Curtain falls on Bengal Classical Music Fest with Chaurasia’s magical flute
With the magical moments created by Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia with his mysterious flute, during the final performance he was giving on the concluding day of the five-day ‘Bengal Classical Music Festival 2016’ (BCMF), this year’s the world biggest classical music festival saw its ending yesterday morning at the Bangladesh Army Stadium in the capital.
78-year-old Hariprasad Chaurasia took the stage at 3:40am and continued to thrill the audience with his fascinating flute recital till 5:05am in the early morning of November 29. A huge number of audiences gathered on the final day of the festival on Monday night, and mostly came to enjoy the performance of Hariprasad Chaurasia, a living legend from the classical music world.
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, KCMG, Founder & Chairperson of BRAC, was present as the chief guest at the closing. Veteran academician and Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman presided over the closing ceremony. Annisul Huq, Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation and Mohammad Sayeed Khokon, Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation were the special guests. Anjan Chowdhury, Managing Director of Square Group was also among the special guests.
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed remembered versatile author Syed Shamsul Haq to whom this festival has been dedicated to. He remarked, “Classical music is imbedded in us. Artistes like Ustad Ali Akbar, Ustad Allauddin Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar had roots in this country. The continuity of this festival will encourage the emergence of more world class artistes in this field.”
Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman greeted everyone and expressed his gratitude towards the artistes. He said, “The practice of classical music was fading in our country. However, this festival has rejuvenated interests in the genre.”
Anjan Chowdhury, Managing Director of Square Group Ltd., expressed his pride at being involved with the festival and said, “Hopefully, we will present grander festival in the future.”
Abul Khair, Chairman of Bengal Foundation, requested a minute of silence in memory of recently deceased poet Syed Shamsul Huq and the people who had given their lives during the recent militant attacks. He expressed his gratitude towards the sponsors and partners of the event. According to him, this festival has become a platform to uplift the image of Bangladesh in front of the entire world.
He also requested the construction of sports and cultural facilities in remote areas of the country. He said, “We would like to develop a large cultural institute in the country.”
After his speech he declared a three day Sufi Festival in January. At the end of the closing ceremony he handed over the crests to the chief guest and special guests of the night.