Activists protest tree felling through performance art in capital's Satmasjid road
A group of artists organised a performance art in the capital's Satmasjid road in Dhanmondi against the felling of trees in the name of development.
The performance was arranged on the sidewalk near the Abahani Club grounds on Tuesday (30 May), which marked a movement for protecting trees and the environment in various parts of the country, including Mirpur, Mohakhali, areas under the Dhaka South City Corporation, and Jahangir Nagar University.
"There is a mentality of destroying nature in the name of construction and development. We are not fulfilling our responsibility of keeping nature alive in the midst of all this," Abu Naser, one of the artists present there, told reporters.
Explaining the symbolism behind the performance, Abu said the black cloth they wore symbolises the infrastructure. Underneath that cloth was the struggle and the urge to survive. Even if the infrastructure is created, the existence of the inner soul must be kept alive; be it humans, animals or plants.
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Some of the artists performed with their faces covered with polythene, glass boxes, wrapped in straw, and others were covered in mud, holding placards which read "Plant More Trees", and played the violin and mouth organ under a felled tree.
Pavel Parth, author and researcher, who attended the programme, said, "The language of individuals protesting to protect trees varies. Some do it with slogans, some by singing, some by dancing, and some by reciting poems, among other ways. Today, some artists of the country did so with performance art."
Amirul Rajiv, coordinator of the demonstration, was present in the protest programme along with local residents and students.
