Quaint Essense is a newly formed organisation, which is keen to become the window of the world, to view the North East. North East has its pristine hills, valleys, rivers, traditions, customs, both universal and quaint at the same time. Sometimes, it is this speciality of the North East, that gives rise to many myths, misinterpretations and the mysteries. So, it is encouraging to learn that an organisation (Quaint Essense) has volunteered to represent and showcase the North East to the world. The President of Quaint Essense is Aiyushman Dutta, a journalist cum critic, who has made some interesting forays into the North East’s folk, art, culture and music. With this workshop, he has proceeded to showcase the eclectic cuisines of the North East. This food festival was sponsored by the North East Zone Cultural Centre, Government of India.

The food fest organised in Shilpagram on October 13 and 14, did not prove to be a usual merrymaking kind of festival, rather, it proceeded to provide some food for thought. On both the days, there were paper presentations which dealt with the connections between cuisine and culture, and cuisine and customs and traditions. The chairperson was Dilip Tamuly, who is interested in socio-cultural and historical aspects of the North East. Papers were presented by Dr Ailynti Nongbri, Paramita Livingstone, Villoli Achumi, Jyoti Das, and Rajib Bora, who presented some knowledgable insight into food, and how it affects our lifestyle, culture, tradition, and also regarding its socio-economic implications. Our food has also led to geographical commonalities with cross-cultural references. We share many affinities relating to food with our oriental cuisines. It is only in workshops like these, that you actually understand how close such ties are. The paper presentations were luckily not just recipes and ingredients, but also went far beyond the taste buds to see how it affects our living practices. A documentary shown on the occasion, which peeked into the food habits of the Sumi, Angami, Ao and Lotha tribes of Nagaland. It recorded the traditional dishes and the preparation of food by these tribes, as well as some of the unique plants and herbs.

The food fest had musical flavours and spices, too, and one evening was devoted to music. It was organised by Rock-a-Rolla music society, a friend of the North East, which also aims at providing the world a taste of the region. So, various local bands like Hammer Heads, Doth, Moonwind, Dark Horizon jammed, and one got to hear both metal, as well as popular Western numbers. There were food stalls, too, and so, people swayed to the feat of music and savoured the ethnic Northeastern delicacies. It was indeed the quintessence of the North East.

Meenakshi Gautam