পূর্ণদাস বাউল, শর্বানী ও গৌতমের সুরের মাদকতায় উন্মোচিত সংকলন ‘গঙ্গা বরাক সুরমা’
Mingling of 3 melodious voice-Purnadas Baul, Sarbani & Gautam churns out music CD ‘Ganga, Barak, Surma’

September 19: The melody of music has the magical power of transcending geographical boundaries. Political barrier often gets dissolved when hearts are united with a cultural string resulting in a soothing effect. Silchar town geographically located in the southernmost part of Assam witnessed such a unique event in the evening of 19 September when three rivers- Ganga (West Bengal), Barak (Silchar, Assam) & Surma (Sylhet, Bangladesh) mingled into a musical homogeneity, thereby creating a history for posterity to remember.

The occasion was the release of a video CD ‘Ganga Barak Surma’ wherein eminent folk singer from West Bengal Purnadas Baul sang some brilliant numbers along with renowned folk artist Sarbani Bhattacharjee from Silchar and Gautam Chakraborty from Sylhet, Bangladesh. On the dias of the CD release programme were Gulam Kuddus-President of Sammilito Sanskritik Jot-Sylhet, Bangladesh, President of Sammilito Sanskritik Mancha, Silchar-Subrata Bhattacharjee, Vice President of Sammilito Sanskritik Jot-Sylhet Shamsul Alam Salim, eminent lyricist Bapi Dutta Roy, social activist & entrepreneur Swarnali Choudhury along with Silchar MP Dr. Rajdeep Roy.

The programme began with lighting of the lamp by the dignitaries who were then felicitated with traditional uttariyo. Speaking during the occasion, artist Gautam Chakraborty from Sylhet said about how the project of ‘Ganga Barak Surma’ came into being. He lavishly praised the octogenarian Purnadas Baul who rendered his melodious voice with them. He also thanked his co-artist Sarbani Bhattacharjee for coordinating with Purnadas Baul and also the music producer of the album Sujay Bhattacharjee. In an emotional note, Gautam Chakraborty thanked his wife for being a constant source of support to him.

The video album CD was then released by Silchar MP Dr. Rajdeep Roy in presence of the dignitaries and a host of people from the arena of art and culture. Few glimpses of the CD was also displayed in a projector. All were showering praises on the artists for doing justice to the tradition of folk songs which the trio sang in ‘Ganga Barak Surma’. While explaining the title of the album, Gautam Chakraborty said, “We have intentionally named it after 3 rivers to stress on the issue of saving our rivers from getting polluted.”

In her brief yet power packed speech, Sarbani Bhattacharjee thanked all who made wholehearted efforts in making the album an embodiment of perfection. Special thanks were also offered to the young cultural activist Joydeep Chakraborty for providing all sorts of logistic support. The brilliant compering by Anirban Jyoti Gupta added spice to the entire programme and gave it a splendid look. The programme was organised by Barak Baul, Silchar.