Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre, High Commission of India, Dhaka webcasted “Confluence through poems”, a recitation of poems by Rabindranath Tagore by renowned artists of Bangladesh observing death anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore on Friday. 

Eminent recitation artists of Bangladesh Bhaswar Banerjee (recitation artist), Dahlia Ahmed (recitation artist), Rana Thakur (Translator), Shahdat Hossain Nipu (recitation artist), Samiul Islam Poluck (recitation artist) took part in the webcast which can be viewed at www.facebook.com/IndiraGandhiCulturalCentre/  

The expression of the artists and the rendering of the poems by the artists were much appreciated in the social media, said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka on Saturday. 

Bhaswar Banerjee enthralled the audience with his expressive rendering of the Tagore Poems-  Moron & Chitto Jetha Bhoyshunno(English version :- Where the mind is without fear)while Dahlia Ahmed rendered captivating poems of Tagore like “Proshno, Neerjhorer Shopnobhongo”. 

Rana Thakur read the English translation of the poems read by Dahlia Ahmed. 

Poems recited by Shahadat Hossain Nipu and Samiul Islam Poluck also had a captivating effect on the audience. 

They recited Tagore poems like “Bir Purush, Africa, Nirbhoy and verses from Utsorgo”.

Also read: Stories by Rabindranath Tagore: Entertaining Drama to watch on Netflix during Coronavirus home quarantine

The young generation has to learn from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s nationalism, wisdom and internationalism to progress in the unprecedented times of 21st century, Professor Dr Haider A Khan has said.

Khan, a Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver and a member of the Advisory Board of Cosmos Foundation, was addressing a webinar on Thursday to commemorate the birth centenary of Bangabandhu, the founding father of Bangladesh.

The Center for the Study of Genocide and Justice (CSGJ) of the Liberation War Museum arranged a webinar titled ‘Bangabandhu, Nationalism and Internationalism: Lessons for Today’.

Speakers at the webinar discussed how Bangabandhu emerged as the key charismatic leader of the movement for political, economic and cultural self-determination.

Liberation War Museum trustee Mofidul Hoque said the lecture series was part of their effort to observe the birth centenary of Bangabandhu.

“We need to study his life, his contribution and his role in history. Every year we organise a lecture in August but this year is very special as it’s the birth centenary of Bangabandhu so we started this very special series focusing on many different aspects of his life. We are very happy that we are initiating this lecture series with Prof Dr Haider A Khan,” Hoque said.

He said they are organising the discussion virtually for the first time due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “Even though the doors at the Liberation War Museum are closed now, we’re opening our windows through this social media platform to use it effectively and meaningfully with lectures like this,” Mofidul Hoque said.

Lifelong commitment to democratic ideals

Dr Khan expressed his gratitude to LWM for arranging the webinar and explained that his agenda is to make the young generation aware of the eventful life and aspects of Bangabandhu as a journeyman behind the emergence of Bangladesh.

“For me, it is a lifelong project - and for as long as I am able to write and think, I will continue this,” he said.

Dr Khan discussed a brief manifesto through a set of 11 points of thought and action for the young generation to learn from the life of Bangabandhu. He also discussed his personal experience on what it was like to be alive during the most important political decade in the history of Bangladesh.

In the second part, he briefly discussed the main trajectory of the struggle since the founding of Pakistan until the beginning of Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971.

In the final part of his lecture, Dr Khan discussed Bangabandhu's internationalism and international activities after his return in early 1972 in Bangladesh.

“Bangabandhu’s internationalism was not a certain development [but] it was there throughout his life - from his earliest days of political involvement and certainly from the founding of Awami League in 1949 onwards.

“Throughout his life, Bangabandhu has been committed to deeply democratic ideals. Not just parliamentary democracy in its formal manifestation, but really the democracy of the people, for the people, by the people,” Dr Khan said.

The exact location where Dutch master Vincent van Gogh painted his last work has been identified after being hidden in plain view for years among a tangle of roots next to a rural lane near Paris.

The discovery by Wouter van der Veen, scientific director of the Van Gogh Institute in France, provides a new glimpse of the artist in his final hours.

Experts say the discovery sheds new light on the anguished painter's mental state on the day he is widely believed to have fatally shot himself.

 “Tree Roots,” was visible on a faded picture postcard featuring a man standing next to a bicycle on a back street of the village of Auvers-sur-Oise, 35 kilometers (21 miles) north of Paris.

Van Gogh spent the last weeks of his life in the village and completed dozens of paintings there. Helpfully, the card even included the name of the street.

It means art historians can now see that Van Gogh worked on the painting until the end of the afternoon, meaning he spent much of the day concentrating on the canvas.

“There has been a lot of speculation about his state of mind, but one thing that is very clear is that he spent quite a bit longer working on this painting right through the afternoon. We know that from the light fall in the work,” Emilie Gordenker, director of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday. “So, you know, he really was at work right up to  the end.”

The painting, which is not considered to have been completed by Van Gogh, hangs in the Amsterdam museum. Gordenker said its composition and execution — a tight focus on gnarled roots on a hillside — have led to it being seen as a “harbinger of abstraction.”

Van Gogh never got to further develop the painting style.

According to the museum’s version of Van Gogh’s life, after working on “Tree Roots” the artist walked into a nearby field of wheat later in the day and shot himself in the chest with a pistol.

He died two days later, on July 29, 1890, aged 37. Two American authors cast doubt on the theory in 2011, suggesting the artist was shot by two teenage boys.

Van der Veen believes the museum's version of events and agrees his new discovery shows that Van Gogh had his wits about him and was methodical in his thinking before he pulled the trigger to kill himself.

“So the final steps were also something he carefully thought about," he said. "So it was a lucid decision. It was not a fit of madness.”

The new discovery was made, in part, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.

While stuck at home during France's two-month lockdown, Van der Veen used the extra time to organize his numerous files and documents on Van Gogh, including digitizing images such as the old postcard from Auvers-sur-Oise.

One day in late April, during a phone conversation, he saw the card on his computer screen and it suddenly struck him that he was looking at the location of “Tree Roots.” Next to the man and his bicycle, roots and trees are clearly visible.

“It was an epiphany," he said. "A revelation.”

He wasn't able to visit the site for several weeks, but had a friend in the village visit and also took a virtual trip down the lane using Google's Street View.

Villagers know the spot and the main tree root well, even giving it the name “the elephant” because of its shape, Van der Veen said.

”It was really hiding in plain sight and it was even a little bit disguised as it had taken another identity,” he added.

The researcher says that while his discovery has given art historians more to mull about Van Gogh's last working day, it also provides tourists with an extra reason to visit Auvers-sur-Oise.

The French village already draws tens of thousands of visitors each year because of its links to Van Gogh, who spent his final weeks there and is buried in the village's cemetery alongside his brother, Theo.

Humayun Ahmed was a legendary Bangladeshi novelist who also proved his marvelous talent as a dramatist, screenplay writer, filmmaker, songwriter, and scholar. This wizard of words depicted the Bengali middle class through his spellbinding writings. He wrote more than 200 books and made eight films based on his own novels. Most of his books were bestsellers in Bangladesh. Ahmed is the creator of versatile fictional characters who belong to the broad spectrum of society. On the death anniversary (18 July) of this gifted author, we are going to remember some popular characters picked from his novels.

Popular Fictional Characters Created of Humayun Ahmed

Baker Bhai

Baker Bhai was the lead character in Kothao Keu Nei, a popular Bangladeshi TV serial created by Humayun Ahmed in 1990. Ahmed portrayed Baker Bhai – starring by notable actor Asaduzzaman Noor – as a local gangster who used to patrol the streets with his two side-kicks, Bodi (Abdul Kader) and  Mojnu  (Lutfur Rahman George).

By his drama, Kothao Keu Nei, Humayun Ahmed tells the story of a socially unaccepted gangster, who dared to stand against social unfairness and fought for the defenseless, while the educated and respected civilians remained silent. In the drama, Baker was addressed as ‘ Baker Bhai’ by the local people.

The small motorcycle gang of Baker Bhai and his two companions dared to live outside of mainstream society. Baker Bhai was one of the great cluster-breaking characters created by Humayun Ahmed. Though Baker Bhai represented a thug, outlaw, and rebellious spirit, his courage against the injustice of society charmed the audiences.

Baker Bhai fell in love with a woman named Muna (played by Suborna Mustafa), who initially disliked him for being a rogue. Through diverse conflicts and circumstances, Muna started to like Baker for his bravery, sense of justice, and selfless attitude. She was the only soul who stood beside Baker Bhai until the end scene. Furthermore, the powerful acting of Humayun Faridi as a skinflint but talented lawyer made this drama more realistic, thoughtful, and enjoyable.

During the course of the drama, Baker Bhai was betrayed by one of his companions and was hanged on a charge of murder which he had never committed. The kind-hearted Baker Bhai forgave his betrayer friend before his execution. Both the Kothao Keu Nei series and lead character of Baker was so popular in the country, that mass street protests occurred when Baker Bhai was sentenced to be hanged on the screen.

Read Stories by Rabindranath Tagore: Entertaining Drama to watch on Netflix during Coronavirus home quarantine.

Misir Ali

Misir Ali is a fictional character who appeared in a series of novels written by Humayun Ahmed. In the books, Misir Ali is portrayed as a part-time professor of Psychology under the University of Dhaka. Though Ali is not a professional psychiatrist, he has a unique interest and some outstanding forte in parapsychology. In the novels, we found that people seek help from Ali regarding diverse psychiatric treatment. Though being efficient in solving mysteries, he never took money for this special service.

According to novels, Misir Ali is a bachelor living in a small flat with a servant. He lost both of his parents at a young age and was raised by his relatives. Though he is a chain smoker, he tries to quit smoking in every story. The mystifying but humorous lifestyle of Misir Ali amuses the readers.

Humayun Ahmed truly deserves to applaud for creating an intelligent and logical character who does not seem to believe paranormal activities blindly; rather analyze every case with logic and intelligence. He also maintains a personal diary called 'Unsolved,' where he puts down the unresolved mysteries. The character Misir Ali offers huge entertainment to the readers who love supernatural stories and enjoy the sequential untangling of mysterious facts.

The Misir Ali series includes 20 books. Debi (the Goddess), the first book of Misir Ali series, was adapted into the movie named ‘Debi (2018)’ by director Anam Biswas. In this drama, the character Misir Ali was played by the famous Bangladeshi actor Chanchal Chowdhury.

Read 'Babies' Netflix Review: Worth to Steam or Skip in Your Self Quarantine?

Himu

Himu or Himalay is another fictional character sketched by Humayun Ahmed. The character Himu first appeared in the novel titled Mayurakkhi published in 1990. Responding to the popularity of this novel, the author wrote more than 21 novels centering Himu.

Though this character is mostly addressed as 'Himu’, his full name is Himalay, which was given by his father. In each novel, Himu is found to maintain an eccentric lifestyle unlike the other youths of his age. His unconventional way of living is motivated by a diary written by his psychopathic father who wanted to raise him to be a ‘Mohapurush’ or great man.

The character Himu surprises the readers through his weird but amusing attitudes. For instance, Himu dares to mock the police officers without any fear of getting arrested or being molested. He wears a pocket-less yellow Panjabi and enjoys a nomadic life. Most of the days, he tends to walk barefoot on the streets of Dhaka city. During those endless journeys, Himu neither uses any kind of transport nor tries to reach any certain destination. Himu is unemployed and prefers to live on begging instead of doing any kind of hard work.

Throughout the Himu series, the unorthodox outlook of Himu keeps the readers captivated. While in real life, young people are often facing pressure regarding study, career, or relationships, the carefree lifestyle of Himu gives them temporal relief. In fact, many of us secretly bear the hidden wish to be like ‘Himu’.

Himu has some followers – including police officers, neighbors, relatives, tea stall proprietors, beggars, etc – who believe in his spiritual power of forecasting future events. But what Himu really does is confronting people with an unpleasant truth, which is quite rare in this sophisticated society. Instead of looking for logic like Misir Ali, Himu perceives that the strength of beliefs can make things happen.

Read Rich Dad Poor Dad– Worth Reading in Your Quarantine.

Shuvro

The fictional character Shuvro was an attempt by the potent novelist Humayun Ahmed to portray a pure human being. The character Shuvro, whose name translates as 'White' in Bangla, is meant to be a pure soul, set apart from the complicated world. Unlike Himu or Misir Ali, Shuvro appears like a next-door boy with an easy-going character. Shuvro represents the iconic figure of a helpful friend who is always there to help.

Humayun Ahmed sketched his fictional character Shuvro as a role model for the readers. Shuvro is the only child of the couple industrialist Mr. Motahar (Iajuddin) and Rehana (Jahanara). The ideal mother-son relationship between Shuvo and Rehana makes these stories blissful. However, in some series, the author put Shuvro in dilemmas and revelations to test the purity of his soul.

From one book to another the character Shuvro shows significant versatility unlike other characters created by Ahmed. In every story, the common things about Shuvro include his name, thick-rimmed glasses, and pure soul. Shuvro owns a distant nature and acts as a bystander. He is not the protagonist who saves everyone, but he tries to alleviate situations in his own ways.

The character Shuvro debuted in the short story titled 'Ekti Shada Gari' (A White Car). As this character got huge popularity, Ahmed brought more novels about Shuvro: Daruchini Dip (Cinnamon Island), Megher Chaya (The Shadow of the Clouds), Rupali Dip (Silvery Island), Shuvro (Shuvro), Ei Shuvro! Ei (Hey Shuvro! Hey), and Shuvro Geche Bone (Shuvro Has Gone to the Forest). The story titled Daruchini Dip (Cinnamon Island) was adapted as a Bangla film in 2007 starring prominent actor Riaz as Shuvro.

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