Siliguri, Feb. 7: The
festival is being held every year for the last seven years
with the aim of protecting and promoting the cultural heritage
of North Bengal. It is known as the Teesta Ganga Utsav, named
after the two important rivers in Bengal. The purpose of the
Utsav is to revive traditional songs like Bhawaiya, Raba and
the cultural identities of tribes like Toto, Mech and Dhimal.
State Forest minister, Jogesh Burman, said
that the objective of the festival is to bring together the
cultural heritage of North Bengal with the culture of the
people on the other side of the Ganga.
However the two-day festival held in Shivmandir
is getting a lukewarm response from the people. Audiences
blame it to the unenthusiastic efforts of the government,
and call it a damp squib like any other government organised
programme. The forest minister remarked that the cultural
heritage of the region is going through a difficult phase
and blamed it to the adverse effects of globalization. The
festival is being organised jointly by the Mahukuma Parishad
and the Panchayat Samiti.
The Teesta and Ganga symbolizes the two
different parts of West Bengal since modern civilization in
Bengal has centered on these two important rivers. While the
Southern part of Bengal depends upon the Ganga, its northern
counterpart is nurtured by the Teesta River; the idea of the
Teesta Ganga Utsav is to bridge this gap and bring the two
parts together.
Stage artists from both parts of Bengal
will participate in the festival including the famous thespian,
Bijay Luxmi Burman, from Calcutta. |
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