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It is four years since the Ekhushe Television was closed down and a legal battle to contest the official decision was lost.
   The channel was closed on August 29 in 2002 following directives from the High Court.
   The court in its verdict said that the licence of the organisation is ok but the way it has received it is illegal.
   Though the viewers across the country made a strong protest against the closure, the government took away its terrestrial equipment on September 1 in 2002.
   After wining a legal battle in 2005, the channel got a fresh order to re-run its programmes (licence) on April 11 with some other new satellite channels including Channel 1 of One Entertainment Ltd., RTV of National Television Ltd., Bangla Vision of Shymal Bangla Media Ltd. and Baishakhi Channel of Baishakhi Media Ltd.
   Except ETV, the rest of the channels including RTV, Bangla Vision, Channel 1 and Baishakhi Channel, started airing programmes on 28 December, on 31 December, on 24 January and on 13 January respectively. ETV cannot start airing as it is still not getting terrestrial.
   As par the verdict of the court to sanction the right to the frequency of Ekushey Television, the government has the policy of going slow. Papers and documents move from one government office to the other at a slow speed, said an official of the channel.
   Today, ETV will complete the four-year ban imposed by the high court. Marking the day, the crew of the channel will observe a token protest in front of the house while the Viewers Forum of ETV will submit memorandum to the deputy commissioners across the country.
   The channel made its debut, airing the song Naba shataker sambhabanar duar dilam khuley / Aai jatrar shuru naba chetanay ekusher paal tule.
   Ekushe was able to get praise from viewers of diverse backgrounds. Desh jurey, a local programme made by ETV, was awarded by Prothom Alo and Meril for its superb presentation of the rural areas.
   In its archives; there are still at least 30 jatras, some 50 programmes on Baul songs and other culture related programmes waiting to be telecast.
   Its shelves comprises of Dristi, Hello Bangladesh and other enjoyable magazines as well as dramas which were immensely popular during the ETVs era.
   Though the legal battle had not gone in their favour, the crew of the electronic media giants were not sitting idle. They were practising as their regular business, and even now they are enhancing their archives while gaining experience and expertise, all adding to ETVs formidable arsenal, said an official of the channel.

The national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam always fought for a happy, prosperous and secular country. As we want to make our country happy, prosperous and secular we need Nazrul as the necessary inspiration for our country.
   The speakers spoke at the commemoration programme of the 30th death anniversary of the national poet at the Kabi Bhaban in Dhanmondi on August 27.
   The Nazrul Institute is commemorating the poet with a three-day programme, which began on Sunday.
   The state minister for women and children affairs, Alamgir Kabir, attended the programme as chief guest. Cultural secretary Mohammad Abdul Qaiyum was present as special guest.
   Turkish ambassador Ferit Ergin, Professor Mohammad Abdul Qaiyum, Professor Mahbubullah, Abdur Razzaq and Khilkhil Kazi also attended the discussion session.
   Speakers said that Nazrul with his literary works inspired the people to fight against tyranny and imperialism. He also himself fought for the rights of the common people with his writings. He is not only a poet for the Bangladeshi people; he is a poet for all countries.
   They also said that we should work to identify the places in the country which the poet visited and also to preserve his memory..
   They said that it is not only government’s duty to allocate money for research works, the people should come forward to donate for the research works on Nazrul.
   The organisers released ten CDs of 200 songs of Nazrul rerecording from the old gramophones on the second day of the programme.
   The documentary film Chattagrame Nazrul (Nazrul in Chittagong) will be screened at 5:00pm today at the same place. The film will focus on his life in Chittagong and the influence of the coastal areas on his works.
   Barrister Mainul Hosein will attend as chief guest and the Amar Desh editor, Amanullah Kabir, will be special guest. Amjad Hossain, Chashi Nazrul Islam and Rezabudoullah Chowdhury will take part in the discussion.
   The book, Kazi Nazrul Islam: A biography, by Karunamaya Goswami has been reprinted on the occasion. Another collection of photographs of birds used as images in Nazrul’s works will soon be published.
   He said the institute was working to publish a book of notation of Nazrul’s 3,300 songs, so far the highest number of notations contained in a single compilation.
   The institute earlier published some works of Nazrul in Turkish and Chinese. Two more books — a volume of Nazrul’s works and his biography and literary analysis — will be published soon in Urdu.
   As in the previous days, today’s discussion will be followed by a cultural programme, presenting Nazrul Sangeet, dances and recitations by noted artistes.

The third episode of Ke tahare chinite pare, a fortnightly event on Lalon will be aired today at 6:45pm and re-run the event at 12:15am on NTV.
   Fakir Abdul Karim Shah will perform Lalon’s songs on the occasion while Lalon researcher Dr Abul Hasan Chowdhury will discuss on the presented songs. The event is moderated and produced by Mahmuduzzaman babu and Alfred Khokan respectively.

The US thriller 24 has won best drama and actor awards at the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, while the US version of The Office was named best comedy.
   Collecting the two awards, star Kiefer Sutherland said his experience on the show had been ‘nothing but remarkable’.
   Dame Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons were named best actress and best supporting actor in a mini-series for Elizabeth I.
   The Emmys are the US TV industry’s most prestigious awards.

Leading Indian film-maker Hrishikesh Mukherjee has died in hospital in the western Indian city of Mumbai.
   The 84-year-old director, known for his simple stories about Indian middle class people and their relationships, had been ill for some time.
   The award-winning film-maker was best known for popular films like Anand, Chupke Chupke and Abhiman.
   In 2001, Mukherjee was awarded India’s biggest film honour, the Dada Saheb Phalke award.
   Working in a film industry that has been often panned by critics as one churning out escapist, candy floss entertainment with stories set in foreign locales and actors togged out in outlandish costumes and dancing to Western tunes, Mukherjee was possibly the last of the truly rooted Bollywood directors.
   ‘He was a great director, he was like an elder brother to me. His films were essentially Indian in nature’, said legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar.
   Hrishikesh began his career in the late 1940s as a film editor in the rundown studios of the eastern city of Calcutta, then home to a flourishing regional film industry.
   During a prolific career which spanned four decades, he directed almost 50 films and also wrote a number of his own films.
   Mukherjee will possibly be most remembered for his 1970 film Anand.
   Mukherjee made some of his most meaningful and popular cinema in the 1970s - Guddi, a sardonic insight into the film industry, and Chupke Chupke, a rip-roaring comedy about a professor and his brother-in-law.