Seoul Correspondent: Dhaka, Aug-01,
The Embassy of Bangladesh in Seoul in partnership
with the Embassy of India in Seoul, Indian Art Museum, Tagore Society of Korea
and the Bengali Association of Korea and expatriate Bangladeshis celebrated the
"Rabindra-Nazrul Jayanti" Saturday.
Also, the centenary of the publication of Kazi
Nazrul Islam's poem "Bidrohi" (The Rebel) was observed, and a
cultural presentation on the music and poems written by Rabindranath Tagore and
Kazi Nazrul Islam was released.
The Bangladesh Embassy, for the first time,
celebrated the Rabindra-Nazrul Jayanti and centenary of the publication of
Nazrul's poem Bidrohi in partnership with the Indian Embassy in Seoul, Indian
Art Museum, Tagore Society of Korea, expatriate Bangladeshis and the Bengali
Association of Korea.
The event was divided into two segments. The first
part, conducted by Ambassador Abida Islam, consisted of congratulatory speeches
by Sripriya Ranganathan, Indian Ambassador to South Korea, Padma Shri Dr Kim
Yang-shik, director of Indian Art Museum in Seoul and a discussion on Nazrul's
poem Bidrohi by Kalyani Kazi, the daughter-in-law of the poet.
It also included the recitation of the poems
including recitations of the poem Bidrohi coupled with performance. In
addition, members of the Tagore Society of Korea recited Tagore's poems in
Korean from Gitanjali.
The second segment of the event consisted of the
dance and song recitals from the songs on the six seasons of the Bengali
calendar written by both Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam.
Ambassador Abida Islam touched upon the invaluable
contributions of both Rabindra and Nazrul to the development of Bangla language
and literature, Bengali culture and to the context of the then socio-political
scenario of Bengal.
She mentioned that Rabindranath is a familiar
literary figure to the Korean people for his poem "The Lamp of the
East" whereas Nazrul is comparatively less known, and the celebration of
the Rabindra-Nazrul Jayanti and centenary of the publication of the poem
Bidrohi is an initiative to promote the two literary icons of Bengali
literature – Rabindra and Nazrul – as well as their literary works and ideas to
the Korean people.
Sripriya Ranganathan mentioned that Tagore Jayanti
has been celebrated jointly by the Indian Embassy in Seoul and Bangladesh
Embassy in Seoul for the past few years.
Dr Kim Yang-shik mentioned the great contribution of
Rabindra and Nazrul to Bengali literature.
To promote the literary works and ideas of these two
literary figures she particularly underscored the need for cultural exchanges.
Kalyani Kazi, the daughter-in-law of poet Kazi
Nazrul Islam, in her discussion on the poem Bidrohi touched upon the background
of the composition of the poem as well as the influence of the poem against the
backdrop of the socio-political context of that time.
The second segment of the event consisted of
Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul Sangeet, dance recital and instrumental music
centred on the six seasons of the Bengali calendar.
Members of the Bangladesh Embassy in Seoul, Tagore
Society of Korea and Bengali Association of Korea participated in this cultural
event.
End/Dct/Corr/Sma/
