Visva-Bharati students perform at Basanta Utsav in Santiniketan on Thursday. Picture by Pradip Sanyal
Santiniketan, March 5: Around 1 lakh tourists gathered at Visva-Bharati for Basanta Utsav celebrations today.
Around 5.30am, the morning call or baithalik started to the tune of Aji Basanta Jagrata Dware, followed by Ore Grihabashi - songs celebrating the arrival of spring and Dol.
Visva-Bharati students play with colours during Basanta Utsav in Santiniketan on Thursday. Picture by Pradip Sanyal
At 7am, over 4,000 students started the Shobha Jatra, a procession of song and dance that begins every year from the Amra Kunja - a clearing among mango trees where open-air classes are held sometimes - and culminates at the Ashram ground.
The main programme of song and dance started at the usual time of 8am on a dais at the Ashram ground. Students of Sangeet Bhavana sang over a dozen of Tagore's songs on spring.
Birbhum district magistrate P. Mohangandhi, who attended the event, said: 'This is the first time I experienced the Basanta Utsav in Santiniketan. I really enjoyed it.'
Sougata Samanta, one of the joint secretaries of the Karmi Mandali that organises the Visva-Bharati festivals, said: 'Every year, the festival is becoming more attractive. People from different countries are participating in this event.'
Like every year, groups of students, former students and visitors celebrate the occasion by singing baul and Tagore's songs and dancing on different parts of the campus such as Kala Bhavana and Patha Bhavana.
This year, the university authorities had sought police help to stop the sale of palash flowers to protect the flame-coloured trees on and around the campus.
Students participating in the song and dance programmes today did not use palash to adorn themselves but some female visitors had the flower tucked in their hair.
