New Delhi: To celebrate the rich culture, traditions, customs, and values, the sixth edition of the popular North East Festival, will kick-start on October 26 at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in Delhi’s Janpath.
Every year, Delhi’s largest cultural festival in terms of footfall, promises to be a colourful extravaganza, greater spectacle, bringing together the magnificent North East under one forum. The popularity of this festival is because of its enormous entertainment value and refreshing cultural content, which also attracts the attention of the Delhiites.
The North East Festival is also about bringing the serious issues of the region to the fore.
The process to update the National Registrar of Citizenship (NRC) of Assam has been in the news for the last few months. The Supreme Court-monitored NRC process aims at identifying illegal immigrants who came to Assam after March 25, 1971, the cut-off date fixed as per the Assam Accord.
This year, the people will witness a special seminar ‘NRC – Untruth, Half-Truth and Truth’, featuring some of the most noteworthy voices from the region, leaders from various tribes and communities, media houses, intellectuals, who will delve deep into the National Register for Citizens and its significance.
One of the main attractions of the North East Festival is the presentation of cuisines from the region.
This year, there will be more than 40 food stalls which will present varieties of North Eastern Food from Naga, Manipur, Assamese, Arunachali, Sikkimese, Mizo, Tripura and Meghalaya.
The region’s food is famous for the herbs and their health quotient, which will be showcased in plenty. Another attraction will be a presentation of organic fruits and vegetables of the region.
The festival will present three evenings of vibrant fashion – in which the most talented designers from the region such as Yana Ngoba, Barsha Aditya Singh, Rupert Lynrah, Escape Engmoiya, Sanghamitra Phukon, Bompie Riram, Jagrity Phukan, Khrielasier Liezietsu will showcase their creations with 30 of best Northeastern models.
A special Assam Handloom Exhibition is being held, as is an amazing fashion exhibition by fashion photographers of the North East.
The North East Festival Rock Battle which will see 25 of the top rock bands of Delhi’s biggest colleges fights it out in a competition.
Assamese new sensation Neel Akash and evergreen brand ambassador of North East festival, Zubeen Garg, Choir from Manipur, rapper Rahul Rajkhowa, Bollywood singer Papon, Voice of India winner Pawandeep Rajan, DJ MKSHFT, DJ Shameless Mani and many more are in the list to enthral people through their magical performances.
The festival is organised with support from various central government agencies, State Governments of North East, Socio-Cultural Trust, and Trend MMS in collaboration with IGNCA.
Founder and Chief Organiser of North East Festival, Shyamkanu Mahanta said, “The biggest positive of the North East Festival is that it has been able to connect with Delhi and helped in bridging the gap. It has helped in giving a platform for North Eastern people to showcase their talent to the people of Delhi. This year, the Festival promises to be even bigger.” (ANI)
