Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 1009 Tue. April 03, 2007  
   
Culture


Jatiya Rabindra Sangeet Sammilan Parishad's annual conference ends


One of the country's largest and renowned cultural organisations -- Jatiya Rabindra Sangeet Sammilan Parishad's 26th annual conference wrapped up on April 1. To commemorate the event, the Parishad (council) had organised seminars and cultural programmes at the Chhayanat Sangskriti Bhaban. The 3-day event featuring performances by talented Tagore artistes from all corners of the country attracted thousands of music enthusiasts.

A new working committee was formed for the working calendar 2007-2009. Members from all 49 branches of the organisation were present at the conference. Professor Zillur Rahman Siddiqui was elected as president, Dr Sanjida Khatun as the executive president and Bulbul Islam as the general secretary.

In a joint announcement the Parishad stated that, "Though Bangladesh as a nation is still new, its trade and commerce, rivers, people and culture are ancient. People are the breathing soul of a nation. Unless we learn to respect and appreciate everything about our language and heritage, as a nation we will not progress. Yes, there have been obstacles over the years but we'll continue our struggle to overcome these impediments."

The Parishad has also put forward its proposals for the coming years. To name but a few: to imbibe values of patriotism amongst the younger generation, to improve quality of the education system, to build Shaheed Minars at all major educational institutions, unity among cultural figures to confront the evils in society, to appoint at least one teacher at every educational institute who'll oversee cultural activities, to use and pronounce Bangla in its purest form in the media etc.

The third and final day of the conference saw the Parishad announcing its most prestigious award 'Guni Shommanona'. The award went to folk singer Abdus Sattar Sarkar from Jaipurhat. The Parishad also distributed prizes among winners (in two categories -- youth and general) of its copetition.

During the cultural programme in the evening, the Chhayanat Sangskriti Bhaban was brimming with people from all walks of life. Among the forty artists performing songs in the evening were Shifayetullah, Shama Rahman, Lily Islam, Kanchona Mustafa, Moinuddin Nazir, Shumon Chowdhury, Laisa Ahmed Lisa, Neelotpal Shadhdho, Taniya Mannan, Mita Haq, Fahim Hussain Choudhury and Aditi Mohsin. Orno Komolika performed dance. The event came to an end with a choral rendition of our National Anthem.

Picture
Tagore artistes perform at the conference