The two-day Hason Raja Folk Festival–2025 will begin in Sylhet on Sunday, marking the birth anniversary of renowned Sufi poet Hason Raja.

Organised by the Hason Raja Folk Literature and Culture Council, the festival will be held at the Central Shaheed Minar premises in Chowhatta area of the city. Programmes will run daily from 3:30pm to 10:00pm.

The festival will showcase various aspects of Hason Raja’s life, philosophy and folk heritage through discussions, cultural performances, recitations and renditions of his songs.

Dr Jahirul Islam Achinpuri, president of the central committee of the Hasan Raja Folk Literature and Culture Council, said Hasan Raja’s birthday falls on December 21.

He said the council has been working to revive Bengal’s traditional Sufi culture with the aim of promoting a non-violent, intellectual, creator-centred and afterlife-centred society.

Researchers, artists, litterateurs and cultural activists from different parts of the country are expected to participate in the festival, he added, noting that enthusiasm has already been created in Sylhet’s cultural arena surrounding the event.

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Dr Achinpuri also said the festival was originally scheduled to begin on Saturday, December 20, but was deferred by a day in observance of the National Mourning Day announced by the government for the demise of Shaheed Sharif Osman Bin Hadi.

The organisers urged people from all walks of life to attend the festival with their families.