Aug 1 - The San Jose Wrap-Up Episode

Just a month ago Bengalis transformed San Jose Convention Center into Kolkata or Dhaka's fairgrounds. Prasenjit Biswas provides a summary of the succesful performing arts section while Tuku Ganguly talks about budget and how they steadfastedly planned the event amidst this economic calamity. The loss of Dr. Alok Chatterjee weeks before the event, however, had brought palls of gloom. Alok-da had been an icon in Prabasi with his pujo, chandipath and great support for this year's Banga Sammelan. Very appropriately, Team NABC dedicated the success of NABC to Alok-da. Performance wise, young Priyadarshini set the tone on the opening night with a powerhouse rendition of the American National Anthem which left the audience in awe. Hear snippets of other performances and excerpts of an interview with Shaan. It may be curtains for NABC2009, but the focus immediately shifts to Atlantic City for the 30th edition of Banga Sammelan. NABC2010 Chairman Sudhir Nag invites you to be a part of another great effort. We will begin the countdown soon. In the meanwhile, relive your San Jose memories throughs videos at our video website.

Jun 28 - The Final Countdown

Its here! Banga Sammelan in San Jose begins this week with the business forum on July 1 and then the spectacular opening ceremony on July 2. We talk to CAB president Jahar Bhattacharya about the findings of last year's survey and corrective actions. Major points were food arrangements and limiting hindi songs. We discuss our own viewpoints on this subject and singer Arnab Chakraborty pitches in as well. Timir Hore, Chairman NABC2010, talks about what his team will be monitoring while at San Jose. Bharatnatyam dancer from Michigan Sanjukta Bannerjee talks to her Guru Thankamani Kutty and her dance school Kalamandalam. The school is celebrating 50 years and Guruji promises a memorable evening at NABC. Drama updates and last minute tips about NABC round up this episode. We will be there at San Jose and BanglaPodcast will be running a special coverage of the event.

Jun 21 - Father’s Day Special

Happy Fathers Day to all you dads. In this episode, we thought we'll bring in the sons and dads among our celebrity performers. Sitarist Partha Pratim Chatterjee speaks about his son Purbayan while his son fondly remembers some of the childhood memories. Purbayan also talks about his plans for the opening night of Banga Sammelan. Vocalist Pandit Santanu Bandopadhyay will be bringing the Bishnupur Gharana to NABC. He talks about the gharana, his program and his father Sangeetacharya Amiya Ranjan Bandopadhyay. But how about witnessing father and son performing together? This year's Banga Sammelan gives you that opportunity. Anjan Dutta and Neel Dutta will be bringing their band to San Jose. Listen to Anjan and Neel talk about their music and the unique relationship they share.

Jun 10 - Drama Kanchanranga and Films

Bankruptcy, recession, corporate greed. The headlines keep screaming about the economy while some ponder whether money means everything in life. This classic socio-economic question gets explored in a different way in Banga Sammelan in Sambhu Mitra's famous drama Kanchanranga. In this episode, drama coordinator Subhankar Bhattacharya introduces the drama team from Kolkata and then the cast takes over. Biplab Chatterjee, Kushal Chakraborty, Chaiti Ghoshal, Alakananda Ray and Suparna Dey each take turns to describe the drama and the characters they are portraying. Subhankar also talks about the drama competition. This year NABC is screening two contemporary films - Antaheen and Piyalir Password. Listen to some lovely songs from the two films. (watch BanglaPodcst’s coverage of Piyalir Password world premiere)

Jun 2 - NABC NexGen and Anwesha Datta Gupta

With the grand event of Banga Sammelan now only mere weeks away, we take a look at the show NABC NexGen is putting up. Its not easy to cater from 5 to 27, organizer Arinha Dey says and so the three days are packed with activities. She takes us from the various contests to the desi cruise. Are there any programs that NexGen and their parents may enjoy together? Arinha picks a few. From California to Kolkata - the NexGen story moves on to teenage star Anwesha Datta Gupta. In a free-wheeling conversation with Sreejit Chaudhury, Anwesha shares her excitement of performing in NABC for the first time, her duets with Shaan and recalls memorable incidents from her TV contest days. From the next episode till Banga Sammelan, this program now will come in a weekly format.

May 17 - Samaresh Majumdar, Runa Laila and Banya Choudhury

The first couple of weekends of May are marked by Prabasis celebrating Kabi Jayanti. But what is happening to Bengali language? In this episode, writer Samaresh Majumdar takes a closer look and opines perhaps Bengali's lack of following the discipline of religion may be a reason. In a candid interview, Runa Laila talks about her "jeans and shirt" teenage singing days. Registrants from Switzerland share their excitement about coming to Banga Sammelan for the first time. Sayanti Bhattacharya, Literature committee chairperson, provides an update on literature seminar arrangements. Poet and writer Sunil Gangopadhyay feels that literature is no more a crowd puller in NABC. In a novel idea, NABC 2009 is trying to blend different art forms in these seminars to create more excitement. A conversation with Rezwana Banya Choudhury rounds up this episode.

Apr 15 - Poila Boisakh and Shaan

There are no Times Square parties, nor are there the elaborate resolutions that accompany the first day of the Gregorian calendar. But for prabasi Bengalis, Poila Boisakh heralds not only the beginning of the Bengali New Year (1416 this time), but a flood of nostalgic memories. The prabhat pheries, the new clothes, the halkhata. In this episode, Alolika Mukhopadhyay, Chandana Sarkar, Rummana Chowdhury and Arvin Ghosh reminisce about Nababarsha while Dilip Bhaumik recites his Poila Boisakh poem - a tradition he has maintained for the past three decades. Sushmita Datta, Executive Vice President, NABC 2009 updates us on the Banga Sammelan preparations. Shaan, the singer superstar from Bollywood, joins us to share his unique experience of NABC 2005 New York and how he is looking forward to be with us in San Jose this year. Listen to this intimate interview with Shaan where he breaks into impromptu songs as well. Enjoy the episode and from all of us at Bangla Podcast, we wish you Shubho Nababarsha. How do you remember Poila Boisakh? Let us know on our blog.

Mar 31 - Srikanto Acharya and Raghab Chatterjee

The countdown to San Jose Banga Sammelan is now in double digits! With less than 100 days remaining, the hotels are filling up, the event schedule is getting firmed up and hosts Bay Area Prabasi is getting ready to unveil the Bengali spectacle on July 2. In this episode, we take a trip down memory lane with Ranjit Chakravorty and Alok Chatterjee about the early days of Prabasi while Pradip Banerjee, Prabasi's present chairperson fills us in on where the organization stands today. On the Banga Sammelan front, we bring to you excerpts of our conversations with famous singers Srikanto Acharya and Raghab Chatterjee. The next episode will be a special one on Poila Boisakh with a delightful interview with Shaan. Enjoy!

Feb 15 - Tanusree Shankar, Lopamudra, Joy Sarkar

As snow starts to melt around North America, sunny California gets ready to welcome you in July to Banga Sammelan 2009. In this episode, we get an update from CAB President Jahar Bhattacharya about whats happening in Kolkata while CAB's Asim Chaudhury shares his experience about the challenges of Banga Sammelan. Preparations are well on way. Tanusree Shankar, choreographer for the opening ceremony was in the US holding workshops for the participants. As she tells us, she is very satisfied with her trainees and gives us a glimpse into the spectacle. Dalia Sen, in charge of opening and closing ceremonies, is excited to have Tanusree-di so early and can almost feel the Pujo spirit. Joy Sarkar, the music composer for opening ceremony, pitches in the conversation as well. Members of the organizing team Prasenjit Biswas and Reema Mukherjee provide the behind-the-scenes inputs. But the last word had to be singer Lopamudra's! She will be performing in Banga Sammelan after a decade, will participate in a number of novel events and is "...very, very excited". Enjoy the celebspeak and stay tuned for more!

Oct 3 - Countdown begins for San Jose

It is the festive season for Bengalis around the world. In their typical way, across North America, Prabasi Bengalis are also transforming the next few weekends into a compact Durga Puja celebration. We decided to join in the festivities with Bay Area Prabasi in San Francisco - hosts for 2009 Banga Sammelan. In this episode, NABC2009 President Surajit Sengupta conveys his Pujo greetings to our listeners. Prabasi Chairman Pradip Banerjee shares his excitement about the just-concluded Prabasi Durga Puja and gets ready for the big event next year. Facility arrangements are all ready - informs NABC2009 General Secretary Jyotirmoy Ganguly. Much of the planning would be helped by the survey conducted this year by CAB at the Toronto Banga Sammelan, says Siddhartha Basu of CAB. Like many attendees, we are curious about the programs and events. NABC2009 Cultural committee member Prasenjit Biswas highlights the novel themes and the star cast being finalized. We will bring to you updates as we know more. For now, lets enjoy the celebrations of this festive month through peace and friendship. Stay tuned!