GUWAHATI: The biggest kite festival in Guwahati is ongoing at the river bank opposite Fancy Bazar. The Silanoi Jeevan Kite River Festival has entered its 11th annual edition. Close to a hundred kites adorned the skyline complementing a pretty Guwahati sky and a sunset by the river on Sunday, February 13.
The festival will be an attraction for fun seekers and woke river lovers until February 16. Cultural events, music gigs, sports and adventure events are on the menu. Suresh Ranjan Goduka, Founder and Organiser of the Jeevan Kite River Festival describes the Kite River Festival as a cultural and creative festival where art pieces are displayed.
"An eco-friendly fashion show was organised, cultural events and musical gigs were being conducted. There are stalls for ethnic food. There are different competitions, exhibitions and many craft zones. Of course, kite flying is also an attraction.” the Founder of the festival says.
The festival is a hub for artists and creators who display their art and talents in the mega event every year. Artists and painters displayed their best piece in the Art Exhibition arena. Portraits, paintings, craft pieces and oil on canvases were lined up along wooden rods with a view of the river in the background. The organisers say the aim of the festival is to attract the urban youth to the river bank and encourage and involve them in keeping it clean.
Musicians and people with unique talents display their skills. Handlooms and handicrafts were also up for sale.
An artist who was present in the venue and a Government Employee, Abhishek says, “Over a hundred paintings and photographs are exhibited here. This event and the exhibition is focussed at uplifting fresh talent and cleaning the riverbank. The GMC declared the Shishu dolphin as the city animal. Due to the garbage dumping along the river, they can't be seen anymore. If we keep our river banks clean, they will return to their habitat”.
Youth were seen segregating garbage collected by the river to be handed over to the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) for treatment. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle is the motto of the zero-waste festival with a highest-recorded footfall of over 10,000. We met many Guwahati youths who were proactive about cleaning up the beach and had turned up to segregate the festival garbage for handing it over to the recycler or the GMC for treatment. Pankaj, who volunteers in collecting and segregating waste by the riverbanks says, “ We are segregating waste here.
Waste from stalls are dumped here and then we segregate it. We have a compost pit for biodegradable waste.
Plastic waste is being collected in plastic bags”.
Suresh Ranjan Goduka points out that in the urban setup, rivers are treated as drains. “In rural areas, the rivers are clean. The rivers in urban areas dry up and then become a drain. The Bharalu river has dried up and is now used as a drain. We want to bring the urban youth to the river bank by conducting this festival. This is a zero-waste riverbank event”.
Visitors thronged the venue in hundreds and relished the spread of ethnic North Eastern dishes, while shaking and grooving to performances of artists. Sightseers hogged on Pork Pura (Roasted Pork), Til Pork (Pork with sesame seeds), Roasted prawns, Roasted crabs and other lip-smacking munchies and snacks. Suresh Goduka says, "In other parts of the year, the riverbanks are kept dirty. We clean up the beach one a month or two, especially during this festival. Now, it is a great spot to just hang out and get nostalgic by flying some kites by the river with family and friends".