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Tamaddun Majlish distributes Matribhasha Padak
Cultural Correspondent
Marking the Amar Ekushey, the pioneering organisation of the historic Language Movement, Tamaddun Majlish held a discussion and an award giving ceremony of Matribhasha Padak at the National Press Club on Thursday.
Former vice-chancellor of Dhaka University, Professor Emajuddin Ahmed was present as chief guest while poet Al Mujahidi, Advocate Abdul Mobin, Brigadier General (Rtd) Shafat Ahmed and Professor Abdul Gafur, among others, took part at the discussion.
Vice-chairperson of the Tamaddun Majlish, Chaman Ara chaired the function.
The speakers said that the historic Language Movement was a national pride and it had got international recognition.
They urged the Bengalis from across the world to practice the mother tongue. The speakers stressed for the correct spelling of Bangla words and use of the language in every sectors of the state.
They said that a person could learn many languages but he/she should give priority in learning his/her mother tongue correctly.
They also regretted the misspelling and inferiority complex in using Bangla being a Bengali.
Demanding the preservation of the languages of existing indigenous communities of the country, they said that the Bangla Academy and the Asiatic Society should come forward to saving the languages of the tiny ethnic groups.
Paying a tribute to the martyrs of the movement, they also demanded to uphold the spirit of the movement, which was the founding stone for the independence of Bangladesh.
Besides the heroes of the Language Movement, the organisers decided to honour the eminent personalities with the Matribhasha Padak for their contributions to the development of the Bengali art and literature.
This year, the organisation honoured nine distinguished personalities, Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Haque (posthumous), Mohammad Nurullah (posthumous), Shaheed Nurur Rahman Jamali (posthumous), Professor Abu Zaid Sikder and ABM Abdul Matin for the Language Movement; national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam (posthumous) and Shahabuddin Ahmed (posthumous) for literature; Abbasuddin Ahmed (posthumous) for music and actor Anwar Hossain for film.
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3-day folksong festival ends today
Cultural Correspondent
A three-day festival of folksongs, organised by the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, began on the Society’s premises in Neemtali in the city on Wednesday.
Eminent folklorist Dr Ashraf Siddiquee inaugurated the festival as chief guest while the inaugural session was chaired by Professor Sirajul Islam, president of the Society. Professor Mahfuza Khanam, secretary general of the Society and poet Nurul Huda, chief coordinator of the festival also spoke at the inaugural session.
Dr Ashraf Siddiquee said that the folksongs, particularly the baul songs, strongly uphold the spirit of humanity. ‘We had a music world of over one hundred folksongs in the past. Unfortunately, we are getting only around forty of them,’ Siddiquee continued, ‘We should take immediate initiatives to collect and preserve them.’
He added that the folksongs, including spiritual, romantic and regional songs, had been attracting the Bengalis and the music lovers of the other nations for centuries.
Professor Sirajul Islam said, ‘The folksongs not only meet the thirst of the music lovers but also presents the history of the country.’
He added that the songs, which would be presented during the festival, would be documented visually so that the people of next generation could acquire sound knowledge of those songs.
He further said that the music troupes had been invited from different parts of country so that the listeners could enjoy the authentic style of the folksongs.
Over three hundred folksingers across the country are enlisted in performing in the festival while 27 research papers will be read on those days.
On the first session of the inaugural day Mazharul Islam presented a keynote paper on the folksongs in Rajshahi division while Paritosh Kundu presented the folksongs of greater Pabna district and Shaheed Sarwar presented the folksongs of greater Bogra district.
In the second session, Nazmul Haque presented a paper on the folksong in greater Dinajpur district and Motahar Hossain Sufi on the folksongs of greater Rangpur district.
In the third session, Mijanur Rahman presented a paper on the folksongs of Khulna division while Debashish Chakrabarti presented the folksongs in Barisal division and Mazharul islam and Cornelius Murmu jointly presented the Santali folksongs.
Eleven music groups performed in the music part of the festival. They sang gambhira, alkap, jhandir, Santal, panchali, kichhchhagaan, patagaan,
palagaan, rayani murshidi, bhatiyali and other genres of folksongs.
Today’s seminar will begin at 9:30am and the session on music will begin at 2:30pm.
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Habiba’s solo art show at Zainul Gallery
Cultural Correspondent
A week-long art exhibition titled ‘Rejuvenation of Womanhood’ by Habiba Akther Papia is being held at the Zainul Gallery in Fine Art Institute of Dhaka University.
Papia in her maiden exhibition is displaying 54 artworks including 19 drawings. She has presented mainly the suppressed condition of women in the country by depicting them in thin figures of bronze, wood, cement and the plaster of Paris.
The artist has made the figures of women who are working, sitting, gossiping and also in different gestures and postures. She has tried to present the daily life of women.
She says, ‘I think that most of the women of our country are being suppressed by their male partners. They are being deprived in different sectors in their life. But I think despite the deprivations they are working for the development of the country, society and their family as well.’
By using black in her sculptures made of wood, the artist tries to show the sorrow of women which is created by the selfish male of society.
Most of her women displayed in the exhibition are seen lonely and exhausted. She says, ‘For some moments every person feels loneliness. The women also feel so. As they work hard in the family, I think, they feel sometime exhausted. I have tired to present those moments of women.’
According to the artist, the thin figures of women symbolise the pressure which is put on them.
The artist feels comfortable in working on bronze for the longevity of her works. Unlike the other sculptors, the artist has used strips of cloth in getting the textures of the clothes on metal. ‘I have experimented with using cloth strips during metal cast to get textures. I love using them because I obtained good result in these experiments,’ she adds.
About the display of drawings in the show she says as the drawings are the base of a sculpture she enjoys drawing the figures and for that reason she thinks that drawings are an integral part of sculptures.
The show, inaugurated on February 25, will remain open from noon to 7:00pm till March 2.
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Sgt Zahurul Haque commemorated
Cultural Correspondent
Ten children on Friday won awards at an art competition, organised to commemorate the martyred Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haque.
The Liberation War Museum in cooperation with the family members of Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haque held the competition on its premises at Segun Bagicha in the city. A large number of children, divided into two groups –– three years to nine years and 10 years to thirteen –– participated at the competition.
As in the previous years, the organisers arranged the competition to commemorate the martyred sergeant Zahurul Haque, who was killed by the occupying Pakistani force on February 15 in 1969 after being convicted for so-called Agartala Conspiracy Case.
The organisers awarded ten children from the two groups. Arnika Tahmin won the first prize in the children group while Mobashwer Rahman Siddique and AKM Raqib won the second and third prizes respectively.
In the adolescent group, the first prize went to Maruf Ahmed while Mohammad Tareq Hussain and Sanjida Haque received the second and third prizes respectively.
Besides, four children received special prizes.
Nazneen Haque Mimi, a relative of the martyred sergeant told New Age that they had been arranging the competition for the children so that they could learn about the people who fought for their motherland.
‘We have been getting huge responses from the guardians,’ she continued, ‘I think the family members of the other martyred freedom fighters can arrange such competition to commemorate their beloved ones.’
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