4 December 2011
SILIGURI, 4 DEC: Film director Tarun Majumdar wants to make a film based on Mayar Khela, a dance-drama of Rabindranath Tagore.Majumdar said: “I have been planning to make a film based on Mayar Khela. But I don’t know whether I will be able to fulfil this desire.” The film-maker was addressing a session on Rabindra Sangeet in Bengali Cinema, in memory of Bikash Ghosh, former mayor of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation yesterday. The former state urban development minister, Mr Asok Bhattacharya, and other CPI-M leaders organised the programme, where singer Subhoprasad Nandi Majumdar enthralled the gathering with Rabindrasangeet used in Bengali films by Ritwik Ghatak and others. This apart, Majumdar sang a few songs as a tribute to singer Bhupen Hazarika. Pointing out the contribution Tagore's songs in Bengali films, Majumdar said: “Pankaj Kumar Mallick contributed a lot as music director when a member of New Theaters, Bimal Roy took initiative to make a film named Udayer Pathe.” Besides Pankaj Mallick, Majumdar dwelt on the contributions of Ritwik Ghatak, Birendranath Sarkar, Pramathes Barua, Raichand Baral, Hemanta Mukherjee and others and said that those personalities won the heart of the people with Tagore's songs. According to him, he had faced a lot of problems to use Tagore's songs in his film initially, but he was self-assured when he made a comeback with Alo, a film based on a story written by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay. sns
Rebel ABAVP leaders hold meeting with Gurung
4 December 2011
statesman news service
SILIGURI, 4 DEC: Despite being cautioned by the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad (ABAVP) state leadership, rebel leaders, Mr John Barla and Mr Sukra Munda, today held a meeting with Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha president, Mr Bimal Gurung, at Kumai in Kalimpong sub-division.
Mr Gurung and party secretary, Mr Roshan Giri and two ABAVP leaders and their followers adopted a resolution that they would start a joint campaign in the Dooars in favour of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and they would explain the importance about formation of the Gorkhaland and Adivasi Territorial Administration (GATA) among the people.
The GJMM media secretary, Mr Harka Bahadur Chhetri, said: “The GJMM and ABAVP would jointly organise programmes in the Dooars. The objective is to explain the importance of the GATA to the people of the Dooars.” “Adivasi and Gorkha people would organise two joint programmes on 6 and 10 December in the
Dooars. The venue is yet to be decided,” Mr Chhetri said.
Commenting on the development, the ABAVP state president, Mr Birsa Tirkey, said: “I have heard that the tea workers’ unions backed by the GJMM and the ABAVP would organise joint programme in favour of the GATA. The ABAVP-backed Progressive Tea Workers’ Union does not have right to organise such political programmes.”
“Mr Sukra Munda, selected chairman of the PTWU, cannot make any agreement with any political party or any general association out of the jurisdiction of the tea plantation,” he said.
It may be noted that five rebel ABAVP leaders were showcaused for signing a pact with the GJMM with a view to forming the GATA and transferring lands from the Dooars to the GTA.
Out of five, two of them have been acquitted in the ABAVP’s state committee meeting held in Kolkata on 26 November.
The ABAVP executive committee members will determine the fate of the three rebel leaders Mr John Barla, Terai Dooars regional president, Mr Tejkumar Toppo, general secretary and Sukra Munda, PTWU chairman. Mr Barla was stripped of his power. According to Mr Tirkey, the executive committee members would furnish their opinion on the rebel leaders at a meeting to be held in Kolkata on 15 December. The final decision would be taken on 17 December.
Satellite zoo for Kurseong
4 December 2011
DARJEELING, 4 DEC: The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park plans to inaugurate a satellite zoo and India's second pheasant breeding centre in Kurseong's Dowhill area on 7 December.The breeding centre “will work on increasing the number of endangered pheasants like the Satyr tragopan and the Temminck's tragopan”, zoo director Mr AK Jha said. India's only other pheasant breeding centre is in Himachal Pradesh, he said. The World Pheasant Association in July sent six pheasants from the UK's Paradise Wildlife Park for the centre. “A meeting is being scheduled on 14 Decemebr when they will ask for more from the UK-based World Pheasant Association”, Mr Jha said. The association has donated two Satyr tragopan and four Temminck's tragopan. The former species can be found in Darjeeling and Sikkim, while the latter can be found in Meghalaya and Nagaland. Both are endangered. sns
