Crowds flock to Eid celebrations

Palli Mangal Juba Unnayan Shangha of Kachakata thana, under Nagesdwari upazila, recently held a cultural function to observe an Eid re-union celebration.

In the evening a discussion was held at the Mominganj Gabtala Government Primary School grounds. The dialogue focused on the activities and achievements of the association. Nageswari upazila Chairman Aslam Hossen Shawdagar was chief guest, while the Principal of Kachakata Degree College Mohammad Jahurul Haque was special guest. The speakers comprised social activist Atiqur Rahman Raja, Mohibul Hossein Khokon, Producer of ntv channel Saklain Russel and Chairman of cultural organisation 'Methojan' Yousuf Alamgir, while Headmaster of the primary school Mohammad Ali was in the chair.

A cultural function was held at the conclusion of the discussion. The performers were 'Methojan' artistes. Shokeli Rukshana, Lovely Sarkar, Jahid Hasan Milu, Raton Sarkar, Akhtarul Islam, Bashir Ahmed, Narayan Chandra and Bipin Chandra presented various songs, while Sreedebhi Anuradha performed a dance. About 30,000 people across a spectrum of professions and ages were enthusiastic observers at the cultural function.

Life in Bangla filmdom

Shahjahan Chowdhury is a noted film director, scriptwriter and dialogue writer. His highly selective writings delineate our social, economic and political conditions, as well as the Liberation War.
Shahjahan is a journalist by profession. During the pre-Liberation period, he worked with the newspaper Khobor. After Independence, he began working with Bichitra. Later, he went on to publish a monthly, Nipun. Its subjects are cinema, literature, poetry, essays and drama. Now he is the editor and publisher of the Weekly Nipun.
At the start of Shahjahan's career, he got a chance to work as a co-director with the legendary Pakistani filmmaker Saroor Barabankvi who was then working on “Akhri Station”. As he says, “I learned many things from this veteran filmmaker. In Bangladesh, I was always encouraged by Khan Ataur Rahman and Soovas Dutt. 'Ata bhai' (Khan Ataur Rahman) was my idol in Bangladesh. As a budding filmmaker, I felt confident, thanks to his loving and considerate approach. I learned scriptwriting, editing and various aspects of production from him.”

TV serial Bari Bari Shari Shari on ntv

TV serial "Bari Bari Shari Shari" will be aired on ntv at 8:15pm. Written and directed by Shafayet Mansur Rana, the serial goes on air every Saturday and Sunday.

The serial centres on a residential colony in the city. Mahmud, a government official, lives in the colony. A conservative man, Mahmud has two daughters -- one a university student and the other about to finish school. There is a conflict between the father and the daughters, as the girls find it difficult to cope with his rigid values. Ferdous, Mahmud's nephew, moves in with the family, ushering in new troubles. Another family living in the same colony is a working couple -- Nahrin and Asif. Though they are progressive, their conjugal life often seems rocky.

The cast includes Hasan Masud, Tanveen Sweety, Homayra Himu, Monalisa, Richi Solaiman, Challenger, Iresh Zaker, Shohel Khan, Sharmili Ahmed and Wahida Mallik Jolly.

Traditions and heritage of the Garos on the wane

The Garos, a large indigenous community from Mymensingh region, are fast losing their age-old tradition and culture for a variety of reasons. The Mymensingh region, once well-known for its ethnic diversity, and harmony among the people of different faiths and cultures has lost its rich legacy over the years. Among the indigenous groups living in this region - Garo, Dhalu, Cooch, Khatriya and Hajong form the majority. The Garos are the leading community in these ranks and have their homes in Haluaghat and Dhubaura, frontier upzilas of Mymensingh and Madhupur of Tangail, each with varied traditions. Currently there are some 40,000 Garos living in the Haluaghat and Dhubaura area but this number is on the wane.

There was a time when the Garos used to arrange a variety of traditional festivals: among them 'Wangala' or 'Wanna', a festival celebrating the harvesting in Agrahayan; 'Rangshugala' on the occasion of sowing grains in Falgun and Chaitra; a festival on the occasion of 'Jhum' in Chaitra and 'Habaghrita' at Baishakh.

Why is indigenous culture on the decline? Observers ascribe a variety of reasons: the major factor being the Garo's mass conversion to Christianity. Moreover, the younger generation is lukewarm to the traditional Garo culture, putting its future in jeopardy.

The Adibashi Shangskritik Kendra, the only cultural organisation for the Garos in Rangrapara, Haluaghat, is about to down shutters, sources say. Likewise they add, other cultural centres at Biroidhakuni, Bhakua Para, Ranikhang in Mymensingh and Nalchapra in Netrokona are not functional.

Talking to this correspondent, Adolf Marak, an NGO official, also a former member of Birishiri Cultural Academy in Netrokona the Garos have turned indifferent to their ancestral culture. As a result, young Garos are more inclined towards contemporary western and Bengali cultures. “ Since advocate Promod Mankin, MP from Haluaghat, a representative of the indigenous people has been appointed as the State Minister for Cultural Affairs, we hope that necessary steps will be taken to revive this traditional culture that is in danger of being lost forever,” adds Adolf.

Sulekha Mrong, vice-president of Achik Mechik Society (A society for hill women) at Pirgachha in Madhupur of Tangail told this correspondent that pressing financial difficulties have compelled the poorer Garo people to migrate to different places and such migration has torn them away from their immensely rich culture. “We need to revive our culture to identify us as Garos and for the betterment of future generations,” Sulekha concludes.

Beatlemania is set to return again

Beatlemania is set to return -- in digital form at least - when The Beatles: Rock Band game is released this week.

The format may not be unique, but the content is. It will be the first time that music by the Fab Four has appeared in a video game.

And as a newcomer to music gaming, it was astonishing how quick and easy it was to step from the 21st Century into the Swinging Sixties.

For the uninitiated, Rock Band is a karaoke-style game that uses adapted game controllers -- lead guitar, bass guitar and drums -- to play along to various songs.

The game is all about keeping in time with colour-coded blobs that scroll along the on-screen fretboard. It works in a similar way if you are Ringo on the drum pads.

And it's curiously addictive.

If one of the band is not up to scratch, you'll get kicked off stage -- though there's a family-friendly override setting.

The Beatles: Rock Band game is part of a wider marketing campaign that also sees the release of newly-remastered versions of the band's back catalogue on CD.

It comes at a time when the music industry is looking for new ways to recover some of its dwindling revenue as CD sales decline.

Of course, music video games are nothing new -- Guitar Hero 5 was released last week in the US featuring tracks by Nirvana, Muse and Iron Maiden.

But getting a brand like The Beatles is a significant step in an industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The game, which goes on sale on September 9, will feature 45 songs, along with a bonus track -- "All You Need is Love" -- that can be bought online.

The albums "Abbey Road," "Sgt Pepper" and "Rubber Soul" will be released for download later in the year.

The game allows players to follow The Beatles through their career in environments such as The Cavern Club and the Shea Stadium. It also features "imaginative environments" known as Dreamscapes.