Festival of art that overcomes disability

The blind Mohan Sarkar was sitting in the lobby of the National Theater in Dhaka playing the flute, while the social welfare minister of the Bangladesh government, Dipu Moni, was standing next to him.

Mohan approached the minister and said that the government should plan something so that the disabled can play a role in the society. Mohan appealed to do something especially for the blind.

Minister Dipu Moni also assured. Said, “I heard what you said. Will definitely try.”

Later, the minister visited the various works of art in the lobby. Mohan plays his flute – ‘Gold gold gold/ People say gold/ Not as pure as gold/ As pure as you say/ Purer than that/ The soil of Bangladesh’.

Many other artists like Mohan have gathered at Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka. The ‘International Handicapped Art Festival’ has started for the first time with various events including dramas and films.

The festival was inaugurated in the main auditorium of the National Theater on Friday afternoon. The festival has national and foreign film screenings. Every day from 3 pm five dramas are staged on the main stage of National Theater.

On the occasion of the festival, an exhibition titled ‘Adamya Shilpotsav’ has been organized in the lobby of the theater. Various works of art including music, painting, sculpture were exhibited there under the supervision of IID. There are also theater performances, panel discussions, film screenings and fairs.

In the opening ceremony of the festival, Minister Dipu Moni said, “People with various disabilities are far ahead in creativity. This festival shows that they are like other people in the society and they can also create great art. They can move forward in the practice of aesthetic mindfulness, if They are given a chance.”

Commenting that the government is trying to build an inclusive society and state, Dipu Moni said, that is why it is necessary to create awareness.

“Bangabandhu wanted to create a society without discrimination. The current government is also on the side of every people. We want everyone to come to the mainstream of development.”

Deputy British High Commissioner Matt Cannell, Artistic Director of GRE Theater Company Jenny Seeley, British Council Bangladesh Director (Interim) Shannon West, Dhaka Theater Founder and Director Nasir Uddin Yusuf and Institute of Informatics and Development (IID) Chief Executive Officer Saeed Ahmed were present at the inauguration. at the event

Nasir Uddin Yusuf said, “In order to include people from all sections of the society in the mainstream cultural practice, theater and art practices with the disabled have been taken since 2013. For a century, the arts organization of the disabled in eight sections of the country ‘Sundaram’ has been built. The British Council is supporting it.”

After the opening ceremony, a theater performance ‘Naishabde ’71’ was performed in commemoration of the Liberation War. In this drama without dialogue, the story of the liberation war is presented in the beauty of music and acting.

On the first day, Sundaram Chittagong’s play ‘Swapn Kahan’, Barisal’s ‘Circus Circus’, Khulna’s ‘Athapar Karim Bawali’ and Rangpur’s play ‘Triveni’ were also staged.

The festival will continue till Saturday night at Shilpakala Academy in Segunbagicha of the capital. ‘Sundaram’, an organization of disabled artists from eight divisions of the country and a theater troupe of disabled artists from Kolkata are participating in the festival.

According to the organizers, the festival is organized as an expression of the British Council’s long-term efforts with artists with disabilities in the field of inclusive theatre.

State Minister for Culture Nahid Izahar Khan will attend the closing ceremony of the festival on Saturday.

On the second day of the festival, Sundaram Sylhet’s play ‘Sangati’, Rajshahi’s play ‘Pitrgana’, Dhaka’s play ‘Kendra Adhet Surangatir Naam Prithivi’, Mymensingh’s play ‘Kajalrekha’ and Kolkata’s Jansanskrit Center for the Theater of the Oppressed’s play ‘The Waste Land A Journey’ will be staged. ‘.

Two seminars are also organized on Saturday at 11 am and 3:30 pm. On the second day of the festival, there will be a domestic and foreign film screening at Chitrashala Auditorium from 11 am to 7:30 pm. Apart from this, there will be an exhibition of various handicrafts and food items made by disabled artists in the academy premises from 11 am to 7:30 pm on both days.