The destination of all Bishnupriya Manipuris living in Bangalore led to Koramangala, 5th Block on the 25th of Oct. It was the 140th Shri Shri Bhubaneswar Sadhu Thakur Aabirbhav Tithi. Men and women, boys and girls, children, all dressed up in their ethnic best, were headed towards Sri Krishna Temple. A classic yet contemporary banner welcomed them to the Mandapam. There was a familiar atmosphere that awaited everyone, something that has not been experienced for a long, long time by the young B’loreans. A large stage is visible when you enter, and the closer you walk in, a visible Aasana; on it, our very reason for celebration, the finest framed image of Sadhu Thakur spreading across the energy to all. This was Bangalore, and here we were, the Bishnupriya Manipuris, mingling, chit-chatting, all under one-roof.
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AARTI |
We started off the Puja early on in grand style, closely followed by the Aaroti, definitely a calling-your-roots activity with everyone standing up for it. It was followed by a Geeta Paath by Mrs. Sheela Sinha. Soon, started off with the cultural program hosted by Mrs. Sheela Sinha with a brief introduction. In came Mr. Swapan Sinha, originally from Baropua, with the life history of Shri Sadhu Thakur, a brilliant composition with a rhymic effect, very well accepted by the people. It was followed by a Duet song again from Mr. Swapan Sinha accompanied by Mrs. Smita Sinha.
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Gautomi and Sananda |
Next in line was a dance performance by Gautomi and Sananda, commanding attention from every corner of the temple. The Bisharat in Swapan Sinha came into the forefront when he sang his heart out with ‘Sadhu Baba Aamaar Dougo’. Then came the much awaited group dance performed by Sharmistha, Bimola, Madhavi and Lovely, coming out with the finest ethnic dresses, with great synchronization, once again, establishing the fact as to how wonderful our dance forms are. Mrs. Sheela Sinha came up with ‘Bulouri Mi Manu Bichareya’, reaching out to everyone.
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Group dance |
Mr. Swapan came up again with another classic. Followed again by Mrs. Sheela Sinha with a song ‘Urulei Modonlei’ from Jonaki Sinha’s collections. It had already become a wonderful show by now when Gautami and Sananda came up with yet another dance performance based on the much popular ‘He Probhu, Leirapa Thoigo’. And finally, and rightly, like a show-stopper, came Bimola Sinha, with a brilliant solo dance. The audience was in complete amazement, for this whole cultural event, took us closer to our roots, made us feel nostalgic and a feeling that we belong to this community, was visible.
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Kajol |
We had a Bandara waiting. Once the program got over, we headed for bandara. The smiling faces coming out of it, gave the positive feedback on the elaborate arrangements being done on this front.
It was closely followed by an Interaction Session. Almost all the people sitting within the temple got themselves introduced. Young and old, ladies and gents, boys and girls, all sitting across one circle, talking to each other on the audio. Everyone was involved. Many positive feedbacks came in, and everyone discussed the way forward.
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Kid |
Bishnupriyas in Bangalore have met, and folks, how we have! We were reaching out to each other, accommodating, warm and getting to know each other.
Bangalore had a distinction of existing than living but not anymore! We were living now, leading a social life, meeting our fellow brothers and sisters, exchanging emails IDs, phone numbers and addresses, promising each other, to catch up with each other.
We, the organizing team, would like to thank each one of you for being there, witnessing the whole experience and actually making the event a big success.
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Sapan and his group |
We cannot thank enough to everyone who pitched in during the last minutes that made it a smooth operation. We are thankful to Aeiga- Sri Radha Krishna Mukherjee, the Bamuns- Neelkanta Mukherjee, Babulal Sharma and Rakesh Sharma; Shebaris- Vishal, Rabindra, Santosh and Shamkanto and the cultural program participants- Sheela Sinha, Swapan, Sharmistha, Bimola, Madhavi, Lovely, Sananda, Gautomi and Smita for making this event a reality.
We thank Sri Kukileswar Sinha and his family for his expert advice and helping us making this elaborate arrangements on the Puja.
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Sapan and his group |
The event could not have possible without the few gurujons- Renu Sinha, Kukileswar Sinha, Fulendra Sinha who gave us guidance time to time. We also apologize to those, to whom we could not reach out, given the short time span coupled with communication gaps; which we are sure, this event would bridge in. But let us assure all in Bangalore that this is just a beginning, we would make it bigger and better from here on. We also request everyone to come forward for all such events in the coming days. Last and most importantly, the organizing team, for their tireless efforts that saw this dream turning into a reality. This was a brilliant team effort that culminated into a better event. Each one of you had a contribution to make.
Thank you all once again.
Organizing Committee
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