Feature

Dhaka Christian Youth Festival 2008

Edward Apurba Singha

It was February 8, some days before Valentine's Day when youngsters of the Christian community rushed to Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Center (BCFCC) to enjoy a gala event called "Dhaka Christian Youth Festival 2008".

It was the first ever event in Bangladesh that was organised by Bangladesh Bible Society to unite adolescents and spread the message of Holy Bible in order to enlighten their life. The event was organised on Friday, a weekly holiday that drew huge participants at Plenary Hall of BCFCC. Actually the event was scheduled to start at 3:00pm but the participants lined up to enter the hall well before 2:00pm. Volunteers made up three queues from the main road to the main door of Plenary Hall.

When the participants arrived at the main program zone they heard enchanting gospel songs being played to entertain them. The hall has double stair facility that helped viewers to enjoy the panoramic view of the entire program. At 3:00pm the program kicked off and all participants and organisers sang the national anthem. After that prominent personalities of the Christian community including Arch Bishop of Bangladesh Catholic Church delivered their speech. Later, the audience enjoyed two magnificent dance numbers performed by the festival dance team.

The main attraction of the event was Mr Victor Vijay Benedict, a renowned singer of the Indian subcontinent who sung the famous song "I am a disco dancer" for a super hit cinema in India. Vijay joined the youth festival as a part of his responsibility to Christ's teaching and at the same time inspired young people to follow the path of the Holy Bible.

Vijay performed several songs at the youth festival that kept the audience spellbound. Many boys and girls were not able control their passion and they deliberately came forward to the main stage where Vijay performed some mind blowing music. After Vijay, noted singer Andrew Kishore electrified the audience with his popular songs. He also shared some of his early life experiences with the youngsters. In addition to music, magic and game shows also captured the attention of the participants.

At the end of the program Rev. Simon Sarkar came on the stage to deliver his sermon. He said, "It is high time for us to motivate our boys and girls to work for Jesus Christ. We must be circumspect to utilise the potentials of our youngsters which in practice enrich our society and brings benefits to our nation as a whole". The organisers of this program also collected voluntary donations from the participants for the Sidr victims.