Audience swept off their feet
Paban Das Baul, the legendary folk singer, yesterday filled the Army Stadium with his sonorous voice and wonderful melodies on the second night of the Dhaka International Folk Festival 2015.
The three-day festival, which continued well into the early hours of today, was presented by Meril and organised by Sun Events and Maasranga TV at the capital's Army Stadium.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. On a Friday evening, people of all ages flocked to the venue in their thousands and they were left enchanted by baul and folk singers and troupes from different countries.
It was Baul Bhajan Khyapa who opened the day's concert, followed by young artistes Ruba and Sajib who are from a Maasranga TV show called Magic Bauliana. They were followed by Ajgar Alim, Jahir Alim and Nurjahan Alim -- the three children of folk legend Abdul Alim.
A brief discussion followed with Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman, Anjan Chowdhury, managing director of Square Group and Maasranga TV and Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran on the stage. They expressed their gratitude to the audience as the turnout yesterday peaked at nearly 60,000 in the evening.
During her performance, Nazrul singer Nashid Kamal went beyond herself, swaying the audience with popular songs like “Je Jon Premer Bhab Janey Na” and “Sundori Komola” with a big baul ensemble as accompanists.
Bari Siddiqui came on stage next, presenting his signature style of melancholic folk, closing with his hit “Shuachan Pakhi”. Alongside singing, he also played the flute in a song, much to the audience's delight.
Arnob & Friends then presented their urbanised style of folk music, starting with “Mon Torey”. The group then performed a Lalon song, a Tagore song and a Chittagonian folk song, with the audience singing along.
As the clock struck midnight, enthusiasm of the audience kept rising at the stadium, with Paban Das continuing to elevate the ambiance to new highs, being accompanied by Arnob and his band.
With Momtaz and Yunnan Art troupe yet to perform, the enthused music lovers were in for another good night.