Main Page «
Front Page «
Metro «
Business «
International «
Sports «
National «
Editorial «
Op-Ed «
Home «
Letters «

Archive «
Launch Supplement «
Special Supplements «

She is really the Sonar Baran Kanya: the girl with the skin of gold. Since time immemorial, singers have eulogised her
   beauty.
   Among the people, she is known as Mahuya; one of the most famous female characters in the ‘Moimonshigher Gitika’.
   ‘Sonar Baran Kanya’ premiered on June 4 at Mahila Samity’s Nilima Ibrahim Auditorium on Bailey Road. The play, based on folktales on Mahuya, was scripted and directed by Diplok Roy.
   In the story, Mahua is brought up by Humra Baidya, the leader of a group of performers, or a bede group. Humra, who carried her off when she was a child; fosters the child as his own daughter. She is trained as a dancer and participates in his group’s magical and acrobatic acts.
   Nader Chand, an affluent man, falls in love with the girl Mahuya during one of her performances with the group. The romance grows into a fiery affair until the two elope.
   However, they are caught by Humra’s people before they go far. The mythical tragedy of Mahuya and Nader Chand still touches the hearts of local audiences.
   Dipok Roy presents the story in an unusual fashion. He has fused the traditional form of pala gaan and proscenium style of modern theatre.
   ‘It was a workshop production and I experimented with the forms of presentation and costumes and I can safely say
   that the presentation was quite different from anyone else’s,’ said Roy.
   He expressed plans to present more Bangladeshi folktales in the form of theatre productions.
   Roy also performed the role of a palakar, or a narrator,
   bridging the characters and the audience.
   His baritone voice effectively captivated the audience. The other performers however, who were relatively new on stage, should have been livelier.
   Sharmin Akter Mitu and Samiya Rahman jointly performed the role of Mahuya while Rawshan Jahan Aranya and Abul Khayer Kamal performed the role of Nader Chand. Noteworthy among the cast were MA Hannan, who played Humra Baidya, Hafizur Rahman Surj as Byanga and Shahina Alam Mala as the mother of Nader Chand.
   Dipok was also responsible for set designing and costumes. Though the set was simple and the backdrop of the stage, attractive, costumes seemed a bit too gaudy.

The Goethe-Institut, the German Club and the German Embassy will jointly arrange a month long programme related to the FIFA World Cup 2006 at the compound of the Goethe-Institut in Dhanmondi and the German Club in Gulshan-2 from June 9. The opening function will be held at 6:30pm on that day at the Institut.
   The opening ceremony will be followed by the screening of three films on football, titled ‘In Top Gear: Women’s Football in Germany’ by Peter Behle (13 minutes, Germany, 2005), ‘The Miracle of Berne’ by Sonke Wortmann, (118 minutes, 2003, Germany) and ‘2006 FIFA World Cup: An Opportunity for Germany’.
   The football match between Germany and Costa Rica, to be held in Munich will also be shown at the Institut. Though the opening ceremony will be restricted to invitees, other programmes, including screening of movies and live telecast of selected matches, including two semi-finals will remain open for all.
   The closing ceremony of the programmes will be held at the German Club at 8:00pm on July 9. The organisers will arrange screening of movies and the live telecast of the final football match. Interested persons can take part in the programme after collecting tickets at a cost of Taka 100.
   Organisers will also arrange games and prizes for the audience. Food and drinks will be put on sale during the programme.

A workshop production of the Theatre School, titled ‘Godor Pratikshay’ will be staged at 6:30pm at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on June 12.
   The play, based on Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’, is translated by Professor Kabir Chowdhury and directed by noted theatre personality Ataur Rahman.
   With this presentation by the students of the school, organisers will also pay respect to Beckett to mark his birth centenary which falls on this year.
   Prior to the show, organisers will hand over certificates to the students of batch 16 who completed their course on theatre recently.
   Eminent educationist Professor Serajul Islam Chowdhury will be present as chief guest in the certificate distribution ceremony, which will be chaired by Professor Kabir Chowdhury.

The High Commission of India, Dhaka will present a lecture on ‘Rabindra Nritya Shaily by Padmashri Dr Sunil Kothari, a renowned dance and drama critique at 7:00pm on June 7 at the Indian Cultural Centre at Road No 96, House No 25, Gulshan.
   Dr Kothari is the vice-president of World Dance Alliance, Asia Pacific including the South Asia region.
   The lecture will be followed by dance performances composed on Rabindrasangeet by six eminent choreographers of Bangladesh Minu Haque, Shukla Sarkar, Dipa Khondoker, Sharmila Banerjee, Munmun Ahmed and Tamanna Rahman.

The first look at Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's baby pictures is going to cost some lucky newspaper or magazine a bundle -- but the money will go to charity.
   The couple announced on Monday that they have agreed to let photo agency Getty Images market pictures of their newborn, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, with all proceeds going to help the less fortunate.
   Experts said worldwide rights to the pictures could sell for anywhere from $5 million to $7 million.

Film show
   
   Academy Film Society
   How to Make an American Quilt, (drama), 115 minutes, USA, 1995, 06:30pm,
   Jaijaidin Mediaplex, Love Road, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka
   
   Exhibition
   
   Solo Painting Exhibition
   by Kamrul Islam Nadim
   from 11:00am to 9:00pm,
   Nordic Club, Gulshan-2,
   Dhaka
   
   Sculptor & Watercolour Techniques Received Through Contemporary Art from 10:00am to 12:00pm and frpm 5:00pm to 9:00pm, La Galerie, Alliance Française, Dhaka
   
   Theatre
   
   Raja-Rani by Kanthashilan
   7:00pm,
   Experimental Theatre Hall,
   Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy,
   Segun Bagicha, Dhaka
   
   Jal Balika by Padatik
   7:00pm, Nilima Ibrahim Auditorium,
   Bangladesh Mahila Samity,
   Bailey Road, Dhaka