Two-day International Baul Festival and Seminar will start from December 11

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) is celebrating the month of victory with honouring 25 Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra artistes. The felicitation programme will be held as part of BSA’s nine-day ‘Bijoy Mela’, which starts from December 14 at its premises. As part of the Victory Day celebration, a two-day International Baul Festival and Seminar will also be held at the venue. The Baul Festival will start from December 11.

At a press conference held at the academy’s seminar hall on December 8, the authorities went over the ‘Bijoy Mela’ and Baul Festival plans. Director General of BSA, Kamal Lohani, among others, spoke at the conference.

The felicitation programme for the 25 artistes will be held on December 16 evening. The organisers informed that among the 25 artistes, three are from India. The ‘Bijoy Mela’ will feature songs on the Liberation War, recitation, plays, photography and painting exhibition, film screening, dance-drama, discussion and more.

The festival will start with a photography and painting exhibition at the National Art Gallery, BSA. Information and Culture Minister Abul Kalam Azad is expected to inaugurate the exhibition on December 14 at 11 am. The photography exhibition will feature portraits of freedom fighters and memorable moments from the Liberation War.

On December 14, early in the morning, the organisers will pay tribute to the martyred intellectuals.

The Baul Festival and Seminar will feature Bauls from all over the country as well as from West Bengal, India. The festival is a part of the academy’s ongoing project, ‘Action Plan for Safeguarding Baul Songs’, which started in April 2008.

The festival will feature Bauls from Kushtia, Jhenidah, Jessore, Manikganj, Dhaka, Faridpur, Sylhet, Sunamganj and Netrakona. Bauls from Bakura, Birbhum, Murshidabad, Nadia and Bardhaman of West Bengal will also render songs at the programme.

The seminar will feature international folk researchers from Bangladesh, India, Japan, United Kingdom and Italy.