Arindom, a theatre troupe in the port city, honoured noted actress Ferdousi Majumdar with the Sadrul Pasha Award on the occasion of its 39th anniversary on Sunday evening at the open stage of the local Shilpakala Academy. A musical soiree was also held on the occasion. The musical soiree began with four songs rendered by Shreoshi Roy and Alauddin Taher.
Ramendu Majumdar, president of International Theatre Institute; Jhuna Chowdhury, secretary general of Group Theatre Federation; MA Malek, editor of the daily Azadi; Ferdousi Majumdar and Shishir Dutta, former president of Arindom, spoke at the programme.
In his speech, Ramendu Majumdar said, “Despite many limitations, Chittagong has the potential to groom dedicated theatre activists.”
“Dearth of proper theatre venues is a big problem for theatre troupes in Chittagong and it is absolutely necessary to build fully equipped halls. We should all work toward that end,” he said.
Accepting the award, Ferdousi Majumdar said, “Receiving an award is always a happy occasion. I am pleased that Arindom has chosen to bestow this honour on me and I am grateful to all who admire me and my work.”
Artistes and members of Arindom, Ahamed Newaj and Subrata Barua Roni, presented an uttorio (scarf) and handed the award to the veteran actress who was given a standing ovation by the audience.
After the award-giving programme, Arindom staged a play “Kobi”, based on a novel by Tarashankar Bandopadhyay and directed by Shamim Hasan at the main auditorium.
Earlier on Sunday morning a roundtable, titled “Four Decades of Theatre in Chittagong”, was held. MA Malek, editor of daily Azadi, moderated the round-table which was attended by Dr. Anupam Sen, Vice Chancellor of Premier University; Abul Momen, resident editor of the daily Prothom Alo; Ramendu Majumdar; theatre personality Ahmed Iqbal Haider and social activist Kamal Sengupta, among others.
-With The Daily Star input
