Shilpakala Academy to host nationwide Lalon festival, fair for first time
Marking the 135th death anniversary of mystic saint Lalon Shah, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy is set to organise the Lalon Festival and Lalon Fair (Lalon Uthsav O Lalon Mela) simultaneously across the country for the first time.
The festival will be held from 17 to 19 October at the Lalon Akhra in Kushtia. A one-day event will take place in Dhaka on 18 October.
Additionally, Lalon festivals and fairs will be observed concurrently in all 64 districts on 17 October.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The Kushtia segment of the festival, organised by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and managed by the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in collaboration with the district administration, is expected to become a vibrant gathering of Lalon devotees, spiritual seekers and folk artists.
The event will feature discussions on Lalon's philosophy, performances of Lalon songs and traditional fairs highlighting Baul culture and rural heritage.
The inaugural ceremony will take place at 4:00 PM on 17 October at Lalon Akhra in Cheuriya, Kushtia.
Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki will attend the ceremony as the chief guest. Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Mofidur Rahman will deliver the welcome address.
Renowned international scholar and writer Professor Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak will attend the event as the main discussant.
Poet, writer, and thinker Farhad Mazhar and Professor A. Al Mamun of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Rajshahi University, will also address it, among others.
Deputy Commissioner Abu Hasnat Mohmmad Arafin will preside over the opening ceremony.
Following the formal inauguration, noted folk artists including Tuntun Baul, Sunil Kormokar, Rowshan Fakir, Latif Shah, and many more Bauls and Fakirs from across the country will perform there.
On 18 and 19 October, the fairground in Cheuriya will continue to resonate with Lalon's songs performed by folk artists from different parts of the country.
In parallel with the Kushtia celebrations, a Lalon musical event will also be held at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka on 18 October.
The Dhaka programme will feature performances by Emon Chowdhury & Bengal Symphony, Aleya Begum, Lalon Band, Nirab and Bauls, Mujib Pardeshi, Pathik Nabi, Suchona Sheli, Baula Band, Arup Rahi, Samageet and many others.
