They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Without any gender bias, one can agree that apart from music, if there is one art that binds humanity together, it is the culinary art. So, we have culinary art marching ahead by leaps and bounds. It is both merging and demarcating geographical barriers. Today, food does not just mean whipping up a gourmet meal. Rather, there is painstaking research to find out about people, cultures, rituals, traditions, festivals, heritages, climates – its impact on food and vice-versa. Food can today be understood in terms of the politics of culture, habits, rituals, practices and even superstitions.

Keeping this in mind, with the support of the North East Zone Cultural Centre, the Ministry of Culture is organising a programme on October 13 and 14 at Shilpagram to showcase the exclusive ethnic cuisines of the region and the manner in which it has helped to define the lives, culture, religion and practices of the people of this region. What is unique about this festival is that there will be paper presentations by experts in this field and screening of films and documentaries, too. And for food lovers, of course, there will stalls to taste the different cuisines of the North East.

It is not that no research has been done so far on the cuisine of the North East, but it has not been incisive enough and has mostly been limited to preparations of different dishes and commonality as far as the ingredients of the dishes are concerned. This fest aims to emphasise how food is not just an important element to satisfy our taste buds, but is intricately woven into our daily life. A workshop like this will highlight the intricacies and common elements shared by the North East with its neighbouring countries.

“Today, when people are getting increasingly conscious about the food they eat, Northeastern food, with their nutritional value and simple methods of preparation, can easily be promoted as one of the healthiest, tastiest and most wholesome cuisine.” This is how Aiyushman Dutta, a veteran journalist and lover of the North East and one of the key founder members of ‘Quaint Essence’ eulogises.

The most unique aspects of Northeastern food are its simplicity and detectable aroma. There is a riot of flavours and tastes besides, of course, its traditional charm and wide array of medicinal values. This is what makes it so invigorating and a fantasy for the taste buds. From banana to bamboo shoots, from pickled pork to smoked fish and rice cooked in bamboo hollows, North East’s imaginative culinary versatility is both a feast for chefs, food lovers and connoisseurs.

Jyoti Das, an authority on Northeastern cuisine, says, “Here the ethnic cuisine is intrinsically related to traditions, values, belief systems.” For people of Assam, the ritual of cooking is akin to prayer and feeding a guest equates to feeding the Lord Himself. Preparation of food for different occasions is done with ritualistic cleanliness and customary hygiene. So, for people living in this corner of the country, cuisine is more than just a source of sustenance and nourishment. It is rather a definition of life itself. In fact, the cuisine of the North East has almost succeeded in creating an aura of mystery and wonder.

The North East is an unexplored paradise with pristine beauty and splendour. Besides the diversity of customs, traditions and rituals, what has rendered the North East unique with its inspired aura of mystique and splendour has been its cuisine. A North East cuisine fest is not only welcome for lovers of food, but also scholars who are constantly in search of unity in diversity of the North East.

But it is not just food and research that the Quaint Essence food fest boasts of; there is more to it. There is music along with food. Rock-a-Rolla Music Society, a society bent on keeping the music, traditions and customs of the North East alive and flying high, will bring together eminent musicians Utpal Borsaikia, JP Das, Dhruva Sarma, Rabiul Islam, Hriday Goswami, musicians cutting across generations, from the oldies to the current music crazy generation of musicians. So, it will really be a feast for the senses. There will also be a number of bands, namely Dark Horizon (EP Release), Silver Tears, Hammerhead, Buddha Project playing on October 13 at Shilpagram. So, head to Shilpagram and quench your hunger for food and music.

Meenakshi Gautam