Artistes of 'Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra' reunite

Marking the occasion of the Victory Day of the country, the artistes of 'Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra' (Free Bengal Radio Centre) reunited and performed at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) on Sunday, reports UNB.

Featuring a series of performances at BSA's National Theatre Hall by artistes of the only radio broadcasting centre of Bengali nationalist forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, program was presided by eminent journalist - cultural personality and head of news of the 'Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra', Kamal Lohani- and joined by BSA director general Liaquat Ali Lucky, music composer and instrumentalist Jahangir Hayat Khan, singer Kalyani Ghosh, Anup Bhattacharya and Rafiqul Alam.

Recalling the emotion of the time, Kamal Lohani said "The 1971 liberation war of Bangladesh saw a 'never-seen-before' kind of activism and patriotism from the people all over the country, and Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra was the soul of that united body. We had been lucky to contribute in our liberation war through our talents and cultural works."

Artistes from BSA presented several tremendous dance and musical performances, while renowned singers of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra including Fakir Alamgir, Kaderi Kibria, Rupa Forhad, Moloy Kumar Ganguly, Timir Nandi, Shaheen Samad, Indra Mohan Rajbongshi, Rafiqul Alam, Bulbul Mahlanbish and Dalia Nawshin enthralled the audiences with their solo songs, written on the liberation war.

Artist Ashraful Alam performed a live, on stage news presentation of 'Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra', recreating the palpitating yet majestic notion and emotion of the war-period when people used to depend on radio (the only broadcasting entertainment medium available during that time) news to get daily updates on the war.