Ashtakam - Octave - 2008

The third edition of ‘Octave’ will be held in Thiruvananthapuram which showcases the rich tapestry of art, craft, music, food and costumes of the eight north-eastern States — Assam, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur and Sikkim — in other parts of the country.
The first edition of this major cultural festival, initiated by the North-Eastern Zone Cultural Centre, was held in New Delhi in 2006 and the second one was in Hyderabad.
The festival is aimed at bridging the gap prevailing in the rest of the country in awareness about the rich cultural heritage and expressions of the north-eastern States. The Union Ministries of Culture and Tourism are the principal organisers of the festival while the South Zone Cultural Centre, the State Cultural Department, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademy, Kerala Sahithya Akademy and the Kerala Lalithakala Akademy have teamed up to arrange the programme locally.
An organising committee with Education and Cultural Affairs Minister M.A. Baby as chairman and Sangeetha Nataka Akademy chairman Bharat Murali as convener has already started the preparatory work for the festival to be held in Thiruvananthapuram from February 16 to 23. The events of the festival will be held at the Nisagandhi open air theatre and at the Suryakanthi auditorium, Thiruvananthapuram.
A host of events including seminars, workshops, film screenings, and performances related to art, dance, music-drama and choreography from the north-eastern States will he held as part of the festival. About 600 artistes from those States will take part in the programmes. A festival of native food items will also form part of the programmes.
A panting camp in Ernakulam and a literary camp in Thrissur have also been arranged as part of the festival.