Miss Northeast 2016, Northeast Food Festival and the Northeast ki Awaaz RJ hunt was organized on Saturday August 13, 2016 at Campus Crusade, Kamanahalli, Bangalore by the Northeast Solidarity, a Bangalore based NGO devoted to address the discrimination of Northeast community and build forums of friendship and solidarity. www.northeastfoodfestival.com/
The Miss Northeast 2016 was a beauty pageant with a difference where the contestants from 8 states of northeast India- Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim participated, representing their state, community tradition, customs, attire & culture and competed for the coveted crown!
Ms. Urmila Chanam, General Secretary articulates the vision behind Miss Northeast 2016, “To showcase the rich ethnic attire of the region, the exotic accessories and embellishments but most of all to build pride among our youth about our heritage and make them ambassadors of northeast culture and way of life”.
There was a total of four rounds in the beauty pageant with two jury rounds:
The first round – the Festival Round saw contestants in their cultural dress worn in their community at the time of a festival of their choice. The participants introduced themselves and also spoke about the costume they were wearing, elaborating on the significance of it. The second round was a collection of Robert Naorem.
The third round was the Cultural Dance Round where contestants had to wear their traditional attire worn in their community at the time of a cultural dance of their choice and had to showcase a glimpse of their cultural dance. This was also the jury round where each contestant had to answer a question from a jury. Following which ten finalists were selected for the next round.
The fourth and final round was the Wedding Round where all contestants had to wear costumes that are worn at the time of attending weddings or by brides in their state/community. Each finalist will be asked a question by a jury. Based on their ratings the three winners of Miss Northeast 2016 were declared.
The jury panel included Mr. Elvis Joseph, Founder Bangalore Sports School Foundation; Ms. Snigdha Khemkar, Radio Jockey and Autism Champion; Konica Khuraijam , Fashionista and Mentor Miss Northeast 2016; Robert Naorem , Designer; Tapan Khurana , from Eureka Forbes; Samuel, a martial arts expert and Balan Brahmachari, is part of the think tank of the oldest web based news platform in the northeast India, e-pao.
The Master (s) of Ceremony for the event Michelle Khiangte and Ekonthung Ezung, had the audience captivated right through the night. Poise, presence of mind, humour are just a few adjectives which fail to do justice to their compering.
Following the theme song “I have a dream”, Pinky Hodam performed the Classical Manipuri classical ‘Dasavatar’. Dr. Rini Ralte, President of the Northeast Solidarity welcomed the gathering and also traced the genesis of the organisation.
Ajay Chanam popularly known as AJ, an Indian Rock songwriter, Singer and Composer, performed at the event. (He has released three singles, ‘Yeh Pal’, ‘Choona Hai Mana’ and ‘Fly Away’ from his first album). http://www.ajaychanam.com/profiles
The Home Minister, for State G Parameswara, the guest of honour for the event, assuring the community also said, “North East states are considered the jewels of India. And Karnataka respects the rich culture, heritage, performing arts and food”.
Ms. Pinky Chandran and Lakshmi Karunakaran, spoke about the need for community radio, Radio Active CR 90.4 MHz, and vision of the new show “Northeast ki Awaaz”. The Minister released the jingle. The jingle was composed by Jeevan Claude D Souza
Mr. Marwan Abubaker spoke about the need for eco-friendly events and congratulated NorthEast Solidarity for taking the first step towards the same. Hasirudala serviced the event. A team of 20 waste-pickers worked round the clock, to achieve this.
On the side lines of the Miss North East, was the North East Food Festival, with exotic cuisines from Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
The event concluded with the crowning of the Miss North East 2016. The winners were:
Miss North East 2016 Kiyeni Zhimomi from Nagaland
1st Runners Up Tiabenla Longkumer from Nagaland
2nd Runners Up Karishma Patar from Assam
The crowns for the three winners was made of traditional head gear of the Sumi tribe from Nagaland and wasespecially made in Nagaland for the show. Each year, the crowns will be the head gear of a different community from the northeast. Miss Northeast 2015, Pulovi Awomi from Nagaland crowned the three winners of Miss Northeast 2016
Take a listen to the jingle
