BOSTON: The Calcutta Club USA and The Boston Pledge presented their Second International Sanskriti 2016 – Literature, Arts, Theater and South Asian Book Fair on April 24 at Thoreau Elementary School, MA.
Hundreds of viewers decked in their Indian traditional attire gathered in the hall with lots of enthusiasm and eagerness to browse through the book tables and listen to speeches of prominent personalities. The registration to the event was followed by the opening ceremony in the main auditorium that started with Bratati Bandyopadhyay’s poetry recitation from India.
Shilajeet Mukherjee delivered an enlightening keynote address. The afternoon interaction sessions were started with distinguished writers, professors, directors and business leaders. Dr. Amit Chaudhuri, an eminent author and academician from Calcutta who was awarded the Sahitya Academy award, India’s highest literary honor, in 2002 for his novel A New World was introduced by Partha Ghosh to the audience for lively discussions to learn more about genesis of his writings.
Shobha De, a well-known journalist shared her day-to-day writing experiences in a Q&A session with audience. Srijato Bandopadhyay, a popular poet of the Bengali younger generation and a winner of Ananda Puroskar award in 2004 for his book Uronto Sob Joker was introduced by Alokesh Duttaroy to the audience for active interaction. The chief guest of the event was Indian Ambassador to the United States, Arun Singh who delivered his inspiring speech on the Role and Contributions to the American Economy.
A meticulous moderator, Shouvik Gangopadhyay led the panel of notable authors such as Dr. Vivek Bald, MIT; Dr. Maina Singh, American University, DC; Manreet Sodhi Someshwar, New York who discussed vibrantly on ‘History in South Asian Literature’ and answered all the questions raised by the audience. Mohit Chopra introduced Dr. Sam Pitroda from Chicago who delivered his speech on ‘Dreaming Big.’
An able Bengali director Aparajita Das presented a hilarious and vigorous Bengali play called ‘Dance Pe Chance.’ A dynamic Director Preetesh Shrivastava, staged a Hindi Manch play entitled ‘Sipahi Ki Ma.’
The ‘Book Fair-2016′ exhibition commenced simultaneously in the morning at 10:30 am in the main hall. The book fair floor was full of book tables that displayed a number of books by leading publishers and sellers like Roy Bookstores, Kolkata; Bodhi Praashan, Jaipur; Tulika Books, Marlboro; Grandparents by Aaria, Nashua, Barely Read Boo, Sudbury; Wellesley Books/Penguin RH; Authors Direct – Worldwide.
This was followed by authors’ ‘Recital & Reading’ session that included Sudipta Bhawmi, Sunayana Kachroo, Partha Banerjee, Anay, Chandu Shah, and Neela Bhattacharya Saxena who recited enthusiastically about their works.
Creative art contests in floral design, jewelry making, and Rangoli were also conducted by Madhuparna and team with many invited judges as a part of the event. All the writers, speakers, artists and directors were recognized with much gratitude for their time and active participation in the event.
Special thanks were given to sponsors like Billion Bricks, Singapore; H4training, Boston; Urban Public, Denver; Chettinad Grill, Dr. Gauri Dutta, Kohinoor Collections, Raj Dogra Realty, Moksha Spa, A1 Home Medical Supplies, Huntington Learning Center, DOPL, Kolkata; Teamwork Arts, Ltd, Delhi for their encouraging support. Convenors of Sanskriti 2016, Chitro and Ruma Neogy felicitated the ambassador, panelists and play directors with a decorative Calcutta Club plaque.
Arun Singh called upon the Calcutta Club to continue building on the book fair initiative and to take the program mainstream. Chettinad Restaurant served delicious Indian food with Bengali flavor to the audience.
Geetha Patil
