In Nagaland, the three-day North East Spring Festival 2026, also known as the Festival of the North East, will begin tomorrow at the NEZCC Complex, Dimapur.
The festival is being organised by the North East Zone Cultural Centre (NEZCC), Dimapur, in collaboration with the South-Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC), Nagpur, under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
The festival will be celebrated alongside Madhya Dakshini Festival 2026, creating a vibrant cultural confluence between the Northeastern and South-Central regions of the country.
The event aims to promote and preserve the rich folk and tribal cultural heritage of Northeast India while providing a national platform for traditional performing artistes.
It seeks to encourage cultural exchange between the Northeast and South-Central states and strengthen national integration through cultural unity. Special emphasis has been placed on youth engagement through folk, tribal, band, and choir performances.
A total of 130 folk artists from the eight Northeastern states will present diverse traditional art forms. To engage younger audiences, four prominent music bands and choirs, namely Blue Temptation from Shillong, Coronation Choir from Dimapur, Bhramos from Kohima, and 6 Strings from Guwahati, will perform.
Meanwhile, 83 artistes from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, and Chhattisgarh will showcase their dance and music traditions under the Madhya Dakshini Festival.
The Madhya Dakshini Festival 2026 is also being organised in coordination with programmes under Bharat Ko Jano and the Border Area Programme.
Extended programmes will also be held in Namsai, Arunachal Pradesh, from the 2nd to the 3rd of March and in Ri-Bhoi, Meghalaya, from March 5th to 6th.
Director, NEZCC Dimapur, Dr Prasanna Gogoi, said the Festival promises to be a grand celebration of India’s cultural diversity and a platform for strengthening national integration through cultural unity. Dr Gogoi said that through such initiatives, the Ministry of Culture continues to uphold its commitment to preserving and promoting India’s rich and diverse cultural heritage.
