Minneapolis beckons

Guwahati, April 4: This spring, the Brahmaputra will meet the Mississippi.

Come April 28, the sound of dhol and pepa will fuse with that of the guitar and drum at a unique concert at Minneapolis in the US.

Organised by an Assam-based voluntary organisation, Society for Promotion of Appropriate Development Efforts (SPADE), and the US-based Well Institute for Deep Cultural Studies (WIDCS), the concert will help raise funds for young, underprivileged women in Assam.

The programme, christened “Brahmaputra Meets Mississippi”, will see artistes from the East and West come together to create a harmonious fusion at the Jefferson Elementary School.

In fact, the highlight of the programme will be an “international fusion” featuring Afro-Brazilian and Indian performances.

Bihu dance by local Assamese artistes would be another attraction, said SPADE president Anuradha Dutta.

Apart from the cultural programme, there will be an ethnic dinner and a silent auction, where various traditional artefacts from Assam would be put up for sale, Dutta said. The proceeds from the event will be spent on providing education, training and accommodation to underprivileged girls in rural Assam.

“The fund-raiser is the collective effort of Assamese NRIs living in the US,” she added.

In all, it will an evening of dance and laughter, food and fine music, says Mili Dutta, an initiator of the programme, over e-mail.