“Celebrating Life”, a Standard Chartered Bank-The Daily Star tie-up to award talents in the sphere of photography, lyrics and film, arranged a launching ceremony of seven audio CDs and two photography books at Sonargaon Hotel in the capital on April 15. 

Cultural Affairs minister Asaduzzaman Noor attended the event as chief guest while CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Abrar A Anwar and Editor and Publisher of The Daily Star Mahfuz Anam were present as special guests. A number of musicians, photographers, artists, theatre activists and cultural personalities attended the programme. 

“We are celebrating 110-year operations in Bangladesh. We would like to uphold the rich culture and heritage of Bangladesh, and that's why the theme for this year's Celebrating Life is 'Celebrating the Heritage of Bangladesh'. We are very happy to be a part of it and our partnership with The Daily Star is very valuable,” mentioned Abrar A Anwar, CEO Standard Chartered Bank, Bangladesh. 

The two persons who played the most significant roles in implementing the project for the last seven years are Bitopi Das Chowdhury [of Standard Chartered Bank] and Rafi Hossain [of The Daily Star]. The duo talked about various aspects of Celebrating Life journey.   

“Many talented lyricists from underprivileged rural backgrounds have emerged through this competition. The Daily Star is an English Daily while Standard Chartered Bank is a foreign bank, but we are working on promoting Bangladeshi culture and heritage reaching towards the young creative minds that portray Bangladesh positively and beautifully with their photographs,” said Bitopi Das Chowdhury.

“Although we declare 12 awards in photography category, we have selected 40 beautiful images for each photography book that has become a documented piece of work. The book, reaching towards people of Bangladesh and abroad, will uphold my country positively. At the same time, 10 to 12 songs have been recorded for each CDs. Noted singers including Runa Laila and Sabina Yasmin recorded the winning lyrics while renowned musicians composed and directed music for the albums,” she added. 

“We are often amazed to receive lyrics and photographs from remote areas. A madrasa student got awards twice while a female lyricist stood first in the lyrics contest. I believe that reaching the unsung and unheard talents is a great success. When we first approached Runa (Laila) Apa, she was initially unsure to record songs for the mixed album, but just after knowing of our initiative, she was instantly convinced. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also lauded our initiative immensely and are thinking of holding Celebrating Life Festival in Bangladeshi embassies around the world,” said Rafi Hossain. 

Later, Armeen Musa and her troupe performed songs at the event.

Celebrating Life is an annual contest that invites film, photograph and lyric entries on a given theme each year, that showcase various aspects of life in Bangladesh. Organised by The Daily Star and Standard Chartered Bank, it is an attempt to provide participants with a platform for creative expression.