Northeast's cultural diversity captivate spectators on penultimate day of Hornbill Festival

KohimaKohima: The penultimate day of the 10-day annual Hornbill Festival in Nagaland witnessed the cultural diversity of the eight northeastern states during a session titled 'Colours of Northeast India' on Saturday.

Organised by the Dimapur-based North East Zone Cultural Centre (NEZCC) under the Union Ministry of Culture, the vibrant show came up with colourful performances that kept the spectators mesmerised for around two hours at the Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, the main venue of the Festival, which began on December 1.

The session saw musical performances by cultural troupes from all the eight northeastern states -- Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Tripura.

The event was conducted by Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee and NEZCC Director Prashanna Gogoi, who was assisted by Rajesh Boro, Anjoy Kachari, Brajen Baro and Rajib Baro.

Over 1.20 lakh visitors, including around 2,000 international tourists, have visited Kisama, about 12 km from Kohima, during the past nine days to witness the Hornbill Festival, which is dubbed as the “Festival of Festivals”.

The festival is also a tribute to the great Hornbill, a bird revered by the Naga people for its alertness and grandeur.

The 10-day Hornbill Festival, an annual tourism promotional event of the Nagaland government, would culminate on Sunday evening with the unity dance to be performed by 18 tribes of the mountainous state.

On Saturday, cultural extravaganza also witnessed various tribes of Nagaland perform traditional dances and folk songs under the theme 'Cultural Connect'.