‘Folk Melody of Bangladesh’ to be launched at AFD

A pre-launching event of Iftekhar Anwar’s book ‘Folk Melody of Bangladesh’ will take place today at 6.30 pm at Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD) in capital’s Dhanmondi. The book is scheduled to be published in December.

The book is the first-ever publication of its kind that comprises the findings of a decade-long research project, aiming to understand the origins and maintain Bangladesh’s traditional yet timeless folk music and culture.

The Queen of Lalon Songs Farida Parveen, Legendary Folk Singer Arif Dewan, Folk Song Researcher and the Great Grandson of Hason Raja- Shamarin Dewan, and Dr. Jesmin Buli will be present at the event.

The book consists of the melody in staff notation, the lyrics, and detailed descriptions of more than two hundred and ten folk songs, their composers, and lyricists. It also captures and documents the evolution of the tunes and lyrics of the folk music through the passage of time.

The book takes a step towards modernity of the folk music of Bangladesh.  It is expected that the process of research and documentation which have been taken to write this book will make the folk music of Bangladesh accessible to all around the world.

The event is open to all but due to the limited space the organizers will be taking first come, first served policy.