3-day DHAKA INT�L FOLK FEST 2015
Curtain rises today
DL REPORTER
Dhaka International Folk Fest 2015, the first ever international folk music festival in the country, will see its curtains rise today at 6pm at the Army Stadium in the capital. The event has been jointly organised by Sun Events and Maasranga Television with a view to introducing the world to the thousand-year-old folk music of the country.
The three-day festival is featuring a number of local musicians like Farida Parveen, Momtaz Begum, Bari Siddiqui, Rab Fakir, Kiron Chandra Ray, Chandona Majumdar, Shafi Mondol, Nashid Kamal, Sadananda Sarkar, Nishikanto Sarkar, Kajol Dewan, Minu Billah, Lubna Marium, Labik Kamal Gaurob and Magic Bauliana, among others. On the other hand, international musicians like renowned Pakistani singer Abida Parveen and Saieen Zahoor are expected to perform at the event, along with Indian musicians and bands: Papon, Indian Ocean, Nooran Sisters, Rajasthan Folk Group, Arko Mukherjee, Paban Das Baul, Parvathy Baul. Also, there will be Niamh N Charra from Ireland, Yunnan Art Troupe from China, and Alexandria Dance Troupe from Egypt to perform at the festival.
Today on the opening day, the festival will kick off with a folk dance performance by Pallavi Dance Center, while the celebrated folk singer of the country Farida Parveen will take the stage after the dance performance. Other segments of the day include the performance of Chandona Majumdar and Kiran Chandra Roy, The Arko Mukhaerjee Collective, Rob Fakir Shafi Mondol with Labik Kamal Gaurob and Saieen Zahoor, Papon and The East India Company.
The festival is open every day from 6pm to 1am, until November 14.
Organisers of the festival said in a note that Bangladesh has a rich cultural heritage that is unparalleled in this world. To truly discover the depths of it would take more than a lifetime. Our countrys folk music has yet to spread its wings in the global stage and stagger the hearts of people with its poetic pull. We thought that its about time that changed-we need to get out there. Thus the birth of the Dhaka International Folk Fest: a platform for the legends, the icons and the rising stars to share soul-wrenching melodies of a country and a culture for the world to hear. It doesnt end there, though. Music is about unity and participation, keeping that in mind, aside our own artists, there will be the musicians of the world sharing their own brand of folk music with the people of Bangladesh. We are creating a place where everyone gets together to share the stories of their own lands.
