The fact that Northeast India has a rich and varied cultural heritage is known throughout the world. Very few people, however, manage to experience the rich traditions and culture of the various tribes and communities here. Leave alone other nations, even other parts of our own country are found to be totally ignorant about the people of the region and their culture.
In a bid to highlight the rich cultural heritage of Northeast India and to showcase the art forms of this region, the North East Zone Cultural Centre (NEZCC) organizes the mega event, Octave – Festival of the North East. The Octave Festival, which tours different towns and cities of the country with artistes from the Northeast, is one of the biggest and most successful events organized by the zonal cultural centres of the country.
NEZCC is one of the seven zonal cultural centres of the country set up under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India by former Indian Prime Minister late Shri Rajiv Gandhi. All the States of North East India viz Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland, form the eight member-States of the premier cultural centre.
This year, Octave-2011 will tour the three cities of Madgaon (Goa), Nagpur (Maharashtra) and Raipur (Chhattisgarh) from 9th November 2011 onwards. Octave 2011 is slated to be the biggest ever confluence of artists from the region, informed NEZCC director Som Kamei. He said, “As many as 400 folk artistes from our 8 member-States have already gathered at the NEZCC Complex, Dimapur for a Cultural Camp-cum-Workshop. The outcome of the workshop will be a choreographed Folk Dance Show which will highlight the unique cultural identity of the North East to the rest of the country.”
Octave-2011 will be flagged off Nagaland Chief Minsiter Nephiu Rio this Monday on the sidelines of a public function to be held at the NEZCC grounds. The curtain raiser event will also include a well-choreographed presentation of all the folk dance forms of the region. Entry to the event is free for all.
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