Year 2008: 100 drum Wangla festival ended on a colourful note

TURA, November 8: The annual 100 drum Wangala festival ended on a colourful note of protecting and preserving rich Garo tradition and culture beyond Garo Hills. This year’s special attraction was a cultural troupe coming from Bangladesh. The Hundred Drums Wangala Festival is being organized in the second week of November every year by the Hundred Drums Wangala Festival Organisation in order to preserve and promote the cultural identity of the Garos. With the advent of modernization, the rich culture of the Garo’s is fast loosing its’ charm. An effort by few conscious people for the last two decades have kept Wangla going and their concept to promote the festival has gone beyond and people from all over the globe are aware of this event.Besides the ten Wangala troupes from Garo Hills, a group of 30 Wangala dancers from Bangladesh, the Khasi warrior dancers and the Laho dancers from Jaintia Hills also participated in the two-day Festival this year.“It’s awesome. It’s so nice to be here around. Every thing is so simple and beautiful”, said Mary and John, a couple from UK who travelled across the country to witness the colourful festival of the Garos.

The State Planning Board Chairman, Mr Purno A Sangma, who participated as the chief guest in the festival, expressed his happiness to see how the Hundred Drums Wangala Festival has grown over the years. He took the opportunity to inform the gathering that the North-East regional office of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations would be inaugurated in Shillong by Mr. Karan Singh on December 13, adding that this would enable the people of the region to project their culture and tradition to other parts of the world. He also informed the people that 1000 Drums Wangala Festival would be organized next year, instead of the 100 drums, for which necessary preparations were being made by the Tourism Minister Mr. Conrad K Sangma.The State Planning Board Chairman also inaugurated the newly constructed Bandasal or the traditional conference house of the Garos as part of the festival. Minister for Taxation, etc Mr. J A Lyngdoh, in his brief speech, also expressed his great happiness to be able to participate in this festival for the first time and extended his greetings to the people of the region on this occasion.Earlier, the President of the Organising Committee, Hundred Drums Wangala Festival, Mr. L K Marak welcomed the gathering and gave a brief highlights on the Wangala festival of the Garos. Lok Sabha MP, Ms Agatha K Sangma, Parliamentary Secretaries, Ms Ampareen Lyngdoh and Mr. James K Sangma, Chief Executive Member, GHADC Mr. Alphonse A Sangma and Chief Secretary of the State Mr. Ranjan Chatterjee were among others who also attended the Wangala festival.The indigenous games and sports and the two-day Industrial Exhibition was also organized at the same venue as part of the festival.