Watch the last video of Bishnupriya Manipuri New Delhi programme

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This is the last video in the Bishnupriya Manipuri New Delhi series. The shoot of the video was done on November 2, 2009 in New Delhi on the eve of birth celebration of Sri Sri Bhubeneshwar Sadhu Thakur. 

The series of videos are not mere moving representation of the day and the people. It tells a story of an event where the Bishnupriya Manipuri people living in Delhi and adjoining areas participated, making the event “special” for everyone. Irrespective of age, status, under one roof we all smilingly congregated, becoming egoless creatures. 

Watch the smiling faces in this video! You can see everybody wearing a SMILE, a silent smile. You can see people roaming here and there and talking relentlessly with no care of the monotonous life that we all had to undergo. 

Watch out!

Happy Holi!!

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Bishnupriya Manipuri

Now, Shri Mairang Singh is in the charge of Radha Gobinda Mandir at Nabadwip

We live in a fuzzy world, words like Nabadwip, Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur, no doubt are in our conscious vocabulary. But ask someone what the importance Nabadwip has to our community or what the teachings of Sadhu Thakur are, it would be troubling for many. Here is an attempt by Rebati Mohan Sinha to clear the image.

Mr.Ranjit’s comment, “Who will spread the message of Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur”, on an article ‘Are we aware of the issues related to Bishnupriya Manipuri ’.

For information, the message has already been spread not only in Indian metro cities: Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore and Ahmedabad but also in Sydney, Adelaide in Australia and New Jersey, USA. They celebrate the birth anniversary of Sadhu Thakur every year.

The founder of Radha Gobinda Mandir at Nabadwip, Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur took birth in 1871, 26th October in a very poor family from a remote village, named Baropua (Bhubaneswar Nagar). He left for heavenly abode on 17th July 1940. Late Tanu Babu Sinha, the first graduate of Bishnupriya Manipuri took over the charge as 2nd sevait of the Radha Gobinda Mandir in the same year. 

Then on his demise (after 3 yrs) late Krishna Kumar Debabarmana became the 3rd sevait in the year 1943 untill up to his death in 1966 (23yrs).Then came his younger brother late Haridas Debabarmana in the same year and stayed up to 1986 (20yrs).

On his death no one from Krishna Kumar Debabarmana’s family was willing to take over, then his disciple(Krishna Kumar’s) Sri Rakhal Das Babaji,(who is at present, the chief adviser) took over the charge and stayed up to 1997 (11yrs) till the member from his family, his nephew, late Jogendra Lal Debabarmana retired and took over the charge. He brought his cousin late Chandi Sinha to assist him.

Late Chandi Sinha became the Mandir administrator to look after day to day work. In those days, a local member of the Mandir Paridarshan Committee, one Kanak Saha was showing his muscle power to these two brothers and they could not do anything to him. And another version was, the cousin of sevait befriended with Kanak Saha and dwindled with the Mandir funds, such as taking out money from Pranami box without giving any account.

Later on, sevait’s cousin Chandi died, sevait became alone, top of that, it was heard that he was suffering from kidney related desease and was always bed ridden in Guwahati. Shri Rakhaldas Babaji and his disciple, the present sevait Shri Mairang Singh temporarily hold the charge of Mandir administration in his absence.

Sevait late Jogendralal Debabarmana was in his death bed, one day he called the present sevait at his bed side and told that his designated successors nominated by his predecessors (all his uncles), were not willing to take over the charge, hence his (Mairang) services were urgently required and with out any delay he should proceed to take charge of Mandir Administration at Nabadwip, which he did and he is continuing now.

Initially he was struggling his way in to the administration encroached by locals, headed by Kanak Saha. He very tactfully tackled the situation, not even caring his very life. He was about to be attacked with acid bottle; but the enemies` attempt was foiled in time. He escaped unhurt. Really his courage was appreciable then. He made sure, the local goon resigned from the Paridarshan Committee.

Whenever we sat for discussion on matters pertaining to Gobindabari, he used to feel very upset for gossip mongers who spread the baseless rumours : “Mandirgo miyange neelaga” across the Bishnupriya Manipuri Parganas.

To prove, ‘the gossip mongers are wrong’, he arranged for a Shishya-Proshishya Mahamilan in year 2005, the first of it’s kind in Gobindabari`s 85 years history. The who-and-who of the Bishnupriya Manipuri Community attended the Sammelan not only from the states of India: Assam, Tripura, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune; but also from Bangladesh. There were minister, IAS, IFS, IRS officers, doctors, engineers, professors and others from our community, along with the local Bengalee Shishya Proshishya attended the Sammelan.

It was a very remarkable gathering, where we could hear the local speakers narrating the never heard stories, related to Sadhu Thakur.

Certain proposals were made in the meeting of Mahamilan at presence of President, Mandir Paridarshan Committee and he had agreed to place in the forthcoming meeting, for approval. One of the approved proposals was the three member Prachaar subcommittee for spreading the Sadhu Thakur`s Vanee, headed by ex – minister Srimati Vijay Lakshmi Sinha, from Tripura.

During last few years, how far is the progress made by the subcommittee in spreading the message of Sadhu Thakur, I may not be able to give an account; but I belong to Sadhu Thaku`s family, and under the guidance of my father, who is a disciple (and nephew) of Sadhu Thakur, spreading the message not only to the metro cities across the country; but also to the few cities of Australia and the USA. And at our home turfs in Assam and Tripura, people are also gradually gearing up for the celebration.

Before I could conclude, I would like to dwell upon some points for the benefit of the present generation. My perception may be wrong; anyway it can be left to the readers. As Sri Ranjit Sinha asked, who will be the guiding force to spread the message, as he could see, nobody is working in that direction?

Still today most of the Bishnupriya Manipuri people residing in villages of Assam Tripura are ignorant of Sadhu Thakur. “WHY”is a big question mark?

As I mentioned at the beginning, the names and their tenure as sevait, also mentioned some of their status. I did not understand why didn’t they try to propagate the teaching of Sri Sri Bhubaneswar Sadhu Thakur beyond Nabadwip?

Some people may not be agreeing with me; but I must say, spade is spade as far as spreading the teaching of Sadhu Thakur is concerned. Anyway let me come to the point, once I had been to Gabinda Mandir in 1973 in an auspicious occasion and asked some people whether they knew the founder’s name, and the reply came in negative. They knew only Gobindabari Mandir, not as Sadhu Thakur’s Mandir. I may be wrong in saying so; but I was bit upset.

Another point I want to put forward: Once we – wife and myself, been to ISKCON Mandir at Juhu, Mumbai in 1974, at that time the present building was not there. There were plenty of photographs of Nabadwip, displayed there and out of which one photograph, my wife could identify as her late brother Krishna Kumar Debabarma, then sevait of Gabindo Mandir.

Now my question is whose photograph should have been there? Sadhu Thakur’s or the sevait’s? There were three sevaits from a village; but they never celebrated birth anniversary of Sadhu Thakur in their village during their tenure. What it meant? Can we say, they were conscious about Prachaar of Sadhu Thakur’s vanee? I have plenty of examples to put forward; but it is not necessary now.

Can we compare Sadhu Thakur with other sevaits? If ‘not’ then, it is my view, his statue shouldn’t be in line with others. His statue should be just opposite, at far end, of the ‘Leifaam’ i.e. near east wall of Naat Mandir.

‘I would like to invite people to join in discussion.’

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November 2, 2008: A special day

By BN Sinha & RK Rishikesh Sinha

November 2nd, 2008 will always remain fresh in the memory of people who had attended the celebration of Abhirbhav Tithi of Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur at Shiv Mandir, New Delhi. Those who didn’t participate for any reason had really missed something. However, those who were the part of the celebration will always remember the day, perhaps for many reasons.

The day wore an altogether different look and vibrancy. Why not? This was a day where Bishnupriya Manipuri people residing in Delhi and surrounding areas were pouring in at a particular place, at a particular time, for a particular purpose. The day came as a golden opportunity to meet friends, far and near relatives, and those whom we tag as out-of-sight, out-of-mind … It was indeed a special day.

In the congregation of above 300 to 400 Bishnupriya Manipuri people, one could see and feel a clear sense of euphoria in the air. Eyes of the people were wandering, as if they were searching for something precious, lost in the sea of faces. In the faces of the children, teenagers, adolescents, olderly people, and all those who attended the celebration, a sense of contentment, feeling of carefree, was very visible. The created environment was casting a magical impact on everybody. People were busy, irrespective of being acquainted or not, in exchanging greetings, enquiring about others.

Something that was grand and great about the whole celebration was its nature of participation. The attendees were from all parts of Bishnupirya Manipuri dominated areas of Assam, Tripura and Manipur. One could say the venue turned into a true melting pot of Bishnupriya Manipuri people from different geography. Can you imagine the same happening in Silchar, Karimganj, Hailakandi or in the predominant areas of Bishnupriya Manipuri community in Tripura? No, but here it was made possible.

A special moment

However, when Monika Sinha came on the stage with the song “Tor pavira gitar ma kotiou tor srijon, homadiyar sadararang homa” , it created immediately a nostalgic environment, as if we are listening live of the then great singer Miss Meena Kumari, in a small village of Assam or Tripura, in the nineties.

Another feature that had got attention and acceptance in the celebration was the maximum usage of the Bishnupriya Manipuri language in the day-long programme. The typical Brishnupriya Manipuri urban coterie who loves to be snobbish by not speaking their mother tongue actively sank into ‘Amar Thar” mode. Regular announcement were ran during the whole celebration: “ Ami habihane amar thar baro amar fijet ore thakat janani lagtoi”. The confidence and the initiative to carry out the whole programme in the Bishnupriya Manipuri language, concludes one thing that the wind of change is in the air and it is blowing in the right direction, thus setting a trend to be followed by.

Those who were catapulting the stature of the Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur’s celebration held at New Delhi to a new height, setting an example for others to follow, bunch of Bishnupriya Manipuri youths wearing “Chankahl Ami” batch were responsible. It is due to their assistance that celebration was held at a grandiose level. Their alacrity, swiftness, feeling of responsibility, sense of belongingness, was something that was making an impression on the assembled people.

Read:

Sri Sri Bhubeneshwar Sadhu Thakur Birth Celebration at Mumbai

By Rebati Mohan Sinha, Mumbai

Sri Sri Bhubeneshwar Sadhu Thakur Utsav 2008 in New Delhi

Kavita Sinha paints Bhubeneshwar Sadhu Thakur

Pune celebrates the birth anniversary Sri Sri Bhubaneswar Sadhu Thakur

Sri Sri Bhubeneshwar Sadhu Thakur Birth Celebration at Mumbai

By Rebati Mohan Sinha, Mumbai

Bishnupriya Manipuri Kalyan Sangthan celebrates birth anniversary of Sri Sri Bhubaneswar Sadhu Thakur on ‘Bhatri Dwitia day’ in Pune and on following Sunday, in Mumbai on 2^nd November2008. The celebration took place at the community hall of New Airport Colony, Vile-Parle, Mumbai.

When Pune celebrates, Mumbai joins them and vice versa. We can not perform all the rituals, because of Bishnupriya Manipuri families arriving from very far away places, say 50,60…kms. Traveling with families in Mumbai local trains is next to impossible, so their late coming is justified up to certain extent. It was a well appreciated gathering.

Our chief guest, the prominent Nrityangana, Padmashri Srimati Darshana Jhaveri, the disciple of guru late Bipin Singha, graced the occasion, at the start of our cultural program at 4.30 pm. There were distinguished guests present, among them were Dr. Sukumar Nath Choudhury, an aeronautical engineer, Dr.Rajkumar Prishit, President,Hindi Prachar Sabha,Maharashtra.

Our language singer Sri Ravi Sinha from Guwahati, with his troupe entertained the audience. When he sang a few melodious songs, written and sung by his maternal uncle, late (oza) Kalasena Rajkumar, from Patharkandi,Karimganj, the audience got spell bound.

Sri Gautam Sinha also rendered few bhajan geet, the last one was in Hindi. Sri Pradip Sinha accompanied them with a tobla. Our local singer Srimati Indrani Sarma, a Mumbai-based talented singer also mesmerised the audience.

The dakula jura from Pune have shown few acrobatic cholon  in front of our chief guest, who herself is a very good mridong badak. The senda aarti was jointly rendered by Indrani Sarma and Ravi Sinha. The pune party, headed by Sri Kulajit Rajkumar, took part in aarti. The entire program was partially broadcasted to Pune, Delhi and Kolkata through mobiles. Loioitega vijoy koria aamar udinkaar aayojonhanor somapti ghosona korlang Sadhu thakuror joya dhwanilo.

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Sri Sri Bhubeneshwar Sadhu Thakur Utsav 2008 in New Delhi

(From left to right: Krishnakanta Sinha, Chandan Sinha, Babu Sinha, not known, Biprojit Sinha, Henryy Sinha, Bhim Sinha, Nilkanta Sinha)

The 139th birth anniversary of Sri Sri Bhubeneshwar Sadhu Thakur was celebrated on 30th October 2008 at the resident of a devotee in a simple manner by offering ritual vedic yagnya by a learned brahmin priest at Mangal Puri, New Delhi. It was attended by adjacent community families as well as a few representatives of the Bishnupriya Manipuri Nagarik Samiti, Delhi and NCR.

However, the main function of the celebration was held at Shiv Mandir, opposite Ansal plaza at South Extension, New Delhi on November 2, 2008. It was well organised by Bishnupriya Manipuri Nagarik Samity, Delhi & NCR and by the youths of the society.

By virtue of their constant efforts, the occasion draws a well uniformed gathering of over 300 to 400 people.

The religious puja ceremony of Lord Krishna, Sri Chaitanya Mohaprobhu and Sri Sri Bhubeneshwar Sadhu Thakur commenced at 10 a.m.

After the completion of holy puja ceremony it was followed up by cultural programme particularly devotional songs and dances by the youths. The religious Raas Leela dance was performed by Momita Sinha and Monika Sinha, followed up by the religious song sung by Mr. Paritosh Sinha. Both the performances charmed the audiences.

After this, attention gripping performance came with Loktak Clan. Their innovative, swift dance maneuvers mesmerized the assembled audience.

Soon after the ceremony it was followed by valuable speeches of chief guest and dignitaries of Bishnupriya Manipuri Nagarik Samiti Delhi-NCR.

Acharjyo Pandit Shri Nil Madhav Sinha, Chief Guest of the occasion, and the aged father of Dr.Nirmalaya Sinha, in his speech emphasised the upliftment of the Bishnupriya Manipuri society in all direction so that one can prove himself as perfect Bishnupriya Manipuri.

He said that the restless efforts make a man perfect, good work towards society may surely be able to destroy the evil thought. He further added he or she should draw inspiration from Late Babu Sinha of Mashughat who possesses the high degree of dignity in “Pada Kirtan” among the society. He stated “Gopi Bhavo” in Raas Leela dance, where all the parts of a body is kept concealed with polei (uniform), is a symbol to safe morality.

Dr. Nirmalya Sinha, President of Bishnupriya Manipuri Nagarik Samiti, in his maiden speech, whole heartedly congratulated the gathering for their good response on the occasion. He also praised the role of youths played in the arrangement of the whole occasion, making it a success. He called for similar effort and enthusiasm in future.

Mr. Sashikanta Sinha, General Secretary of Bishnupriya Manipuri Nagarik Samiti in his speech, conveyed his gratitude to the crowd for their over whelming response. He said such response enthuse energy in the Nagarik Samiti.

Rajkumar Harilal Sinha, Treasurer of the Bishnupriya Manipuri Nagarik Samiti, read out the names of donours. The exercise was carried out to avoid any kind of misunderstanding among the masses.

Jishnu Sinha, Secretary, Bishnupriya Manipuri Nagarik Samiti in his speech, highlighted the aims and objectives of the Bishnupriya Manipuri Nagarik Samiti, Delhi NCR.

Acquirement of land for Mandir, propagate Bishnupriya Manipuri culture to other communities, formations of Mahila Samiti, providing aid to students, patients at the vicinity of the mandir, are some of the activities he threw light upon in his speech.

After the speeches of dignitaries the ceremony was concluded with Gobindo Arati and Sri Sadhu Thakur Arati.

‘JAI JAI SHRI SHRI BHUBENASWAR SADHU THAKUR’

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Kavita Sinha paints Bhubeneshwar Sadhu Thakur

Never before it has been done, especially in the online Bishnupriya Manipuri world that a painting has been thrown open to the world; but this time it has happened, in a spectacular manner, with tons of faith and respect. Kavita Sinha, a student of class XI (Science), and daughter of Bimal Kumar Singha, on the auspicious occasion of 138th Birth anniversary of Sri Sri Bhubeneshwar Sadhu Thakur, captured the image of Him in her painting. For a little girl like Kavita Sinha, this was her unique way to imbibe the teachings of Sri Sri Bhubeneshwar Sadhu Thakur, setting an example for others to follow.

Her father, Bimal Kumar Sinha, who hails from Japirban, Cachar, Assam , is a government employee, and is presently posted in Tripura.

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Bishnupriya Manipuri Kalyan Sangthan, Mumbai unit invites Gov of Maharashtra SC Jamir

In a communiqué to the Honourable Governor of Maharashtra, Shri SC Jamir, the Bishnupriya Manipuri Kalyan Sangthan, Pune, Mumbai has sought a meeting with him to invite him in the celebration of the birth anniversary of Shri Shri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur on November2, 2008. 

“We the 30 odd Bishnupriya Manipuri families from North East, specially from Assam, Tripura residing in Mumbai and its suburbs (are) celebrating the occasion every year under the banner of ‘Bishnupriya Manipuri Kalyan Sangthan’, Pune Mumbai, … would like to invite the Honourable Governor to attend the celebration of the birth anniversary of Shri Shri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur” reads the communiqué addressed to The Officer on Special Duty, Governor of Maharashtra. 

The Bishnupriya Manipuri Kalyan Sangathan, Mumbai strives for the spiritual, social, economical, educational and cultural upliftment of the Bishnupriya Manipuri community and also mankind at large. This group also acts as a hub for educational, socio-economical, cultural, medical guidance and contribution to the people of Bishnupriya Manipuri community of Mumbai and also those coming from North East at large.

Shri Shri Bhubaneswar Sadhuthakur is the most profound spiritual leader in Manipuri history. The philosophy and teachings of Shri Shri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur is to impart service to the mankind irrespective of caste, creed, color and gender. His teachings are based on the universal religion of Naam Sankirtan (Pray by Chanting God).

This year the 138th birth anniversary will be celebrated on 2nd November, 2008 at new Airport colony, Vile Parle(E), Mumbai.

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Grapevine is rife

As the day to celebrate 138 Birth centenery of Sri Sri Bhubeneshwar Sadhu Thakur, to be celebrated on November 2, 2008, is coming nearer, with the same momentum, the grapevine machine amongst Bishnupriya Manipuri Delhiites, is also touching a new height. Very hot to handle!

Grapevine?

“Last year, per family cash collection was Rs 500, this year it is mere Rs 250, I will not attend.” Hope, your stomach fluttered simply reading this sentence. Imagine what had happened to me when I heard this cross pollinated stuff. I simply shrieked “Who on earth can stop you to donate x amount?” You can definitely contribute Rsx0000 and come! The pretext is doesn’t hold water. It is indefinitely deposed. Order.

“Since I have been out of the Bishnupriya Manipuri society and the people, and I am not conversant to the mother tongue, I feel insecure- so I am not coming.” Who is going to talk to you, if you don’t want to converse and mingle with your near and dear relatives! At least come and see the sea of proud Bishnupriya Manipuri people who are going to throng the venue. See through your eyes how the event unfolds itself. I am sure you are gonna to listen bi-lingual, tri-lingual, multi-lingual with different tone and tenor of registered, unregistered, national, regional, international languages, perhaps with broken and straight accent. You will fail to count the intensity and the frequency the waves of languages would be passing through your eardrums. I would suggest, simply sit and enjoy the environment. Now come to this piece.

“Hey, I have not been invited, so how could I go without any invitation.” FAQ? Frequently Asked Questions! C’mon dear, don’t bring your Himalaya size ego here, especially the event which is not a personnel affair. Even the organiser(s) or so-called karta-darta can’t show you the door; condition if you drop at the function with clean and tender heart. Come even if you have heard from xyz sources.

Well, there is another breed of people. Their excuse-”the venue (Shree Shiv Mandir, Sanatan Dharam Sabha, August Kranti Marg, Andrews Ganj, New Delhi) is too far away from my place and the day is Sunday. Let me see.” For them, I will say-OK you are living in Jiribam, Manipur where you could enter at a particular time period. If you miss, you really miss. But, my dear friend, this is Delhi, New Delhi-the capital of India. You will get bus, cabs, autoricksaw, else sleep in the venue. I know the program will not be stretched to the troublesome hours. Anyway, who has poisoned your ears saying, the event is taking place at evening?

However, there is another engineered breed of Bishnupriya Manipuri people. They complain or comment, I don’t know, I simply can’t assimilate their vision in my own matrix vision. “I don’t like our people, their mentality, their thinking process, their mean and useless talks, anything, any stuff related to this community” – is their refined scripted mantra. Believe me (God forbids me), my eyes instantly get moistened (with extreme happiness). I find in them a true soul of being a Bishnupirya Manipuri!!! They are great, genius, (inde) genious, God in human body!

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Sadhu Thakur’s b’day celeb at Shree Shiv Mandir, Andrews Ganj

With an objective to organise Sri Sri Bhubeneshwar Sadhu Thakur’s 138 Birth Centenery on November 2, 2008 in New Delhi in a planned and much organised manner, a meeting held at Gurgaon yesterday took a review of the preparations and chalked out all the details that will go into the grandiose celebration of the day.

The meeting confirmed Shree Shiv Mandir, Sanatan Dharam Sabha, August Kranti Marg, Andrews Ganj, New Delhi, will be venue of the celebration. It is expected that above 250 strong Bishnupriya Manipuri Delhiites will be congregating on this day. In keeping view of this, the attendees elaborately discussed the measures that will go into the managing the mass of people, thus making it a success.

The highly attended meeting had a review on the monetary contributions of the Bishnupriya Manipuri people living in Delhi, NCR region for this occasion. The attendees also took decisions on the list of programmes that will be performed on this day.

However, alongside brainstorming on the particulars for organising the grand day, the participants pressed on the early registration of the Bishnupriya Manipuri, Delhi& NCR Nagarik Samity.

Read all the articles on Sri Sri Bhubeneshwar Sadhu Thakur.

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Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur Janma-Mahotsav 2008

The 9th Annual General Body meeting of the Bhishnupriya Manipuri Kalyan Sangathan Mumbai branch held on Sunday, the 21.09.2008 at 2.30 pm at Sri Bipul Sarma’s official resident, New Airport Colony, Santacruz.

Agenda of the meeting:

1. To observe one minute silence for the departed soul of late Guru Devendra Sinha, the president of the Sangathan.

2. To elect a president of the Sangathan.

3. To read out the minutes of last General Body meeting held at Andheri.

4. To receive from the Managing Committee, the report on preceding year’s working; together with the statements of accounts showing the income and expenditure for the period from 1st April to 31st march 2008 and balance sheet there upon.

5. To consider the audit memorandum, along with audit rectification report of the committee there on.

6. To appoint a member auditor.

7. To inform matters specifically requiring decision, concurrence or sanction of the General Body and pass appropriate resolution required,

8. To celebrate of Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur Janmamahotsav.

10. To ratify the admission of new members.

At the outset, Sri Sri Bibulal Sinha, the secretary on behalf of Bhishnupriy Manipuri Sangathan expressed his sincere thanks to the members present there in the General body.

Sri Rebati Mohan Sinha was unanimously elected as President of the Sangathan in place of late Guru Devendra Sinha.

It was decided in the meeting that this year also Sangthan will celebrate the birth anniversary of Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur.

Upon discussing and resolving on these points, the meeting ended in a good note.