GUWAHATI, Oct 17 - The matchless contributions of Singhapurush Radha Govinda Baruah in various social and cultural spheres of Assam were fondly remembered on the occasion of his 119th birth anniversary today.
RG Baruah Smriti Rakhya Committee, Guwahati, organised tribute-paying programmes at Dighalipukhuripar as well as the Assam State Museum to commemorate the occasion.
Floral tributes were paid to the architect of modern Assam near his lifesize bronze statue on the bank of the historic Dighalipukhuri. Surajit Govinda Baruah, one of the directors of the Assam Tribune Group and grandson of RG Baruah, initiated the tribute programme this morning where a number of admirers of RG Baruah dwelt at length on his contributions in the field of journalism, sports, culture and literature.
The eminent persons who gathered on the occasion made an appeal to promote the vision and ideal of the Singhapurush among the younger generation. Cultural activist Dr Roman Sarma, journalist Hiranya Kumar Barman, cultural activist Dipanka Hazarika and educationist Bhuban Lahkar, among others, spoke on the occasion.
Eminent educationist Professor Abani Kumar Bhagabati delivered a popular talk on �Some thoughts on making Guwahati a beautiful city as dreamed by Singhapurush RG Baruah.�
Expressing concern about the growing population density in Guwahati and shrinking open spaces, Prof Bhagabati said that having a 320-sq km area, Guwahati has an average population density of approximately 5,000 persons per sq km, which, at places, is up to a whopping 20,000 persons per sq km.
�Despite being a naturally endowed landscape, the concentration of population has resulted into concentration of infrastructure, which has affected its natural land and resources adversely. A time will come when there will be a complete humanisation of the city,� he stated.
Mentioning about a survey undertaken by him in 1998, he said that the city had less than one per cent open space then, which must have shrunken dangerously by now.
�We need open spaces to get relief from the urban heat trap. More importantly, open spaces are required in the eventuality of major earthquakes, the possibility of which cannot be ruled out considering our geographical position,� he added.
Noted author and translator Devi Prasad Bagrodia, sports organiser Nagendra Nath Barman and singer Dwipen Baruah were felicitated for their valuable contributions in their respective fields. While accepting the honour, Devi Prasad Bagrodia, who has translated a number of borgeets of Srimanta Sankaradeva and Madhabdeva and Naamghosha in Hindi and Meerabai�s bhajans in Assamese, stressed the need to promote good translation works to take Assamese literature to the world arena.
Nagendra Nath Barman recalled his association with RG Baruah, while Dwipen Baruah enthralled the audience with his popular songs Ki naam di maatim and Eikhon gaon.
Eminent sports organiser Dr Atul Chandra Bora presided over the meeting. Earlier, Bhuban Lahkar, general secretary of the Smriti Rakhya Committee, explained the objectives of the meeting.
