ASSAM DAY'96

The celebrations began with a picnic in the idyllic surroundings of Vasona Lake Park in Los Gatos on the afternoon of July 5th. Proudly flaunting the souvenir T-shirt specially designed for the event, about a hundred people from all over the USA and beyond gathered at the park. Everyone enjoyed a scrumptious barbecue prepared by our most able volunteer grill-chefs.

The venue for the next day of festivities was the Bechtel International Center in the beautiful campus of Stanford University .

The day started with brunch followed by a meeting of the office-bearers of the Assam Society of America. The cultural program followed that afternoon capping the weekend-long celebrations.

The Honorable C.R. Balachandra, Consul-General of the Indian Consulate in San Francisco inaugurated the cultural program. In traditional Assamese custom, he was presented with a silk gamosa before his address to the gathering.

Following his address, there was an "Axomiya Naam", a kirtan tradition of the Mahapuruxiya Dharma, a form of Hinduism that has a wide following in the Brahmaputra Valley. It was an emotional moment for the participants to hear the cadences of the familiar kirtan in this arena far from home.

The naam was followed by a program showcasing the performing arts talent in the community. In addition to two popular Assamese group songs, there were solo and duet renditions of Assamese and Hindi songs and instrumental music. Abhranil Barua, son of late Rudra Barua, a doyen of Assamese folk music, led the vocal talent and was superb on the harmonium as well. The children added tremendously to the show with a violin recital, a group Bihu dance, a classical vocal recital, a Hindi film-dance, a karate demo and an Assamese folk dance.

Following this, Sonia Mann, a talented young artiste from the Bay Area, performed two semi-classical dances. The grace and beauty of her dances impressed the audience.

After an elegant dinner in the I-Center, the audience returned to a performance by reputed classical vocalist, Mitali Bhawmik, with Pranesh Khan on the tabla, and Ram Saxena on the harmonium. The performance of Jyoti Xangit, Assamese and Bengali modern songs, ghazals, bhajans and a thumri left everyone spellbound. The hour-long concert was given a standing ovation by the delighted audience.

Rupam Sarma, an established vocalist who lives in the Sacramento area, was next. Rupam sang several of his compositions set to dazzling music that he scored himself. His wife Sangita, an artiste in her own right, joined Rupam to sing a lilting duet. Their beautiful melodies reminded people of the land of the red river and the blue hills that is Assam.

Rupam and Sangita's program was followed by Bihu dancing where the entire audience joined in with a lot of enthusiasm and energy. The program concluded a little after midnight with a traditional rendition of "O Mor Apunor Dexh".

The final accounts for the 1996 convention are given below. It was prepared by Pranabendra Sarma of San Jose.