United News of Bangladesh

Noted educationist and founder of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed met Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Secretariat on Thursday. The Prime Minister’s Additional Press Secretary Atiqur Rahman Rumon said the meeting took place at the Prime Minister’s Office in the afternoon. He said Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed discussed with the Prime Minister ways to encourage students to develop reading habits. “The government will work jointly with Bishwo Shahitto Kendro to promote reading habits among students. The programme will be implemented at primary, secondary and higher secondary levels,” Rumon said. Prime Minister’s Adviser on Information and Broadcasting Dr Zahed Ur Rahman was present at the meeting. The Additional Press Secretary also said the Prime Minister hosted a luncheon in honour of Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed.

Envisioning a noteworthy publication dedicated to the rich culture of band music genre in Bangladesh, the first Bangladeshi band encyclopedia titled 'Banglar Rock Metal’ is set to be unveiled on Friday at Baatighar, Bishwo Shahitto Kendro in the capital. Authored by journalist Haque Faruk and writer Milu Aman, the book not only carries a chronological history of the gradual development of the Bangladeshi band scene but also the authentic profile of 180 bands with their discography. From their collective experiences of the authors as music journalists and writers in the past two decades combined with almost two years of relentless efforts, 'Banglar Rock Metal' is said to be the encyclopedia the band music enthusiasts needed, according to the book’s co-author Haque Faruk. Read:Wind of 'Hawa' blows full Sharing the journey with UNB, Haque said that he has spent hours at the archive section of different libraries apart from his regular professional responsibilities as a full-time journalist. “It has always been a dream project for us as band music enthusiasts, and we worked passionately hard to fine-tune this book from time to time.” Haque informed that to write this book, the duo not only depended on the existing-secondary documents but also recorded the history through the first-person narration of the living band members. "To ensure the accurate presentation of every band’s history, we have crosschecked the information with all the existing and even the former members of the bands who are still alive. We had to conquer the hurdles to find and contact some of the musicians from the past who had been almost forgotten from the band music scene and have been living in different parts of the world for decades now. Still, we managed to document them because of their cordial cooperation.” Read Music Alliance Bangladesh cancels 'National Music Festival and Conference' in Sylhet Published by Aajob Prokash along with a special poster, the book cover is designed by Niaz Ahmed Aungshu. Mustafiz Karigar made the cover typography, while the essential graphics are done by Kousik Zaman. Joy Shahriar, a renowned musician and founder of Aajob Prokash said, ‌"Preorders are open till launching but we have already started receiving overwhelming response from the band-music fans, and we hope the first-print copies of the book would stock out pretty soon, once the book is officially launched." 'Banglar Rock Metal' can be preordered via the Facebook page of Aajob Prokash at a discounted price. The printed price of this 450-page hardbound book, band encyclopedia, is Tk 1000 and available for preorder at Rokomari dot com. Read Bongo brings Bangla dubbed 'Kaalidas'