Siliguri, Jan. 18: Reviving and popularising ethnic strains is what folk-song exponent Utpalendu Chowdhury is busy doing at present.

With the folk artistes in Bengal stuck in such a pitiable state, a platform is need for the exhibition of their talent, said Chowdhury at a news meet here today, where he talked about Nirmalendu Lok Sangeet Utsav, a folk festival, to be held at Dinabandhu Mancha here on Saturday.

“Nowadays, very few people want to become a folk artiste and the rapid change in lifestyle is responsible for it. The cultural richness of ethnic songs is fast losing its charm among people,” he said. “We plan to revive and preserve the century-old folk songs.”

The Nirmalendu Lok Sangeet Utsav is part of this initiative, which is being organised by Loka Bharati, the Calcutta-based folk song institute. The first statewide project, the folk festival is being held in association with the Bengal government. It is also a tribute to Bengali folk song exponent Nirmalendu Chowdhury, Utpalendu’s father.

The festival, which started in Calcutta on January 13, will end at Sonarpur on February 4. “More than 100 artistes from Bengal, Tripura, Assam and even Bangladesh are performing at the fest,” Chowdhury said.

The singer is also creating an archive, which will have an extensive collection of Bengali folk songs and documents related to the form of art. “I have started collecting songs and lyrics for the archive,” Chowdhury said.