Annual Sangai Festival will be themed as ‘Destination Manipur'

With an aim to promote Manipur as a potential tourist destination, the annual Manipur Sangai Festival this year will be themed 'Destination Manipur'.

The 10-day-festival that begins on Monday, seeks to showcase the best of what the state has to offer in terms of art, culture, handloom, handicrafts as well as fine arts.

The event will also bring to the fore both indigenous and adventure sports from the region, its cuisines and music, besides the scenic beauty of the land and the ethnic diversity of Manipur Society.

"Although many editions of the Festival have been celebrated over the past few years, the Tourism Festival has been renamed as the Manipur Sangai Festival since the 2010 edition," organisers said.

The renaming was done to "showcase the uniqueness of the shy and gentle Brow-Antlered Deer, popularly known as the Sangai Deer".

The animal is found only in Manipur at the floating Keibul Lamjao National Park in Loktak Lake.

The event will also see participation by different Indian states, foreign traders and cultural troupes, besides a wide range of shows from fashion to rock music, along with activities like boat race and other water sports at Loktak.

Set to continue till November 30, it will be inaugurated by Okram Ibobi Singh, Chief Minister of Manipur.