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| Hemanga Biswas |
Dec. 11: The Guwahati chapter of Indian Peoples Theatre Association (IPTA) is flagging off a yearlong programme tomorrow at the Lakhiram Barua Sadan at Dighali-pukhuri to celebrate the birth centenary of its founder secretary Hemanga Biswas.
The association has also formed a cultural squad, comprising in-house resource persons, which will travel and perform across the state over the next year.
Artiste Loknath Goswami will deliver a speech on the life and works of Biswas during the inaugural programme tomorrow.
Speaking on their plans for the year, Kiron Sankar Roy, working president of IPTA, said, “The cultural squad will comprise resource persons of the association. As part of the programme, the squad will travel across the state for various performances.”
The association’s agenda includes street plays, recitation and songs, highlighting various social issues.
“We will chalk out a detailed plan of the programmes and the squad will perform accordingly,” he added.
“The yearlong programme will aim at popularising the contributions of Hemanga Biswas during his association with IPTA. He was a visionary and a folk music exponent, who had also given shape to the association’s drive to a cultural movement in the state. Under his guidance, the period from 1952 to 1962 was a golden era for the association,” Roy added.
Roy said people were not aware of his role in the cultural field and the program-me would emphasise highlig-hting and creating awarene-ss about his life and works.
“We will organise seminars and discussions on folk music and his role in popularising it in the state. Some of his wonderful renditions will be performed. We will release a CD, which will be a collection of some old songs along with the new ones.”
The Assam chapter of IPTA, which worked for the development of humanity through culture, was formed in 1947. Biswas, the founder secretary of the chapter, worked with some of the prominent personalities of the state such as Jyotiprasad Agarwala, Bishnu Prasad Rabha and Bhupen Hazarika among others.
“Hemangada will remain with us forever and I appreciate the move of IPTA in organising such a programme. He paid house-to-house visits and inspired artistes to keep performing. Bhupenda also composed some of his immortal numbers during his association with IPTA and Hemangada,” IPTA president Sudhakshina Sarma said.
