Gandharba’s Drama Festival, Painting and Bhupendra Music Competition successfully concluded

On the occasion of Gandharba's 20th anniversary, a two-day Gandharba drama festival, drawing competition in memory of Jiban Silpi Adya Sarma, and the 14th Annual All Assam Bhupendra Sangeet Competition, organised by the acting and music institute 'Gandharba' from December 6 to 8, were successfully concluded at the Karmashree Hiteswar Saikia Auditorium in Maligaon's Boripara.

On December 6, noted educationist, playwright, director, and lecturer Naren Patgiri gave a brief speech to launch the second annual Gandharba Drama Festival, stressing the importance of drama in social reform. The speaker expressed gratitude while releasing the book ‘Natya Prabaah’ by eminent writer and drama critic Atul Majumdar, praising the author's extensive research. Following that, the play ‘Dristanto’, a Gandharba presentation, written by Himjyoti Baishya, and starring Akhilesh Hazari, Pradyut Bikash Das, Dipannita Das, and Partha Pratim Pathak, was successfully staged under the direction of Dhrubajyoti Kumar. The play’s objective of raising awareness through satire while illustrating the current state of cultural decay, particularly in the area of music, was pretty impressive. The audience’s instant response to the play demonstrated that the drama group was able to grasp the audience’s mood by presenting topical content.

Thereafter, the Guwahati chapter of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) staged the play ‘Priyabandhu’, which was written and directed by Naren Patgiri and featured artistes Chanku Niranjan and Namrata Das. The audience was captivated by the poignant storyline of the play.

On December 7, the crowd was captivated by the dancing performance of Bismillah Khan award winner Dimpee Baishya, which followed the evening's inauguration by the OSD to the Chief Minister, Hemanta Choudhury. Following the dance programme, Natasurya, Guwahati, presented a vivid picture of social degradation through the satirical play ‘Halodhiya Manuh’, written by Abhijit Ranjan Bhattacharya, directed by Manmath Baruah, and starring Amitabh Rajkhowa, Manmath Baruah, Bijit Deb Choudhury, Meena Inti, Manoj Das, Dhanjit Sarma, and Haradhan Sarkar. Prior to the performance, a painting competition was held in remembrance of Jiban Silpi Adya Sarma. Rohan Kashyap (Purnakanta Das Memorial Award), Srishti Dhar (Kamalakanta Das Memorial Award), and Mridul Saikia (Bimal Chandra Hazarika Memorial Award) took first, second, and third place, respectively.

On the morning of December 8, before the start of Gandharba’s 14th Annual All Assam Bhupendra Sangeet Competition, noted musician Rasananda Gogoi hoisted the flag of Gandharba. Kamal Kataki, another well-known artiste, inaugurated the competition's stage. About 80 contestants competed in this competition, and the first, second, and third prize winners in the ‘A’ category were Saswata Dutta of Guwahati (Jugamaya Baishya Memorial Award), Ayushree Das of Nagaon (Harekrishna Kumar Memorial Award), and Shabnam Yasmina Rahman of Sarupeta. The first, second and third prize winners in the ‘B’ category of Bhupendra Sangeet competition are Samragi Kashyap of Biswanath Chariali (Aikon Deka Memorial Award), Jennifer Ahmed of Nalbari (Putul Chandra Das Memorial Award) and Bhaswati Rajbongshi of Guwahati (Bonphul Bhuyan Memorial Award). Noted musicians Rasananda Gogoi and Kamal Kataki served as the judges for the Bhupendra Sangeet Competition.

Gautam Kumar, President, and Dhrubajyoti Kumar, Secretary of Gandharba, expressed gratitude to everyone who participated in the Gandharba Drama Festival, Jiban Silpi Adya Sarma Memorial Painting Competition, and Bhupendra Sangeet Competition. They also thanked everyone in the audience and the judges for their overwhelming support.

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