Earlier in May, a Navya Varsha celebration, Esho He Boishakh was curated by Arindam Sil and hosted by Rotary Club of Kolkata Urbana at the Urbana Club Banquet. The event revolved around three staple Bengali favourites — adda (conversations), sangeet (music) and bhuribhoj (food). The event was held in partnership with Rotary Club of Belur, Calcutta and Hooghly.
Following the ceremonial lighting of the lamp, Arindam Sil conducted a conversation with Jawhar Sircar, Dr Kunal Sarkar, Debarati Mukhopadhyay, Ujjaini Mukherjee and Sauraseni Maitra. The musical prowess of Gopal Burman, Bokul Roy, Shyam Khapa, Tapasi Das and Samaresh Karmakar added to the flavourful evening of Bangaliana. Several food stalls presented snacks followed by dinner with delicious Bengali culinary offerings.
Ujjaini Mukherjee, Sauraseni Maitra
Arindam said: “We have forgotten addas amid our busy lives and today is about recognising Bengali heritage in the context of addas. We have failed to converse and respectful dialogues are the need of the hour.” Sauraseni was there as a representative of youth and partook wholeheartedly in the adda session. She said: “I have participated in some Rotary events earlier too and it is always an honour! Moreover, when Arindamda curated the event it was imperative for me to be here since he has always been a friend, philosopher and guide to me. He is one of the directors who has always had faith in me so when he called me for a Poila Baisakh event which celebrates Bangaliana, I said yes. This was so last moment that I wore Ma’s sari (smiles).”
