The fifth season of the popular Bangladeshi reality TV show "Ispahani Mirzapore Banglabid" concluded with a grand event organised yesterday at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC).

Ispahani Mirzapore organises this Bangla competition to promote the usage of the Bangla language and its spelling, amongst the new generation, authentically. The participants are evaluated on the basis of their correct application of the Bangla language in spelling, pronunciation and grammar.

In the grand finale of the competition, Samira Mukit Chowdhury became the best Banglabid, earning a prize of Tk 10 lakh as a scholarship. The second runner-up, Anushree Banik secured a scholarship of Tk 3 lakh, and the third runner-up Manami Zaman received a scholarship of Tk 2 lakh.

Moreover, the top ten contestants were each awarded a laptop and bookshelves along with books worth around Tk 50,000 to create personal libraries.

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At the beginning of the event, Mr Omar Hannan, the general manager of Ispahani Limited, shared that the Ispahani Mirzapore Banglabid, which began in 2017, has now completed its fifth year and that about 1.5 lakh students have registered for this competition.

The chief guest at the ceremony was Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni, Ispahani Group Chairman Mirza Salman Ispahani and Directors Zahida Ispahani and Emaad Ispahani were also present as special guests.

At the event, Samina Chowdhury and Fahmida Nabi, after a long hiatus, graced the stage once again to deliver captivating musical performances. Furthermore, the renowned dancer Priyanka Anam presented a musical collage titled "Bangla and Bangladesh" which depicted the evolution of the Bangla language and culture from ancient times to the modern era.

Additionally, the top 10 Banglabids of this year's competition joined hands with Afzal Hossain to recite poems. The event came to an end with a mesmerising rendition of the alphabet song by the late singer Shammi Akhtar, recorded by the talented singer Jhilik along with a dance performance by popular actress Mehazabien.

A panel of judges consisting of professors and linguists, from Dhaka University's Bangla department, were actively involved in the entire process of the competition.

The main judges of Ispahani Mirzapore Banglabid were Dr Soumitra Sekhar, the vice-chancellor of Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Imdadul Haque Milon, the chief editor of the Daily Kaler Kantho and media personality Tropa Majumdar. Furthermore, Afzal Hossain was present at the event as an esteemed guest judge.