Explaining that the organisers of the event were to "People of Bengal" living in the state as well as overseas, Mr. Chatterjee added that the state government has decided to provide its full support to this execise. The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Sri Jyoti Basu is the Patron-in-Chief of the event that combines both resident and nonresident Bengali talent.

Representing the non-resident Bengalis on the committee are Mr. Probir Roy and Mr. Jahar Bhattacharya from New York Leaders from the state in the organising committee include Dr. Sadhan C. Dutta, Mr. S.K. Roy, Mr. Tushar Kanti Talukdar, Mr. Bhaskar Sen, the Vice-Chancellors of all universities of the State, while former Chief Minister Shri Siddhartha Shankar Ray and the Ho’ble Minister for Home (Police) and Information & Cultural Affairs Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharya are patrons to the event. Besides, outstanding contributions are coming in from personalities of outstanding stature Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Lord Swarj Paul. The Co-ordination Committee is headed by the Chief Secretary and comprises senior officials of the Government of West Bengal. Explaining the Millennium Festival Vision, Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said that the multifaceted exposition from heritage to hope to a pursuit of excellence and 21st century leadership – to be held between December 29, 1999, and January 9, 2000, will seek to

1. To encapsulate in this vision the best of the past and present and projects in future in a high technology world, based on honest/historic assessment of the heritage and current strengths.
2. To do so artistically, intellectually, emotionally with an enormous amount of entertainment component.
3. To especially focus on the non-resident Bengali community and provide them with a helping hand as well as seek to establish their links with their roots.
4. To provide a permanent interface between the resident and non-resident Bengalis from the world over.
5. To institutionalise this interface through an annual event and a regular stream of interactive events for mutual enrichment culturally, intellectually and industrially.

"The programme has evolved out of the millennium history and enters the brand new vistas of the 21st century. The vehicle of encapsulation is a combination of a compact exposition and around the city/state events on the various millennium themes, millennium publications and millennium performances, " Mr. Bhattacharya said.

The inaugural programme at the Salt Lake Stadium will focus on the Bengali heritage, music and dance, folk artistry and Rabindra Sangeet, with a rich blend of modern and classical performances, with an university of participation - some 2000 boys and girls choreographed into a performance by various dance groups. On the one hand will be the choir conducted by Ms Ruma Guha Thakurta and the Calcutta Youth Chori and on the other will be a fascinating procession of traditional performers, beginnings with the Ronpa nritya (performance on stilts), the dhakis, chhau and the rainbeshe dance. And enveloping the entire inaugural show with magic will be Magician P.C. Sorcar.

The intellectual component to the Millennium Festival will be provided by the Millennium Literature with a Commemorative Millennium volume edited by Sunil Gangopadhyay featuring some of the most outstanding literary contributions by the best minds of the times - R.P. Gupta, Mani Shankar Mukherjee, Shankha Ghosh ….. Other Millennium publications to be produced under the supervision of Dr. Pabitra Sarkar include Bangali Itihaas by Prof. Sabyasachi Bhattacharya. Besides, there will be seminars on a range of subjects of critical interest to Bengal, industry, environment and others. The environment dialogue will have a specific focus on issues around the arsenic menace and will be organised in collaboration with the Government of West Bengal and Unicef.

The organisers promise to flood the city with cultural events with performing artisits, film makers, dancers, musicians and every theatre, cinema, park will come alive with millennium performances, turning the city into the most culturally affluent place in the world. Rabindra Sadan, Nandan, Nazrul Mancha, Madhusudan Mancha, Calcutta Information Centre, Mahaiati Sadan, Academy of Fine Arts, University Institute Hall and Sarat Sadan will play host to Bengal's cultural heritage. According to Mr. Bhattacharya, "there will be a special focus on the theatre between December 30, 1999 and January 8, 2000, Madhusudan Mancha and Girish Mancha will hold drama festivals presenting the range of Bengali theatre down the ages. They will provide the opportunity for the people of the state to pay homage to the masters of yesteryears - Michael Madhusudan, Girish Ghosh, Amritlal Bose, D.L. Roy, Sisir Bhaduri, Ahindra Chowdhury, Bijan Bhattarjee, Sambhu Mitra, Utpal Dutt …. ~ Alongside will be presented a range of modern day productions of groups such as Bahurupi, PLT, Chetana, Nandikar, Theatre Workshop, Charbak, Anya Theatre, Ranga Karmi, Theatre Commune, Chup Katha, Trayak, Sayak.

The spotlights will be equally strongly focused on the Jatra, with a Jatra Festival hosted at the University Institute Hall everyday. Mr. Bhattacharya also added that "the festival will be Talking About Films, from the days of the first films to its present times, as Nandan plays host to the nostalgic world of Bengali movies with three screenings everyday."

West Bengal's artistic heritage will be represented by folk artists and artisans all over the state, whose performance and craftsmanship will be intricately woven into the festivities, providing the visitors with a treasure trove of Chhau from Purulia, Gambira from Malda, Bhawaia from Coochbehar, as well as Raibeshe, Baul, Aul, Alkak, Jhumur, Bolan, Kirtan, Gajer Gaan, Ronpa, and Paik Nach. Also featured will be folk events such as Bhatiali, Dholok, Sari, Juri, and Lalan Geeti from Bangladesh.

The musical heritage will find representation in both classical and popular vocal styles. Among those being invited to perform presenting the best of both worlds will be Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustaad Ali Akbar Khan, Amjad Ali Khan, Ajoy Chakraborty, Tejendra Narayan, Arun Bhaduri, Buddhadev Dasgupta, Sisir Kana Dhar Choudhury, Vajay Kicklu, and Rashid Khan.

The modern musical fare will be presented by Lata Mangeshkar, Ram Kumar Chattopadhyay, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Manna Dey, Asha Bhosle, Dwijen Mukhopadhyay, Bhupen Hazarika, Arati Mukherjee, Nirmala Mishra, Haimonti Shukla, V. Balsara, Ruma Guha Thakurta …, while the contemporary times will be represented by artists such as Kumar Sanu, Abhijit Mukherjee, Anup Ghoshal, Utpalendu Chowdhury, Antara Chowdhury, Nachiketa, Suman Chatterjee, Anjan Datta among others.

At the centrepoint of all this will be Tagore's Wold of song and drama with the events thematically arranged and serialised at the Rabindra Sadan from December 30, 1999, to January 8, 2000, under the guidance of Shubhankar Chakraborty, Vice-Chancellor, Rabindra Bharati University. Besides, there will be recitation by Pradip Ghosh, Partha Ghosh, Gauri Ghosh, Bratari Mukerjee, Soumitra Chatterjee and a host of upcoming elocutionists will complete the cultural fare.

At the centre stage of the festivities will be the Millennium Art exposition which will begin with the works of the Bengal Masters, the Living Legends and the diverse world of present day artists and cultures; the segment will be a colourful display of traditional and contemporary art and architectural forms with lively recreations of old Calcutta neighbourhoods and customs in which will be inset art exhibitions, artists from West Bengal and Bangladesh, drawing, sculpting, selling their work and letting art speak for itself - along with workshops and presentations on Bengal's great artistic heritage. Designed and organised by eminent artists such as Jogen Chowdhury, Dipali Bhattacharya, Subha Prasanna, J.J. Narjary and others under the guidance of Dilip Sinha, V.C., Biswa Bharati. The special spotlight will be on sculptures of Bengal with artists working on models that will eventually be placed in different areas of the city.

There can't be a festival without sports in Bengal and the sports festivals without sports in Bengal and the sports festivals will be kicked off time with the Millennium Cup Football featuring two Calcutta teams, two teams from other states and from Bangladesh. Besides, there will be a one-day Sports Carnival which will be organised at the Salt Lake Stadium with traditional games like Kho-Kho, Kabaddi, Wrestling, Lathi Khela. Other attractions of the sports will be one day Golf and Tennis tournament among visiting Non-Resident Bengalis and local players.

In a special focus on medicines the organisers will host a series of sessions on Millennium Health featuring the leading medical men in the world. The three day medical conference to be held at the Science City from December 27 to 29, 1999, will include sessions on Preventive Measures & Treatment of Ischemic Heart Disease; Cancer - Prevention and Treatment; Common Gastro-intestinal Disorders; Aids; Gene Therapy/Molecular Biology, Common Psychiatric Disorders and their Management; Advances in Obstetrics & Gynaecology; New Horizons in Tuberculosis & Other Infectious Diseases; New Advances in Neurological Diseases; Advances in Laparoscopic Surgery; New Development in Orthopaedic Treatment; Advances in General Anesthesia.