Samvaad – What can I say about this event that I have not already said earlier!

My story on Samvaad 2023 covered every bit of the excitement and thrill that I experienced when I had the absolute pleasure of witnessing a convention of this scale and context in November 2023.

And now in this current blog, I have showcased the November 2024 edition which I was so blessed to again be a part of.

The overview, history and experiences at the event have already been described in great detail in the earlier blog. So here I will restrain myself from waxing eloquent once more and just offer you the visuals that I managed to encapsulate. These are mere glimpses though, of a gathering so grand, that capturing the 5 day cultural and tribal extravaganza in its entirety would be a rather impossible task!

So take a look at the details in the post Samvaad 2023 and then come back to relish the sights in the next edition right here.

Samvaad is an annual tribal convention held in the city of Jamshedpur which lies in the East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, India.

The initiative of Tata Steel Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) division of Tata Steel Limited (TSL), Samvaad is a panorama of tribal cuisine, art, handicrafts, traditional healing practices, music and other elements of tribal culture.

I urge you once more, to go through the Samvaad 2023 post before proceeding.

A few highlights of Samvaad 2024 – 

Glimpses of happy faces –

Glimpses of happy faces – Video

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Venues –

The festival was conducted across various venues and the programs were scheduled optimally, facilitating minimal overlap between different events.

The Tribal Culture Centre (TCC) and Johar Haat were the locations for the morning and afternoon sessions and the main Gopal maidan came alive in the evenings, with all the action shifting there in the open air.

TCC is promoted by Tata Steel and is intended to be an activity hub for tribal activities.

Johar Haat is a space that is dedicated to exhibit the art, craft, cuisine and culture of various tribes through regular exhibitions.

Gopal maidan is a large ground in the city which has played host to earlier editions of Samvaad too.

My experiences –

I was able to enjoy 2 whole days at Samvaad during which my itinerary was specially curated by the very dedicated and efficient Sreya from TSL, as per my focus on the cuisine.

Cooking session with the tribes – 

Beginning with a very educative interaction and cooking session with 2 lovely ladies from a tribe from Meghalaya, who made a leaf wrapped and roasted dish of small fish.

Video from Tata Steel Foundation –

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Special curated lunch for the delegates at the Johar Haat venue – 

My second culinary event was also very special, being a special invitee of Shri Sourav Roy at one of the curated lunches at Johar Haat. Sourav ji is the zealous and energetic CEO of the CSR at Tata Steel Foundation.

The lunch was as exquisite as ever and this year’s menu featured hand-picked delights from the tribes of the North East.

My platter was adorned with the culinary specialties from the various tribes and among the flavors and textures of the many delicacies, my palate was treated to my favorite Pumpkin flower fritters and the exotic Silk worm fry that I tasted for the first time ever.

A meal like this can send you into tribal food heaven and this was truly an experience of a lifetime.

Curated lunch for the delegates – Video – 

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Food preparations at Gopal maidan by various tribes –

Another very interesting task that I assigned myself, was to capture the various tribes in action at Gopal maidan where they were preparing a host of dishes to be sold to the public at their evening food stall Aatithya.

Some glimpses of the food preparations at Gopal maidan by various tribes – Video – 

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Some favorites from lovely Ladakh’s lovely ladies – video – 

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Making of a Telengana tribal delicacy, the Chironji Rotti – Video – 

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Getting to Jamshedpur – 

By air –  The nearest Airport is Ranchi’s domestic airport, Birsa Munda. Jamshedpur is 125 km (2.5 hours) by road from here. The highway is excellent.

Train – The nearest major railway station is the Tatanagar Junction Railway Station.

Road – Jamshedpur is well connected by major roads from surrounding cities.

Where to stay – 

Jamshedpur is a large and modern city and has several options ranging from budget hotels to more upmarket options like Ginger Hotel, Bizton etc.

While my previous year’s place of stay was the Ginger, this year I had the pleasure of experiencing the quintessential Tata hospitality at Tata’s Chummery Guest House.

This is a quaint place tinged with the aura of nostalgia that transports you to the Bombay of yore. With a dining hall complete with gleaming cutlery, tables draped in red and white chequered cloths and of course the genteel and gracious staff in their crisp uniforms, this dose of old world courtesy can certainly be very refreshing indeed.

Please Note –

I was an invitee of Tata Steel Foundation and I thank them for their hospitality.

My narration is based on the inputs I received from various sources as well as my personal experiences.

I would really appreciate your feedback and comments in the comment box below.

For more pictures see My Facebook –  Samvaad, The Tribal Conclave – 2024 Edition

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This itinerary was specially curated hence some of the experiences might have been personalized accordingly.

Nov 15th – Nov 19th, 2024