bhubaneswar the city was a witness to a unique fashion show which offered glimpses of the trends and culture of northeastern states at the ongoing octave festival at utkal mandap on wednesday the threeday festival aimed at giving exposure to the culture tradition and artistic expression of the northeastern states the costumes of the region stood out with ankle length skirts jackets traditional caps wraparounds and shawls the bamboo crafts and silver jewellery lots of dry flowers and other accessories brightened up the dresses and brightened the atmosphere they looked really gorgeous in their traditional dress though i have some friends from the northeast i did not have the idea that their culture is so vibrant said mitali mohanty a mba student apart from costumes the festival also showcased classical folk dances tapestry music and food of northeastern states like arunachal pradesh meghalaya mizoram nagaland assam manipur sikkim and tripura about 200 artists performed at the mega cultural event and about 20 craftsmen exhibited arts and crafts the festival got a very warm response from the people in the city we wanted to create a bonding of friendship and unity among the states with the people of odisha said culture director sushil das the festival has been jointly organized by the eastern zonal cultural centre in association with the department of culture odisha after performing at bhubaneswar the troupes will showcase their programme at puri on january 30 taking the cultural tradition of northeast to the rest of odisha has been a difficult task because of distances and geographical limitations but the festival made it possible for many who really love to explore culture of other places das added