Written by: Parveen Sultana
Graduation in Fine Arts
Govt. College of Art and Crafts, Basistha
‘Assam Association of the Deaf’ (A.A.D) celebrates its ‘64th International Day of Sign Language for the Deaf People’ from 20th of September 2021 to 26th of September 2021 under the guidance of Swarnalata Pegu (Vice President of A.A.D) and Mr. Tapan Kumar Sarma (Secretary of A.A.D and President of ‘ALL INDIA FEDERATION OF THE DEAF’).
Day 1 started with an awareness camp and a workshop on sign language, held at the Police Reserve, Paltan Bazar in the company of the police personnel of Assam.
‘Assam Association of the Deaf’ held seminars on 21st and 22nd of September 2021 on the importance of sign language , at Nalbari and Barpeta in the presence of the local people.
A street rally was conducted on 23rd of September 2021 starting from North East College of Hearing Impaired, Birubari to Directorate of Archaeology, Ambari Archaeological Site in Guwahati.
Accordingly, they also held a press meeting at the Guwahati Press Club, focusing on popularising the sign language of the deaf among the civil society with an aim to maintain a good relation with them.
A workshop was organized on 24th of September 2021 which strived towards decoding the famous Jatiya Sangeet ‘O MUR APUNAR DEKH’ into sign language.
A note of gratitude goes to our respected interpreters – Ankur Sarma, Priyanka Newar and Kuwali Bezbaruah, who took immense effort in interpreting every word into sign language, thereby helping the deaf students and the audiences for effective communication.
A marathon race took place on the same day which was flagged off by Athlete Kushal Lahon.
A seminar was held on 25th of September 2021 where the importance of AIDS and HIV was imparted to all.
A free health camp was organised where the deaf had undergone a free health checkup following which they were prescribed the necessary medicines, free of cost . In addition to this, various types of sports were also being conducted.
Host Pranab Kumar Sarma (Publish Secretary of A.A.D) wrapped up the programme on 26th of September 2021 at Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture , Uzanbazar by organising various competitions for the deaf, such as art, dance and quiz competition followed by cultural activities and prize distributions.
Last but not the least, special mention goes to our respected chief guests, Mr. Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta (DGP of Assam), Anupam Saikia (Contemporary Artist), Mintu Bhattacharjee (Professor at Gauhati University) and Adip Kumar Phukan (Senior Journalist and Social Activist).
Therefore, to conclude , Assam Association of the Deaf puts forward its heartfelt gratitude to the Lions Club of Guwahati; without whose untiring love and support, this programme would never have been a success.
