25/01/2024
On the occasion of 69th foundation day, a new version of the AEC Anthem is available on Youtube from today.
A short History behind the AEC Anthem - শত অভিযন্তা
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
In the year 2005, Assam Engineering College (AEC), originally established in 1955, marked its illustrious 50th anniversary. The college community collectively decided to celebrate this milestone as the Golden Jubilee Year, spanning from January 25, 2005, to January 25, 2006. In August 2004, an organizing committee was formed, with Prof. P.K. Brahma, the Principal in charge, serving as the President, and Dr. Atul Bora as the Organizing Secretary. To oversee the planning and ex*****on of all the cultural events during this year-long Golden Jubilee Celebration, the responsibility of Cultural Governor was bestowed upon Prof. Manoranjan Kalita.
Subsequently, Prof. Kalita established a substantial cultural committee, which included representatives from the faculty, staff, students, and even some esteemed ex-AECians, all known for their deep involvement and experience in cultural activities.
During the inaugural meeting of this cultural committee, one of the pivotal discussions revolved around the need for an AEC Anthem, an idea initially proposed by the convener, Prof. Kalita, and Mr. Niren Baishya. They took decisive steps towards the eventual adoption of an anthem, set to commence on the following Foundation Day, January 25, 2005.
In order to execute this task, the convener, with the unwavering cooperation and assistance of Mr. Niren Baishya, meticulously outlined a comprehensive procedure. This procedure encompassed activities ranging from placing advertisements in newspapers to a thorough and unbiased selection process, culminating in the adoption of the anthem. In response to the advertisements, 22 candidate anthems were submitted. A preliminary screening was conducted by the screening committee, comprising Dr. Bani Kanta Goswami, Dr. Rita Goswami, Dr. Shakuntala Lashkar, and Mr. Prasanta Kumar Choudhury, with Mr. Niren Baishya serving as the coordinator. This committee recommended eight songs for further evaluation. The final evaluation of these eight candidate anthems was carried out by four renowned artists and lyricists of Assam, namely Prof. Birendra Nath Dutta, Prof. Tafazzal Ali, Prof. Lakhya Hira Das, and Mr. Keshav Mahanta. All four of them reached a unanimous consensus in selecting the present anthem, composed by Dr. Arup Kr Sarma, Professor, IIT Guwahati, who also happened to be an alumnus and former faculty member of AEC.
Thus, the AEC Anthem stands as a historic achievement and contribution for generations to come, courtesy of the Cultural Committee of the AEC Golden Jubilee Committee in 2005, under the sincere leadership of Prof. Manoranjan Kalita and Mr. Niren Baishya.
Following its adoption, the current tune was composed by Dr. Arup Kr Sarma. The prelude, interlude and background music were composed by Mr. Prasanta Kr. Choudhury. The anthem was first performed by 50 AECians during the 50th Foundation Day celebrations on the evening of January 25, 2005. This memorable great performance was coordinated by Mr. Prasanta Kumar Choudhury, in the presence of all those involved in the selection process. Dr. Arup Kumar Sarma received a warm felicitation during this event.
Over the years, the anthem was routinely performed by students as a chorus in various AEC functions. Eventually, the need for a recorded version arose for two main reasons: to preserve the anthem's original rendition and to provide a karaoke track for ease of performance, eliminating the need for accompanists, which were often difficult to find.
In the academic year 2010-11, the AEC brand music video titled "Shukriya - AEC Music Video" was being produced under the leadership of students Dwijasish Das, Bibek Baruti, and Arin Siam, along with a team of over 20 other students. The proceedings of the brand music video were overseen by a committee comprising of faculty members Dr. Diganta Goswami, Dr. Bani K Talukdar, Mr. Niren Baishya, and Mr. Prasanta Kumar Choudhury.
During the recording phase of the "Shukriya" audio in the studio, the opportunity was seized to embark on another collaborative project—the recording of the AEC anthem. Fortunately, since some funds were already accumulated for the Shukriya project, there was no need for additional funding to undertake the anthem recording.
The music arrangement for the anthem was handled by Mr. Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, following instructions from Mr. Prasanta Kumar Choudhury. The anthem was sung by Arin Siam, Bibek Baruti, Chanda Smita Barman, Dwijasish Das, and Uddipana Dowerah. The guitar parts were played by Mr. Prasanta Kumar Choudhury. The recorded track had a duration of 4 minutes and 22 seconds.
More than a decade later, it came to the attention of the AEC community that the duration of the AEC anthem was slightly longer than customary for an anthem. Probably, this adjustment was also necessitated by the evolving tastes and preferences over time. Dr. Arup Kumar Sarma, the tune composer and lyricist of the song, was made aware of this situation. In the latter part of the year 2022, Dr. Sarma once engaged in a discussion about this matter with Dwijasish, who was then in the final stages of his PhD program at IIT Guwahati.
During their conversation, Dwijasish informed Dr. Sarma that he possessed all the project files from the anthem's original recording in 2011. He suggested that the song's length could be shortened through adjustments to these project files, eliminating the need to re-record the anthem or rearrange the music. Dr. Sarma enthusiastically exclaimed that this newfound knowledge was indeed a valuable piece of information!
A few months later, Dwijasish and Dr. Sarma joined forces to edit the AEC anthem project. Their collaborative efforts involved the removal of certain repetitive humming and phrases, as well as some subtle adjustments to the overall musical composition. Following the editing phase, the project required mixing and remastering. To handle this task, it was entrusted to Raj Nasim, another AEC alumnus.
After the mastering process was completed, the revised anthem was shared with Mr. Niren Baishya, Mr. Prasanta Kumar Choudhury, Dr. Satyajit Bhuyan, and Dr. Kalyan Kalita and all expressed their appreciation for the updated rendition.
Ultimately, Dwijasish Das took charge of creating a lyrical video for the anthem. The final version of the track, after all these collaborative efforts and refinements, has a duration of 2 minutes and 28 seconds.
The entire narrative of the AEC anthem embodies the sincere dedication and goodwill of talented AECians. It would be accurate to state that the multi-decade journey behind the anthem, involving recordings, the creation of numerous tracks and versions, all transpired without the expenditure or allotment of a single penny of funding. Credit is due to all the AECIANS involved, who demonstrated their unwavering commitment to AEC.
This new shorter version was performed today during the 69th Foundation Day celebrations of AEC on January 25, 2024 and from this day, the 2 minute 28 sec duration version will be the new official version of the AEC anthem.
Song Name: Xoto Obhijonta (শত অভিযন্তা) Assam Engineering College Anthem:::::::::Credits::::::::::Lyrics and Tune Composition: Dr. Arup Kumar SarmaVocals:Ari...
