President Pranab Mukherjee today inaugurated the river festival 'Namami Brahmaputra', which is aimed at promoting trade, tourism and cultural aspects linked to the mighty river.
Calling rivers as the "carriers of civilisation", the President said all the old civilisations grew on the banks of rivers - be it Egyptian, Babylonian, the Indus Valley civilisation or the Aryan civilisation.
"North East's culture, economy and essential ingredients flourished on the bank of mighty Brahmputra," the President said, adding that festivals like this boosts tourism and economy.
Praising the greatness and the kindness of the people of Assam, the President said he did not face any problems even at the height of tension in the state.
He said unity in diversity has been the biggest strength of India despite a population of 1.3 billion.
The five-day-long festival, tagged as 'India's largest river festival' has been organised across 21 districts of the state.
The inauguration was also attended by Tshering Tobgay, the Prime Minister of Bhutan and Governor of Assam.
Tobgay said Assam and Bhutan share the border and interact freely.
He said the progress of Assam will benefit the region, particularly Bangladesh and Bhutan.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the festival had the blessing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said the river was closely connected to the culture and the economy of the state and a festival like this will bring the state on the tourism map.
The theme song 'Namami Brahmaputra' composed by Angaraag Mahanta 'Papon' was released in both Hindi and Assamese recently.
The Hindi version has Amitabh Bachchan singing the opening lines while the other singers include Shreya Ghoshal, Shankar Mahadevan, Kailash Kher, Sonu Nigam, Arijit Singh, Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani, Shaan, Harshdeep Kaur, Swanand Kirkire, Shubha Mudgal, Usha Uthup and Zubeen Garg.
The Assamese version features Papon's mother and renowned singer Archana Mahanta along with Mridula Das, Zubeen Garg, Pulak Banerjee, Jitul Sonowal, Tarali Sarma, Namita Bhattacharya, Kalpana Patowary, Malabika Bora, members of the Shillong Choir, Mayukh Hazarika, Rupam Bhuyan, Manjyotsna Goswami Mahanta, Nilima Khatun, Santa Uzir and Joi Barua.
Papon and Zubeen Garg have sung in both the Assamese and Hindi versions.
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