Entertainment Desk : With the participation of a bunch of prominent dancers, Srishti- Meena Bazaar Dance Drama Festival 2017 is all set to be held this November. Starting from November 1, the festival will take place at Dhaka’s Jatiyo Shilpakala Academy and will conclude on November 4. Providing an idea about the festival, famous dancer Anisul Islam Hiru, who is also the director of Srishti Cultural Centre said: “The dance drama fest brings special amusement to the audience. As an organisation, cultural centre is all about creating this vibe. We are trying to organise these kinds of festivals more frequently.” “We often see that dance drama festivals are being organised at operas and broadways in other countries, but initiatives like these are rare in Bangladesh. Besides, people who are taking this kind of initiative are failing to make an impact due to the lack of proper patronising,” said Shahin Khan, the CEO of Meena Bazaar, a concern of Gemcon Food and Agricultural Products Ltd. He added, “Gemcon group has been patronising initiatives regarding art-literature and sports for a long time now. As a continuation to our previous efforts, we’ve decided to collaborate with Srishti Cultural Centre to bring the festival forward.” Thanking the sponsoring organisations for their collaboration, Ekushey Award winner artist Shamim Ara Nipa said: “Efforts like this for dance make us optimistic about the industry. I believe, more people will come forward and patronise endeavours like this.” Earlier in a press conference, the festival authority informed that the programme will commence with Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore’s “Tasher Desh” at Jatiyo Natyashala Milonayatan of Shilpakala Academy at 7pm. Based on the immortal tale of Radha-Krishna’s timeless romance, “Rai Krishna Padabali”, penned by Sheikh Hafizur Rahman, will be staged on November 2. “Bandi-Bandar Rupkotha”, adapted from the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, is slated to be staged on November 3.
