Essex Indians has recently become the first Indian organisation in London to celebrate International Mother Tongue Day ('Bhasha Dibosh' in Bengali) for 6 years in a row.
Essex Indians (EI) proudly run ‘Maitreya Bengali Club’ and ‘Pathshala Hindi club’ for language awareness in the generation next uplifting the roots and values. They celebrated the language day on 22nd February at Laindon Methodist Church hall in Essex.
The evening started with a homage song ‘Ekushe February’ to the martyrs of language day - Dhaka University students. The club's young members delivered talk on the significance of ‘bhasha dibosh’ and the importance of preserving one’s own roots and values.
This was followed by talks by members coming from different states of India, such as, Punjab, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Bengal, their associations with the language and coping strategies in the UK.
The evening was filled with songs about language day, potpourri culture of the Bengali language and its future, language and dance forms such as Bharatnatyam.
The cultural part ended with a very thought out language quiz that both adults and children had participated in. The evening concluded with a 3-course meal cooked by EI members.
The evening was anchored by Dr Arpita Ray, cultural secretary of EI. Dr Dipankar Mukhopadhyay, Dr Anirban Mandal and Mr Upal Banerjee, trustees of EI thanked all performers and supporters of EI for attending this unique event.
