‘Promote Bengali to take language beauty to people’

Nagpur: The annual day of Nagpur branch of Nikhil Bharat Bangla Sahitya Sammelan (NBBSS) was celebrated on Saturday. Eleven students, who stood in the merit list in Bengali, were awarded while teachers of the language were felicitated.

Pradeep Bhattacharjee, Rajya Sabha member and senior vice-president of NBBSS, was the chief guest. NBBSS was first set up in Lucknow by Atul Chandrasen with a view to bring Bengalis from outside Bengal together.

Speaking on the occasion, Jayant Ghosh, general secretary, said, “We have a Bengali learning programme for those who wish to learn the language. This was started to promote the language.”

Secretary of NBBSS Maya Banerjee said, “It being my mother tongue, Bengali is close to my heart. There is a sense of joy which I feel when I speak Bengali. NBBSS is taking the initiative to teach this beautiful language to people. We undertake such activities voluntarily. Hence, it is the love for the language that makes people like Mandira Ganguli, Mousmi Ghosh and Labhouni Niyogi to spare time and help people learn Bengali.”

Shumbhom Mukherjee, who attended the programme, said, “I think it is important for our generation to embrace our culture and languages. I seldom speak in Bengali with my cousins and friends. But this should change.”

Three non-Bengali speakers, Vitthal Kale, Ashish Bhide and Ratna Pradehakondra, were among the students awarded for their performance in the annual examination. Ratna Pradehakondra, an ex-SBI employee who secured the highest marks said, “It is difficult to find such people in today’s world who will spare time and help you learn something. The teachers who taught us were helpful. The initiative taken by NBBSS is commendable.”

The event concluded with a performance by the members of the organization, highlighting the various Bengali art forms.

(Reporting by Mayank Gurnani)