United News of Bangladesh

Hindus across Bangladesh are celebrating Mahalaya, the auspicious occasion that heralds the advent of Goddess Durga, today. Considered as a ceremonial invocation of Goddess Durga, Mahalaya is observed a week prior to Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the Hindu community. Hindus believe the earth prepares itself and welcomes the coming of the Goddess and her children, through the celebrations. Read:Disappointment in Bagerhat as Shikdar Bari avoids large-scale Durga Puja celebration for third year running Durga Puja will begin on October 1 on the day of Maha Shashthi. Goddess Durga will come to the earth (Martyalok) riding an elephant (gaja) through the Maha Sashthi Puja this year. On Mahalaya, the Mahanagar Sarbajanin Puja Committee has arranged special programmes at Dhakeshwari Temple from 6am. On this day, Hindus remember and pay homage to their deceased ancestors by performing a puja, and offering Brahmins clothes, food and sweets in their names. This year there will be 32,168 Puja mandaps across the country. Installation of CCTV cameras has been made compulsory at all puja mandaps ahead of Durga Puja to ensure security, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan  said. Read:Durga puja: A festival that unites Bangladesh! To ensure security at the puja mandaps, additional forces of law enforcement agencies will be deployed as per necessary. Besides, Durga Puja organisers have been told to deploy volunteers to ensure security. The authorities concerned have been asked to provide wristbands to volunteers that will help the police to identify them.

Two Bangladesh projects are amongst six winners of the 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA). A monograph that includes essays on issues raised by the Master Jury’s selections of the shortlist and the winners for the 2022 Award will be published by Architangle in October 2022, according to a message received from Geneva. The Urban River Spaces project in Jhenaidah created by Khondakar Hasibul Kabir and Suhailey Farzana, and the community spaces of the Rohingya Refugee Response program by architects Rizvi Hassan, Khwaja Fatmi and Saad Ben Mostafa will share the US$1 million award with four other winning projects. Read: Bangladeshi projects shortlisted for Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2022

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) has announced that it will hand over the prestigious Shilpakala Padak to 20 recipients for the calendar years 2020 and 2019. A total of 18 cultural luminaries and two revered cultural organizations are receiving the award which will be handed over at a gala event at BSA on Thursday. BSA Director General Liaquat Ali Lucky shared the details of the award ceremony at a press conference held at the National Theater Hall seminar room on Tuesday. President Abdul Hamid will virtually join the event as the chief guest. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Abul Monsur will join the award ceremony at BSA’s National Theater Hall auditorium as the special guest, which will be presided over by State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid. The 2020 award winning cultural personalities are - Malay Bhowmick (dramatics), Mahmudur Rahman Benu (vocalist), Shahid Kabir (fine arts), Shameem Akhtar (film), Shibli Mohammad (dance), Shah Alam Sarkar (folklore), Shamsur Rahman (instrumental/shehnai), Shafiqul Islam Swapan (photography), Dahlia Ahmed (recitation), and Dinajpur Natya Samity (creative cultural unit). The recipients of 2019 award are - Masud Ali Khan (dramatics), Hasina Momtaz (vocalist), Abdul Mannan (fine arts), Anupam Hayat (film), Lubna Marium (dance), Shamvu Acharaya (folklore), Mohammad Moniruzzaman (instrumental - flute), M A Taher (photography), Hasan Arif (recitation), and cultural institution Chhayanaut (creative cultural unit). Each award recipient will get a gold medal, a cheque for Tk 1 lakh, and a certificate. The award has been conferred on deserving creative personalities for their continuous contributions in several fields of arts, culture, entertainment and literature since 2013. However, the award was not conferred in 2019 and the ceremony could not take place in 2020 due to global pandemic of COVID-19.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has said the government will do what it takes to preserve the literary works of iconic lyricist Gazi Mazharul Anwar, who died last week, at the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC). "With over 20,000 songs and many other literary works, Gazi Mazharul Anwar cemented his legacy as one of the most prolific Bangla songwriters in history. His family and co-workers must find and collect all of his works, and we will preserve those at the new complex of the BFDC," the minister said. "I have been a lifelong fan of music, and works of the late songsmith have been a great part of my life – our lives. His majestic songs, from 'Akasher Haatey Achhe Ek Rash Neel' to the thrilling patriotic track 'Joy Bangla, Banglar Joy' – are our treasures."

Marking 50 years of Nepal-Bangladesh ties, a group exhibition is going on in Baber Mahal. The modern and multifaceted artworks in this exhibition are offering the local audience a showcasing of Bangladesh and its cultural heritage to generate renewed enthusiasm for Bangladeshi visual arts among the art-loving people of Nepal, according to the organisers. The "Spirit of Friendship" lifted its curtain on September 2. Ganga Prasad Uprety, chancellor of the Nepal Academy, inaugurated the exhibition curated by renowned Bangladeshi artist Kanak Chapa Chakma. Read: Rush to register: Mahfuz Canvas to host student art show in Dubai! The exhibition is featuring the artworks of 10 prominent Bangladeshi artists Azmeer Hossain, Jayatu Chakma, Kanak, Lumbiny Dewan, Mong Mong Sho, Munna Bong, Nomosta Rema, Pingcu Tripura, Sourav Choudhury, and Sudhip Chakma. This year's April marked 50 years of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Bangladesh. As part of the milestone's extended celebration, the Bangladesh Embassy in Nepal, in collaboration with Siddhartha Art Gallery, Baber Mahal, is jointly hosting the exhibition. The exhibition will continue till September 12.  

A special 3-day visual art show titled 'STIGMATIZED DAY' began at  Nandan Mancha of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) on Sunday, commemorating the August 21st grenade attack massacre. Fine Arts department of BSA organized the event with the support of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Curated by artist Abhijit Chowdhury and co-curated by Sujon Mahahbub and Shubhra Talukder, the performance art programme is showcasing the graphic representation of the brutal Dhaka grenade attack which took place at an anti-terrorism rally organised by the Bangladesh Awami League on Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital on August 21st, 2004. Read:'BRAVEHEART’: Gallery Cosmos pays rich artistic tribute to Bangabandhu

Mahfuz Canvas, a platform for the underprivileged self-taught Bangladeshi artists, is gearing up to host a special overseas exhibition that will offer contemporary painters from this country an opportunity to showcase their artworks in Dubai. The first edition of this exhibition, titled ‘Annual Student Art Show,’ in collaboration with the UAE's largest art community, the Funun Arts Group, is scheduled to take place in the last week of October. This event will showcase numerous artworks based on the theme of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to the organisers. Read 'Rhythmic Abstraction' begins at Alliance Francaise de Dhaka Mahfuz Canvas was founded by internationally acclaimed Bangladeshi artist Mahfuzur Rahman. According to the Funun Arts Group, the organisers are anticipating the participation of students from across the world. They expect to showcase 400 paintings at the event, at least 25 of which will be from Bangladeshi artists. By visiting www.mahfuz.art, Bangladeshi artists can easily register for this event till August 31. Participation for Bangladeshi artists will be funded by Mahfuz Canvas. Read:'BRAVEHEART’: Gallery Cosmos pays rich artistic tribute to Bangabandhu

Since Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and nearly all of his family members were brutally assassinated on August 15, 1975, the eighth month of the Gregorian calendar has always held special significance for Bangladeshis as one for mourning and reflection.  A thoroughbred politician who led a life of constant struggle and sacrifice for a cause, Bangabandhu’s place in history was assured when he led the people of what was once East Pakistan to freedom in 1971, establishing the newly-independent state of Bangladesh. Bangabandhu’s tireless contributions to improving the lot of his people, today’s Bangladeshis, mark him out as one of the 20th century’s tallest leaders. A natural born leader of men, he was also a man of culture - and he proved that from time to time, by always supporting and patronising Bangladeshi arts and culture, as well as the artists. Read: “The Passion of Drawing-2” by Gallery Cosmos: A daylong tribute to drawing As the visionary behind all the necessary transformations that Bangladesh needed after its independence, Bangabandhu left an indelible mark in the hearts of all who knew him, and on the fabric of the nation, till he was gunned down along with almost his entire family in a maon on the fabric of the nation remembered with befitting tribute and respect.

To showcase its heartfelt tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was assassinated along with most of his family members on August 15,1975, the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) will organise a series of events throughout the month. Monday, the BSA will lift the curtain on the month-long art exhibition "Bhasha Andolon, Muktijuddho O Bangabandhu" at its National Art Gallery. Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Abul Monsur will be present at the inaugural ceremony as chief guest and painter Hashem Khan as special guest. Read: ‘Our Shared Cultural Heritage’ project connecting youth with heritage Painter Samarjit Roy Chowdhury will inaugurate the exhibition at Gallery 1 of the National Art Gallery at 6pm. BSA Director General Liaquat Ali Lucky will preside over the event. The BSA is organising this special exhibition as part of its month-long tribute programmes under the title "Shok theke Shoktir Ovvudoy, Shwapnopuron er Drirhoprottoy."

The activities carried out under ‘Our Shared Cultural Heritage’ (OSCH), a youth-led programme by the British Council, has been showcased in Rajshahi. The activities were showcased on July 28 and 29. This project has been designed to connect young people and inspire them to work with cultural heritages through organising a series of trainings and activities. 31 young people from different institutions have been working with cultural heritages since 2021 under this project. Read: International art exhibition held in Kathmandu paying tribute to Sultan It is to connect the heritages to the youth as well as to the wider audience so that people can understand and work on our heritages. On 28 July, a programme was held at Varendra Research Museum, the research partner of this project. Robert Chatterton Dickson, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, was present at the programme with Tom Miscioscia, Director Bangladesh, the British Council and other guests in attendance.