SILCHAR, Jan 1 - To bid farewell to the outgoing year and to celebrate the New Year, two musical groups of Silchar chose a completely different way to celebrate the occasion. Carrying forward the objective to promote new talents and offer the music lovers� reasons to rejoice since the last five years, Swarolipi Sangeet Vidyalaya and Samakal organised a two daylong Gaan Mela (song fair) which began on Thursday on the DSA premises to welcome the New Year.
The fair began with a rally taken out from the Silchar District Sports Association ground.
Janmajay Dixit, Chief Regional Manager of the United Bank of India inaugurated the two-day fair in the presence of SB Dutta, president of the Gaan Mela committee, Arindam Bhattacharjee, working president of the committee, Badal Dey, president of Silchar DSA, Babul Hore, secretary Silchar DSA.
Speaking on the occasion, Dixit said that the fair is a unique platform for fresh talents to perform. In his words, music is universal and is above religion and linguistic barriers. Badal Dey said that five years ago when the fair was conceptualised, a section of the people raised questions on its fate. But the organisers have answered their critics with such well-orchestrated efforts. Babul Hore said that besides sports, promoting cultural activities is an integral part in the constitution of DSA and the authorities are eager to extend cooperation.
In his welcome address, Arindam Bhattacharjee lamented the fact that on the one hand when people boast of the legacy of the historical language movement of 1961 in the soil of Silchar, in the present scenario, most people are not able to convince their children to learn Bengali. �We are not against any culture or language. But it is the manner in which celebrations are organised which goes against the social norms,� Bhattacharjee maintained.
Besides songs, photography exhibition and display of crafts also attracted the visitors in the fair.
