it actually accentuates and hurls a wide variety of dimensions about rivers than what we, by and large, conceive of them.
And none knows it better than the Director, Asian Confluence, Sabyasachi Dutta who has conceptualized this idea. “If you see then this entire region including Eastern India opening up to its immediate neighbours in South East Asia is a unique geographical formation replete with rivers – all merging ultimately into the one, Bay of Bengal,” he said giving a sense of the innate spirituality which is at the core of India and Asia at large.
In fact, if one rewind the history then it is impossible to do away the riverine routes, its trade, communication, connectivity, tourism and rest of it, that were part and parcel of the eras gone by.
This “river civilization” was a bustling network between India’s northeastern states and her immediate neighbours, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar, a geographically compact region in South East Asia.
This medium has since been seeing a downtrend with the advent of other faster modes of connectivity, or perhaps its viability that it can be an equally compatible mode of communication has never been thought of. If it is seen in right perspective then one can see that the port of Calcutta is nearer to the ports of Bangladesh by river than roads and rails. So does the northeastern region, which is geographically adjacent to its immediate neighbours, is nearer by the river routes than rest. This festival promises to delve on these aspects as the entire South East Asia is well connected by an elaborate network of rain and snow-fed rivers, a defining feature of the entire region that interlaces this region.
In this regard, Dutta observed that as the discourse between the member states of the region on connectivity and economic cooperation takes further shape, constructive use of rivers respecting riverine connectivity to enhance trade and development of service sectors such as tourism can add further impetus to the initiatives. “If the rivers are vibrant, forest grows, animals grows and with them trade and community,” he said.
A unique map in this regard that his centre has been prepared with the aid of global sources.
According to Dutta, credible civil society organizations, academia, individual entrepreneur, grass root level organizations must be mobilized to help create an atmosphere which can lead to organic growth bottom up and complement the synergies being created by governments and industry.
Organized by The South East Asia Centre of The Asian Confluence in collaboration with the Government of Meghalaya, the two-day festival will bring together all concerned to connect, deliberate, inspire and be inspired for all to recommit to a common vision they all nurture – clean environment, smooth and cheap connectivity, bustling trade and tourism.
The festival will cover broadly connectivity and environmental linkages, that is, rivers, rails, roads and people.
The valedictory function of this festival will be attended by Meghalaya Governor, V Shanmuganathan.
