It was a special day of Assamese folk music and folk traditions prevalent among the womenfolk. The venue was Rabindra Bhawan in Guwahati, where socio-cultural organisation Asom Kalakshetra hosted the Silver Jubilee edition of its annual celebrations.

Dedicated to the memory of Asom Kalakshetra’s founder president ‘Saraswati’ Dr Nimalprabha Bordoloi, the colourful cultural function in the evening saw Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi adorning the chief guest’s chair. The other distinguished guests included Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee Nrityacharya Jatin Goswami, East Guwahati MLA Robin Bordoloi, Asom Kalakshetra’s present president Dr Nabin Chandra Sarma, Radha Bora, Pradip Bordoloi, among others.

The mood for the evening was set by the soulful rendition of a Borgeet by Saptarshi Bhattacharya as the guests were ushered onto the stage, where the Chief Minister, along with others, offered floral tributes to Dr Nirmalprabha Bordoloi before lighting the ceremonial lamp to the chanting of slokas from the Rig Veda in the voice of folk artiste Anjali Mahanta Raichoudhury. After a short inaugural speech by Pradip Bordoloi, the evening’s cultural function was declared open by Nrityacharya Jatin Goswami.

The cultural function began with a chorus presented by the members of the Asom Kalakshetra. Anjali Mahanta Raichoudhury, Dr Swapna Devi, Sewali Dutta, Anima Borthakur, Nirmali Sarma, Dulari Mahanta, Ranjita Moran, Deepa Goswami, Arpana Bordoloi, Anjana Sarma, Dr. Lakshyahira Choudhury, Dr Madhusmita Devi, Krishna Phukan and others took part in the chorus that had lyrics by Dr Nirmalprabha Bordoloi and music by Prabhat Sarma. It followed with the main draw of the evening – a musical dance drama, conceived by the Kalakshetra and billed Luitporia Sanskritir Rohghara, written and directed by Anjali Mahanta Raichoudhury.

It was indeed interesting to see around 300 artistes, singers and instrumentalists taking part in the dance drama that tried to give a glimpse of the variegated folk traditions of Assam through dance, music and dramatic acts, for which Anjali Mahanta Raichoudhury deserves kudos. Beautifully anchored by Chinmoyee Bordoloi, the programme showcased a rich medley of various Assamese folk traditions like Aai Naam, Durga Gosanir Naam, Apeswara Sabahar Naam, Goalpariya Lokageet, Suknani Ojapali, Mohoho Geet, Diha Naam, Deh Bicharar Geet, Tokari Geet, Zikir, Malita or ballads, etc. Then, there was the splendid recreation of an Assamese wedding ceremony, with aesthetic sets erected by art director Nuruddin Ahmed. It took the audience to the midst of a typical marriage ceremony as the auditorium reverberated with biyanaams such as Jatra Sandoh Khunda Utsav, Panitola, Koina-nowa Aaitee Geet, etc.

And all these were brought to life by some impressive performances by the Kalakshetra members – Ratna Bhattacharya and his troupe (Aai-naam, Durga Gosanir naam and lullaby), Prabhavati Devi and her troupe (Apeswara Sabahar naam and Biya Jatra andoh Khunda Geet), Hiranmoyee Goswami and her troupe (Biya Panitola naam and Koina-nowa Aaitee Geet), Anjali Mahanta Raichoudhury (ballad – Jana Gabharur Geet), Deepika Phukan (Goalpariya Lokageet), Kartik Phukan and troupe (Suknani Ojapali and Mohoho Geet), Dhan Bishaya and troupe (Diha naam, Deh Bicharar Geet and Tokari Geet), Hafiza Begum Choudhury and troupe (Zikir).

The dance drama also beautifully presented Sri Krishna Janmastami Utsav and Pasoti Utsav, before the Kalakshetra members took the stage for a scientillating round of Bihu. The dance drama came to an end with Sri Krishna Rasleela, choreographed by Gobinda Saikia. A number of leading folk instrumentalists took care of the music segment and they included Prasanna Barua, Dipak Bhagawati, Nikunja Medhi, Madhav Pathak, Mukut Patgiri, Dwipendra Das, Kokilkrishna Mahanta, Sashanka Kalita, among others. Director Anjali Mahanta Raichoudhury was assisted in different departments by Brajen Bhattacharya, Pradip Bordoloi and Souravjyoti Mahanta.

The beautiful evening concluded with presentation of songs penned by Dr Nirmalprabha Bordoloi by artistes like Kula Barua, Pulak Banerji, Manisha Hazarika, Sangeeta Borthakur, Souravjyoti Mahanta and Chinmoyee Bordoloi, while Kalakshetra secretary Sewali Dutta offered the vote of thanks.

Kamal Kr Bhagawati