Salute to 11 achievers, the pride of Assam

Guwahati, Sept. 12: It was a glorious evening to honour people who have made Assam proud. The Telegraph Axom Shrestho 2015, a first-of-its-kind awards ceremony hosted by a media organisation in the Northeast, took all those present at the banquet hall of Radisson Blu back to a splendid era in history.

The event was presented by Life Insurance Corporation of India, in association with Indian Oil Corporation Limited.

Eleven achievers, who have made a mark in fields such as cinema, theatre, sports, literature, arts and culture, dance, song and music, business, fashion, education and social work, were felicitated at the function.

The awardees comprised Abdul Majid (cinema), Dulal Roy (theatre), Bhogeswar Baruah (sports) Nalinidhar Bhattacharjya (literature), Neel Pawan Barua (art and culture), Kinaram Nath Ojha (dance), Dipali Borthakur (song and music), Abhijit Baruah (business), Bhaskar Datta Goswami (fashion), Tabu Ram Taid (education) and Hema Bharali (social work).

Three awardees, Majid, Borthakur and Barua, however, could not make it to the function. Cine artistes Pranjal Saikia and Purnima Saikia took the awards on their behalf.

The awardees were unanimously nominated by a jury, comprising singer Pulak Banerjee, lyricist and writer Lakshyahira Das, litterateur and former president of Asam Sahitya Sabha Rong Bong Terang, and the zonal manager of LICI's eastern region, Hemant Bhargava.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi and state chief secretary V.K. Pipersenia, among others, graced the occasion.

The chief minister, in his address, said he was honoured to get the opportunity to felicitate the achievers who have made Assam proud.

"The contributions of the awardees in various fields have been recognised by the people of the state who will always be grateful to them. It is also in the fitness of things that the event is being held in the month of Bhado, two days before Srimanta Xankardeb's birth anniversary," Gogoi said.

He also lauded the efforts of The Telegraph and Life Insurance Corporation of India in honouring the illustrious people. "The Telegraph is known for its contributions in the field of journalism through the decades and the LIC has contributed to social security through the slew of schemes it has introduced," the chief minister said.

Octogenarian and Gandhian, Hema Bharali, in her speech, summed it up with her priceless words: "Achievers complement each other and individuals cannot do something or achieve on their own."

Nonagenarian Kinaram Nath Oja, a legendary Suknani Ojapali singer, held everyone spellbound with his recital of an Ojapali song at the function.

Earlier, Bhargava welcomed the awardees and the guests at the function. "It is an honour for us to felicitate people whose contributions in several fields have been immense," he said.

A Bihu husori troupe set the tone for the function at the outset. The awards function, which was anchored by actors Kapil Bora and Zerifa Wahid, culminated with a cultural programme, including Bihu dance.

The event was supported by the Union Bank of India (banking partner), 100 Pipers (celebration partner), DY365 (TV partner), Red FM 93.5 (radio partner) and Radisson Blu, Guwahati (hospitality partner).

The guest list comprised a host of celebrities, bureaucrats, artistes and professionals.