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All in all, Luitporia’s event was a commendable attempt.

Photo: Anu Pushkarna

Just jammingThe members of The East India Company rehearsing before the show at New Delhi’s LTG auditorium

It was supposed to begin at five in the evening but like most cultural shows notorious for not starting on time, it too got rolling after an hour and a half. Having tested one’s patience, you obviously expect a good fare but well, it was a mixed bag. Luitporia, a cultural organisation of Assamese students studying in New Delhi, presented this cultural evening at the city’s LTG auditorium to mark its first anniversary, its high point being the city-based music band, The East India Company’s performance.

The event, which started impressively with the outfit’s members walking up the aisle to the stage with candle lights, began with a group song by six Delhi University students. Set to Akhauri raga, it was a Borgeet, a popular Assamese folk style of singing initiated by the great Vaishnanva saint from the region, Sri Sankardeva. The popular song, “Suno suno re suno” was written by one of the literary luminaries of Assam, Jyotiprasad Agarwala.

This was followed by a fine Bharatanatyam recital, but not quite going with the character of the event. The performance was followed by a dance presentation by a bevy of girls from Indraprastha College. The group danced to Bhupen Hazarika’s “Asom amar rupohi”. A good effort it was with well-coordinated hand and hip movements, but it needed a lot more action to go with the pace of the music. Yet another group performance, by the members of Luitporia, was impressive simply for its choreography.

A surprise element of the evening was popular Assamese singer Devaprassana. The singer who formerly belonged to the well-known stand-up comedian group, Bhaiyamama, started with a lot of technical glitch but he set the crowd rocking to his Assamese number, “Tumar xoite”.

By the time The East India Company came on to the stage, the hall was packed with students from the region, all cheering and ready to rock. The band’s lead singer, Angarag Mahanta’s deep voice with a nasal tinge boomed the auditorium’s acoustic system.

It started with Angarag’s popular Assamese song, “Mon mur” and “Sapunor aji” to a rousing response. The band then belted out two of his self-composed Hindi numbers. Angarag, son of popular Assamese singer duo, Khogen and Mitali Mahanta, has been singing for the last 15 years and also runs a studio here. He sang a fine quawwali and a Bihu number too besides a few more scores.

All in all, Luitporia’s “Luitor Bukut Anixa” (the name of the evening’s event) was a commendable attempt by a set of young college-goers though one would have liked to see a mixed audience at the auditorium. To facilitate that, at the least, the announcements could have been either in Hindi or English along with Assamese. After all, besides keeping one’s regional identity alive in far away Delhi, don’t organisations like Luitporia also have the responsibility of showcasing one’s culture to an audience outside the region?

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