Rabindra Sarovar and Bangla Academy steal the show

One of the many productions held at Rabindra Sarovar Unmukto Mancha

'Muktiro mandiro shopano tale', 'Jodi tor daak shune keo na ashe' marked the beginning of the show by Hamidur Rahman. Other singers who also performed were Rasheda Boshri, Bijon Kumar Mistri, Milon Deb, Shubarna Ray and Nabin Kishore Gautam. Agnibina and Udichi Shilpi Goshthi presented some noteworthy tunes of Ekushey songs, gana sangeet (people's songs) and patriotic numbers as well.

Shabda from Dhaka presented Mrittu o Moruddan, a charming group recitation, followed by poetry recitations by Ashraful Alam and Faizul Alam.

Fagun elei ekti pakhi dak-e' was a magnificent presentation of Sharakalpan, composed and directed by Mostafiz Reepon where lines were adapted from the famous poems by eminent poets Shamsur Rahman, Nirmalendu Gun and Mahadeb Saha. Muktabak another Abritti Shangatha (recitation forum) had performed later in the evening as well.

'We should stand together against the 'Fatwabaaj' (fundamentalists)' was the theme of the play, 'Bou', a patha natak (street Drama) by Nongor Theatre. The play was written by Mannan Heera and directed by Pranesh Choudhury. The story continued further with a newly wed bride who travelled a long way to meet her husband accompanied by a mullah and servants. As she couldn't take anything from a 'parpurush' (men other than her husband) as declared by the mullah, she starved to death. Thus, the play uncovered the crude reality that women are still deprived of their rights in every step of life in our country. Saidul Islam Khan, Mehedy Hasan, Abdul Malek and SM Illias acted in the play.

'Mora' was another lively presentation by Uttara Theatres. The group members marked this patha natak as their 14th production. 'Religious conflict is not desirable', said the director of the play, Md. Shahjahan Shovon. The play was written by Shuvankar Chakaravarty. Junayet Hossain, Monirul Islam, Nuruzzaman Sheikh, Md. Mujibur Rahman acted in different characters. The 'Nattyamela' and the 'Prachyanat' renowned theatre groups of the country also presented their plays at the programme premises later on in the evening.

Besides the Amar Ekushey Book Fair at the Bangla Academy premises, the regular cultural programmes have been going on in full swing. The programme began with a song, followed by a discussion on the topic 'Heritage and conscience in Farrukh Ahmed's poems'. Titash Chowdhury presented the keynote on the topic while Mohammed Mahfuzullah presided over the programme. Dr. Mahbub Hasan, Prof. Ishraf Hossain and poet Al Mujahidi also participated in the discussion. 'Farrukh Ahmed was a humanist poet who dreamt of freedom and humanism through Islam', said the speakers. The Pagla Gaan ushered in the end.