Gano Sangeet festival to remember Satyen Sen birth anniversary

On the occasion of the 102nd birth anniversary of the noted litterateur, journalist, social activist and founder of Udichi — Satyen Sen (1907-1981), Udichi organised a Gano Sangeet festival and competition on March 28 at the Mahanagar Natyamancho, Gulistan. Titled ‘Satyen Sen Gano Sangeet,’ the event was first of its kind to promote the genre among the young as well as bring forth talented Gano Sangeet artistes from all over the country.

Seasoned artiste Ajit Roy inaugurated the event. Eminent Gano Sangeet artiste of the sub-continent, Ajit Pandey, was the chief guest. A rally was brought out on the occasion.

Prior to the inauguration, the final round of Udichi’s Gano Sangeet competition was held. Winners of the division-level participated in the final. Nilendu Bhattacharya from Sylhet won the first position, while Mitu Rani Karmakar from Dhaka and Maria Akhter from Tangail secured the second and third position respectively.

The slogan of the festival was “Droher Binaye Bejey Uthuk Ashurnashi Gaan.” Terming the festival a “harbinger of hope,” Ajit Roy noted, “We are experiencing a crisis. I hope the young artistes will come up with songs of hope to overcome this crisis.”

In his speech, Ajit Pandey said, “Faces of people in many countries including Bangladesh and India speak out for themselves that we are not well. Rampant greed and shameless capitalism has brought on this current crisis that we are experiencing. When there are cries of the innocent in Iraq, and sleepless nights in Palestine, the true soldiers of Sayten Sen cannot remain silent.”

Jatin Sarkar, Badiur Rahman, Fakir Alamgir, Mridul Kanti Chakrobarti, Shimul Yousuf and others also spoke at the event.

Artistes of Udichi, Kranti, Banhishikha, Sargam and Chitkar presented group performances of several popular Gano Sangeet. Noted artistes Ajit Pandey, Shahin Samad, Shimul Yousuf, Bipul Bhattacharya, Malay Kumar Ganguly, Mahmud Selim, Fakir Alamgir and Kafil Ahmed performed solos. Dance organisation Natraj also performed at the festival.