Tejendra Majumdar with Srikanto Acharya and Rashid Khan. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

In a studio in Kankurgachhi, a recording is on to add musical lustre to an event across the Atlantic. Ustad Rashid Khan and Srikanto Acharya are lending their voice for the curtain-raiser of ?the national festival for Bengalis in the US? ? the North American Bengali Conference (NABC). The three-day extravaganza, held now in association with Anandabazar Patrika, brings alive a bit of Bengal for the expatriates every year.

This year is more special, for NABC is striking silver. People from across the US, Canada and Europe will flock to New York, from where its journey started in 1980. ?Last year, at Baltimore, the footfall was around 7,500. This time, we are expecting about 12,000 visitors,? says NABC president Prabir Roy from New York.

Impressive growth that, from the visitor count of 280 in the inaugural year. Roy recalls how the association grew around a 24-page magazine Sangbad Bichitra that appeared in 1970. ?The first few issues were hand-written,? he says.

As the magazine brought Bengalis in New York together, cultural programmes began to be organised. Starting NABC was the logical culmination of the urge to reach for the roots. The first year the conference was held on a Saturday. As Bengalis in other US states expressed eagerness to host the show, it was expanded to a three-day format and shifted out of New York in the fourth edition.

?Durga Puja is the only other event of equivalent significance in our lives. But that can be held in separate corners. NABC is what brings us together. That is why Bengalis look forward to the first weekend of July,? he explains.

Now held by rotation in 10 cities across the US and Canada, NABC has expanded its agenda to act as a bridge between their land of origin and country of residence.

?We are forming Friends of Advantage Bengal, which will work towards bringing investment from American companies doing business in other Indian states. A presentation is being planned and the chief minister will be invited over,? says Shiladitya Ganguly of NABC. Other proposals include a heritage park in Calcutta and a tour of the collection at Pbody Museum, Boston, comprising a wealth of documents related to the first Indian immigrants.

The cultural programme is the biggest draw. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar has scored a sublime fusion of God Bless America and Vande Mataram where east and west meet in orchestrated harmony, telling the story of aspirations and memories. Toronto-based Sukalyan Bhattacharya, choreographer of Kalo Cheetah and Aabar Ashbo Phire, is working with 100 dancers to bring this inaugural act alive.

Among the artistes to be flown out are Madhabi Mukherjee, Mamata Shankar, Sharmila Tagore, Soumitra Chatterjee, Prosenjit, Rituparno Ghosh and Gautam Haldar. A retrospective of 200 years of Bengali theatre will be put up by Shova Sen, Ashok Mukhopadhay and Bratya Basu. ?We will hand over the recording of the programme to facilitate research on Bengali plays in the US universities,? Ganguly informs.