GUWAHATI, Aug 1 � The Asam Sahitya Sabha UK (ASSUK) held its AGM and Sahitya Sanskriti Divas on July 24, in St Andrew�s Church Hall, Southgate, London, an e-mail received here said.
The meeting commenced with ASSUK cultural adviser Kamal Hazarika hoisting the flag to an enthusiastic response from all the diaspora present there.
In her inaugural address, the president of ASSUK, Lahori Barthakur emphasised the significant responsibility of all overseas Assamese to preserve our heritage for future generations. There followed poetry recitation by Geeta Borooah, Monmayuri Dutta and Nirala Baruah and speeches by Nilmoni Sikdar, Dheera Hazarika and Loya Agarwala who further reinforced the unique predicament and need of NRIs to preserve their identity. After the annual report by treasurer Geeta Borooah, the secretary of ASSUK Manjira Chowdhury concluded the meeting by presenting awards to those senior members in recognition of their valuable contributions to ASSUK over the years, namely ASSUK ex-president (2001-09) Gagan Hazarika, Kamal Hazarika, Anil Barthakur and Karuna Sagar Das, although not all were present to receive them.
In a unique endeavour to ignite the passion of Assam, especially the younger generation, Anil Barthakur held a drawing and painting competition on the theme, �Assam�. The enthusiastic participation from young and old alike was proof enough that it was an inspiring way to reinforce culture through fun and creativity.
The cultural programme was organised by cultural secretary Suravi Lahon which revealed some exceptional talents. In particular, Satriya dance recital by Satarupa Chatterjee and Bihu songs by Rehanna Kheshgi, an American who is researching on Bihu from Chicago University, deserves special mention.
Further, songs by Kamal Hazarika, Surabhi Lahon, Mamoni Sharma and Samyami Chowdhury, accompanied by Rishi Chowdhury (tabla) and Arnav Agarwala (guitar), further enthralled the audience who took to the floor at times to dance to the captivating beats. The vote of thanks was delivered by Manjira Chowdhury.
The evening concluded with light refreshments including sira-doi jalpan, ladu, pitha, etc., followed by delicious �preeti-bhoj�.
