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Bengali new year celebrated in New York
The Bengali new year celebrations were held at City Hall with the rendering of Rabindra Sangeet.
The Bengali new year celebrations were held at the City Hall here with the rendering of Rabindra Sangeet and the honouring of some outstanding achievers from the community.
Uma Sengupta, district leader of the Democratic party, started the function by greeting the audience with "Shubho Naba Barsho" (Happy New Year in Bengali).
"Since we come from a rich culture we would like to show the Americans that we migrated to this country with our culture," Sengupta told IANS.
Speaking on the occasion, New York City Council Speaker Gifford Miller said: "The beauty of New York City is that we don't ask people to come to New York and forget their motherland.
"We are strengthened as a city by the diversity it brings. The Bengali community has contributed a lot to the city in terms of business, technology and education."
Miller thanked Sengupta for the work she has been doing not just for the South Asian community but also for the city.
Sengupta came to the US in 1970 from India and has been the Democratic district leader for the past four years, representing among others Jamaica Estate, Union Turnpike and Hillside Avenue in Queens.
New York City Council member James Gennaro said he was allowed to do two celebrations at City Hall every year and he chose two South Asian communities for this -- Indians and Bangladeshis.
"I could have done any other culture, Greek or whatever. I have real fondness for South Asians."
Programmes on the agenda included Rabindra Sangeet - the singing of songs composed by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore - and dance performances by school children. Six South Asians were honoured at the event.
They were Dev Malik for his outstanding service to the city, Jyotirmay Mitra, Sumitra Sengupta Dosamantes of the NYC Department of Education, scholar Gargi Chattopadhayaya, and musician Anima Ray Chaudhuri.
