Bengal Classical Music Festival 2017 starts with raga Abhogi in Dhanmondi

The curtain on the Bengal Classical Music Festival 2017 has been raised in Dhaka with performance by acclaimed Indian violinist Pandit Dr L Subramaniam and Astana State Philharmonic Symphony, a 58-member orchestra from Kazakhstan.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 26 Dec 2017, 07:04 PM
Updated : 26 Dec 2017, 07:04 PM

Unlike previous four editions at the Army Stadium in Banani, this year’s festival has been organised at the Abahani grounds in Dhanmondi.

Pandit Subramaniam opened the show on Tuesday with raga Abhogi at 7pm.

After the violinist, the Astana ensemble performed with Berik Batyrkhan as the artistic director and Ernar Nurtazin as the chief conductor.

The Indian pandit and the Kazakh team then played a fusion, which was followed by perdormances from Indian Sarod artist Rajrupa Chowdhury, Indian Khyal specialist Padma Talwalkar, Bangladeshi sitar artist Firoz Khan.

Khyal specialist Supriya Das of Bangladesh then led the Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay students before Rakesh Chaurasia, nephew of the flute legend Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, amused the audience.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith inaugurated the festival. Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor was the special guest.

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, Awami League President’s Private Sector Affairs Adviser and Abahani Limited President Salman F Rahman and Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla were also present among others.

This year’s festival has been dedicated to Dhaka University Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman.

Muhith said he felt fortunate to attend all the classical music festivals of Bengal Foundation.

Noor said the festival would help Bangladesh fight the communal forces.

Bengal Foundation Chairman Abul Khair Litu said they organised the festival to make classical music popular among the masses.

He said they would dedicate next year’s festival to Muhith.

The change of venue could not dampen the spirit of the music lovers who started to gather at the Abahani grounds in droves long before the inauguration amid tight security.

A photo exhibition on Bangladesh’s music legends and their lives has also been organised at the venue.

The five-day show ends at 5am every day.