North East India Xmas and Social cum Dinner at London - 2009
- 5th of December 2009 -

Lien Gangte *

Saturday The 5th of December 2009 – The little corner of East London came alive when more than 60 Northeast Indians in the UK congregate to create a history by gathering for the first ever NE Christmas Social cum Dinner organised by Lien Gangte, Tinnu Haokip and Sangke Konyak on everyone's behalf.

St. Georges Church Hall has been graced with many occasions in the past however this time with a different perspective we gathered to spend an evening in each other's company and begin a journey to lead us all the way into the future, bringing together all the Northeast Indians settling within the UK and beyond.

Organising such event has not been easy without any formal committee to fall upon. However we went on with determination as we have the support of all our NE siblings. Thank you to all on behalf of the organisers for leaving behind your many and important commitments and joining us which in itself is a proof that we share one ambition in creating a common platform and we will forge into the future whilst generating interest in NE India to the world around us.

Singing a Christmas Carol

And so we all arrived with much enthusiasm, we met some new friends, catch up with some old ones and had a great time along the way. No social occasions are complete without relishing some traditional delicacies.

Hence we eventually stuffed ourselves with a few of the much anticipated NE Indian cuisines laid out in the form of Naga pork, Ironba, Singju, Bongsa mepoh, chilli Chicken, lamb curry and of course with a little Christmas present each as Santa arrived a wee bit early for us this year as we did a Christmas gift exchange and few rounds of raffles.

Our very own Ujjal Roy belted out a few all time favourite rock numbers and some of us gave a few Christmas carols a try. The rest of the evening was spent networking over drinks and food. One of the few things that came up in our informal discussion was to continue organising such gathering in the future with a theme.

Food festival was one thought and a cultural evening with participants from each state was also one popular idea. However, the most important reason is to set a common and enjoyable ground for everyone.

The gathering

Here in the UK, we have managed to create a niche of our own individually. We have build careers as doctors, nurses, social workers, IT consultants, architectures, artists and many more. Not to forget all the aspiring students working hard to achieve something in life.

Everyone is fairly occupied with their own activities in different fields. We represent all the states in NE India and we speak different languages and holding fast our varied cultures and traditions in different parts of the country but we shall not let all these set us apart.

We must make this undertaking an important part of our existence by setting aside one day of the year to join one another for the years to come. I want to go a little further in saying that we should love one another and our homeland back in NE India.

We must not leave this job for someone else. Remember, if you don't like yourself, no one will give you a second look.

Anyway, I am ever so delighted as I write that the futures hold greater excitement for us and we hope to build a stronger bond between us while initiating a social platform for all.

So lets us join hands, share our dreams and take a few steps ahead with sound mind showing the world that what binds us together is our sense of oneness within an immensely diverse world.

For any information on further NE Indian's event in the UK, please feel free to email me at lienkanggui(at)gmail(dot)com .

If you haven't been able to join this time, please do so in future. Everyone is welcome. Spread the words!!

Related Photo Gallery on this event

• NE Xmas Social cum Dinner at London :: 2009

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* Lien Gangte is a regular contributor to e-pao.net. The writer can be contacted at lienkanggui(at)gmail(dot)com
This article was webcasted on December 10th, 2009.

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