Anthurium Festival 2012,Mizoram

  Stalls offering food, wine and much more…

Anthurium festival 2012 was held in Tourist Resort  Reiek from 20th  September to 22th September. The three day festival is organized annually by the the Tourism  Department in collaboration with the Horticulture Department with financial support of the Central government. It has a dual purpose- promoting the cultivation and marketing of the enthralling flower and attracting more tourists to the scenic beauties of Mizoram.

All together 32 stalls were put in this festival, with each stall offering different items to the visitors reaching there. Near the main entrance, the stall of State Bank of India was ready with   services like Internet Banking, Mobile Banking and rewarding loan offers. Peace Home, Durtlang,  which has  30 women volunteer at their centre were selling paper made products, decorative items and bed-sheets. Open Doors (NGO) which is funded by NABARD had a stall named “Quality Bag’s” ,selling purse and bags in different size and design  specially made by its members.

Aroma of traditional Mizo food  coming out of  “Hmar Bai” stall was so mouth-watering that most of the food-lovers were seen in and around the stall gratifying their taste-buds. Other  food stalls selling hotdogs, chowmein, momos and snacks were there for enthusiast of fast food. Tandoori stall was  also a centre of attraction. Despite the presence of   local beer and local red wine  stall,”Zawladi”( brand name of grape wine) prepared by Champhai Grape Grower Society was the most sought after product at the festival. One of the visitor, Hlima Pachuau, who had purchased three bottles of  “Zawladi” said, “You can get one bottle of grape wine in 140 bucks only in this festival  which is costly  if you purchase it anywhere else’’.

 Many  Horticulture products were on display for sale by the local  farmers.Local entrepreneurs were selling loom, cane and bamboo products like Ashtray, Bati stand, Coner Stand, Hats at their stall. Mizoram Rifle Association also had a stall and it was conducting Rifle Shooting Competition for which a special Shooting range was prepared. One stall was exclusively for the adventure lovers where one could try rope climbing and other adventurous sports. Festivals  like this, if organized frequently will surely make Mizoram, a hotspot of tourism.