the grounds of indira gandhi national centre for the arts ignca new delhi threw open a colourful extravaganza on the evening of 17th march as the curtains were raised on the north east india and south east asia intercultural celebration the venue for the evening was done up with bamboo cane and colourful buntings to give you a feel of south east asia it started with a glittering performance by the royal ballad from cambodia followed by kashat masti a colourful folk dance of meghalaya performed by male dancers with arrows and swords the evening got livelier with entertaining performances by artists from assam tripura and arunachal pradesh in bright feathery costumes a delectable array of cuisine from all eight states of north east india was put up at the food court that stayed open to late diners those with a penchant for oddball handicraft curious masks among other craft work were left spoilt for choice as master craftsmen exhibited a brilliant range of handicraft at the workshop we thought the expertise of the local talent was so finely brought out by this display ignca president chinmaya r gharekhan graced the occasion and said in his speech that the aim of the event is to bring the culture heritage art talent and skills of the eight states of north east to the fore he also added we are proud to be associated with indonesia cambodia malaysia and bali and are fortunate to have their cultural and academic support during the 4daylong celebrations you can experience some of the finest kaleidoscopic fusion dance performances put together by well drilled artists from thailand bali and java savor the nuances of regional delicacies at the food bazaar pick up some conventional craftwork and soak in the exotic sights and sounds screening of documentary films on the ethnic diversity and heritage of north eastern states will be a real treat for culture aficionados the event is a wonderful initiative to showcase the multiculturalism and historical affinities between north east india and south east asia and brings to the fore the creativity of the local artists the festivities will go on till the 20th of the month and will see the best of the north eastern indian culture participation from south east asian countries such as thailand cambodia and indonesia will only make the do more colourful follow us on twitter for more stories