Unity in Diversity
Saif Mostafiz
Bangladesh is a land of colour, beauty and variations. Here, all the festivals come with the message of peace. People of different backgrounds feel unity among themselves. These diversities of Bangladesh were presented through photographs by members of Dhaka University Photographic Society (DUPS) at an exhibition recently.
For the first time, Bangladesh Tourism Board and DUPS jointly organised the 10th Annual Photography Exhibition on the Dhaka University (DU) campus from April 7 to 9. The aim of the exhibition was to showcase the natural, cultural and religious diversities of Bangladesh and increase scopes of tourism through photographs. The theme of the exhibition was Unity in Diversity.
Twenty young photographers of DUPS submitted almost a thousand photographs on the theme, among which 45 single photographs and three photo stories, titled Living in Old Age Home, Bishwa Ijtema 2017 and Sea and shore, were selected by the judges, who included photojournalist Abir Abdullah and Tanbir Murad Topu, director of Pathshala. Besides, the exhibition also put on show 20 photographs from the DUPS photographers recent tour of Bhutan.
Three Judges Choice Awards were presented to Rahat Mahfuz, Hasan Ahamed and Niloy Paul. The winners received crests and certificates.
Rahat Mahfuz, 23, is an award-winning young photographer. In a short span of time, he has made a name for himself, taking part in several international photo exhibitions. He has recently completed his honours degree from the Department of Sociology, DU. Six of his photographs and two photo stories on Living in Old Age Home and Bishwa Ijtema 2017 were exhibited. When asked about his future plans, Mahfuz said he intends to do further studies on photography. Any recognition inspires me to carry on my good work. It feels great, indeed, that one of my photos was selected for Judges Choice Award. Hopefully, Ill be able to show better work in the future, he said.
Another winner, Hasan Ahamed, is studying Economics and is about to complete his final year from DU. Im honoured to receive the award. Im extremely delighted that eight of my photographs were selected for the exhibition. This will, indeed, act as an inspiration for me to work harder, to refine my skills and do better, said Ahamed. He also thanked DUPS for giving him the platform to show his skills.
The youngest winner, Niloy Paul, is a 3rd year student of the Department of Finance at DU. He recently took up photography, but says he has been passionate about it for a while now. I got really very excited when I came to know that two of my photographs have been selected for the exhibition. On top of that, it was my first exhibition and one of my photographs was chosen for the Judges Choice Award. I would like to thank my parents for inspiring me always, and DUPS for giving me this opportunity. To me, photography is a way that redefines ones imagination. I seek blessings from all of you so that I might present more beautiful photos in future.
On April 8, a photography club presentation took place at Shirajul Islam Lecture Hall of the university. Several photography clubs, including Buet Photographic Society, Daffodil International University Photography Club, Jagannath University Photographic Society, Muktochokh, KAALO, East West University Photography Club, and Chittagong University Photographers Association were present at the event. In an artist talk session, famous photographer Sarker Pratik talked about his work, and inspired the participants on their photography journey.
The three-day exhibition was a great success as a large number of visitors, who included US Ambassador Marcia Bernicat, acknowledged the works of the aspiring photographers by visiting the exhibition, which was held on the open premises of Hakim Chattar and Bot-tola (in front of Arts Building) of the University of Dhaka.
Photos: Courtesy
