| Arangetram Anindita Dutta and Devalina Bhagawati,  two disciples of Indira PP Bora, performed their arangetram on January 4 at Rabindra Bhawan, Guwahati. The dancer duo did full justice to their training under the guru with lively performances with graceful expression and footwork. Anindita is a Class-VIII student of Sanskriti, the Gurukul School, while Devalina is a Class-VIII student of Faculty Higher Secondary School. Anindita is also learning Satriya dance under the same guru, and modern dance at Briz Dance Academy. Devalina is presently learning Satriya dance at Nartan Kala Niketan, under Ramkrishna Talukdar. |
| Banikona’s tribute On the occasion of the seventh  death anniversary of legendary Pratima Barua Pandey, several functions were held in Guwahati under the auspices of different cultural organisations. The functions were held at Guwahati Press Club, under the auspices of the Goalpariya Samaj, in the premises of the Super Market by Pratima Barua Pandey Kala Sanskriti Samiti, and Shankar Madhav Sevashram at Kalapahar. The main artiste of the functions was Banikona Ghosal, a well known singer of Goalpariya Lokageet. She kept the audience spellbound in the shows, performing a number of popular songs of Pratima Barua Pandey. |
| Manas Rabin’s Lefafa Manas Rabin Production’s  Lefafa, a video film, is going to be released during the coming Bhogali Bihu. With story, script and music by Manas Rabin, the film is directed by M Maniram of Mon Jai fame. The film contains appealing songs with Bihu-based music, sung by Zubeen Garg, Pranita Baishya Medhi, Chayanika Bhuyan, Bhitali Das and Barnali Kalita. One of the highlights is a song written and tuned by Bhupen Hazarika, sung by Pranita Baishya Medhi. The major roles are portrayed by Nayan Nilim, Gitawali Rajkumari, Rina Bora and Gautam Dutta. |
| Creative soul There are some people who dedicate their lives in creative and constructive works maintaining a low profile. Late Jiten Pathak was such a person in whose name an annual award was instituted by Adda, carrying Rs 10,000 for best short filmmaker. Pathak founded the Nest Video Editing Private Ltd, the third editing studio in the city. A good number of editors and cameramen trained in the studio are presently holding responsible positions. Pathak was involved in making documentaries on various subjects. He was the producer-director of Bortoman, a news magazine for Guwahati DD. He led several cultural teams to various places. He edited the cultural magazine Karam that carried socio-cultural aspects of Assamese bhajans with his own compositions, titled Swasti. He made a number of telefilms and serials, some of which had national telecast. He also contributed to Assamese newspapers and magazines. He was the founder president of Studio Owners Association and North East Producers Association, a post which he held till his death in 2001. His last TV serial was Chande Chande showcasing the folk culture of Assam. |
Indrani Medhi performing Satriya dance at the Sangeet Jyoti and  Sangeet Prabha Award presentation ceremony organised by the North East Foundation for Cultural & Socio-Economic Development in Guwahati recently. |
Danseuse Ritumoni Devi successfully completed her MPhil in Kathak  dance in 2009, with a first class from Cultural University of Khairagarh in Chhatisgarh. Earlier in 2007, she passed her MA in Kathak dance, again in first class, from Indira Kala Sangeet University. Also a trainer of Kathak, Ritumoni is now involved with several dance institutes in Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, etc, and is preparing for her PhD degree in Kathak. She hails from Guwahati. |
Apurba Kumar Das