Art & Culture

Rajshahi Theatre’s Folk Festival kicks off Though most in audience were not familiar with the Santali language, the sheer spirit of the indigenous men and women demonstrated through their soulful songs and dance at Kumarpara Mukta Mancha, in Rajshahi town, last Monday night won over hearts. Artistes of Jug Shirijol Adibashi Shilpi Gosthi enthralled the ... Read more

SSJ’s Victory Day programmes end The three-day Victory Day celebration programmes by Shammilita Sangskritik Jote (SSJ) — held simultaneously at six different venues, including the Central Shaheed Minar premises — ended on December 16. Different cultural organisations performed songs, recited poetry, dances and plays on the concluding day to celebrate the 40th Victory Day. Programmes ... Read more

Bangladesh Arts Council is holding a three-day festival, titled ‘Heritage Show-2010’ at 12, North Gulshan Avenue in Dhaka. The festival will be held on December 9, 10 and 11. Sir Fazle Hasan Abed will inaugurate the festival. A press conference was held yesterday at Reporters Unity in Segun Bagicha to inform the press on the

A veteran artist’s experiments with drawing Drawings are a reflection of personal observations of an artist. It is the fundamental foundation of art. Drawings articulate an artist’s expressions and represent his/her personality. Veteran artist Rafiqun Nabi’s drawings are an effectual mirror of the Bangladeshi rural life and contemporary times. The simplified lines of his drawings ... Read more

Today is the 87th death anniversary of legendary bard Hason Raja (1854-1922), whose full name was Dewan Hasan Raja Chowdhury, claimed at least three researchers. Born on December 21, 1854 in a zamindar family in the village of Lakshmansree in Sunamganj, his father, Dewan Ali Raza Chowdhury, traced his ancestry to Ayodhya. Originally Hindus, they ... Read more

The 55th founding anniversary of the Bangla Academy, a centre that promotes the country’s literature, culture and language, was observed through a discussion and a cultural programme on the academy premises on December 3. The programme began with placing a wreath at the Central Shaheed Minar in the morning. A commemorative speech styled ‘Ekhon Rabindranath’

Story of flute-maker Mokammel Hossain At the age of 80, flute-maker Mokammel Hossain is not only engaged in his trade but also does agricultural work. In his younger days he was widely recognised and made a respectable income. Today, however, he is in dire straits and barely manages to maintain his family. Going back to ... Read more

In conversation with Salma Since her grand success in the 2006 edition of the musical talent hunt “Close Up One: Tomakei Khujchhe Bangladesh”, Salma has been on the road to glory. Her career has been on the roll with album releases, stage shows and TV programmes. Salma expresses her gratitude to fans and well-wishers who ... Read more

A solo exhibition featuring photographs by Musa Ibrahim — the first Bangladeshi to reach the summit of Mount Everest — begins today at Alliance Francaise de Dhaka, Dhanmondi. Titled “Bangladesh on Top of The Everest”, the exhibition will feature some exclusive photographs taken by Ibrahim during his Everest expedition. After a serious struggle, Ibrahim realised ... Read more

The Garo people residing in the city yesterday celebrated their traditional Wangala festival amid singing, dancing and performing various traditional arts at Banani Biddyaniketon High School ground in the city. The school playground wore a different look as it was vividly decorated while Garo people of all ages participated in the festival wearing colourful traditional dresses

A sculpture collection, which was condemned by Hitler’s Nazis, is set to go on display later at Berlin’s Neues Museum. The 11 pieces of art, which date back from the early 20th Century, were discovered on a building site in the city centre last year. They belonged to a collection of 15,000 works which Hitler’s ... Read more

“Madhyambyaog” staged on the first day The weeklong 5th Annual Dhaka University Theatre Festival began on November 4 at the university’s TSC Auditorium. The Department of Theatre, DU has arranged the festival, featuring four plays by different universities. On the opening day, “Madhyambyaog” — adaptation of a Sanskrit play — was staged. Eminent theatre personality ... Read more

The ongoing exhibition at the National Museum provides a great opportunity to the art lovers to watch art works by three master artists in the history of Bangladeshi art together in a row. A total of 82 artworks by Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin, Patua Quamrul Hassan and SM Sultan, from the collection of the museum, are ... Read more

Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay Discovering the extraordinary within the ordinary Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay is arguably one of the greatest novelists and storywriters that Bengal has produced. His most well known book is the autobiographical novel, “Pather Panchali” (The Song of the Road), incorporated (along with “Aparajito”, the sequel) into the memorable Apu Trilogy films by Satyajit Ray. Yesterday ... Read more

Today marks the 109th birth anniversary of legendary folk singer Abbasuddin Ahmed (October 27, 1901-December 30, 1959). He was born at Balarampur under Tufanganj subdivision in the district of Cooch Behar, now in West Bengal. His father, Zafar Ali Ahmed, was a lawyer at the Tufanganj Subdivisional Court. Abbasuddin’s interest in music grew through attending cultural ... Read more

During the later half of the twentieth century, Jibanananda Das emerged as the most popular poet of modern Bengali literature. Popularity apart, Jibanananda had distinguished himself as an extraordinary poet presenting a paradigm hitherto unknown. It is a fact that his unfamiliar poetic diction, choice of words and thematic preferences took time to reach the ... Read more

The news of Fakir Lalon Shai’s death was first published in the newspaper Grambarta Prakashika, run by Kangal Harinath. The newspaper noted that Lalon died on October 14, 1890 at the age of 116. Based on that article, researchers point that Lalon was born in 1774. According to Bangla Calendar the day was Pahela Kartik. ... Read more

The institute is seemingly a working progress. The number of students enrolled annually has gone up — from 80 to around 120. The Graphic Design department has a new computer lab. Students of FFA now have options to work part-time (at media houses and ad firms) and the commercial aspect of BFA and MFA degrees ... Read more

Dance performances at Chhayanaut With several arts institutions in Bangladesh running dance programmes for over a decade now, it is heartening to watch the remarkably high standard of performance by Bangladeshi dancers. A few have received recognition in India from prestigious institutions. However, making a living out of dance is still a struggle in Bangladesh. ... Read more

Photo exhibition at Shahjalal University of Science & Technology ‘Jolrong-er Shopno’ (dreams in watercolour) — bearing this theme, a photo exhibition has begun at Arjuntala on the campus of Shahjalal University of Science & Technology (SUST), Sylhet from last Sunday. Mohammed Mazharul Islam, Associate Professor of Anthropology Department, inaugurated the exhibition. Shajalal University Photographers Association (SUPA) ... Read more