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Anyone who walks into the exhibition hall of the Alliance Francaise will agree that there is something distinctly interesting about the works of Ashraful. Firstly, it’s the novelty of the pieces that strikes and then the viewer is a bit unsure at what he is looking at.
   From a distance, the subjects in the works look like human figures in various positions but as one goes closer the figures turn into trees that are shaped like humans; and interestingly each figure is trying to present a human emotion. Done is earthy red, the works are not only powerful but to an extent, quite Gothic.
   Perhaps it’s the haunting touch that is the main attracting component but whatever it is the works of Ashraf are unlike anything you have seen before. ‘Like all artists I am a lover of nature but I do not want to look at nature in a way that most do.
   It’s my quest to find a bond between nature and humanity and to represent nature I have chosen to focus on trees,’ said Ashraful and added, ‘you see trees are very much like humans. And if we look closely enough we will see trees resemble us in different life situations.’
   So, as we looked closer we saw, human conditions such as depression, anger, lust and the entire gamut of complex feelings covered and depicted with haunting detail.
   All the works have a kind of mossy feeling to them and from a distance the subjects as well as the theme on the works seem to be mobile. ‘This is the best feature of the works; the topics are stationary but the effect is on the move.
   As if the figure is trying to move out of the state it’s in,’ commented Insaan a noted photographer while talking on the works. ‘I have infused almost all human emotions into the trees and thus I think that a proper symbiosis has been formed,’ added the artist.
   Using trees and intelligently used shades the works exude a semi-paranormal aura and that is what most viewers would find downright tempting.

A five-day Bangladeshi handicrafts exhibition 2005 began at Birendra International Conven-tion Centre (BICC) in Kathmandu on May 20.
   Nepalese Finance Minister Madhukar SJB Rana inaugurated the exhibition and said that the entrepreneurs of Bangladesh and Nepal should move together to an international forum to get special treatment for the handicraft and cottage industries.
   Bangladesh Embassy in Kathmandu organised the exhibition in collaboration with Jatiya Mohila Sangstha (JMS) of Bangladesh to familiarise
   the Nepalese with Bangladeshi handicrafts.
   JMS Chairperson Masuda Hossain, Nepalese industries and commerce secretary Bharat Bahadur Thapa, Nepal handicrafts association president Pancha Ratna Shakya, Nepal-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Laxmi Bahadur
   Shrestha and counsellor of the Bangladesh Embassy in Nepal, M Nazmul Islam also addressed the function.
   In a message, Women and Children Affairs Minister Khurshid Zahan Haque, MP, conveyed her greetings and best wishes for the success of the Bangladesh Handicrafts Exhibition-2005 in Kathmandu.
   Expressing hope, she said that the exhibition would be an appreciated step to boost mutual cooperation between the two countries.

A publication ceremony of Henrik Ibsen’s Brand, translated in Bangla by Munzur-I-Mawla, was held at the Jatiya Natyashala of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Segunbagicha at 5:00pm
   on May 20.
   Centre for Asian Theatre (CAT), also the publisher of the book organised the event.
   Aud Lise Norheim, Ambassador of the Royal Norwegian Embassy was present as the guest of honour while Professor Khan Sarwar Murshid chaired the function.
   Professor Abdul Mannan, President of CAT delivered the welcome speech. Professor Zillur Rahman Siddique, poet Abdul Mannan Syed, novelist Selina Hossain, Professor Firdaus Azim and theatre personality Aly Zaker were among the discussants.
   They welcomed the publication saying that the book, considered the major work of Ibsen, would enrich the publication sector in the country; the session was followed by the staging of Brand.

A subtle French movie on racism starring Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche is leading the critics’ picks at the Cannes film festival which was to award its prestigious Palme d’Or award Saturday.
   ‘Hidden’, by Austrian director Michael Haneke on Friday picked up two honours, one by the International Federation of Film Critics and one by the Ecumenical Jury.
   The trade magazine Variety said Sony Pictures had also
   picked the movie for North American distribution.
   But the judgment of critics and the Cannes jury often diverge, and there was no telling whether that movie would be the one to be plucked from the 21-strong field screened over the festival.
   Reviewers who have emerged bleary-eyed from 10 days of sitting in cinemas said this year’s line-up, stacked with Cannes veterans, is strong — but no one movie has emerged as a clear-cut masterpiece.
   ‘What this year’s Cannes unquestionably lacked was a great film or anything close to it,’ Todd McCarthy, head critic for the US trade magazine Variety, said.
   Nevertheless, a consensus had formed around ‘Hidden’, an intelligent and slowly-developing examination of Western bias against Arabs, and it topped most of the guess-lists compiled from reviewers’ opinions. The film makes its points through a tale set in Paris and starring Daniel Auteuil.

The premiere show of a TV magazine Amra sabai jante chai, an event for the adolescent, was held at the Spectra Convention Centre in the city on May 19.
   The programme was organised by Bangladesh Centre for Communication Programmes (BCCP) with support from the Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH) and will be aired on BTV every week at 7:30pm beginning from the last week of May.
   Health Secretary, AFM Sarwar and Information Secretary, Dr Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman, were present as special guests.
   The show aims to generate awareness among adolescents about their reproductive health and rights, enable them to develop life skill to think critically, give up risky and harmful practices, exercise positive health behaviour and shape a risk-free future.

6:00pm–7:00pm, Animal Planet
   Animal Miracles explores the powerful relationship between people and animals and features dramatic recreations of events involving animals rescuing people during natural and man-made disasters, as well as the passionate and inspiring efforts of people helping animals in need. A frisky young weimeraner pup named Indiana Jones grows up to be a real life action hero and saves his human family from a devastating fire. Other stories feature a little runaway pig that restores a womants faith in life again, and a woman who believes that no rose can smell as sweet as a skunk.

Jhut Jhamela, a drama serial will be telecast at 8:20pm tonight on NTV. The play has been jointly written and directed by Devashish Kakon and Manirul Hassan respectively.
   Ataur Rahman, Chitralekha Guha, Nusrat Yasmin Tisa, Intekhab Dinar, Zitu Ahsan, Afzal Sharif, Farhana Mili are among the cast.
   In the play, Hasnat is a retired government officer, who lives with his wife Rokeya, two sons Shubha and Shanta, two daughters Tropa and Lopa and their domestic help, Bullet.

Suddha Sangeet Prasar Goshthi will arrange a soiree of classical music at 6:30pm at the Isfendar Zahed Hasan Auditorium in Bishwa Sahitya Kendra in the city today.
   Ustad Kamruzzaman Moni, a veteran tabla player, will be honoured by Mohammad Yaqub Ali Khan and Din Mohammad at the function.
   The ceremony will be rounded off with a classical presentation by Yaqub Ali Khan, accompanied on the tabla by Kamruzzaman Moni.

What happens if weapons of mass destruction fell into the wrong hands? Mass murder Massive destruction. Massive box office.
   It’s up to CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Ben Affleck, Surviving Christmas, Jersey Girl) and CIA Director William Cabot (Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby, The big Bounce) to stop these payloads from being detonated on American soil. Detonation destination: the Super Bowl in Baltimore, one that could spark the war to end all wars.
   Based on Tom Clancy’s New York Times bestseller, the film portrays the fine line between fear and paranoia.
   The Sum of All Fears
   HBO
   8:30pm
   Starring
   Ben Affleck, Morgan
   Freeman
   Genre
   Action/Drama