The Arunachal Pradesh food stall at Guwahati trade fair on Tuesday. Picture by Manas Paran

Feb. 22: A huge painting of the Rimpoche forms the backdrop as tribal girls attired in bokhu, their ethnic dress, serve food to weary shoppers at the Arunachal Pradesh food stall at the 12th Guwahati international trade fair.

The food ? boiled chicken and fish with bamboo shoot and sumptuous momos and chowmein ? is tasty, but what stands out is the quiet efficiency with which the girls go about their business. Most of them are school dropouts and part of a team groomed by Sonam Bhuti, who owns and manages Hotel Samsara Continental in Itanagar.

?We have trained these girls, most of whom are from economically backward families, and hope to make them independent individuals. Being a woman myself, I started this trend of recruiting waitresses instead of waiters after starting the hotel last year. I ensure that our customers treat these girls with respect,? Bhuti said.

Her staff includes as many as 15 girls and they have so far not let her down. ?We were enthused by the appreciation that came our way during the recent Jorhat trade fair. We were inspired to carry on and that is why we have come all the way to Guwahati to participate in the international expo,? the entrepreneur said.

Though her stall at the fair has been serving only fusion cuisine, Bhuti hopes to set up an exclusive restaurant for Arunachali delicacies in the Assam capital.

?I will study the market and, if feasible, set up a restaurant here,? she said.

Rana Gohain and his wife Trisha, who visited Bhuti?s stall after doing a round of the fair, said they were impressed by the quality of both the food and the service. ?It was a refreshing change to be served by these lovely ladies from Arunachal Pradesh. The best part was they were doing it with a smile,? Trisha said.

Though the objective of the international trade fair is to boost ties with the Southeast Asian countries, it remains an opportunity to strengthen ties between Assam and the rest of the Northeast.

Rajesh Das, the vice-president of the Trade Fair Association, said: ?We are keen to promote inter-state ties through trade. The fair is an occasion to forget our differences and come together under one roof.?

China is the ?partner country? for this year?s trade fair, which is being held at the Sonaram High School playground instead of the regular venue, Judges Field.

The other international participants are Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Bangladesh, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Nepal and Bhutan.