Learn about Ziro Festival of Music

Ziro is a valley in the Lower Subansiri district in the northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Ziro festival of music is an outdoor festival which is held in the ziro valley. It displays the independent music scene in India. The founder of this festival is Bobby Hano and Menwhopause guitarist Anup Kutty and they have featured artists like Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley, Damo Suzuki, Shye Ben Tzur, MONO, Divine, Louw Majaw, Sha’air n Func, Indus Creed, Peter Cat Recording Co, Menwhopause, Guru Reuben Mashangya and Barmer Boys among others. The festival was founded in the year 2012. This festival is hosted by members of the Apatani people in Ziro.

The festival is spread over four days in the beautiful Ziro Valley. This festival is one of the most eco-friendly festivals in India and employs locally sourced material for the infrastructure. The festival consists of two stages known as Donyi (Sun) and Polo (Moon) respectively which is constructed by local artisans and made by the use of bamboo. This concept is inspired by the animist Donyi Polo faith which is prevalent in the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. The festival strictly follows a zero plastic policy. It also encourages the attendees of the festival to be responsible enough for leaving behind no waste.

One of the interesting facts is that there is no direct flight to Ziro and thus the journey to the Ziro Festival of Music is very adventurous. The closest airport to reach this place is North Lakhimpur Assam which is around 140 kms away from Ziro. The second nearest airport is Dibrugarh, Assam which is around 300 kms from Ziro Valley. Then there is an overnight train from Guwahati to Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh from where one can calmly have a seat in a 3-hour cab ride to Ziro.

Kiara Sharma

Mahaveer Public School