One of the most awaited youth events, Joy Bangla Concert, is back this year – following a two-year gap due to the coronavirus pandemic – and this year, music loving youngsters are in for a bigger and better return. The announcement of the return of the musical extravaganza, on the Facebook page of Young Bangla, has already created a hype on social media with netizens sharing their memorable moments from previous instalments of the concert. Many also welcomed the organizers’ move to bring back this fusion of music and history.   Already deemed as the biggest concert for youths and attended by the Prime Minister in the last instalment in 2020, the event was held every year between 2015 and 2020 – to highlight the historic March 7 speech of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman that set the tone for the country’s independence through the Liberation War. However, considering the Holy Shab-e-Barat, this year the concert will be held on March 8 at its regular venue – Army Stadium – with registration for free tickets to be opened soon, according to organizers. Read more:Top 10 Upcoming South Indian Movies in March 2023 Keeping up with the previous years’ unique trend, the concert this year is set to feature iconic and emerging bands of the country such as Artcell, Avoid Rafa, Lalon, Chirkutt, Cryptic Fate, Karnival, Meghdol, Nemesis and Arekta Rock Band. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana appeared at the concert in 2020 while Center for Research and Information (CRI) trustee Radwan Mujib Siddiq attended the entire concert. The concert, making its debut in 2015, has become a part of the country’s pop culture and a household name in the live music industry – stitching the wartime patriotic melodies of Bangladesh with the rock genre. In 2020, hundreds of thousands of youths at the concert were astounded when a holographic image of Bangabandhu appeared on stage with the same towering figure, baritone voice, and that famous index finger that shook the repressive Pakistan regime half a century ago.

The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations for the academic session 2021-2022 will begin across the country Sunday (November 06, 2022) with the Bangla first paper. More than 12.03 lakh students are expected to take the tests at 2,649 centres, from 9,181 institutions under 11 education boards; among them, there are 622,796 male students and 580,611 female students. According to the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, written HSC exams will begin on November 6 and will continue till December 13. Practical exams will be held from December 15 to 22. Read more: SSC, HSC for 2023 will be held on all subjects The exams will be held from 11 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 4 pm. All coaching centres across Bangladesh will remain closed till December 14 during the exams. Also, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has imposed a ban on the movement of anyone except HSC examinees and exam officials, within 200 yards of test centres in the capital. The DMP announced the new step in a statement Thursday. Read more: SSC, HSC Certificate Information Change or Correction Process in Bangladesh The public will be completely barred from travelling within 200 yards of test centres to ensure "proper and lawful" exams, according to DMP Commissioner Khandker Gulam Faruq. The order will remain in force until the end of the HSC and equivalent exams in Bangladesh.

Video streaming platform Bongo has released the Bangla dubbed version of romance-fantasy film "Beauty and the Beast." In the French-German co-production, Léa Seydoux performed as Beauty and Vincent Cassel as the Beast. Christophe Gans directs the film. The film first premiered in France on February 12, 2014, and was later released in Berlin, Germany, on February 14 that year. Beauty and the Beast originates from the original Grimm fairytale of Beauty and the Beast, which is taken from classic French folktales. The story starts when a widowed merchant shipwrecks on the sea and becomes bankrupt. He has to move countryside from the lavishing city with his six children. Despite this sudden change, nobody except the merchant's younger daughter Belle seems happy. Read: Bongo brings 'Harsh Times' as 'Bondhu Amar' Friday One day the merchant gets the news that one of his ships safely reached the shore. With a surge of happiness, he asked his children what they wanted as a return gift. When everyone has a choice on their list, Belle only wishes to bring her father back safely with a rose for her. With luck, the merchant takes refuge in a magical castle with a broken heart because he had to pay his debt with the ship's findings. But in the magical castle, all merchants' wishes came true until he took the liberty to take a mystical rose for her dear daughter Belle against the permission of the castle owner, The Beast. The merchant now needs to live with the Beast in his castle. Learning his father's fate, Belle took her father's place and went to the magical castle alone. The film earned $49.1 million internationally. In Japan, it topped the box office on its release, making it the first non-English-language foreign film to top the Japanese box office since Red Cliff II in 2009 and the first French film to top the Japanese box office since Mathieu Kassovitz's The Crimson Rivers in 2001.  

The quality of Bangla content should be assured to facilitate the usage of the language in technology, said Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar. He was addressing the discussion "Use of Bangla in Technology" organised by telecom operator Robi in the capital Saturday. "We must ensure the technological advancement of language for the next generation. Through research and development, 16 tools are being developed for the enrichment of Bangla in information technology," he added. Read Mobile users to receive SMS-notifications in Bangla from telecom operators "Although Bangla is the seventh most populous language in the world, it is not even ranked among the top 40 languages used on the internet. To reach out to people at all levels over the internet, the use of Bangla language needs to be increased," BTRC Director General Brigadier General Nasim Parvez said. Shihab Ahmed, chief commercial officer of Robi, said, "We must move away from our reliance on entertainment-based content to practical content. Also, we will have to ensure that content is available through Bangla language search." "We need to ensure the availability of Bangla terminologies on the internet," Telecom Reporters' Network Bangladesh President Rashed Mehedi said. Read Don’t neglect mother tongue while learning other languages: PM Muhammad Khan, founder and editor of techshohor.com, said: "Satisfaction over the use of Bengali language in technology is not more than 50 percent. To make progress in this area, more government actions are needed." "Steps should be taken to enable expatriates to communicate with the government of the host country in Bangla."

Telecom operators will send all SMS or notifications in Bangla text on the occasion of International Mother Tongue Day. Telecom Minister Mustafa Jabbar inaugurated the service at an event at the conference room of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on Sunday. The Minister said that 91 percent of the technical activities related to sending SMS in Bangla by all the operators have already been completed. He also called on all operators to complete the remaining nine per cent work by June. BTRC Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder said that 16 types of mobile SMS / notifications will be sent in Bengali. BTRC Vice-Chairman Subrata Roy Maitra said that Bangla typing system has already been introduced in all mobile handsets and SMS service has been launched in Bangla for customers at half cost. Also read: Nation to pay heartfelt tributes to language martyrs Monday Mentioning that many customers do not understand if a message is sent in English, he said that all Bangla speaking people will benefit from the introduction of SMS in Bangla. Director General (Systems and Services) of BTRC Brigadier General Md Nasim Parvez presented the activities related to the introduction of SMS service in Bangla in detail. He said that Banglalink is at the forefront in sending Bangla SMS to the customers as five per cent of the company's work is still left. Grameenphone is in the next position completing 90 percent of the work of sending SMS in Bangla. Meanwhile, state-owned operator Teletalk has completed 85 per cent of the work while Robi 78 per cent operations. At present, 151.85 crore daily text messages are delivered to the subscribers, he added. Secretary of Posts and Telecommunications Division Md Khalilur Rahman said the government is trying to make Bengali the official language of the United Nations. The Posts and Telecommunications Division has taken initiative to convert most of the laws printed in English of this Ministry into Bangla. Also read: Int’l seminar on language in London on Monday Commissioner of Engineering and Operations Department of BTRC Engineer Mohiuddin Ahmed,  Commissioner of Legal and Licensing Department of BTRC Abu Syed Diljar Hussain, Director General (Spectrum) Brigadier General Md Moniruzzaman Jewel, Director General (Finance, Accounts and Revenue) Engineer Md Mesbahuzzaman and other senior officials of BTRC and mobile operators were present at the event.

State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid said on Monday that music was one of the main and influential sources of inspiration for the Bengali nation in various democratic movements, including the Language Movement of 1952 and the great Liberation War of  1971.  The minister was speaking as the special guest at the launching ceremony of ‘Coke Studio Bangla,’ which will be the local adaptation of the widely-acclaimed platform for fusion music that started in Pakistan.in the early 2000s. Monday night's launch was organized by Coca-Cola Bangladesh in the ballroom of the Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden.  “February is the month of our glorious Language Movement, and our enriched musical heritage is widely revered by music enthusiasts around the world. I believe Coca-Cola Bangladesh's debut of the 'Coke Studio Bangla' platform, the Bengali version of 'Coke Studio' for Bengali speakers in many nations across the world, including Bangladesh, is an amazing initiative in this glorious month,” the minister said at the event. Highlighting the popularity of Coke Studio for its fusion songs, he added, “I believe that 'Coke Studio Bangla' will become more popular worldwide than the way ‘Coke Studio’ has gained popularity in different countries of the world, including our neighbouring country India. We are hopeful that this wonderful platform will further uphold the glory of our diverse collection of songs." READ: Lata Mangeshkar: India's Legendary Singing Diva State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak also spoke as the special guest on the occasion, while Coca-Cola Bangladesh Managing Director Ta Duy Tung delivered the welcome speech. Popular singer-composer and music producer of ‘Coke Studio Bangla’ Shayan Chowdhury Arnob, singer-actor and Coca-Cola Bangladesh’s brand ambassador Tahsan Khan, folk-icon and Member of Parliament Momtaz Begum, and other popular music stars including Bappa Mazumder, Ankhi Alamgir and others also joined the gala launching event of the world-famous musical fusion programme. The ‘Coke Studio Bangla’ Season 1 theme song "Ekla Cholo" was also premiered at the event, simultaneously released at Coke Studio Bangla’s Facebook and YouTube platforms. The song is a beautiful fusion rendition of Bengali Polymath Rabindranath Tagore’s popular song “Jodi Tor Daak Shune Keu Na Ashe,” Baul singer Gagan Harkara's famous song "Ami Kothay Pabo Tare" and popular band Shironamhin’s cult hit song “Tumi Cheye Achho Tai,” performed by Arnob, Bappa Mazumder, Samina Chowdhury, Momtaz, Kona, Pantha Kanai, Rituraj, Masha, Mizan, Boga Taleb, Sheikh Ishtiaque and more. The inaugural event was then followed by musical performances by the project's participants. Coke Studio's first season will premiere in mid-February, featuring a total of ten tracks. Music enthusiasts will be able to enjoy the fusion performances on Coca-Cola Bangladesh's official Facebook page, YouTube channel and Spotify.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday said in the global village one needs to learn other languages but the mother tongue must never be neglected.