GUWAHATI: Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya (BKB) Memorial Trust celebrated the Centenary birth year of Dr. Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya, celebrating 100 years of the birth of the first Assamese Jnanpith awardee on October 14, 2023.
To honour the legend, the inspiration, and the pioneer of Assamese, as well as Indian literature, many eminent scholars, academicians, researchers, educationalists, and pertinent litterateurs graced the Birth Centenary Celebration on October 14th.
The day began with a procession from the Latasil field at 9:30 AM. The president of BKB Trust and eminent educationist, Dr. Amarjyoti Choudhury, flagged off the programme. Dr. Choudhury also released a poem recital or song , written and composed by Dr Choudhury himself, based on Dr. Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya’s novels. Lyricist and songwriter Pulak Banerjee graced the occasion by singing one of the famous songs ‘Tajmahal’ written by Dr. Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya, and sung by Mr. Banerjee. Dr. Samudra Gupta Kashyap, Chancellor, Nagaland University, spoke about the achievements of the pioneer of the ‘Ramdhenu Era –Dr. Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya’.
The program was a success with the enthusiastic participation from different schools of the state. Around 300 students participated in the procession, holding the placards of different novels of Dr. Bhattacharyya, and the procession was a success with an overall turnout of around 400 people. One of the enthusiastic young students commented, ‘’It is a great pleasure to take part in the procession for the first Jnanpith awardee of Assam. We got a chance to learn about the personality’’.
The afternoon was occupied with competitions such as Essay and Art or Painting. Students from different parts of the state arrived here to take part in the competitions and the turnout was nearly 200. The Essay and Art competitions were divided into different categories (Group A, Group B, and Group C), based on their age group.
A sea of crowd filled Sankardev Kalashetra International Auditorium for the afternoon event. The auditorium witnessed a gathering of around 700 guests. The Guests of Honour on the occasion were Dr. Sreenivasrao (Secretary, Sahitya Akademi); Prof. Kumud Sharma (Vice President, Sahitya Akademi); and Vishwas Patil (an eminent litterateur and an IAS officer). Dr. Samudra Gupta Kashyap (Writer, Journalist, and Chancellor of Nagaland University); Pradip Jyoti Mahanta (an eminent scholar and Dean of Royal School of Communication and Media); and Dr. Amarjyoti Choudhury (educationalist, scientist, writer, novelist, orator and editor). The dignitaries spoke highly about Dr. Bhattacharyya’s life, achievements, and his humble nature. The fact that Dr. Bhattacharyya was a selfless man, who only thought about the betterment and uplift of society using his pen, was reflected upon in an elaborate manner.
The dignitaries also participated in official release of six books: Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya’s ‘Rachnavalli’—3rd volume; published by Katha Publications; ‘Xatagni’, translated to ‘Beseiged’ a translation from Assamese to English by Navamalati Chakrabarti; Translation of ‘Mrityunjay’ to Manipuri language by Mr. P K Singha; ‘Xuworoni Xuwodiya,’ edited by Rajib Bhattacharyya;
Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya Birth Centenary Souvenier named, ‘Pratipad’, compiled and edited by Dr. Nilima Thakuria Haque and Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, printed by Chirabon Printers; and
‘Oikantikota Saah aru Puhorot’, edited by Dipali Bhattacharyya.
The meeting was followed by a prize distribution ceremony (Essay and Art competition winners) and Cultural Evening. The cultural evening highlighted famous poems, recitations, and songs written by Dr. Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya, and enacted by famous artists. Renowned artists such as Anita Sharma (Sangit Natak Academy Winner on Xattriya Dance); singer Prasanta Rajkhowa also performed on stage.
The performance by students of Natan Kala Kendra was choreographed by Guru Ramkrishna Talukdar (a renowned dancer and Sangeet Natak Academy Award winner) and was based on a poem written by Dr. Amarjyoti Choudhury. A recitation by Anup Jyoti Choudhury was based on two poems written by Dr. Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya; and a veteran dancer, Mirnanda Barthakur, performed a dance based on a song written by Dr. Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya.
With this, the daylong inaugural ceremony of the Birth Centenary concluded, but marked the beginning of a yearlong Birth Centenary Celebration.
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