Country’s first stand-up poetry platform, Shabdayan, launched

Shabdayan, the country's first stand-up poetry platform, was launched with an evening of poetry, music, and dance.

The event took place on Tuesday at the Goethe-Institut Bangladesh auditorium. Poems were presented in Bangla along with recitations in Mandi, English, and German. Each act was paired with music and dance, offering the audience a new way to experience poetry on stage, said a press release.

Shadab Hashmi and Atopor Shabdayan's Chief Visionary Officer Jubair Shawan spoke about the long effort that went into creating the platform. They described it as a journey of passion and thanked their team members for standing by them throughout.

The programme featured performances by Afaz Uddin Kobiraj, Tito Munshi, Mithun Raksam, Rinku Rahii, Theotonious Gomes, Manirul Manir, Pias Majid, Shibu Kumer Shill, Shahnaz Munni, Frank Werner, Umme Rayhana, Tokon Thaakoor, Nishat Jahan Rana, and Afzal Hossain.

Guests at the event included writer and playwright Imdadul Haq Milan; Ariful Bari Mojumder, Chairman and Managing Director of UCSI University Bangladesh; Sherin Sultana, Director of UCSI University Bangladesh; Sanaul Arefeen, Managing Partner of Mattra; Tazeen Halim, Director of Mattra; and Khondoker Alamgir, COO of Mattra.

The evening was hosted by Hashmi and Maria Farih Upama, with dance choreographed by the Mash-Mahbub team and music directed by Shibu Kumer Shill and his group.

The platform, initiated by Atopor Shabdayan with support from Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, UCSI University, and Mattra, now plans to take poetry events beyond Dhaka to all eight divisions. Recordings of the performances will soon be available online.