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It was the evening of Shraban 8. Though Shraban is known as the month of torrential rain, the day was rather dry and the evening was exceedingly humid. But the songs and poetry in praise of the monsoon created an ambience of barsha inside the auditorium of Bishwa Sahitya Kendra on that evening.
   As in previous years, Pratisrishti arranged a cultural programme, Barsha Mangal presenting songs and poems on barsha, traditional songs of boat racing and baramasi gaan. The presentations endorsed the beauty and romanticism of barsha; the rain symbolising tears of pain and separation.
   Veteran Bhasha Sainik, Abdul Matin inaugurated the function, saying that the festival of Barsha Mangal is an integral part of our rich cultural heritage. He further added, ‘Like many other traditional festivities the Barsha Mangal is on the verse of extinction. Though in some parts of the country, especially in the rural areas, people celebrate the festival on a small scale, but it is fairly unknown to the urban people.’
   Appreciating the initiatives taken by Pratisrishti, Matin also sought cooperation from every corner of the society to revive the beautiful festival of Barsha Mangal.
   The singers performed Rabindra Sangeet, Nazrul Sangeet and folksongs written on the monsoon. Among the singers, Barsha Raha, ATM Jahangir, Khaleda Raihan Sandra, Azizur Rahman Tuhin and Senjuti sang the songs of Tagore and Nazrul.
   Well known songs from the Geetabitan, Chhaya ghanayechhe bane bane gagane gagane dake deya, Aaj Shabane purnimate, Aayre amar shukna patar dale jhar neme aay and others were sung by the artistes.
   The students of Ustad Momtaz Ali Khan and Rupu Khan enlivened the audience, singing seasonal folksongs, or baramasi gaan. The audience enjoyed the popular song Jalaile to jalchhe agun nibhano bhisham dai presented by the students and Rupu Khan.
   The highlight of the function was veteran folk singer Saidur Rahman Bayati and his troupe from Manikganj. They sang sari gaan and traditional songs of boat racing, which were immensely enjoyed by the audience; particularly, Sona bandhure raila dur deshe and the song of boat racing caught the listeners’ attention.
   The recitation of poems on the monsoon was also enjoyable. Noted artistes Laila Afroz, Soma Shahriar, Rosina Walli Lina and Moniruzzaman Babu, among others, recited poems.
   Shahriar Salam, of Pratisrishti in his speech said that Barsha Mangal is a centuries old traditional festival of Bengal. ‘We want to uphold the tradition, and reintroduce it to the urban people,’ said Salam. He also hoped that the general public would also come forward to revive this festival, particularly in the city.
   The function was sponsored by the Dhaka branch of Lascomp, the US-based IT Solution Company.

The Mahabharata. Hindu mythology's greatest epic might just become Bollywood's biggest ever-cinematic venture.
   'The trilogy will capture the battles, intrigues, spiritual complexity and cultural aesthetics of India, 4,000 years ago. This will be my big project for the next three years,' says Bedi, adding that he discovered the power of the Mahabharata's storyline after reading Girish Karnad's script for Agnivarsha.
   While Rani will play Draupadi, Shah Rukh and Aamir will play Karan and Arjun, it has not been revealed as to who's who. As Bedi says, 'I hope to make a historic movie series in the manner of The Lord Of The Rings.'
    'My Mahabharata will have the same imagination, special effects and creativity of Peter Jackson's trilogy. Mani Ratnam will direct the trilogy, which will roll soon,' says Bedi, the chairman of CI I' s entertainment committee.
   Bedi plans to take India's most ancient story to Gen Now across the globe. 'I want American, British, Japanese and Indian kids to watch the movie and understand the significance of the Mahabharata.
   Designer JJ Valaya will work on the clothes, he'll drape all the characters remember, and everybody in that era wore clothes without stitches.
   Telling this dramatic story will be a big challenge. Imagine something similar to Harry Potter and The Lord Of The Rings that's the canvas I'm thinking of. To be able to make something of that magnitude, we need space. The sets of the movie will span 18 acres in Haryana or the foothills of Punjab.

‘The Broken Dreams’, a drama based on child trafficking was staged at the Ziaur Rahman auditorium of National Museum on Saturday. The drama was scripted and directed by Zillur Rahman John.
   Produced by the Centre for Ethnic Children, the drama was made with financial support from the International Labour Organisation.
   ‘The Broken Dreams’ will be staged in different districts of the country to build awareness among the masses, said the organisers.
   The drama revolves around child trafficking. In the Middle East, children are being used as camel jockeys and are not allowed to weigh more than 15 kilograms. The traders compel them to have medication which contains toxic substances. The drama also portrays trafficking of women.
   Earlier, a discussion was held and Ramendu Majumder, Vice President of the International Theatre Institute, Dhaka; Zillur Rahman John; Masud Hassan Siddiqui and Nurun Nabi Khan from International Labour Institute spoke on the subject.
   Different roles are played by Vincent Gomes, Din Bandhu Das, Sunil Kirtania, Narayan Chandra, Jannatul Ferdous, Zebunnessa, Sanjoy Kumar Roy, Jahid Hassan, Manika Biswas, Kalyani Roy and others.

Socialite Jemima Khan, who reportedly turned down Hugh Grant's marriage proposal last month, has reiterated that she doesn't want to marry the actor yet.
   According to sources, Jemima, who has two sons from former Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan, says that she is not ready to tie the knot again.
   'Unfortunately for Hugh she is still not over her marriage to Imran. It was a claustrophobic marriage- she was bored of continually having to fly to and from Pakistan and she is concerned that Hugh's jetset lifestyle would be too similar', the Daily Mail quoted a pal as saying.
   The Bridget Jones actor started dating Jemima last year after splitting with actress Liz Hurley.

BTV will air Chawoa Pawoa, a magazine show at 10:30pm tonight. The show is scripted and moderated by Rezauddin Stalin.
   Celebrated couple Bulbul Ahmed and his wife along with Azam Khan will be present. Shirin Bakul, Sabina Shipra, Jahangir and others will be present in the debate segment.
   Ayub Bachhu, Asif, Atik and Hassan will perform their hit numbers while Anisur Rahman, Zillur Rahman, Charlie, Tapan and others will perform in a drama. Pappu and Kazal will participate in a humorous skit. The event is produced by Nasiruddin Sarwar.

NTV will air Swarbarna Theatre at 9:40pm tonight. The drama is scripted and directed by Anisul Haque and Mostafa Sarwar Farooki respectively.
   Different roles are played by Shami Kaisar, Mahfuz Ahmed, Arman Parvez Murad, Fazlur Rahman Babu and others.

Bond Girl Ursula Andress has been voted the top beach beauty in a new poll conducted by bottled water firm Evian.
   According to The Sun, she beat Celebrity Love Island presenter Kelly Brook, Elle MacPherson and Hollywood actress
   Angelina Jolie to the top spot on the list.
   While, Catwoman actress Halle Berry, Welsh singer Charlotte Church and Wayne Rooney’s fiance Coleen McLoughlin also feature in the list, Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson couldn’t make it into the Top 20.

In Hollywood, everyone wants to be somebody else, or so the story goes. When veteran LAPD detective and part-time real estate agent, Joe Gavilan (Ford) gets paired up with young K.C Calden (Hartnett), a cop who's also an aspiring actor, the results prove to be hilarious This fast-paced action comedy. directed by Ron Shelton of "Bull Durham" and "White Men Can't Jump", provides a rare inside look at the professional and personal lives of these two mismatched cops. When an entire hip-hop group is murdered on-stage, Gavilan and Calden are called in to handle the case. As their investigation progresses, they must solve the case and try to keep their second jobs going.
   Hollywood Homicide
   HBO
   8:30pm
   Starring
   Harrison Ford, Josh Hartnett, Lena Olin
   Genre: Action/Comedy