North East Festival,a two day carnival to be held in New Delhi during 8- 9 November, 2013 in New Delhi will showcase the region’s culture and heritage as well as present a case for the future of the region. North East India a hitherto lesser known part of India, will bring all its varied flavours together with serious discussions about the future of the region, which is greatly intertwined with the future of the country.
The two day event, biggest ever event on North East to be celebrated outside the region, will showcase all the eight states, their success stories, ethnic dances, top musical talents, tourism potential created by private tour operators, a photographic journey to the region known as ‘Paradise Unexplored’. The event would be made part of Delhi’s annual event calendar.
People visiting the event can expect festivity of the region by getting a first hand experience through traditional food stalls- North East Food brand is emerging,dance performance by tribal dance performers across the State, Musical performance top artistes of North East like Zubeen Garg, Bhojpuri Queen Kalpana Patowary, Lou Majaw, Guru Reban Masangwa, Alobo Naga etc. Tourism and Handloom & Handicraft are the key focus areas of the festival. Tour Operators of all the States would showcase their products, live demonstration of handloom & handicraft by North East artsans etc.
During the festival, discussions on various issues of North East would be highlighted. A session on India’s Look East Policy and Internal Security would be addressed by Mr. RanjanMathai, Former External Affairs Secretary, Mr. YS Shahrawat, Chairman, LPAI, Mr. DK Mittal, former Secretary- Financial Service a session on internal security would be addressed by Anil Goswami, Home Secretary, PC Haldar, interlocutor of North East peace process, GK Pillaietc would participate wherein stakeholders of North East including intellectuals and Government functioneries would participate. A B2B session on tourism would be attended by tour operators of Delhi and North East tour operators. Few successful entrepreneurs of North East who have braved insurgency and created wealth and employment in the region would also be highlighted. Some of the successful North Eastern personalities like Mary Kom, Adil Hussain, Arnab Goswami, Anshu Jensepa would also address about their journey. An ethnic North East fashion show would showcase best talents of North East.
Shyamkanu Mahanta, the Organiser- in- Chief, North East Festival said, “The event is organized by Trend MMS, the leading cultural trust of the region in collaboration with Ministry of DoNER, GoI, North East MP’s Forum and IGNCA, Ministry of Culture, GoI. This would be an annual event, henceforth. This year, the emphasis is on Tourism & Culture, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. It is an attempt to connect to people of various ethnicities and to encourage investment and progress.” Mr. Mahanta also informed an Organising Committee comprising prominent personality of the region like Dr. JayantaMadhab, Harishankar Brahma, Prof MrinalMiri, AlemJamir, WMS Pariat, Ranjit Barthakur apart from DoNER Minister, P S Ghatowar and MP, B P Baishya who is secretary of NE MP’s Forum is driving the event.
It may be mentioned that Trend MMS has made it headlines by organising Srimanta Sankaradeva Movementin New Delhi and Bengaluru and Samannay – a Musical Journey of Integration in various parts of Assam to promote peace and harmony.
Commenting on this, Olympian MC Mary Kom said, “I am coming to IGNCA, New Delhi on 8 and 9 November, 2013 to promote unique culture of Northeast, please come and join this unique festival of connecting people.” Actor Adil Hussain, who hails from Assam, opined that Northeast Festival is about celebrating the region, its vibrant culture, sporting achievements, tourism, prospects and to build bridges.