THE just concluded Dhaka Folk Fest-2015, the first international folk music festival was a big success and let local viewers to discover themselves when alien culture and music are only distancing us from our own national and indigenous culture. It left the viewers with memories of various musical notes and moments of harmony with our past with an window to global folklore treasure. The Army Stadium in the capital hosted event and aired by a local TV Channel from November 12 to 14 as sponsored by two local organizations to introduce the world to the thousand-year-old folk music of the country. It was indeed a timely move to bring local musicians to be joined by folklore vocalists from Pakistan, India, Ireland, China, and Egypt.
As it appears the occasion made Dhaka the center of global folklore focus leaving back exciting moments to viewers to gaze at the rich heritage of Bangladesh folklore in a bigger landscape of global folklore culture. It proved once again that Bangladesh’s cultural heritage is both rich and unique in tone and texture and the rendition by vocalists from other countries also made the event more exciting.
The recent occasion has left behind a deepening feeling about folklore for having a big impact on our life. Engaging and taking part in the folk music festival allowed the city dwellers to share musical interests and interact with people of various professions within the country and with visitors from other countries. Not only has it had a psychological impact; what mattered the most is the awakening of our mind and psyche to give more attention to rediscover the cultural heritage that the nation inherits from the past and keeping us in the social bond through ages.
It was indeed an excellent event and we hope that it would emerge as an annual event to regularly enlighten the nation and familiarize the global community with our rich treasure of folklore culture.
