GUWAHATI, Dec 27 � Eminent drama artiste and cultural activist Sukracharya Rabha was formally honoured with the Pratima Baruah Pandey memorial award for the year 2010 at a function held at Swahid Udyan, Chandmari, before the bust of the legendary folk singer today.
Tributes were paid to Pratima Baruah Pandey and her contributions to the field of folk music, especially Goalporiya Lokageet were recalled at the meet. The proceedings started with garlanding of the singer�s bust on her eighth death anniversary followed by speeches from several distinguished personalities.
Rabha, a young artiste who maintains a low profile, was honoured with the award for his untiring and exemplary efforts to the cause of preservation and spread of folk music.
The audience included people from diverse walks of life including music-lovers and members of the All Assam Students� Union (AASU) which organised the event. The husband and sister of the late singer, Gangadhar Pandey and elephant expert Parvati Baruah respectively, were among those who attended the function.
The AASU leaders including president Sankar Prasad Rai, general secretary Tapan Gogoi and adviser Dr Samujjal Bhatacharya made a strong pitch for preservation of the Gauripur palace of the singer as a heritage and develop it as a cultural museum.
�The State Government must come forward to preserve Pratima Baruah Pandey�s Gauripur palace as a heritage museum,� the AASU leaders said.
The AASU also resolved to prepare and protect a correct notation (swarlipi) of the songs of Pratima Baruah Pandey so that young learners had no difficulty in pursuing Goalporiya Lokageet.
The awardee, Sukracharya Rabha, in his speech, gave an account of his endeavours towards preserving and propagating the rich legacy of folk music in the State.
