Art & Culture

Songs of legendary folk bards like Fakir Lalon Shah, Hason Raja, Radha Raman and Shah Abdul Karim are quite popular to the urban audience as these songs are presented every now and then by different artistes on radio, television or live stage shows. But there many other commendable bards, born in this region, who created ... Read more

Soothing, comforting and enthralling was Friday evening for a packed audience at Music and Dance Centre of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy; as noted local and Indian maestros of classical music created an ambiance of jubilation with their musical brilliance. Music Alliance World Wide, in association with BSA, arranged the programme titled ‘Notes and Tunes in Baishakh’

There are dances for every occasion and emotion, which is why it has the potential to serve as a means of expression for all who embrace it. In the moments when our longest yearnings materialise, we often start dancing even without being aware of it. Dance gives us strength, courage, inspiration and perseverance to carry ... Read more

Graceful, refined movement and postures, synchronisation with music and coordination of the dancers left the audience fascinated at the National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, on Monday evening. The International Dance Day was vividly celebrated with chorus recitals featuring folk, classical, modern, fusion and other styles of dances. The show was organised by

‘With its singular force to eliminate social and ethnic distinctions, leaving but the movement of bodies in their essence, of human beings returning to their pure expression, unique and shared, dance can unite all’. So writes French choreographer and dancer Mourad Merzouki as International Dance Day 2014 message. Today is the day to celebrate

The five-day photography exhibition titled 1134 Lives not Numbers featuring Rana Plaza catastrophe ended with a musical programme at Pathsala premises at Panthopath in the capital on Saturday. Organised by Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, the exhibition featured images by 19 photographers showcasing the aftermath of the horrific accident and paying homage to

Stories of Rana Plaza victims in theatre The Rana Plaza catastrophe has invoked different artistic and literary responses from cultural and theatre activists and artistes over the last year. Creative minds of the country have come up with poems, songs, theatre productions and paintings to express their reactions following the tragic incident that shook the ... Read more

Death is more often than not a staple requirement to qualify something as tragedy. But when the death toll passes well over the figure of a thousand, that too, not in a war, the word ‘catastrophic’ is perhaps a more apt choice. The collapse of Rana Plaza, an eight-storey building housing a number of apparel ... Read more

One of the oldest and richest archeological sites Bangladeshis can take pride in is the Somapura Mohavihara in Noagaon. The 8th century Buddhist monastery and learning centre is regarded as one of the ancient universities, and has duly been recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. The historically and archeologically

If the emergence of artists like Zainul Abedin, Quamrul Hassan and S.M. Sultan is identified as roots of the modern art movement in Bangladesh; it can then be said that the tree has grown much taller. The outward progression of Bangladeshi art scene, which was created with a big bang by works like Zainul Abedin’s ... Read more

The Ekushey Padak winning singer Bashir Ahmed died on Saturday night at his Mohammadpur residence. He was 74. One of the most popular singers of the country Ahmed, who dominated the music industry in the 60s and 70s, was eventually buried on Sunday at Tajmahal Road graveyard. ‘I will never see his like.

Sometimes, people have to choose between love and survival. Life, in its harshest reality, can bring one to the tormenting crossroads, where one is forced to choose between the love towards mother land, and the security of your loved ones in an unfamiliar territory. No matter how much we want to deny it, we cannot ... Read more

Dhaka wore a festive look on Monday to celebrate the beginning of Bangla year 1421. All across capital, millions came out on the streets in spite of the scorching heat and flooded Baishakhi fairs to rejoice the first day of the new year. Pahela Baishakh has been one of the biggest celebrations of the country ... Read more

A burnt face in a photograph, so disfigured that it is barely recognisable, will make your hair stand at the first glance. The deformed eyes would flood your mind with questions- ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of the misfortune. It would not have been possible to identify that this is a face of a female had she ... Read more

Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether In celebration of panchabhuta In Hindu mythology, the nature of the universe is explained with five elements, known as panchabhuta. These are earth, water, fire, air and the void or ether. References to these primal and primordial five elements are repeatedly present in different Upanishads (collection of Vedic texts). Among ... Read more

The SAARC Artist Camp has been serving as a platform for artists from all the SAARC nations for showcasing their talent since 2011. The event which takes place every year will be hosted for the first time in Bangladesh from April 9 to 11. Nilachal, one of the scenic tourist attractions of Bangladesh, has been ... Read more

A perceptive, acute and creative mind is often stirred by different borders and perimetres of its surrounding and inner realities that it faces. The ‘borders’ are not to be taken as literal ones like those between countries or physical territories, but they are those that mark differences of any sort. As one colour borders off ... Read more

Nirendranath Chakrabarty On boons and benefits of poetry ‘Most people around us do not even realise that poetry can give us something substantial’, said veteran Bengali poet Nirendranath Chakrabarty, in a lecture, at Bengla Shilpalaya Café on Saturday. The 90 year old poet, who was born in 1924 in Faridpur of the then undivided Bengal, ... Read more

The history of the filmdom of the country has been explored in a documentary film titled Swarup Sondhan which was premiered at the National Art Gallery Auditorium of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on Wednesday. The screening was a part of the three-day National Film Day programme, organised by the academy. Directed jointly by Muhammad Sajjad Hossain

Different organisations chalk up elaborate programmes For the third consecutive year, Bangladesh Film Development Corporation is celebrating National Film Day amid much fanfare and festivity today. BFDC has chalked out a day-long colourful programme to celebrate the day at the organisation’s premises. Information minister Hasanul Haque Inu will inaugurate the day-long programme in the morning.