MUMBAI: Zee's Bengali arm - Alpha Bangla, in a bid to connect with its viewers, organised a festival to celebrate the monsoons- 'Megh Malhar'. A unique and colourful festival was held at Aquatica, which is touted as the largest water park in the Kolkatta.

The channel will air the exclusive fare on 8 August 2004 at 8 PM

During the festival Alpha Bangla business head J K Ray also announced that the channel would be launching four new serials in the month of August.

Speaking about the response to the festival, as quoted in a company release, Ray said, "We received a tremendous response from audiences. Over 4000 people sent in innovative recipes, 10000 entries for creative writing and 200 entries for painting. This kind of response is very heartening for us to know that special innovations are received well by the people."

Viewers were asked to send in entries for special and innovative Khichudi recipes for the monsoon season, as well as interesting poems, literature and paintings expressing their moods and feelings on the arrival of the rains, as considered by many as their favorite season, says the release.

Eminent personalities from different fields selected five best recipes and the winners were invited to come and participate in the food competition on ground. The jury consisting of 10 eminent personalities from different fields included big names like Rakhipurnima Dasgupta-the food connoisseur, Srikanta Acharya, Haimonti Shukla and Payal Kar.

Besides awarding best three recipes and innovative articles or paintings, the channel invited the 10 best articles and paintings to display their winning ware at the competition.

The festival, anchored by popular actors Shankar Chakraborty and Sonali, had a variety of entertainment shows. Various music artists, both classical, modern and Bangla bands performed live on the ground on the theme 'rains'. There were light classical performances by Rajib Chakraborty, Srikanta Acharya and Haimonti Shukla. The highlight of the evening, as quoted by the release, was a performance by fusion band Karma- the audience started swaying when Payal Kar took on the stage.

The show also comprised performance by Qui9-a host of television stars showcasing their vocal talent. The channel's celebrities were also invited to be a part of the event.

Amongst the 5000 strong crowd at 'Megh Malhar', 150 selected viewers specially invited to participate on the ground event swayed with their favorite celebrities, adds the release.