Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan or NBBSS is a phenomenon in itself, the reason being Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore, as he was its first president after inaugurating it in 1923, in Allahabad. Being an all India organisation, it has chapters in a lot of cities. Earlier, the headquarters was in Allahabad but now it is in Delhi.
Saswati Mukherjee, secretary, NBBSS, Chennai, says, “The Chennai chapter started way back in 1982 and since then we have tried to preserve our culture through literary meets and talks.” Apart from a biannual magazine called Sagari, which is a compilation of works by members of the organisation, the group also organises literary competitions and meets. Saswati elaborates about the competitions, “We send the various works to renowned literary geniuses in Kolkata and Delhi, who select the best among them and the deserving candidate is awarded under various categories.” As for their meets, these events involve everything from theatre to poetry recitals, story-telling and dance performances. This time, the plan is to organise a theme-based meet with the theme, ‘How Tagore influenced you,’ she says.
Saswati tells us, “I’ve been a part of this group for 10 years and it’s beautiful to see people actively participate and encourage participation. There are many Bengalis in Chennai who wish to preserve our culture and our job is to encourage them and try to keep our culture alive in a different city.” She adds that they get theatre artists, authors, vocalists and musicians from Kolkata for their annual meet.
She says, “We are collaborating with Chennai Bengali for the cultural meet on June 22 to reach a wider audience.” Looks like the meet is going to be a big hit so Bengalis better Toiri Thako (be ready)!