Nurturing love for Bengali Culture and Music
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There has always been an accusation that the English medium schools of the country are not teaching children about our culture. “The Daily Star English Medium Schools Cultural Programme” held on February 14 at the National Theatre Stage, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy was one to prove the accusation wrong. In this month of the Language Movement, students of reputed English medium schools of the city poured their heart out in songs and dance numbers — reflecting the rich cultural heritage of the country. It was the first event of its kind to provide different English medium schools an opportunity to demonstrate that they are not bringing up “aliens” in our country.
Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, said in his speech, “It has been a long cherished dream of The Daily Star to prove the allegation that ‘English medium students are not well-acquainted with our culture,’ wrong. But the bigger truth is that we should nurture our children in our own cultural milieu. These talented young children will represent our country to the world.”
The event started with a stunning performance by students of Maple Leaf International School. Children in colourful costumes sang “O alor path-er jatri;” some danced with the song. Next was a chorus by students of BIT School. They rendered an inspirational Nazrul song, “Durgamo giri kantar maru.” A splash of bright yellow dazzled the audience next, as a number of children wearing yellow sari took the stage with a dance. The dance number depicted the beauty of the six seasons in Bangladesh.
Sea Breeze International School, Oxford International School, Green Gems School, Sunny Dale School, Play Pen International School and Saint Jude’s School were the others to perform at the event. A performance by the Sea Breeze International School impersonating people of different communities such as snake charmers, bauls, farmers and more was quite entertaining. The last performance of the evening also won the hearts of the audience. It was a spectacular choreography with the song “Bangladesh amar Bangladesh,” by the young students of BIT School.
Overwhelmed by the children’s performances and response from the teacher-parents community, Mahfuz Anam announced to turn the grand programme a regular annual event for students of English medium schools nationwide. He also thanked the initiator of the programme, Selim Shamsul Huda Chowdhury of The Daily Star for organising the event.
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