Bengali meet aims to keep culture alive through youth

NAGPUR: The world Bengali conference was inaugurated on Saturday and it saw a host of participants from all spheres of life in attendance at Vasantrao Deshpande Hall. Organized by city-based International Council for World Bengali Conference, the event was held to highlight the cultural endeavours of Bengalis and those associated with its culture.
The chief guest for the evening was Dr Tapati Mukherjee, director, Rabindra Sadan, Visva Bharati University and the guests of honour were minister (Press) Bangladesh High Commission Farid Hussain from New Delhi, along with novelist Mrunalini Kelkar, professor at Nagpur University, Baban Nakhale and ex-serviceman Sandesh Singalkar.
The programme began with a rendition of ‘Amar Shonar Bangla’, penned by Rabindranath Tagore, which is the heart and soul of Bengali culture. Stalwarts who made the Bengali community proud were felicitated with lifetime achievement awards. Souvenir for this third annual conference were also released.
Vocalist Tandra Chowdhury showcased her expertise singing Bengali compositions like ‘Ei Banglar Matite’ and ‘Jagorane Jay Bibhabori’. Popular name from the Bengali music fraternity Piloo Bhattacharya also presented songs of different genres like Rabindrasangeet, adhunik sangeet (modern songs) and folk music.
Speaking to TOI, receivers of the prestigious president awards in the field of singing Ashesh Sengupta and his son Alik from Kolkata expressed their joy on being a part of the conference. “Even though we are miles away from home, the ambience created here makes us feel at home. It is very encouraging to see so many people from the community preserving the Bengali culture in Maharashtra,” said Alik. His father added added, “This is a great way to motivate the youth to learn and carry our culture and legacy forward.”
Thirty three artists from the city belonging to the age group between 6 and 22 also enthralled everyone with their performances. The youngsters trained by dancer Utsa Banerjee presented around 10 folk dances and paid a tribute to Bengali folk music singer Kalikaprasad Bhattacharya who met with a fatal road accident in Kolkatta, earlier in March this year.