Cultures amalgamate at North East Tibetan fest

In an evening of its kind, ‘Footprints 3.0,’ a cultural fest dedicated to the Tibetan and Northeastern states of India, flung open a platform for the Northeast and Tibetan students to expose their much unexplored culture, gifting everyone, an extravagant cultural and musical bonanza on February 6 at St Joseph’s College campus.

Expressing his attachment to Northeast, Hans Raj Bharadwaj, Governor of Karnataka and the Chief Guest of the event said that he had been attached to the Northeast right from his early days of his political career. “I have known every leader of the Northeast and all these have brought me very close to the region,” he said.

Reminiscing on his past experiences, he said that he had laid the foundation of Nagaland High Court only with the view that students would join bar and become judges and lawyers and shoot into the mainstream of the country. “That was my vision to develop good institution for higher learning of northeast,” he pointed. Appreciating colleges that strived to promote friendship and goodwill among students coming from varied communities, he opined that such colleges served the country in the most dignified way. “I am proud that such institutions as this one are doing an outstanding and constructive work,” he acclaimed.

Highlighting on ‘family, unity in diversity’ as the mantra of St Joseph’s College, Fr Ambrose Pinto, Principal, said, “The College appreciates every culture and community with their differences. Through our commitment to the love of diversity, we desire to make a thousand orchards bloom in this campus.”

Terming the fest as ‘unique and the only one of its kind’ among all colleges in Bangalore, Fr Pinto further said, “Footprints signify a musical note and convey harmony through the folk, classical dances, music and food of Northeast states. There is no better way to safeguard diversity than providing opportunities for performance.”

Based under the theme ‘A cultural Amalgamation’, the fest was organised by the North East and Tibetan Forum of St Joseph’s College with the main objective of bridging cultural gap and help bring students of different states together in showcasing their distinct culture and traditions.

The four hour fest was laden with a medley of many tribal dances and songs, each carrying a particular meaning like dances signifying victory, sadness, expression of love and spreading message of unity and peace. The famous Bihu dance of Assam and got the maximum cheers from the audience.

The event wrapped up with the much awaited traditional ramp walk where students walked the ramp in sync with the crowd happily cheering away. They proudly displayed their colourful cultural attire with their expressions clearly indicating the zeal of bringing their culture into the limelight.

Hoards of people who came to witness the event swarmed the food stalls that sold Northeast cuisines. A delighted student of Jain College, Banjubi Barowa, happily savouring meat pickle said, “I came just to accompany my friend, but I never thought I would have such a nice time being here. I loved the traditional ramp walk and, of course, the food.”

- Therali Ovung I M S Com

Pics by Melwyn Pinto SJ