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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