DIBRUGARH, March 28 � The Fifth International Bodo Festival and Third Sonowal Kachari Cultural Festival got off today with the customary Bathou Puja and a marathon Lok Bihu performance at Khring Khring Baithow Cultural Complex Field at Mancotta, near here.
The five-day festival has brought together all the ethnic and linguistic groups of Kacharis like the Bodos, Rabhas, Sonowals, Lalungs, Mech, Thengal, Tiwa, Sarania, Moran-Mottock, Twipras, Deoris, Dismasas, Barmans, Garos, Hajongs, and Hojai Kocharis etc., from across the globe.
Thousands of people belonging to these ethnic groups have already converged at the venue from across the state as also from West Bengal, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya. Few foreign delegates from Nepal are also taking part in the five-day festival. Delegates from Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh are also expected to take part in the festival.
Biswajit Daimary, Rajya Sabha MP and president of the Bodo National Festival told The Assam Tribune that the festival would provide a platform to all the ethnic and linguistic communities of the Kacharis to come together. �It is our effort to work together for preservation, development and advancement of our culture, tradition and language,� he said.
Milan Sonowal, the Chief Executive of Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council (SKAC) and president of the reception committee of the event said that the festival would help the ethnic communities to know each other�s culture and traditions better. He also invited all the people to participate in the festival.
The festivity area is spread over 110 bighas of land at Mancotta and Hatimura village. The marquee itself is spread over 50 bighas with ethnic food festival village and stalls, exhibition zone, and the main jamboree hall. The 5000-capacity dinning hall, 3000-capacity artist village, house for the securitypersons, departmental offices, parking zones and so on have also covered a wide area of the land in the village.
Today�s event included Sonowal Kachari cultural competitions at Sonowal Bhawan within the carnival area, blood group test and eye check-up, opening of the ethnic food festival and inauguration of the exhibition stalls. The blood group test and eye check-up camp was inaugurated by Additional Deputy Commissioner P K Rajkhowa. Rana Bhuyan, Superintendent of Police inaugurated the food festival. Deputy Commissioner Aruna Rajoria did the opening of the exhibition stalls.
Events like seminars, interactions, cultural competitions, procession and release of books are some of the programmes that would unfold in the five-day festival.
Former Editor of Indian Express, AJ Philips and Editor of Asom Bani, Dilip Chandan are also expected to a talk programme being hosted by Dibrugarh District Journalists Association on March 31. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is likely to attend the open session on March 30.