Naam Prasanga, Bhagawat Yatra reverberate in Assam

 575th birth anniversary of Sankardev

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The oompah of Assamese brass cymbals and the staccato of the Assamese khuls, studded with Bhagawat Yatras, reverberate in the Naamghars and xatras on the 575th birth anniversary of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev across the state since the wee hours today.

The local devotees took out a Bhagawat Yatra from the Barpeta Xatra in the thoroughfares of Barpeta town this morning. Barpeta is the place where the two great men of Assam, Srimanta Sankardev and Madhabdev, worked together by roping in a number of their disciples. Religious discourses, folk songs, etc., marked the day at Barpeta Xatra today.

The Baithaputa Xatra at Baghbor LAC in the Barpeta district bears the memory of Mahapurush Madhabdev, who, according to legends, established it. This xatra is on the bank of the Brahmaputra. Since Sankardev had to travel by boat in his propagation of neo-vaishnavism, the devotees of Baithaputa Xatra took out the Bhagawat Yatra on a boat in the Brahmaputra today. The Barpeta district administration extended support to the Bhagawat Yatra on boats.

Along the Assam-Nagaland border at Lakhibari near Merapani, Srimanta Sankarjyoti Kendriya Samaj started their two-day celebrations. They took out a Bhagawat Yatra with an elephant leading the procession.

Batadrava Than, the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardev in the Nagaon district, is celebrating the day with a three-day programme. The day began with playing brass cymbals early in the morning. Cultural processions, naam prasanga, diha naam, borgeet competition, marriage songs by ladies (biya geet), etc., marked the day. Bhaonas mesmerized the devotees in the evening. Such programmes will continue for the next two days.

Various xatras in Majuli, Narayanpur, Jorhat, and Assam Bhawan in New Delhi also celebrated the day. In the Assam Bhawan in Kolkata, the Srimanta Sankardev Consciousness Society of India, Kolkata, also celebrated the day through discourses on the philosophy of the great man. Kirtan Gosha, Borgeet, and Xatriya dances marked the celebrations. Asom Sattra Mahasabha (ASM) secretary general, xatradhikar of Sri Sri Kalshila Sattra Kusum Kumar Mahanta, and many others were present at the programme.

Various naamghars and xatras in Guwahati also celebrated the day.

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