Northeast Festival 2022: Assam Singer Zubeen Garg strums up the night, scintillating fashion shows showcase talent

Despite the winter chill, thousands of visitors gathered at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in New Delhi to attend the ongoing North East Festival. After two years of pandemic-induced lull, the festival is back in its vibrant avatar. 

The four-day carnival which began on December 23 has witnessed impressive footfall of foodies, shoppers, and music and travel enthusiasts. 

Curious visitors were seen enquiring travel prospects and packages; several showed interest to learn about the rich culture and heritage of the region through professional tourism courses.

“I have read about North East India but never got a chance to visit the region. However, I would love to plan a trip to the tea gardens of Assam. I tasted some regional varieties at the North East Festival and was amazed to know about their origin and other details. My favourite was Bluepea Tea and Singpho tribe’s Phalap tea. I even ordered a few kgs of different varieties from two stalls at the fest. I also bought a couple of Naga and Manipuri attires. The motifs, fabric, and colours are mindblowing,” said an aspiring fashion designer Chandni Makhija from NIIFT, Delhi.

Supreme Court advocate Harkrishna Nahata and his family and friends were seen indulging in juicy Pork Ribs, Fish Fry, and Chicken Momos, paired with Zutho [Naga rice beer] and enjoying the winter sun. 

When asked if this was their first visit to the festival, Nahata said, “NEF is like our home; we attend it every year. This time I even got my friends to see the vibrant culture of the region. I have been to Meghalaya, Manipur, and Assam. Next year I am planning for Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh with a group of ten friends. I love the Northeast and its people; they are extremely humble, hospitable, and loving. I usually prefer staying at homestays. I am in talks with a travel agency and super excited to be exploring Shergaon in Arunachal; which has been on my list for a long time.”

The North East Festival has always aimed to build a formidable investment climate to transform the economic fortunes of the region and create a flourishing business and tourism destination in India. 

Chief organiser of the festival Shyamkanu Mahanta said, “We want to make an important contribution to the economic development of the region and provide opportunities for tourism and commercial outcomes by showcasing our diverse culture and heritage through various initiatives; such as B2B meets, tourism awareness programmes, and showcasing our food, music, art and craft. We have been able to help bring out the tourism potential of North East region and connect travel enthusiasts with tour and travel entrepreneurs.  I strongly feel our festival has the full potential to boost tourism in the region.”