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Hason Raja festival held
Cultural Correspondent
Hason Raja festival marking the mystic poet's 155th birth anniversary was held at Sufia Kamal auditorium of the Bangladesh National Museum in Shahbagh on Monday.
The Hason Raja Foundation and online newspaper Redtimesbd jointly organised the festival for the first time in Dhaka with the aim of disseminating Hason Raja's songs among the city dwellers.
Jute and textile minister Abdul Latif Siddique inaugurated the festival at a programme chaired by eminent Lalon and Hason researcher Professor Abul Ahsan Chowdhury.
Cultural personality Dr Golam Mustafa and Professor Kazi Nusrat Sultana of Dhaka University discussed various aspects of Hason Raja's songs.
The festival organising committee convenor Dewan Mohammad Taswar Raja and editor of Redtimesbd Soumitra Dev were also present at the programme.
The organisers at the inaugural programme honoured Sunamganj's folk singer Mohammad Abdul Latif who has dedicated himself to preserving the original tunes of Hason Raja.
Jute and textile minister Abdul Latif Siddique said that Hason Raja's songs are for all irrespective of region and religion.
'We are used to portray Hason Raja from individual point of view, often distorting the great philosophy of his songs. We should properly interpret his songs which highlight humanity,' he added.
Abul Ahsan Chowdhury said, 'Our centuries-old folk culture is reflected in the songs of Hason Raja who not only upheld the mystic philosophy, but also presented the philosophy of common people.'
Soumitra Dev presented the keynote paper titled 'Hason Raja's Philosophy and Bengal's National Festival' focusing on the poet's mystic philosophy and its impact on our national festivals.
The discussion was followed by a soiree of Hason Raja's song by eminent singers of the country.
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Murphy dies young
Culture Desk
Actress Brittany Murphy died Sunday morning following a cardiac arrest. The New Jersey native was only 32 years old, report agencies.
Murphy, whose film credits include 'Clueless', '8 Miles', 'Don't Say a Word' and 'Love and Other Disasters', among many others, was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and was pronounced dead on arrival.
While the circumstances resulting in Murphy's cardiac arrest are not known at this time, the actress' young age is bound to raise plenty of suspicions and questions.
Brittany wed Simon Monjack in May 2007, after which she has largely been absent from the spotlight. Her last big films were Sin City (2005) and Happy Feet (2006).
According to reports, Brittany's mom discovered her unconscious in the shower. When paramedics arrived, they quickly determined that Murphy was in full cardiac arrest and immediately administered CPR.
The paramedics continued CPR en route to the hospital, but Murphy was unresponsive and pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Murphy's husband, Simon Monjack, told hospital staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center he did not want an autopsy performed on her.
His reasoning for that request is not known. However, despite Monjack's wishes, the L.A. County Coroner's office will in fact perform an autopsy on Murphy.
According to the L.A. County Coroner's Office, foul play is not suspected at this time. Some prescriptions were found in the house and they will be examined in addition to the autopsy.
The sudden and untimely death in private has clearly touched fans and colleagues alike and is mourned by Ashton Kutcher, Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Simpson, Eliza Dushku, Alyssa Milano, Fred Durst, Kat Dennings and many others.
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Secret of Taran Desert to unfold at
Fajr film fest
Culture Desk
The 28th Fajr International Film Festival will premiere 'The Secret of Taran Desert', Iran's first 3-D film comprised of real characters, reports Tehran Times.
Iranian artists have utilized the same techniques used in the production of the Harry Potter and Spider-Man series, announced the Iranian film company Shokufa Films last week.
Taraneh Alidusti, Reza Shafi-Jam, and Arjang Amirfazli are the main members of the cast for the fantasy film directed by Hatef Alimardani and Mohammad Lotfali.
Three years have been invested in producing the film, whose producer expects moviegoers to give it a warm reception at the Fajr International Film Festival that will be held in Tehran from January 25 to February 4.
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KHETMAJUR KHAIMUDDIN
Expectations of a day-labourer
Rifat Munim
The plays based on 1971 are not rare in Bangladesh but 'Khetmajur Khaimuddin' is one such play with a sharp difference. It does not focus on the heroic incidents of the freedom fighters; but it reflects the dreams and expectations of a day-labourer related to the war of independence.
As part of the ongoing Victory Day celebration programmes, theatre department of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy staged the play 'Khetmajur Khaimuddin' at National Theatre Hall on December 20.
Based on a short story by a prominent 20th century Chinese litterateur Lu Xun, the play was adapted and directed by Golam Sarwar.
Khandaker Tazmi Noor played the central role of Khaimuddin Sheikh while Saifur Rahman Miron, Shamima Shawkat Lavli, Rashed, Liton, Ershad, Shishir and Mili Munsi played, among others, other roles in the play.
The play shows the social discriminations existing in a remote village in Rangpur during 1971. Khaimuddin Sheikh, a simple-hearted person, is a day-labourer who works at the household of Miaji, one of the village leaders and later chairman of the Peace Committee.
The whole village treats Khaimuddin as a laughing stock for his naivety. Beaten badly by Miaji, his dissolute son Akbar and also by the village chaukidar following some events, he leaves the village for Dhaka. He comes back home several months later with a bag full of colourful expensive clothes.
After his return, he starts talking about socialism and the pro-independent political movements in Dhaka. He even goes further, saying that he himself will join the freedom fighters and take his revenge on the oppressors.
The village leaders, chaukidars and the 'village touts' begin to behave nicely with Khaimuddin after listening to the rumours of his affiliation with a proletariat uprising in association with the freedom fighters. But secretly the Peace Committee is formed by the village leaders and he is shot dead in no time.
The play presents the war of independence as the final step toward establishing a classless society where fundamental rights of every individual, poor or rich, will be recognised. The set design presented the ambience of a village. The lighting highlighted a grim atmosphere in the midst of the war of liberation.
Full of comic scenes, the play made the audience laugh frequently. The comic scenes together with the lively acting delighted the audience so much that they applauded every now and then during the performance.
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CUP celebrates 425th anniv in Dhaka
Ariful Islam Mithu
Book Village, the distributor of Cambridge University Press publications, celebrated the publishing house's 425th founding anniversary in Dhaka on December 19.
A discussion chaired by the noted litterateur Hasnat Abdul Hye was organised at a city hotel on the occasion.
Prime minister's adviser HT Imam was chief guest at the programme attended, among others, by the
CUP managing director Manas Saikia, University Press Limited managing director Mohiuddin Ahmed, Agamee Prakashani CEO Osman Gani and professor Syed Anwar Hossain.Appreciating Book Village Bangladesh Limited's activities against piracy, HT Imam said, 'Bangladesh has been criticised several times by the WTO for its failure to check piracy.'
He assured to take up the matter with the concerned ministry to strictly curb piracy.
Manas Saikia mentioned that CUP is the oldest
publishing house in the world.
He said while the Cambridge University was celebrating its 800th founding anniversary, the CUP, which had published world famous books like 'Origin of Species' by Charles Darwin and 'Principia Mathmatica' by Isaac Newton, was also observing its 425th anniversary. Speaking on the occasion, Mohiuddin Ahmed said that Bangladesh
had signed all the international conventions and laws relevant to anti-
piracy but a section people were still involved in the crime.
Syed Anwar Hossain in his deliberation said that the initiatives taken by Book Village Bangladesh Limited were very important to curb piracy.
Hasnat Abdul Hye said that the piracy cannot be stopped as long as the prices of the original books were not brought down and suggested government subsidy to the publishers.
'Like farmers, publishers produce books for thought,' he added.
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