Cultural ambassadors from North East

Bringing to Hyderabad the experience of North East, OCTAVE the four-day cultural and craft festival started on the February 14 and will continue till the 17 of this month. Over 200 artists of 15 groups from Manipur, Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Sikkim will be performing regional dances and exhibit their crafts at the mela in Shilparamam.The artists are excited to here and perform for the people of Hyderabad.

Giving the glimpse into the performance would be like,head of one of the cultural groups said, “We are a group named Hoko and we perform the dance by the same name. We are from Meghalaya where this folk dance is performed during the wedding time. Thereis a total of 15 members in my group and we are doing this dance for 20 years now.”

Beh-Du is a dance that is performed during special occasions and pujas. It is worth watching it, says the troupe leader Rajesh. “We have been rehearsing from a long time and this is the first time that our team is in Hyderabad, which feels really great.”There is a folk dance from Assam called Bagurumbaand Nandlal, who has been dancing for four years explains, “We came with a fourteen-member group. We call this dance as pooja we perform it using Dahal and Tungri which needs a lot of practice.”

Rishanlang from Meghalaya, who is performing with his 13-member crew shares, “Ka Shad Mestieh is the dance we will be performing for the OCTAVE festival. This is the first time that we are going to perform in Hyderabad and this dance form is performed in our region during the Thanksgiving festival.”

Rikhampada, a dance form from Arunachal Pradesh is performed during the Nyokum festival. Dance troupe leader NabamSonilrelates, “This dance is specially performed by women since many centuries. I am sure that people will love and appreciate this performance.”Lai Haraoba a dance form from Manipur will also be performed at the OCTAVE festival. It is a performance where you find singers and dance together on stage.”

Rosiama from Mizoram shares, “We have two dance forms one is Cheraw which is performed using Bamboo and the other dance is Khuallam. Cheraw can be performed during any occasion and is a harvest dance whereas Khuallam is performed to welcome guests.”Vika from Nagaland says, “Our dance is known as Khupielilli; its origin is from the Portuguese tribe. Girls perform this dance during the June cultivation. It is a symbolic for merry making. Girls, who are not married yet perform this dance.”

Tamang Selois a folk dance from Sikkim, where girls and boys of Tamang community perform their instruments. Apart from all these dances they are also musicians, who will be performing on the stage for all the days of the festival. “We are called Rhythm’s of Manipur, which was established in the year 1985, which completes 35 years. Our group is supported by Ministry of Culture and we perform abroad as well. They are four lady drummers for OCTAVE and I think in India there are no other lady drummers. We will be drumming on stage; it is totally musical performance,” sharesSanatomba, a group member.