Cultural meet
Bangladesh Festival 2004 in Sydney
An enthralled audience
Rezaul Karim Lotus, back from Sydney
Bangladeshi singers, dancers and musicians succeeded in winning the hearts of Australians with their enthralling cultural performance in the recently held Bangladesh Festival 2004 in Sydney. The public at the three day-show comprised the Australians and hundreds of nationals from other countries. These people recently converged at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour to listen to Bangladeshi songs, watch the traditional dances as well as the performance of the music instrumentalists, like flute, tabla, dhol and harmonium .Though the Bangladesh High Commission in Canberra failed to run a publicity campaign about the festival, a jampacked auditorium was testimony to its popularity. A high point of the gathering of culture aficionados was the staging of colourful musical soirees by a 20-member Bangladesh cultural delegation. The function was organised to promote Bangladeshi products. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs under the direct supervision of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy organised the show. The Export Promotion Bureau Bangladesh (EPB), Bangladesh High Commission in Australia and State Chamber of Commerce of New South Wales jointly organised the festival. Bangladesh Commerce Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury and Australia's Federal Trade Minister Mark Vaile inaugurated the festival. The festival began with a dance, based on famous Tagore song Rangiye Diye Jao (spatter us with a paint), which was followed by a seminar titled 'Trade and Investment Opportunities in Bangladesh'. Leading Australian businesspeople and business leaders from FBCCI, MCCI, DCCI and other trade bodies participated in the festival. Bangladesh's leading singers Farida Parveen, Abida Sultana and Rafiqul Alam and young singer Luna Khandakar presented popular Bangla songs. Dr Fowaz Hussain Shuvo anchored the programme and translated the songs and dances into English for the foreign audience. The dancers of the delegation -- Shafiqur Rahman, Farhana Chowdhury, Irin Parvin, Shahrima Bari Shinthy, Shahadat Hossain and Masudul Amin Rintu presented one of the oldest forms of dance performed by the Manipuri tribe. They also presented Kathak, a mainstream classical dance of the subcontinent. They also presented the Snake Charmer Dance, which is a famous folk composition. The group dances Amar Maijja Bhai depicted the joy of harvesting paddy in the villages. Other dances presented were Ami Banglay gaan gai (I sing in Bangla), which is dedicated to the language martyrs. Chatka, a typical rhythmic folk song of the North Western part of Bangladesh, expresses the feelings of happiness. Dream, was a classical dance with modern music and outfits. Bangladesher Dhol, a dance based on rhythmic folk songs which reminds one of the best of the common village drum, the Bangla Dhol. In addition, there were there were performances of the Tea Garden Dance. The dances highlighted the rural and modern Bangladesh as well as its rich cultural heritage. A four-member group of famous international model Bibi Russel's Fashion for Development also staged a superb fashion show at the festival. Bangladesh came alive at the recently concluded festival in Sydney. The expatriate community look forward to more such cultural feasts.
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Dancers presenting a folk composition |
