North America Bengali Conference (NABC) 2009 kicks off at the San Jose Convention Center on July 2nd. The biggest Bengali event of the year will run till July 4th and will feature some of the best performers from India, Bangladesh and USA.

Urhalpool editor Goutam Datta will be awarded the "Distinguished Service Award" at NABC 2009 on Friday, July 3rd at 6:45PM in "Banga Mancha". The award is given by the Cultural Association of Bengal (the umbrella organization of NABC) for helping the cause of propagating and nurturing Bengali culture in North America.

URHALPOOL (<a style="color: #0000cc;" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.urhalpool.com/?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/edit.php');pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.urhalpool.com/?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/');" href="http://www.urhalpool.com/" target="_blank">www.urhalpool.com</a>) had been chosen by NABC2009 as their internet media partner. URHALPOOL in association with NABC2009 will be presenting extensive coverage of the event for all 4 days from July 1st to July 4th. Catch up with all the NABC excitement at  URHALPOOL(<a style="color: #0000cc;" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.urhalpool.com/?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/wp-admin/edit.php');pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.urhalpool.com/?referer=http://nynjbengali.com/');" href="http://www.urhalpool.com/" target="_blank">www.urhalpool.com</a>).

On June 26th, Anandamandir hosted their monthly "Sahitya-o-Alochona" meetings where the attendees discussed the celebrated Bengali poet Joy Goswami. The attendees read Joy Goswami's poems, discussed the artistry of his work and shared their personal experiences with the poet.

Tauryatrika 2009 [the annual cultural program of Bharatiya Kala Kendra - BKK] was a mega success.  The event started with an excellent and highly interactive seminar, followed by screening of a movie on Ustad Bismillah Khan [directed by Goutam Ghosh]. In the cultural program, students of BKK put an excellent presentation. At the end, Bappi Lahiri was on top of his form.