The second edition of the three-day mega folk music event titled ‘Dhaka International Folk Festival 2016’ has begun at the Bangladesh Army Stadium in the capital yesterday. The music aficionados from all walks of life, along with a remarkable number of young audience, have gathered at the venue with the expectation of enjoying the fascinating performances, by the music maestros from seven countries, to the fullest with the sweet memory of exploring a mystical journey to the music world last year. Yesterday, on the opening day, Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith was present as chief guest. Besides, Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Anisul Huq, Chief Marketing Officer of Grameenphone Yasir Azman, Dhaka Bank CEO and Managing Director Mahbubur Rahman, Microsoft Bangladesh Managing Director Sonia Bashir Kabir were also present as guests. Chairman and CEO of Sun Events Anjan Chowdhury delivered welcome speech at the opening ceremony. The festival began with a fascinating dance performance by the artistes of the dance troupe Pallavi Dance Centre from Bangladesh. Then, the audience enjoyed the mesmerizing performances by Abdur Rahman Baul (Bangladesh), Tun Tun Baul (Bangladesh), Simon Thacker’s Svara-Kanti (UK) featuring Raju Das Baul (India) & Farida Yasmin (Bangladesh), Javed Bashir (Pakistan) and Bangladesh’s folk queen Momotaz Begum) on the opening night.
Today, on the second day of the folk festival, flautist Jalal from Bangladesh), Latif Sarkar (Bangladesh), Prosad (Canada), Indian Ocean (India), Shafi Mondol & Labik Kamal Gaurob (Bangladesh) and Karen Lugo & Ricardo Moro (Spain) will perform. On the other hand, celebrated Indian singer Kailash Kher will give the final performance of the night. Meril presents ‘Dhaka International Folk Festival 2016’, in association with GP Music, is powered by Dhaka Bank Limited and supported by Microsoft Bangladesh. Besides, Maasranga TV comes up as broadcast partner, while The Westin Dhaka as hospitality partner, Square Hospital as medical partner and Shohoz.com as registration partner. Besides telecasting on Maasranga TV, the festival will be aired live on YouTube also. This year, 125 artistes from seven countries are scheduled to perform in the second edition of the three-day festival. Organised by Sun Events, the mega event will take place every day from 6pm to 12 midnight, until November 12.