An initiative to forge a literary bond

KOLKATA: It had signalled the beginning of a new friendship through music last February. Now, it's time for Maitree Bandhan to step into the world of theatre and literature and re-discover the common cultural thread that remains the strongest unifying factor between the two Bengals. A joint initiative by The Times of India and Prothom Alo - Bangladesh's largest newspaper - to forge stronger bonds between the two neighbours, the Maitree Bandhan Literary Festival gets underway on April 14, the Bengali New Year's day.
Actors, writers, poets and elocutionists from either side of the Indo-Bangladesh border will converge in Kolkata to perform and exchange ideas, further strengthening our cultural link and celebrating our shared literary heritage.
The festival starts with an evening of theatre at the GD Birla Sabhagar. A drama - "Kohe Birangana", directed by Subhashish Sinha, an eminent stage personality of Bangladesh, will flag off the meet. It will be followed by a play by Kaushik Sen. Inspired by Michael Madhusudan Dutta's "Birangana Kabya", it will be a solo performance, interspersed with Manipuri dance and music. "My play is a mix of poetry, drama, music and dance. I am eagerly looking forward to performing in Kolkata. Maitree Bandhan is a unique idea and an ideal platform for artistes like us to forge ties with our Indian counterparts and exchange ideas," said Sinha.
On the second day of the festival on April 16, writers Syed Manzaurool Islam and Anisul Hoque of Bangladesh will take part in a discussion with Indian author Namita Gokhale at the Town Hall. She is expecting a very interesting session, one that will help to reiterate that literature has no borders, said Gokhale. "It's a proven fact that political borders don't apply to literature. Culture and language transcend boundaries. In our sub-continent, Urdu, Tamil, Bengali and Sindhi literature continue to be shared by India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Urdu and Bengali literature, particularly, continue to thrive and expand borders in the region," said Gokhale.
The third day of the festival will see a reading and recitation session. Asaduzzaman Noor of Bangladesh will regale the audience with his passionate recitations. He will share the stage with Indian stage personalities Rudraprasad Sengupta and Sohini Halder.
A lively interaction of authors on April 18 will mark the conclusion of the meet. Veteran author Sunil Gangopadhyay will engage in a deliberation on Bengali literature with Bangladeshi writer Abdullah Abu Sayeed.
"It's always good to interact with Bangladeshi writers and know their viewpoints. Since our literature is extremely popular there and continues to be patronized by their readers, we perhaps need to take an initiative to acquaint ourselves more with their writings. There are numerous facets which could come to the fore during these exchanges," said Gangopadhyay.
Complimentary passes are available on first-come-first-served basis at the Times Of India office at 105/7 A SN Banerjee Road, Kolkata -14.