HYDERABAD: They are an integral part of Hyderabad that one comes across every day, whether it’s in Begumpet or Hitech City.We are not talking about techies but the North Eastern youngsters. With their annual festival, KUT, which is similar to Pongal, falling on Monday, the sizeable community is all set to celebrate it with traditional fervour. Over 500 boys and girls along with their families gathered at the Birla Science Center auditorium on Saturday for the Freshers’ Meet-cum-KUT Celebrations 2011’ and had loads of fun.The cultural get-together had both young and old dressed in traditional attire. While thrilled youngsters cheered their own, elderly gentlemen and women took a nostalgic trip down the memory lane back to their good old days. The event, organised by the Kuki Students’ Organisation, Hyderabad, was intended not only for cultural bonding but also for celebrating and promoting the unique and diverse cultures of the various tribes of the North East. The theme of the event was “Celebrating Cultural Oneness.”KUT, a post-harvest festival, is the most important festival of the Chin- Kuki- Mizo communities of the North East. The festival is also known amongst different tribes as Chavang Kut, Khodou, et al. “The festival is a gesture of thanks-giving comprising songs and dances and is celebrated in honour of the Supreme Being who is believed to be the giver of abundant harvest,” explained Grace, a graduate of the National Institute of Fashion Technology.The students electrified the atmosphere with a ramp walk wherein the boys wore robes called ‘Thangnanag’ and women wore ‘Khamtang’. They also performed various traditional dances as well as a few popular numbers from Bollywood. The most popular song at the fest was, however, a group song appreciating ‘sekmaizukha’, a favorite indigenous liquor from ‘sekmai’ region.This is also the annual occasion for welcoming members of the community who have arrived in the city recently for educational or professional reasons. “As more and more of our student community come to big metros, it is important that we continue to cherish and preserve our unique and diverse cultures wherever we are. It is in this spirit that we have organized this celebration here,” said Francis O Haokip, president of KSO. Annie Jose, Principal of Eashwaribai School of Nursing, one among the invited guests, had a great time knowing the culture and tradition of the communities of North-East India. “These are immensely talented kids who go neglected. The display of their unity is wonderful,” she observed. Karam Komireddy, who was one of the chief sponsors, was all praise for the organizers and the community. “The blanket opinion about the people of North-East India is meaningless. They are very vibrant and colourful in culture and nature. It was a visual treat to witness the traditional performances here,” he said.
Comments
0 comment