Entertainment Desk :
With the aim to unite the music lovers across the country, Sangeet Oikya Bangladesh has organised a month-long music festival and conference. The first national music festival and conference kicked off at Chattogram District Shilpakala Academy on Friday. The next festival, which was scheduled to be held on June 24 at Sylhet District Shilpakala Academy, has been postponed due to the flooding in Sylhet region, said a press release.
The final programme of the festival and the national conference will be held in Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka on July 16. On July 1, festival is also scheduled to be held at Barishal District Shilpakala Academy.
State Minister for Cultural Affairs K M Khalid inaugurated the festival as the chief guest in Chattogram. Presided over by President of Sangeet Oikya Bangladesh Rezwana Choudhury Bannya, President of Geetikobi Sangha Bangladesh Shahid Mahmud Jangi was also present at the event. He raised several demands for the development of musicians. He also demanded separate seats for musicians in government hospitals to improve the quality of life of the artists.
Kumar Biswajit, Secretary General of Sangeet Oikya Bangladesh, also spoke on the occasion.
The first segment of the cultural programme started with the performance of classical music by Samarjit Roy. After that the artists of Chattogram Sangeet Bhaban rendered songs on the stage. There were also performances of traditional regional songs of Chattogram by Prem Sundar Baishnab, performances of Rangamati’s Zoom Aesthetics Council’s hill tribes and Chattogram based local band, Durbin.
In the second part of the cultural festival, Rezwana Chowdhury Bonya, Kumar Biswajit, Hasan Abidur Reza Jewel, Joy Shahriar, and Kishore Das rendered songs. Country’s three popular bands – Renaissance, Dolchhut and Souls also performed later.
The entire festival and conference are sponsored by the Ministry of Culture.
