Delhiites are getting a chance to taste authentic spicy delicacies from the seven sisters at the ongoing ‘North East Culture & Food Festival’. Organised by the Park Hotel, the event ‘Expose North-East’ aimed to promote and expose the culture, traditions and especially the cuisine of the region.

“If Thai, Chinese and Japanese cuisine can be popular, then why not the delicious North-East dishes?” Ashish Chopra, Executive Director, Institute of Environment Management and Social Development and the co-ordinator of the event said.

Looking forward to bridging the gap between the North-East region and other parts of the country through perfect assimilation of cultural traits and food habits, Chopra said, ‘’I aim to expose the warm culture, varied traditions, exotic cuisine and the simplicity of the aboriginals across the country.’’ With the help of some other enthusiastic youths, he plans to organise such culture and food festivals in every part of the country. Incidentally, he has also authored a book ‘NE Belly: The basic North-East cook book’.

On offer at the hotel are exotic Pork dishes with “akhuni” and “anishi” or the bamboo shoots and “Laii saag”, the mouth watering “Masor tengi” (sour fish curry), “Matir dali” (black beans), “Khar” (vegetables with soda), “Koldil” (banana flower), “Posola” (tender banana stem) “Kumura Haah”, “Irromba”, “Bengena pitika” and many other items.

Alongside the assortment of 30 dishes, salads, chutneys and desserts, a photography exhibition of upcoming talents- Amit Sinha (Manipur) and Kenri Basar (Arunachal Pradesh) are also on display showing North-East and Delhi (monuments, portraits, life) through the eye of North Easterners.

Capturing the unique and wonderful moments of life and sentiments, Chopra, one among the band of photographers showcasing North-East through their lenses, said, ‘’we are giving the young upcoming talents a platform to show their works.’’ Another artistic visual medium of communication without words, a painting exhibition, was also on revealing the immense talent of young artists Jibesh Chakma and Ranjan Engti.

A scintillating musical performance by Mizo girls’ band brought about a perfect conclusion to the evening.

The rich cultural heritage of the North-Eastern region has often gone unnoticed. But one could not put the entire responsibility to the apathy of the mainland India towards the region. Insiders played a crucial role too. Take the example of Manipur, the land of jewel in North-East. Once Manipur had 58 cinema halls. But, as the time passed, some halls were converted into either shopping complexes or schools. The rest were, at present, were running Manipuri video films after replacing the 35-mm projector with a LCD projector. By 2002, Manipuri cinema was no more. Notwithstanding the fact that it had international recognition and played a major role in showing the unique culture and lifestyle of the people of the State and the region. Thus it is heartening to see that after a long time a Manipuri film was shown at the India international Film Festival, held in Goa recently. Cine-lovers once again have been able to watch the magic of the region. More importantly, they came to know that cinema in Manipur still exists despite hard times. Now it is time for the State Government and the cine-lovers of the State to make a rich dividend. Crisis for regional film industries in India is nothing new. Before Independence, Kolkata was the nerve centre of Indian cinema. But things changed over the years. Now Bolloywood occupies the place. But the cine movement in Kolkata or elsewhere had not died. Still, they are making good cinemas which more often than not get international acclaim. Recently, to bail out Assamese film industry from crisis, the Assam Government has announced a package to regain its lost glory. The Manipur Government should also follow its counterpart in Assam in this regard. The cine movement in Manipur should not be allowed to die because of neglect.   

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