Shillong, Dec 7: The Spoken Festival in Shillong was a potent occasion for aspiring writers and poets alike to show off their literary skills.

The Spoken Festival, which was organised by Kommune with support from the Meghalaya tourism department, was inaugurated by state Tourism Minister Paul Lyndoh at Ward Lake in Shillong on Friday

The two-day festival, which will conclude on Saturday, provided an effective platform to budding poets and writers to express their narratives before the public, who too enjoyed unfiltered stories first hand. The festival also focused on the state’s rich oral tradition of story telling.

Inaugurating the festival, Paul Lyngdoh said, “It is indeed a moment of joy and ecstasy for us in the department to see that experential tourism and the arts and culture are getting a fresh lease of life in Meghalaya”.

The minister also took the occasion to express his gratitude to the locals as well as groups like Kommune for organising the festival in the state as it offers aspiring writers and poets with the golden opportunity to interact and exchange their ideas with each other.

“The indigenous tribes of our state indeed have a long history of oral tradition and the stories, myths and legends that had been passed from generation to generation became an integral part of the history of the state even before introduction to the written word. A platform such as this allows young poets, writers, storytellers to elaborate and exchange their ideas with other artists of the community,” he further said.

Lyndoh was also hopeful that the youths of Meghalaya, when offered with the right opportunity, would be able to show their prowess in arts, culture, literature and music.

The Spoken Festival began with mesmerizing performances by singer-songwriter Clayton Hogermeer. Shillong’s popular singer cum poets, Vancouver Shullai and Marbamonlang Rani entertained the audience with their poems, which explored themes of identity, home and family.

Actress and social influencer, Kareema Barry’s tales covering different topics like food, family and childhood and her native city was another major attraction that kept the audience glued to their seats.

The festival also featured a performance by Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project (MGMP), a state government-aided platform, featuring pop-soul artist Elena Sohktung. Poets Anees Ailynti Noronha, and Priya Malik and Tanmay Maheshwari also presented their poetry, followed by stories by storytellers, Laksh Maheshwari and Madhu Raghvendra.

Speaking on the Cyril Diengdoh, Director of the Meghalaya Tourism, remarked that Shillong is the first city to have the edition of Spoken Fest apart from Mumbai.

“The festival gives local authors and other youths to rub shoulders with the best in the country. When these young talents reach out to a wider audience, it will also said in promoting the tourism sector of Meghalaya,” he said.

Read: INDIA Bloc urges PM Modi to visit Manipur or hold talks before year-end

WATCH:

Find latest news from every corner of Northeast India at hubnetwork.in, your online source for breaking news, video coverage.

Also, Follow us on-

Twitter-twitter.com/nemediahub

Youtube channel- www.youtube.com/@NortheastMediaHub2020

Instagram- www.instagram.com/ne_media_hub

Download our app from playstore – Northeast Media Hub