Artistes of Indonesia perform at the programme at national Theatre hall of BSA on Thursday. — Snigdha Zaman

Different countries of Asia Pacific presented their colourful cultural heritages on the second day of the three-day minister-level international conference on cultural diversity in the Asia Pacific region at the National Theatre hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on Thursday.  
At the programme, artistes of Indonasia, China, Philippine, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh presented some dazzling performances demonstrating each of the country’s traditional uniqueness.
The day’s first performance was by dancers of Philippine. The dancers presented Philippines’ traditional dance form through an eye catching recital. Bangladeshi traditional dance form of the haor basin of Narail region, Halui, which displays the enthusiasm of the farmers while harvesting paddy in the Bengali month of Poush, was presented spontaneously by cultural organisaton Rupantar. 
Indian cultural organisation Ithing presented a traditional dance form of Indian indigenous community Orao. Chinese artistes, then, presented a group dance performance displaying traditional peacock dance. The artistes in different shades of blue attires resembling the feathers of peacocks created a magical ambiance in the hall and the audience enjoyed it solely. The dance recital was followed by a traditional instrumental piece by Jo Yeu.
Legendary mystic bard Baul Fakir Lalan Shah’s song Milan hobey katodiney by baul singers from Kushtia not only touched the hearts of Bangladeshi audiences but that of the foreign audiences too.
Philippines’ artistes again presented two Philippines songs Anak and Ekoi Isang Pinay which delighted the listeners.
Then a Bangladeshi Jatra, a popular folk theatre form of the country, troupe staged Jatra which presents a historical story based on the Sonargaon region. The Jatra depicts imperialism, conspiracy, love, betrayal and other complicated issues revolving around four historical characters Ilias Kha, Katar Kha, Firoz Shah and Shaira.
A Sri Lankan dance troupe presented traditional Kandian dance recital. The troupes with innovative movements, attires and props displayed characteristics of elephants in the performance. Then, a Sri Lankan female dancer presented a solo dance performance on traditional Upaharia form.
The performance by Indonesian artistes was, perhaps, the most colourful and entertaining one of the evening. The prolongued performance included different types of dance such as festive dance of the royal families, dance of the farmers and romantic couple dance. The dancers then presented a fashion show which also entertained the audience.    
Earlier, three seminars featuring cultural diversity were held as part of the forum.
Cultural Ministers from 16 countries and high-level delegates from around 32 have come to Dhaka to attend the Cultural Diversity Ministerial Forum of the Asia-Pacific Region '12. The government of Bangladesh has invited 43 countries of the Asia-Pacific region to participate in the event, which is being organised jointly by the Cultural Ministry of Bangladesh Government and UNESCO.