Delhi basked in the seven shades of northeast at the “Jhalak Poorvottar Youth Fest” held from January 11-13. This was to celebrate the unity of India, the youth and Swami Vivekanada’s birth anniversary. His sentiments for youth have been beautifully captured in these lines he said long time back — “Supreme value of youth period is incalculable and indescribable. Youth life is the most precious life. Youth is the best time. The way in which you utilise this period will decide the nature of coming years that lie ahead of you. Your happiness, your success, your honour and your good name all depend upon the way in which you live now, in this present period. Remember this.”
The event was organised by Integrated Talent Development Mission (ITDM) and its secretary, Hirak Jyoti Kalita , drew the link between youth and the leader. “Swami Vivekananda greatly emphasised on the power of the youth, for him they were the agents of change,” he said. The event started with a procession at the Red Fort on a misty winter morning. The colourful tableaus went around Old Delhi displaying the art, culture and textiles from all the north-eastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. The audience sat in rapt attention as 150 artists performed at Siri Fort Auditorium. Glimpses into the world of the land of seven sisters became vivid when the stage got set for folk dances like Sattriya Nritya and Bihu from Assam, Manipuri dance, Cheraw dance (also called bamboo dance) from Mizoram and Thang-ta, Martial art from Manipur. After the cultural programme there was a “Fashion Show” (Paridhaan) and a painting exhibition “Pradarshini” that attracted the art connoisseurs.
The most heartwarming part of the event was the co-ordiantion among students from different regions and participation of Delhi students as well. This was to bridge the gap between northeast and the rest of the country. The event ended with Bihu Sankranti — a potpourri of Bihu dance from Assam and Bhangra of Punjab.
