The North East Festival, which has become a permanent fixture in the national capital's events map, promises to be bigger in its fourth edition this year with a rock music contest among colleges and bands of Delhi one of the new additions.
To be held at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts here from November 4-6, the three-day festival aims to promote the resplendent culture all the northeastern states including food, fashion, handicrafts, music, dance, tourism, creative performances and much more.
There will also be discussion sessions with all stakeholders on key issues affecting the region besides an exhibition of products from the northeast called 'Make in North East Exhibition' by around 100 entrepreneurs from the region.
The theme of this edition is 'Connecting People, Celebrating Life'.
The rock competition titled 'North East Festival Rock Battle', however, will be organised on October 28 and 29 at Dilli Haat wherein 60 bands will perform. The winning band stands a chance of winning a trip to Dubai, with the second and third placed getting a trip to a domestic destination.
Musicians like Bollywood singers from Assam Papon and Zubeen Garg, rapper Borkung Hrangkhal and DJ Zaeden and rock bands Traffic Jam, Fourth Element, Mo & The Shooting Stars, Reverse Tragedy and many more will perform.
Raax Leela of Manipur, around 20 folk dance forms, along with the famous Ram Vijay Ankia Bhaona of Assam will be presented by Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Fashion shows comprising the best northeast handlooms will be showcased by around 20 young designers and models of the region. For gastronomes, an exotic collection of delectable cuisines from the eight states with around 30 food stalls will be on offer.
Besides displaying traditional sports of the northeast, the festival will also have live art, a photography exhibition showcasing the vivid wildlife and natural beauty of the region, an art workshop with 20 young artistes of northeast and plenty of interactive games.
According to Shyamkanu Mahanta, chief organiser of the festival, one of the core objectives will be to promote tourism in the region with plenty of tour operators and tourists slated to attend it.
Besides, it will also be a platform to promote business for northeast entrepreneurs, apart from building bridges with Delhi, he said.
"This year we will be holding a seminar on flood and erosion that affect the region. Experts from IITs across the country will discuss about the Brahmaputra to find a permanent solution to these issues along with stakeholders of NER.
"The seminar will be presented by Water Resources Department, government of Assam and will see participation from various multilaterals and the central government. Assam Tourism will be presenting a seminar on 'Awesome Assam' with tour operators across the country. There will be discussion on sports, B2B meets on tourism and many more," he said.
