Sixth Edition Of ‘Rongali’ Gets Underway in Guwahati

Stalls local entrepreneurs, startups attract visitors  

HT Bureau

Guwahati, April 8: The sixth edition of Rongali, Assam’s biggest cultural and colourful extravaganza on Friday inaugurated by Keshab Mahanta, minister of Health & Family Welfare and Science and Technology, Information & Technology Departments in Government of Assam, Atul Bora, minister of Agriculture and Bimal Borah, minister of Sports & Youth welfare at the Veterinary College Ground, Khanapara amid much fanfare.

Around 200 entrepreneurs including self-help groups, start-ups, agri-entrepreneurs, weavers, artisans, farmer producing companies, Government agencies and industrial organisations showcased their products in the festival’s ‘Vocal for Local’ exhibition, which attracted thousands of visitors’ attention.

The exhibition was especially curated with an objective of providing the budding entrepreneurs a much-needed refreshing platform and market for displaying their products after the lull period of the economy during the coronavirus pandemic. The exhibitors displayed their home-grown products including Gahori brand of meat, Bahubali eggs, Repose, Kanyaka and Gorukhuti.

“Entrepreneurship has always been a major focus of Rongali since its inception in 2015. While entrepreneurship is still lacking and requires a push in Assam especially after the adverse effect of Covid in the economy, we are aiming at creating an ecosystem for entrepreneurship through this festival. We have given a platform to 200 entrepreneurs to showcase their product. Besides that, we have everything for every age group in this festival. We have Assamese food exhibition and competition, Bihu competition, Hip-hop stage, Music and cinema, craft bazar, food stalls among others. This festival is just a one stop destination for the whole family to spend their day,” Shyamkanu Mahanta, chief organiser of Rongali said.

The three-day festival, which is back after a gap of two years, organised an elaborate Assamese food spread that incorporated all the natural and herbal ingredients the state produces. The tribal food exhibition and sweet dish competition boosted the sustainability, high nutritional properties and usage of eco-friendly products right from the preparation to presentation of the cuisine by the people of the region.

In the sweet dish competition, organised by Priyobondhu, 32 participants presented various pitha (rice cakes) like Til Pitha, Narikol Pitha, Ghila Pitha, Narikol Ladoo, Hutuli Pitha and Tekeli/Ketli Pitha. There was also a special Ramzan spread for a sweet dish which had Kheer made with sticky rice, jaggery and milk. The food exhibition, curated by food researcher Dr. Geeta Dutta, saw the tribal food spread of various tribes of Assam including Tiwa cuisine, Sonowal Kachari cuisine, Rabha cuisine and Karbis cuisine.

The festival also organised a three-day Ankiya Bhaona Competition, where everyday two groups across Assam will present this traditional form of art. Day 1 of Rongali saw Guwahati’s Gandharba Kala Kendra’s performance of Chor Dhora by Madhavdev and Jorhat’s Manjula Kalakendra’s performance of Patni Prasad by Sankardev.

Rongali ends on April 10.