STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Assam State Primary Teachers' Association (ASPTA) organised reading competitions in primary schools across the state on Saturday to mark the first death anniversary of noted Assamese singer and cultural icon Zubeen Garg.
The programme was organised as part of the year-long "Let Us Learn to Read" (Padhibiloi Hikou Aha) initiative launched by the association on November 23, 2025. The initiative seeks to promote reading habits among children while highlighting Zubeen Garg's message that "A nation that does not read books cannot be saved by the gamocha."
Speaking on the occasion, ASPTA president Ratul Chandra Goswami said that developing a reading-oriented society, as envisioned by Zubeen Garg, requires children to develop an interest in books from an early age.
"The responsibility to nurture this habit must be taken up by primary teachers. Our association is conscious of its national responsibility, which is why we have been implementing the 'Let Us Learn to Read' programme," Goswami said.
As part of the death anniversary observance, reading competitions were held in primary schools, with books presented to participating children as prizes. Goswami also said that children should be introduced from an early age to personalities who inspired Zubeen Garg. He noted that international figures such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Leo Tolstoy and Che Guevara, along with Charlie Chaplin and Bishnu Rabha, were among the personalities admired by the artiste, while poet Hiren Bhattacharyya was one of his favourite poets.
He said the association would expand the programme on a larger scale in the coming days to encourage reading among children and familiarise them with important literary and cultural figures. ASPTA general secretary Shailendra Kalita thanked teachers, students and others involved for successfully implementing the reading programme across primary schools on the occasion of Zubeen Garg's first death anniversary
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