‘Prane Ano Gaan’: a promise to never let art and culture perish
The last month of 2025 saw devastating attacks on two of the leading newspapers of the country, Prothom Alo and the Daily Star, and two of the oldest cultural institutions, Chhayanaut and Udichi, following the assassination of young leader Osman Hadi. It was as if the history of December 14, 1971 repeated itself in a slightly smaller scale, as the very institutions upholding art, culture, secularism, and freedom of speech were vandalised and burned. The arson destroyed decades of archives and instruments, and traumatised the entire population of non-extremists.
In the light of these events, Bengal Foundation, one of country's biggest patrons of art and culture, launched a four-day long multidisciplinary cultural festival including an array of musical performances every evening, a craft fair, a craft workshop for children, and an art exhibition by 35 of the women artists of Bangladesh and beyond. The art exhibition however will run till January 17, 2026. Supported by Dhaka Bank, the entire festival is an answer to the culprits behind the aggression towards the peaceful people of this country.
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The inauguration started with Patriotic songs and recitation. It was attended by Abul Khair, the Chairperson of Bengal Foundation who prayed for the innocent lives of Osman Hadi, a young worker named Dipu Chandra Das who spoke against workplace injustice, and the three-year-old child of a BNP leader, Ayesha, lost due to human monstrosity. He added that this event will serve as a proof of our unbroken spirit. The chief guest and the Chairperson of Dhaka Bank PLC, Abdul Hai Sarker, and the Director General of Bengal Foundation, Luva Nahid Choudhury were also present at the event.
After the inauguration ceremony, the program started with our national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam's Hindu and Islamic religious songs, continuing his legacy of secularism and religious alliance. Famous mystic Kiran Chandra Roy delighted the audience with our much loved Bengali folk and baul songs, including Lalon Shah's songs. While the musical performances are held on level 4, the art exhibition takes place on level 1.
From Abul Khair's collection of brilliant paintings, 35 artists are featured in "The Other Voice", including veteran artists such as Professor Farida Zaman, Kanak Chanpa Chakma, Nazlee Laila Mansur, Nurunnahar Kazi, and emerging artists such as Farzana Ahmed Urmi, Antara Mehrukh Azad, Fariha Zeba, Nazia Andaleeb Preema, and many more. This exhibition also aims to bring forth lesser known women artists whose artistic practices were challenged by patriarchal bias.
The paintings are a testament to women's lives, struggles, resilience, sorrows, and underrepresentation of their worth by a systematic discrimination. For example, Gulshan Hossain painted the widows of 1971, whereas Dilara Begum Jolly showcases the infinite pain inflicted on women's bodies.
The next three days of the festival will hold performances on Rabindranath Tagore's and Nazrul's songs, songs from Bengali cinema, songs of three poets: Dwijendralal Ray, Rajnikant Sen, and Atul Prasad Sen, and more musical performances by many artistes. The local craft fair "Karukatha" and the children's craft workshop "Akash Kusum" will continue till December 27 as well.
In short, this festival is a way to revive and rekindle the spark, the flame in our souls that was dimmed by violence. An entire nation of people who have music and art running through their veins, cannot and will not be daunted by a soulless, ignorant, patriarchal, and prejudiced chunk of population.
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