Curtain rises on ‘Ganga Jamuna Cultural Fest’ today

The 12th edition of the ‘Ganga Jamuna Cultural Festival’ will be starting today at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA).

More than four thousand artistes from 122 cultural organisations of Bangladesh and India will take part at the 11-day-long festival. The festival will feature theatrical plays, jatra palas, music, recitation programmes, dance performances and street plays.

The inaugural ceremony of the festival will be held at the National Theatre Hall of BSA. Ataur Rahman will inaugurate the festival at 6:00pm in the evening. Presided over by the convener of Ganga Jamuna Shangskritik Parshod, Ghulam Kuddus, state minister of cultural affairs K M Khalid will be present as the chief guest at the programme.

Cultural personalities Ramendu Majumdar, Asaduzzaman Noor, MP, Mamunur Rashid, Nasur Uddin Yousuff, Liaquat Ali Lucky and Md Ahkam Ullah, along with Shah Alam Sarwar, Managing Director and Chief Executive, IFIC Bank Limited, among others will be attending the programme as special guests.

Aktaruzzaman, Member Secretary of the Festival Board, will be giving the welcome speech for the event and also emceeing the programme.

Three plays will be staged at BSA at 7:00pm while one play will be staged at Dr. Nilima Ibrahim Auditorium of Bangladesh Mahila Samity at 07:00pm everyday throughout the festival. Along with theatres, street plays, music performance, recitation and dance performance will be held at open stage at the festival venue every day from 4:00pm to 6:30pm. 

On the opening day, Theatre troupe Loko Natyadal (Banani) will stage its much-acclaimed play ‘Konjush’, the most-staged play in the country today at Mahila Samiti as a part of the festival.

‘Konjush’ belongs to the ‘Comedy of Morals’ genre, which is designed to address vices such as hypocrisy, pride, greed, social pretensions and nepotism. The play is adapted by Tariq Anam Khan and directed by Kamrun Nur Chowdhury.

Tariq Anam Khan’s adaptation of the play presents a ‘Dhakaiyya’ (a native of Old Dhaka) protagonist - a rich old man named Haider Ali.

Through Haider Ali’s story, ‘Konjush’ attacks the selfish and opportunistic tendencies of the elite.

Besides, Theatre is going to stage their production ‘Pohale Sharbari’, which is directed by Ramendu Majumdar. Another theatre troupe, Bangladesh Police Theatre, will be staging ‘Abhishapta August’ directed by Jahidur Rahman at Experimental Theatre Hall. ‘Juimalar Shoimala’ will be staged at the studio theatre hall of BSA.

The festival will continue till October 31. Ganga-Jamuna Sangskritik Utsab Parishad has arranged the festival in collaboration with Cultural Affairs Ministry of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and IFIC Limited.