A handful of prominent artistes turned up for Xilpi Diwas, organised by the Assam government’s directorate of cultural affairs, on Friday.

Xilpi Diwas is observed across Assam on the death anniversary of cultural icon Jyoti Prasad Agarwala.

Singer Gopi Kanta Sinha and singer-songwriter Apurba Bezbaruah were felicitated with the state Xilpi Bota by chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal in the presence of several dignitaries, like minister of culture Naba Kumar Doley, Guwahati Lok Sabha MP Queen Ojah, daughter-in-law of Agarwala Anjali Agarwala and the chief minister’s legal and press advisers Santanu Bharali and Hrishikesh Goswami, among others. Prominent actors Pranjal Saikia and Chetana Das, among others, attended the event.

“We organise Xilpi Diwas to cleanse our minds and remind ourselves of our culture. Being an artiste is no easy job. We have to banish evil thoughts from our minds and bad elements from society. Assam is very beautiful but we have not been able to discover it. We have to discover ourselves and the potential we possess,” Sonowal said.

Around 50 artistes were invited for the event that was held at Jyoti Chitraban film studio on Agarwala’s 70th death anniversary. Sources said while many artistes took part in similar events across the state, others who attended aligned themselves with the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters.

The day started with competitions in drawing, dance and Jyoti sangeet. The theme of the drawing competition, the participants of which were divided into three categories, was Rupohi Asom (beautiful Assam). The day also marked the 51st founding day of Jyoti Chitraban, the state’s first government film studio, and the 21st anniversary of Dr Bhupen Hazarika Regional Government Film and Television Institute. A similar event for the differently-abled children was organised by the Sahari Foundation in association with Swaralipi and Akash Suboloi Mon, on the Jyoti Chitraban premises.

Painting, dance and song contests were organised for more than 150 specially abled participants. Various philanthropic organisations and individuals gave away prizes to the winners of the contests.