TV9 Bangaliana telethon, the first-of-its-kind programme in Bengali television has proved to be a grand success with its participants in India and abroad lauding its initiative, content, and style of presentation.

The telethon was designed to celebrate TV9 Bangla’s first anniversary. It focused on the achievements of Bengalis across the globe and attempted a serious soul-search and candid discussion on the future of one of the most creative races that form the rich mosaic of the Indian civilisation.

According to a company statement, the 10-hour marathon deliberation on various aspects of Bengalis, in which a galaxy of luminaries participated was telecast from 1:00 pm and 11:00 pm on February 13.

Conveying his rapturous approval of the programme from Washington DC, a planetary geologist at NASA, Amitabha Ghosh said, “it was an excellent panel discussion.”

Ghosh, who spent his student days in Kolkata, participated in the session that discussed the role of Bengalis in the domain of business and industry.

Even some of the participants who liked the differentiated content filmed scholar Sanjay Mukherjee, educationist Chinmay Guha, classical musician Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar and political science professor Maidul Islam.

On the content, Chinmay Guha said, “It was necessary to deliberate on what constitutes Bangaliana. TV9 Bangla rendered a valuable service by kicking it off.”

Maidul Islam said, “I have seen the entire programme. It was quality stuff.”

Heaping praise on the approach to the subject, Sanjoy Mukhopadhyay said, “I liked the endeavour. Bengal and Bengali cultures have not been seen holistically for a long time. The Telethon deliberated on diverse domains such as literature, film, theatre, economy, politics under a single umbrella. Those who participated in the discussions were all men of talent and their views enriched us. I hope TV9 Bangla would keep up the effort.”

Sarod player Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar said, “It’s a matter of great pleasure that a television channel is making this effort. The plan to discuss so many topics under a single umbrella is also novel. Bengalis have a distinctive culture, education and politics. Trying to accommodate different perspectives is indeed remarkable. It will be great if this effort is continued.”

However, a common thread of the appreciation was the deft way in which diverse subjects were tackled by host Barun Das, the CEO of TV9 Network. He conceived the entire programme and single-handedly steered the pioneering exercise.

Das was assisted by celebrity co-hosts such as filmmaker Goutam Ghose, actors Arpita Chatterjee and Anirban Bhattacharya and TV9 Bangla anchor Rumela Chakraborty.

The programme was hailed as much for its richness of content as for its suave, matured, non-high-decibel presentation.

In the run-up to the event, Barun Das said, “TV9 Bangla would mobilise and sensitise about 10 crore Bengalis in the quest for their glory. To deliberate on the present and think of a roadmap for the future. We intend to set up an advisory board consisting of eminent personalities who are the legends in their respective fields. The exclusive board would enrich the endeavour and guide us through this journey for our mission seeking rejuvenation of Bangaliana.”