Dear all,
We are back. Forced to take a
breather in 2012 due to unavoidable circumstances, we are back on track to
present you the MCCS Gitanjali Mango Festival 2013, the one of its kind event
held annually since 2010 in these parts of the country.
If relentless inquiries from
participants and patrons on the 2012 hiatus stimulated us into re-organising
the festival this year, the opportunity to uphold the cultural heritage mankind
has woven over the years along with the scope to showcase hidden talents is
incentive enough for us to decide, the show must go on..
And so, here we are additionally
offering you the juicy prospect to slurp, sample and sink your teeth into that
mother of all pulps – the mango fruit.
GENESIS
The festival is being organized
by Modella Caretaker Centre and School (MCCS) using mango, the National Fruit
as a medium for inheritance of heritage by the Generation Next. In 2010 the
festival was dedicated to the 150th birth anniversary of the 1st Noble
Laureate of India, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.
Poet, painter, social worker all
rolled in one, Gurudev confirmed conservation of the rich Indian heritage for
the future generation, hence the nomenclature, ‘Gitanjali’ Mango Festival’
linking the event with his namesake collection of works.
Tagore’s association with mango is
legendary. His philosophy, which was institutionalized into education form
through the International University, Viswa Bharati at Shantiniketan was set up
by his father, Maharshri Debendranath Tagore in 1863. The fledgling centre took
off in two rooms in a mango orchard. Shantiniketan inmates often referred to
Gurudev’s love for mango, which also reflects in his works ‘Gardener’,
‘Kabuliwala’, etc.
Mango has lured even the sages and
kings of this great country. Legend has it that Lord Gautama Buddha, the first
known person to have spread Indian heritage globally, had a taste for the fruit
so much so that famous dancer Amrapali had offered him a mango orchard at
Vaishali, during his travels. Mughal emperor Akbar also was a mango
connoisseur. No wonder, mango these days is a sought after gift in diplomatic
circles. Just goes to show the fruit is irresistible.
The mention of Mango in India goes
back to 2000 BC in the Upanishads. Mango grows uniformly across the tropics of
Asia, but the fruit’s association with this country is linked with its cultural
heritage. It is argued that the fruit originated from India’s Northeast and the
wild variety is said to have been found in Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.
PRECEDENT
What began in 2010, flourished in
2011. Fresh ideas were incorporated and the Association for Conservation &
Tourism (ACT) organized a Rural Tourism Bazaar, the first of its kind of
activity, highlighting conservation of the rich rural heritage to a special
kind of livelihood process called tourism. This event organized by ACT received
much appreciation from neighbouring states and countries.
The Festival saw mango growers from
across West Bengal flock in with their most possessed and prized products. The
Mango Bazaar with commercial varieties from across India and events like Mango
Eating and Recipe Competitions proved heavy crowd pullers. Students
participated in Sit & Draw, Ethnic Dress, Face of the Day, Live Radio Quiz,
cultural programmess etc and the evenings were a blend of cultural soirees,
workshops, seminars and lectures on several heritage mediums.
The 2011 Festival and its venue were
complimentary to each other. The name of the venue also sourced from the works
of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Uttarayon believes on the principles of
conservation of Indian heritage. At the micro level, it was The Orchid
Restaurant at Uttarayon which hosted the festival in 2010 and 2011. In the
process, a mango orchard ‘Amrakunja’ dedicated to mango has developed at the
site. Since then, the venue has developed into one of the most impressive
centres in North Bengal and Sikkim.
NOW
The Mango Festival slipped up in 2012
due to unavoidable circumstances. But, if the organizers believed people had
forgotten the festival dedicated to mango, they were horribly wrong. The first
shout came from the mango growers. The cry grew louder as people and
organizations related to heritage conservation, members of the student
community and conservation crusaders picked it up. The appeal was strong enough
for the organizers MCCS and hosts Uttarayon to yield to the demand. The die is
now cast and we are back to organizing the third MCCS Gitanjali Mango Festival,
2013 at City Centre, Uttarayon, Siliguri on 7th, 8th and
9th of June.
The Festival this year would be
dedicated to Swami Vivekananda to commemorate his 150th birth
anniversary. Vivekananda re-introduced Indian heritage to the modern world.
Now comes the best part. Since the
mango growers have discovered that the MCCS Gitanjali Mango Festival is more of
their baby, they have decided to bring plenty of the fruit with them for the
Festival visitors to take away.
This year, participants of the Mango
Eating event will compete in 03 categories: Male, Female and Couple. Since
there is a great rush for enquiries, the organizers have decided to accept
names registered IN ADVANCE ONLY. Three additional prizes 1) Best
Female Mango Fashion, 2) Best Male Mango Fashion and 3) Best Couple Mango
Fashion; would be introduced to the Festival this year.
‘’Best Mango Friends Group’’ award to
a group of minimum 10 friends with Mango Fashion would be awarded on each day
of the Festival. Mango Recipe Competition and classes for Mango Cookery would
be held on all three days of the Festival at The Orchid Restaurant.
Interested participants have to
register IN ADVANCE. The participants have to send sms in the
following order:
1) Mango Eat - name
in full to 9733005437.
2)
Mango Cook - name in full, date interested (7th, 8th or
9th) to 8420146585.
3)
Mango Grow - name in full, name of place of residence (like Malda or
Murshidabad or Uttar Dinajpur etc) to 9733005437.
4) Mango Fashion -
name in full to 9007168540.
5) Those
interested in Mango Dinner on 7th, 8th or 9th June,
2013 please book through sms ‘Mango Meal Date (7th, 8th or
9th)’and send to 8420146585.
6)
Any organization or individual interested in any activity or event with theme
Mango can call 9733005439.
7) Anyone
interested in ACT Rural Tourism Bazaar can call 9733000444.
The ACT Rural Tourism Bazaar will
offer to demonstrate models, provide counselling sessions for setting up Rural
Tourism projects and provide information to interested travellers on the
various Rural Tourism Destinations of East and Northeast India, Nepal, Bhutan,
Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Take away travel books by popular
authors from North Bengal and Sikkim would be available at the event. Rural
Tourism Festivals would be highlighted and the ‘’ACT Teesta Awards’’ will be
declared for the Best Initiatives in the Teesta Landscape. Proposals are
requested to be sent to act.easthimalaya@gmail.com by
the 29th of May, 2013.
Several people and organizations are
committed towards preservation of society, environment and culture. The
Festival will showcase many such works including animal welfare, people
welfare, livelihood options, cultural conservation, weaving & crafts, heritage,
sky watching, climate change etc.
A special event on the ‘’2013 UN Year
for Water Cooperation’’, a complete musical seminar and documentary,
based on the theme ‘Teesta Parer Katha’ would be presented at the Festival in
addition to the regular cultural shows promoting folk culture.
Let us mango!!
