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Green mountains, blue sky and a reddish soil take the viewers to Khagrachhari and the vast horizon seen from the tops of the mountains gives them a touch of heaven; unquestionably, the greenery gives a great relieve to the city dwellers.
   With the theme of the natural beauty of Khagrachari, a group painting exhibition by twelve artists titled, Khagrachhari through the Eyes of an Artist is being held at the gallery of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Segunbagicha in the city.
   Relevant to mention that, this exhibition follows a Watercolour Artist Camp jointly organised by the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Chittagong Hill Tracts Department Board and Khagrachhari district Shilpakala Academy.
   Inaugurated on July 12, the exhibition will remain open from 11:00am to 7:00pm till July 21.
   The group is comprised of Ansar Ali, Rejaul Karim, Syed Lutful Haque,Alakesh Ghosh, KMA Quayyum, Ivy Zaman, Mohammad Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Israfil Pk. Abdus Satter, Sarker Zia Uddin Ahmed, Mohammad Mofidul Alam Khan and Debraj Misra.
   The sixty paintings of the exhibition focus mainly on the scenic beauty of the Khagrachhari Hill tracts and though most of the works present the unspoilt natural surrounding of the area, a few portraits of indigenous people are also on display.
   Among the paintings Alakesh Ghosh’s Dighinala Maini River, Ivy Zaman’s the turn at Chengi River, Mohammad Mustafizur Rahman’s River Maini and Abdus Satter’s at the bank of Maini River and River Chengi give the viewers the serenity of the riverside mountains.
   Rejaul Karim’s Chakma girl, Abdus Satter’s Returning home, Syed Lutful Haque’s Aratibala Chakma, KMA Quayyum’s Mountain women and Birds are a few other works worth mentioning.
   Though the artists have presented the cluster villages in the laps of mountains and dwelling in the valleys, the struggles of both the indigenous and the Bengali settlers and their lifestyle did not come out through this exhibition. And on top of that the heritage of tribal people is absent.
   Most of the paintings of the exhibition are put on sale and range between Tk 4,000 and Tk15,000.

After receiving a great response last year, the Spectra Convention Centre will hold a three-day Wedding Festival from July 21.
   The festival will highlight the culture of weddings in Bangladesh, aiming to create awareness of important issues like dowry, and also using local commodities in the ceremonies.
   In the stalls of the festival centre, several business groups will provide information related to the marital bond. Information on brides and grooms, honeymoon spots and marriage loans among others will be available.
   The organisers will also display lucrative products like invitation cards, jewellery, outfits, gifts and even decorative pieces for the gate or bridal coach.
   In the inaugural day, on July 21, a girl will sit for ‘gaye halud’ to demonstrate some of the products and services. Noted cultural personalities, Dilara Zaman and Masud Ali Khan will be playing the parts as the bride’s parents. The Vice Chairman of the Spectra Group will preside over the inaugural function, which will start at 3:00pm on the day.
   On the second day, noted personalities will reminisce about the sweet memories of their own marriage ceremony at the ‘Biyer Adda,’ at 5:00pm.
   A discussion on the achievements and prospects of the festival will be held at 5:00pm on July 23.

Aparup Rupey, a CD comprising thirteen songs has been released by Shoborna Chowdhury. A student of Ustad Mohammad Hossain and Ustad Mithun Dey, this is her first CD.
   The songs are on the seasons of Bengal. Songs of Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam and Atul Prasad make up the CD. Noted music director Sujey Shyam directed the music.
   The opening ceremony was held at a city hotel in Gulshan recently. Kalim Sharafi as the chief guest unwrapped the CD while Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed chaired the function.
   Besides, Kalim Sharafi and Abu Sayeed, Ferdous Ara, Director General, Bangladesh Television, A Moyeen, Chairman, Lanka Bangla, spoke at the function. Lanka Bangla Finance sponsored it.

Moviegoers in North America craved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory over the weekend, snapping up $55.4 million worth of golden tickets for Johnny Depp’s twisted tale, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.
   The opening was at the upper end of expectations, which had ranged between $40 million and $60 million, and compared favourably with other recent No 1 debuts, such as last weekend’s champ ‘Fantastic Four’ with $56.1 million, and ‘Batman Begins’ with $48.8 million.
   ‘Wedding Crashers,’ an R-rated comedy starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, opened at No. 2 with $32.2 million, also ahead of expectations. ‘Fantastic Four’ slipped to No 3 with $22.7 million, taking its 10-day haul to $100.1 million.
   Rounding out the top-five were ‘War of the Worlds’ with $15 million (total: $192.2 million) and ‘Batman Begins’ with $5.6 million (total: $182.7 million).
   The top 12 films grossed $151.3 million, according to tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, up 7.5 percent over the year-ago weekend, when Will Smith’s ‘I, Robot’ bowed at No. 1 with $52.2 million.
   ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ a $150 million film described as ‘one long acid trip,’ by Chicago critic Richard Roeper, stars Depp as Willy Wonka, a creepy chocolate magnate who takes five children and their adult guardians on a tour of his mythical operations. Critics were generally favourable, if a little perturbed by Depp’s resemblance to Michael Jackson.

No, this isn't the sequel to the famous Broadway musical. Feisty feline mastermind Mr. Tinkles has a bone to pick with the canine race, now that Professor Brody (Jeff Goldblum, The Lost World : Jurassic Park, The Fly) has created a vaccine that could make dogs "man's best friend, without the allergies!"
   Mr. Tinkles, bent on world domination, has set in motion a covert operation and captured the vaccine, with the help of his feline goons. Now it's up to Lou (Tobey Maguire, Spiderman, The Cider House Rules) and his canine agents to go to feline hell and back to save the world, and their reputation. But not before they enter a world of spies, code names, high-tech though paw-friendly gadgets and even killer ninjas! It's futuristic action with a big bite!
   Air America
   HBO
   9:30pm
   Starring
   Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins, Alec Baldwin
   Genre
   Action/Comedy