Sheikh Arif Bulbon :
Amid tight security, the five-day event sixth Bengal Classical Music Festival was held from December 26 to 29 at the Sheikh Kamal Abahani field in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area. The Bengal Foundation dedicated this fest, which featured 33 celebrated musicians and dancers of the Indian subcontinent, to Emeritus Prof Anisuzzaman. Bengal Foundation organised the festival aiming to popularise and perpetuate the practice of classical music.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith inaugurated the event while Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor MP graced the occasion as the special guest.
Music lovers must signed up online and brought along the pass and a photo ID to the venue for entry. No-one was allowed to enter the venue after 12:00am during the five days and parking is not allowed outside the venue. Children under the age of 12 are discouraged at the fest.
The final night of the festival ended with a mellifluous note by Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia’s heavenly flute recital.
The maiden performance was Odissi dance recital by Vidushi Sujata Mohapatra with co-artist Soumya Bose. He was accompanied by Soumyaranjan Joshi on flute, Rupak K Parida on Vocal, Ramesh Chanda Das on Violin, Eklabya Moduli on the Pakhawaj. Lights were done by Jaydev Das. Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor handed over the crest to the artiste. The closing ceremony of the festival took place after the first performance.
Professor emeritus Dr Anisuzzaman chaired the closing ceremony while BRAC Chairperson Sir Fazle Hasan Abed was the chief guest. Cultural exponent and president of Chhayanaut Dr Sanjida Khatun, managing director of Impress Telefilm and Channel I Faridur Reza Sagar and mother of Kazi Nabil Ahmed, also the vice-president of Abahani Limited Aminah Ahmed were present as special guests.
Highlighting the importance of traditional festivals, Dr Sanjida Khatun urged the organisers to arrange such festivals all over the country. She also mentioned about making the folk genre a part of this kind of event, which eventually can ignite a great sense of humanity amongst us.
The next performances of the night were Mohan Veena by Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Pandit Subhen Chatterjee accompanied him on the Tabla. He performed Raga Maru-Bihag and Dhun. A crest was handed over to the artiste by Attorney General Mahbubey Alam.
Brajeswar Mukherjee was the next artiste to enthrall the audience with Khayal rendition where he performed Raga Jog. Pandit Subhankar Bannerjee was on the Tabla and Gourab Chatterjee on Harmonium. Eminent singer Shama Rahman handed over the crest to the artiste.
A wonderful Jugalbandi of Sitar by Pandit Kushal Das and Kalyanjit Das enchanted a sea of people at the dead of night. They performed Raga Jogkauns. Artist Monirul Islam and Singer Aditi Mohsin handed over the crest to the performers.
The penultimate performance of the night was Khayal by Pandit Kaivalya Kumar. He performed Raga Gorakh Kalyan and a Thumri in Raga Khamaj. He was accompanied by Sridhar Mandre on the Tabla, Dr Sudhangshu Kulkarni on Harmonium, Kumar Malakar and Abhijit Kundu of Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay on the Tanpura. Festival memento was handed over Pandit Kaivalya Kumar by BRAC University Vice Chancellor Dr Syed Saad Andalib.
The concluding performance of the mega festival was Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia’s mellifluous flute recital. He was accompanied by Pandit Subhankar Banerjee on Tabla, Pandit Bhavani Shankar on the pakhawaj, Vivek Sonar and Uka Nagai on flute and Mushfiqur Islam on the Tanpura.
He performed Raga Lalitha and folk tune and bhajan. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith handed over the crest to the Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia.
The Bengal Classical Music Festival has been the largest classical music event in the subcontinent showcasing brilliant performances by over two hundred classically trained singers and dancers for the last five years.
The event this year was dedicated to eminent educationist, researcher and cultural exponent professor emeritus Dr Anisuzzaman.
Amid tight security, the five-day event sixth Bengal Classical Music Festival was held from December 26 to 29 at the Sheikh Kamal Abahani field in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area. The Bengal Foundation dedicated this fest, which featured 33 celebrated musicians and dancers of the Indian subcontinent, to Emeritus Prof Anisuzzaman. Bengal Foundation organised the festival aiming to popularise and perpetuate the practice of classical music.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith inaugurated the event while Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor MP graced the occasion as the special guest.
Music lovers must signed up online and brought along the pass and a photo ID to the venue for entry. No-one was allowed to enter the venue after 12:00am during the five days and parking is not allowed outside the venue. Children under the age of 12 are discouraged at the fest.
The final night of the festival ended with a mellifluous note by Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia’s heavenly flute recital.
The maiden performance was Odissi dance recital by Vidushi Sujata Mohapatra with co-artist Soumya Bose. He was accompanied by Soumyaranjan Joshi on flute, Rupak K Parida on Vocal, Ramesh Chanda Das on Violin, Eklabya Moduli on the Pakhawaj. Lights were done by Jaydev Das. Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor handed over the crest to the artiste. The closing ceremony of the festival took place after the first performance.
Professor emeritus Dr Anisuzzaman chaired the closing ceremony while BRAC Chairperson Sir Fazle Hasan Abed was the chief guest. Cultural exponent and president of Chhayanaut Dr Sanjida Khatun, managing director of Impress Telefilm and Channel I Faridur Reza Sagar and mother of Kazi Nabil Ahmed, also the vice-president of Abahani Limited Aminah Ahmed were present as special guests.
Highlighting the importance of traditional festivals, Dr Sanjida Khatun urged the organisers to arrange such festivals all over the country. She also mentioned about making the folk genre a part of this kind of event, which eventually can ignite a great sense of humanity amongst us.
The next performances of the night were Mohan Veena by Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Pandit Subhen Chatterjee accompanied him on the Tabla. He performed Raga Maru-Bihag and Dhun. A crest was handed over to the artiste by Attorney General Mahbubey Alam.
Brajeswar Mukherjee was the next artiste to enthrall the audience with Khayal rendition where he performed Raga Jog. Pandit Subhankar Bannerjee was on the Tabla and Gourab Chatterjee on Harmonium. Eminent singer Shama Rahman handed over the crest to the artiste.
A wonderful Jugalbandi of Sitar by Pandit Kushal Das and Kalyanjit Das enchanted a sea of people at the dead of night. They performed Raga Jogkauns. Artist Monirul Islam and Singer Aditi Mohsin handed over the crest to the performers.
The penultimate performance of the night was Khayal by Pandit Kaivalya Kumar. He performed Raga Gorakh Kalyan and a Thumri in Raga Khamaj. He was accompanied by Sridhar Mandre on the Tabla, Dr Sudhangshu Kulkarni on Harmonium, Kumar Malakar and Abhijit Kundu of Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay on the Tanpura. Festival memento was handed over Pandit Kaivalya Kumar by BRAC University Vice Chancellor Dr Syed Saad Andalib.
The concluding performance of the mega festival was Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia’s mellifluous flute recital. He was accompanied by Pandit Subhankar Banerjee on Tabla, Pandit Bhavani Shankar on the pakhawaj, Vivek Sonar and Uka Nagai on flute and Mushfiqur Islam on the Tanpura.
He performed Raga Lalitha and folk tune and bhajan. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith handed over the crest to the Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia.
The Bengal Classical Music Festival has been the largest classical music event in the subcontinent showcasing brilliant performances by over two hundred classically trained singers and dancers for the last five years.
The event this year was dedicated to eminent educationist, researcher and cultural exponent professor emeritus Dr Anisuzzaman.