The Rongali festival, held in Guwahati, Assam, celebrates the essence of Assam.
The festival provides you with an opportunity to see the various facets (cuisine, handicrafts, dance forms) of Assam. The festival aims at promoting Assam as a tourism destination, and attracts tourists (and tour operators) from all over India.
Assam is home to varied local communities like Bodo, Mising, Karbi Dimasa, Tiwa, Sonowal Kachari, Singpho, Deuri, Tai Phake, Thengal Kachari, Ahom, Bhatia and others, and you get to see their traditional houses, food, music, dance, and lifestyle.
Rongali festival is also a great platforms for Assam’s ‘neglected’ artistes, who get an opportunity to showcase their talents in front of a wider audience.
“Rongali is a concerted effort to create a niche in the country’s annual tourism festival circuit, with the objective of attracting people from India and abroad.”
Various workshop, musical performances, photography exhibitions, sport activities are conducted as part of the the festival. Large musical festival where top rock bands, top Bollywood performers, top DJs will perform (Assam Tourism is also keen to make Guwahati the hub of music). Various sangeet competitions are held (amongst the colleges of Assam).
“A lot of people in India still don’t know about the northeast. Some of my friends in Mumbai asked me if Guwahati is in India or not. So, festivals like Rongali are a good initiative to make people aware. Such fests encourage people to visit the region. I also make sure to sing Bihu songs even if I perform in cities that are not part of northeast. That way, people get to know a little bit about Assamese folk songs and culture,” Assamese singer Anaya Brahma (from Guwahati), and a regular performer at northeast fests that are held in Delhi, Mumbai.
Also Read: Bollywood is yet to tap the beauty of the North-East.
Tourists can also participate in adventure sports such as Aero Sports like parasailing, paramotoring, hot air-modelling, para gliding etc, Trekking, boat race, adventure sports, as the festival aims to develop the Brahmaputra riverfront as a major centre for aero-sports.
Watch: Rongali 2017 Official Promo Video
Guwahati is the gateway to the Northeast, and the Rongali festival aims to provide a complete view of the state’s culture, traditions, lifestyle, cuisine, sports and other facets of the different tribes and communities in Assam & the North East.
Assam needed a festival on the lines of Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival and Rongali is expected to grow to that stature in the coming years.
