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Guwahati: The biggest and the most colourful festival of Assam, Rongali is back after a gap of two years owing to the coronavirus pandemic. The three-day event will commence on April 8 at Veterinary College Ground, Khanapara, Guwahati, and will be inaugurated by the Assam Chief Minister Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma. The sixth edition of the fest is emphasizing Vocal for Local and conducts an exhibition that will see the attendance of 200 entrepreneurs, self-help groups, start-ups, agri-entrepreneurs, weavers, artisans, and farmer-producing companies, government agencies, and industrial organisations.
Inspired by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam, Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma; the ‘Vocal for Local’ Exhibition will be the main focus. Rongali will showcase products made in Assam such as Gahori brand of meat, Bahubali eggs, Repose, Kanyaka, and Gorukhuti, plenty of products by Start-Up entrepreneurs, a large exhibition of Agro & allied products by APART, spectacular Assam handloom products to be displayed by weavers and artisans across Assam, wide variety of craft products and many more.
Food is a major component of Rongali. Food attracts tourists and has the potential to contribute to tourism. Various cuisines from entire India will be on display at Rongali. Ethnic, local, spectacular varieties of food of various Assam’s tribes and communities e.g. Bodo, Missing, Karbi, Tiwa, Dimasa will be presented during Rongali. The food exhibition will be curated by food blogger Dr. Geeta Dutta will present myriad dishes from all the tribes and communities of Assam. NGO, Priyobandhu will organize a food competition of ethnic foods, Veg, Non-veg, and Sweet Dishes with a large no of participants across Assam.
“We started Rongali in 2015 with an aim to showcase the ethnic mosaic of Assam and promote the spectacular music, dance, crafts, and food culture of the state. Over the years, Rongali has become a meeting point for various communities on one colourful mosaic of Assam, Rongali has become a platform for budding artists, and entrepreneurs, it has gotten lots of attention from tourists also.
Rongali 2022 will also bring entire facets of Assam under one roof. Bodo, Missing, Dimasa, Rabha, Gorkha, Tea tribes, Moran, Karbi etc various communities will display their colourful culture. Musical bands, designers, and artisans are coming in big numbers from various council areas to perform in Rongali. A Special Exhibition of Tea tribe communities will be a major attraction.
Through the ‘Vocal for Local’ exhibition. We are trying to create a market for these community-based entrepreneurs, whose crafts suffered a lot during the lull period of the coronavirus pandemic. Multi-cuisine food exhibition has always been a major attraction of the festival. This time special importance has been given to the expansion of Assamese food. In addition to this, attractive shops of Assamese and Indian food have been arranged in Rongali,” said Shri Shyamkanu Mahanta, Chief Organiser, Rongali.
As Rongali is happening during the spring, Bihu Husori and Bihuwati competitions will be one of the major attractions of the festival. Bihu Husori teams are coming across Assam. Attractive prizes with a first prize of one lakh each is on cards. There will be a competition of 500 years old Ankiya Bhaona, the creation of the greatest Assamese of all time, Mahapurush Sankardeva will be on full display, Ram Bijoy, Rukmini Haran, Parijat Haran etc. will be performed. Rongali’s focus has been always on creativity. Over the years Rongali has given a platform to new talents and created artists of stature like Shantanu Hazarika and many more. Around 50 Artists will showcase their artwork at Rongali.
In order to nurture the talents of musicians of Assam, there will be an Open Mic, Hip Hop stage where music, poetry sessions and other activities will be held. Artists will also present folk music and independent music. As music binds people together, ‘Rongali Good Vibes Music Stage’ will have fresh and some of the famed names in the line-up including Sannidhya Bhuyan, Bhaskar Opswel, Dipakshi Kalita, Prabin Bora, Diptanil Baruah, sister duo Aparupa Satrupa and many more along with Zubeen Garg, Raghu Dixit, Bipul Chetri. Rongali will organize special screenings of blockbuster Assamese movies such as Hiya Diya Niya, Mission China, Ratnakar among others in association with the Assam State Film Finance & Development Corporation. On 8th evening, Dr. Bezbaruah 2 produced by AM Television’s music and poster release will be organized before the performance of Zubeen Garg.
Handloom is a big strength of Assam. Rongali will present spectacular fashion shows by the best designers, models, and showstoppers, who will showcase the rich handloom and fabrics of the region. One of the major attractions of Rongali this time is Shruti Haasan, a Bollywood star and musician, who will be present at Rongali along with talented artists from Assam Shantanu Hazarika. Plenty of tourists and tour operators will be visiting Rongali.
Some of the most outstanding young entrepreneurs will be felicitated during Rongali. Also in fashion, many celebrities will walk the ramp.
Rongali will be the biggest ever event in Assam, Entry is free. The programme will start from 11 AM to 10 PM.
