Year-long centenary celebrations of Jabalpur's historic Siddhi Bala Bose Library Association were inaugurated on Sunday by Minister for Public Works Rakesh Singh amid fireworks and scenes of jubilation.
Singh offered flowers at the statue of Swami Vivekananda, lit the ceremonial lamp, and released the centenary balloons into the sky to mark the start of the festivities.
A traditional Bengali welcome accorded by office bearers was met with applause from the audience as the venue resonated with the sounds of the dhankh.
The program began with Rabindra Sangeet and the singing of "Vande Mataram," followed by an Odissi welcome dance.
On this occasion, Jayshree Banerjee, Preeti Bhattacharya, SP Dutta, Sandeep Biswas, Santosh Devdaria, and Manatosh Dutt were felicitated for their contributions.
The centenary flag, emblem, and song were also unveiled on the occasion, which culminated with the honouring of the officials of Bengali organisations in Jabalpur.
Officials from the DB Club, Vivek VJF, Westland Khamaria, Ranjhi Kalibari, Ranjhi Bengali Colony, Ramkrishna Mission, Adhartal Durga Puja Samiti, Narmada Durga Puja Samiti, Premnagar Kalibari, Agarwal Colony Durga Puja, South Jabalpur Bengali Association, Nari Mangal Samiti, Nikhit Bharat Bang Literature Conference, Bengali Society Welfare Society, Jagadhatri Puja Samiti, Mansa Puja Samiti, Kent Durga Utsav Samiti, and Bharat Seva Ashram were felicitated.
