On Sunday December 4, a packed audience greeted the All India Conference, Convocation Ceremony, Literary Meet, Art Exhibition and Surnandan Festival at Gyan Manch. It was inaugurated by eminent Manipuri danceguruKalavati Devi, Justice Apurba Sinha Roy, Dean of Rabindra Bharati University Prof.Puspita Mukherjee, TablaMaestro Pt.Mallar Ghosh, Economist of South Korea Prof. Dr.Gouranga Das, Poet-Vocalist-Artist of Prague Papia Ghoshal. Awards were presented to achievers in different fields followed by a cultural programme where a repertoire of songs, dances and recitations by aspiring artists stirred audience interest.

Ninety Six achievers from South Korea, Delhi, Assam, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh and West Bengal were honoured with miscellaneous awards.

Dr. Pinki Purkayastha Receives Nrityasaraswati Award

Dr. Pinki Purkayastha from Delhi NCR has been awarded with very prestigious “Nrityasaraswati” award for her outstanding contribution in the field of art and culture.Dr.PinkiPurkayasth is a renowned classical dancer and cultural ecologist, working in the field of nature culture relationship. Her dance institute “Pragya Kala Kendra” is located in Ghaziabad area of NCR.

 Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Tabla Maestro of Guwahati Assam Pt. Kalyan Deka, Scientist and vocalist from Kolkata Dr. Tanya Das, Danceguru of Kolkata SnuhiChowdhury,Danceguru and Choreographer of Vadodara Gujarat Jayalakshmi Arun and Artist of Rourkela Odisha Badal Kr. Mandal. Best Centre-In-Charge trophy was given to Dhruba Jyoti Sharma Baruah, Principal of ShankarMadhabChitrakala Vidyalaya, Bebejia, Assam.Nirmali Das, student of Shankar Madhab Chitrakala Vidyalaya, received the Best student award.

Singers, dancers, elocutionists and artists showcased their talent on stage. The poetry book ‘MahurterKobitaguchha’penned by Prof. Dr.Gouranga Das of Seoul, South Korea; a short story book of Ritish RanjanChakraborty ‘DyotonarDeyal’ and the profiles of 84 outstanding personalities in the sphere of art and culture took shape in the book ‘Refulgent Luminaries’editedby Ritish Ranjan Chkraborty, was inaugurated at the conference. A colourful souvenir to celebrate the occasion was launched by Hon’ble Justice Apurba Sinha Roy. The entire event was anchored by Debasish Basu(TV Personality), Debasish Sarkar and Simantika Bhattacharjee.

This was followed by a literary seminar ‘KabiSanmelan on December5 at Surya Sen Manch where prospective poets Amitabha Gupta, Papia Ghoshal, Bimal Deb, Prof. SikhaSaha, BarnaliSikdar, Jatin Sarkar and others recited their original poems to poetry afficinados. December 6 witnessed the inauguration of an art exhibition presented by Surnandan Bharati at the Altamira Art Gallery. It was an inter-state art exhibition with painters from such far flung locations as Meghalaya in Shillong, UK, Prague, East Medinipur, Assam and West Bengal showcased their paintings. The canvases that caught the viewers eyes were Sharmistha Dasgupta’s(Meghalaya) ‘Radha Krishna’ for its originality in using the peacock feather design as part of the eyes of the celestial figures.

Papia Ghoshal’s, a resident of Prague, showcased tempestuous paintings in monochrome portraying the furies of mother nature. Sankar Mondal’s representation of Saraswati seated on a lotuswas sheer visual poetry. Tanoy Das from Kolkata matched the subtle nuances of a boating scenario demonstrating his water colour skills. Lee Johnson from UK focussed two circles merging into each other creating yuni or a womb was too geometrical to a leave a strong impression. However, it was heartening to perceive that different painters from both the occident and orient have come together to share their ideas expressed in the canvases leaving a mixed impact on viewers.