'Chapchar Kut' festival celebrated with cultural fervour across Mizoram

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The festive spirit gripped the northeastern state of Mizoram as the state came alive with the most widely celebrated Chapchur Kut festival.

The Chapchur Kut festival, which was celebrated on March 1 and 2, is an annual harvest festival which marks the advent of spring. The Drumbeats and 'gongs' resonated around the state as thousands of Mizos took to the streets to celebrate their colourful festival.

Lalroa, a local resident said "Chapchar Kut is the biggest festival and the people also like this festival. People belonging to different tribes can also sell their products. I am also trying to enjoy this Kut as much as I can."

People from various tribes from every nook and corner of the state thronged the venue to celebrate the festival and took part in the cultural procession called 'Kut rore'.

The attention of the tourists was caught by thousands of young girls, dressed in traditional Mizo outfits called 'Puanchei', who danced to the beats of bamboo, also known as the Cheraw dance. While the men were seen sitting on the ground and beat the bamboos.

During the occasion, people usually cut bamboo forests for 'Jhum' or seasonal farming. Whereas, the farmers wait for the chopped bamboo heaps to dry under the sun before being burnt. This process is termed as Chapchar Kut meaning festival.

"I am representing Hnamchhantu pawl tribe. Here we have put a stall and we are very thankful to the government of Mizoram for organizing such a festival. Through this festival, we have got an opportunity to come in contact with the commercial industry," a resident told ANI.

Stalls displaying various art and crafts of Mizoram along with ethnic cuisine also remained a major attraction for tourists.

One of the tourists said, "This is my first time in Aizawl and I could feel that I am in some foreign country. Aizawl is completely a mountainous region just like the foreign countries and the people are very advanced here. Working style and living standard of the people here are like foreign countries. One thing I have noticed here is that 90% of the market and business are run by the women section of the society."

A costume parade and various Mizo traditional games were also the part of the festival.

Over the years, the festival has attracted both domestic and foreign tourists to the northeastern state. Organizing such a festival revives and promotes the age-old tradition of the northeastern province of Mizoram.