Grandeur from the North East

KOCHI: Artists from three North East states wowed audiences with mesmerising folk dance forms and music on Tuesday at the North East India Fest that was organised jointly by the Bharat Bhavan and South Zone Cultural Centre. The event that was held at the Lokdharmi Nataka Veedu saw around 45 artists presenting group items and individual performances.

According to the organisers, artists from Tripura, Assam and Manipur took part in the event. "The dances had intrinsic steps that were executed in a graceful manner by the performers. For example, the hojagiri from Tripura had dancers singing while balancing themselves on earthen pitchers and managing other props with expertise that can be only achieved through strenuous training," said an organiser.

There were six dances at the 90-minute event. Artists from Assam performed the traditional Bihu and Bodosikhla dances. "While everyone is acquainted with Bihu, Bodosikhla was a new experience for the audience," he said. Bodosikhla is a folk dance that is performed by the Bodos. The dance is performed during the Vishuva Sankranti festival. Women wearing colourful dresses perform to the accompaniment of flute, split bamboo and the long drum. 

Dancers from Manipur performed the Basant Rass and Thougal Jagoi. "Basant Raas reveals the sublime 
and transcendental love of Krishna and Radha along with the gopis while Thougal Jagoi is performed to please and worship the gods in the festival of Lai Haraoba," said the organisers.