Art exhibition marking the golden jubilee of the title ‘Bangabandhu’

The people of Bangladesh bestowed the title of ‘Bangabandhu’ on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation on 23 February, 1969. The then DUCSU (Dhaka University Central Students’ Union) Vice President and Sarbadaliya Chhatra Sangram Parishad President, Tofail Ahmed, announced the title on behalf of the people at a mass rally after the father of the nation was freed from jail in the Agartala conspiracy case. Since then, the greatest Bangali of all time has been known by that title which, in Bangla, means the “friend of the people”.

To mark the golden jubilee of conferring the title ‘Bangabandhu’, Shadhinata Charushilpi Parishad organised an artist camp titled Bangabandhu Shabdati Amader on February 23, 2019 at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy where 55 prominent and promising Bangladeshi and Indian artists took part. On the canvases, the participating artists portrayed varied themes like how Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became Bangabandhu, how he struggled for the independence, what his source of power was and how the glorious history of Bangladesh was made.

Photo: Sheikh Mehedi Morshed

A two-week long exhibition with the outcomes of the artist camp was inaugurated July 27 at Sheikh Lutfur Rahman Gallery and Sheikh Sayera Khatun Gallery of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum, Dhanmondi 32, Dhaka. Information Minister, Dr Hasan Mahmud, inaugurated the exhibition as chief guest. State Minister for Cultural Affairs K.M. Khalid; poet, researcher and member-secretary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Trust, Sheikh Hafizur Rahman; poet, critic and architect Rabiul Husain; curator of the museum, Md Nazrul Islam Khan, attended the event as special guests.

Distinguished artist Ashraful Alam Paplu, also the member-secretary of Shadhinata Charushilpi Parishad, delivered the welcome address and hosted the programme, while renowned artist and convener of Shadhinata Charushilpi Parishad, Anowar Hossain, presided over the ceremony. The exhibition, opening from 10 am to 5 pm, will conclude on August 9.