CM to felicitate eminent artistes at Biswa Bangla Lok Sanskriti Utsav

Kolkata: The Biswa Bangla Lok Sanskriti Utsav is slated to begin on December 4. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be felicitating eminent artistes at the inaugural ceremony slated to be held at Nazrul Manch.

"Like every year, this year too, under the guidance of the Chief Minister, the Bangla Sangeet Mela and Biswa Bangla Lok Sanskriti Utsav will be hosted. After swearing in as Chief Minister on May 20, 2011, her first vision was to make Bengal a cultural gateway," said Indranil Sen, Minister of State for Information and Cultural Affairs, following the curtain raiser programme held at Rabindra Sadan on Saturday morning. While the Bangla Sangeet Mela will be held in as many as 10 venues in the city starting from December 4 to 12, the Biswa Bangla Lok Sanskriti Utsav will be held from December 5 to December 8.

Rabindra Sadan, Sisir Mancha, Rabindra Okakura Bhavan, Phanibhusan Bidya Binod Jatra Manch, Mohor Kunja, Hedua Park, Madhusudan Mukta Mancha, Ektara Mukta Mancha, Deshapriya Park and Rajya Sangeet Academy Mukta Manch will be the venues for the mega event. Another venue at the area beside Charukala Parshad has been added this year for both 'Bangla Sangeet Mela' and 'Biswa Bangla Lok Sanskriti Utsav'.

From December 5 to December 12, there will be numerous musical performances under the title — Para Para Sangeeet Mela — at 32 different locations across Kolkata.

Furthermore, an exhibition on the life of legendary singer Manna De will be held at Gaganendra Pradarshanshala in Nandan complex from December 5 to 12. More than 5,000 singers and musicians are expected to participate at the gala musical fiesta.

"After 2011, the Information and Cultural Affairs Department has been paying 1,94,000 artistes retainer fee to promote art and culture — an upfront fee paid for the professional services," pointed out Sen. The young artistes who have taken part in various music competitions and workshops that are organised by the state government from time to time will also be given an opportunity to perform. Students from 32 schools and 16 colleges will be participating at the 'Bangla Sangeet Mela'.