Banga Sammelan has a different kind of fun – Srikanto Acharya

The first time I went to Banga Sammelan it was year 2000 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Then I went for the Silver Jubilee Celebration in Madison Square Garden in 2005. Right from childhood, when I had just started to read magazines (then neither there was television nor was mass media so powerful), I came to know that Banga Sammelan in America was a very big event. Performers from Kolkata and rest of India perform, and they were very very famous artists. Then I had never thought that one day even I would perform in such a great platform. In that respect, I consider myself very lucky – especially the Silver Jubilee Celebration in Madison Square Garden. That was a very big event and all of us really enjoyed. We all traveled together, stayed together in the same hotel – it was great fun. This is really an added attraction in Banga Sammelan

Unless there is a special occasion program, this seldom happens in Kolkata. I remember Kalyan Sen Barat’s program – we worked very hard for it. There were lot of rehearsals in Kolkata, then just before Banga Sammelan, we had a couple of days rehearsal in New Jersey. Lot of people were involved in it. Our musician friends had gone from Kolkata – it was a large troupe. Another friend of ours, Tejen - he organized another beautiful program with Rabindranath, Atulprasad and Rajanikanta songs. That had a different feeling. I personally enjoy these kind of programs where everyone collectively put together the components to make a complete theme.

When we are traveling five thousand miles for such an event, staying together, performing together, meeting our overseas friends – this fun has an altogether different taste. I have enjoyed twice and I have no doubt in my mind I’ll enjoy this time (in San Jose) as well.

(as told to BanglaPodcast.com)

Survey introduced in Banga Sammelan

Each year we come back from Banga Sammelan with mixed feelings. While our insatiable apetite for nostalgia and adda gets whetted irrespective of facilities and logistics, a comfortable arrangement coupled with quality events make it a truly memorable experience. Participants in the Countdown to Banga Sammelan Podcast have been echoing their sentiments about Banga Sammelan for the past two years, in general praising the massive annual undertaking while expressing reservations about few key areas. For the organizers, much of the feedback process so far has been personal perceptions and heresay. So this year Cultural Association of Bengal or CAB as it is well known - the primary sponsor of Banga Sammelan, decided to conduct a survey among registrants. One could rate various categories like Cultural Events, Food arrangements, Hotel facilities, Registration procedure etc. "Right now it's in black and white and people are saying", says Siddhartha Basu, member of the CAB executive committee. "The whole idea is that we can go back to the organizers of the Sammelan and inform them about the facts collected so that problems can be mitigated", adds Basu. Three lucky winners among survey respondents would be getting free registration for San Francisco Banga Sammelan.

The results of this year's survey reflected the general sentiment we heard among Toronto attendees. (watch and hear attendee comments). The opening ceremony was the crowd's favorite with 87% of the survey respondents rating it Good or Excellent. Registration procedure was close behind with 77%. Food and event management got the most unfavorable response. To be fair to the 2008 organizers though, it was only on the first day that the food arrangements and event schedulings were inadequate - we hardly heard any complaints during the next two days as the organizers did a fine job of bringing things under control. But by then, in the minds of most of the attendees, the verdict on these two important aspects of the Sammelan had already been delivered. This highlights the importance of planning and perhaps a regular survey would be a useful tool in this process.The survey has a broader connotation too. Basu adds, "We also want to use this survey to study the demographics of Bengalis in North America so that we can deliver better service for their needs." A step in the right direction, may we add.

The survey is closed but you are welcome to leave your comments here. After all, if the needs are better articulated by us, the organizers can plan the events and services that much better.

2008 Toronto Banga Sammelan - A weekend well-spent

A day has gone by and we are still suffering from the pleasant hangover. The very colorful closing ceremony, choreographed brilliantly by Kalyan Sen Barat and Calcutta Choir and local Toronto troupe, brought the curtains down to a very enjoyable weekend getaway in Toronto. Bengali arts, adda and cuisine competed with the usual festivities that surround the adjacent CN Tower (where, by the way, we spent our hangover day), except that when it came to having a time limit to enjoyment, the Banga Sammelan organizers indulged us into the wee hours of morning every day. If Aneek Dhar finished into the early hours of Saturday, Ustad Ali Ahmad's Shehnai took us into Sunday and Kumar Sanu finished just before Sunday midnight - that too only because the convention center was booked only till then.


We had great fun before the event when we brought to you the Countdown to Banga Sammelan podcast and the enjoyment doubled when we were able to meet many of our listeners in person. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Banga Sammelan with us. Silicon Valley beckons us for the 2009 Sammelan - we will have a wrap-up episode available in a few weeks about Toronto and San Francisco Banga Sammelan. But in the meanwhile lets keep the discussion ongoing.


How was this year's Banga Sammelan for you? What were your favorite moments? Do you have a message for the organizers? We would love to have your comments to this post.


Cheers
Piya and Deb