Western classical symphony headlines opening night of Bengal Music Festival
Dhaka: Western classical music tiptoed into the Bengal Classical Music Festival for the first time on Tuesday night courtesy The Astana Symphony Philharmonic Orchestra from Kazakhstan.
Barely 20 minutes into their second act -- famous Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake", one of the most popular ballet compositions in the world -- the discerning crowd at the near-packed Abahani Ground on Dhanmondi was almost on its feet basking in the afterglow of symphony and craving for more.
So much so that once the Kazakh group's performance got over, Bangladesh Finance minister A.M.A. Muhith declared: "There are two wishes I have. One is there should be a Bangladesh symphony group. What we witnessed today was brilliant and every nation must have a symphony group. I want to see our own also."
Muhith's other wish was to a have a designated venue for the mega-event, dubbed the "biggest classical music festival in the world" after clouds over this edition taking shape surfaced earlier.
The Army Stadium -- its home for the last five years -- was originally supposed to host the meet but logistical issues surfaced, forcing the organisers, Bengal Foundation, to postpone it from November to December and at another venue.
"I thank Salman F. Rahman (Chairman of Abahani Ltd, a top division football club) for allowing us to host the event here despite the league being on. The players are staying at a hotel and practising somewhere else for this event to take place which is commendable," Bengal Foundation Chairman Abul Khayer said.
Coming back to the orchestra, conductor Berik Batyrkhan used his baton to shepherd the band so symphonically with the strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion sections that the surreal sound transcended the audience into a make-believe world.
The group, which has collaborated with several distinguished conductors including K. Penderecki, V. Ashkenazy, R. Gutter, A. Tchaikovsky, R. Kanetti, and D. Bross, started off with a short composition by a noted Kazakh composer.
Prior to them taking the event by storm, virtuoso violinist L. Subramaniam got the ball rolling on Day 1 of the four-day extravaganza by performing a kriti (a compositional format of Carnatic music) on Raga Abhogi, a Carnatic raga that has also been adopted into Hindustani classical form.
Subramaniam came back on stage with his ensemble to perform with the Astana Orchestra, this time with a fusion between the East and West with his composition titled 'Shanti Priya'.
Late into the night, there was sarod recital by Rajrupa Chowdhury, khyal vocals by Vidushi Padma Talwalkar and Supriya Das, sitar by Firoz Khan and a flute-sitar jugalbandi by Rakesh Chaurasia and Purbayan Chatterjee.
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Punishment for those disrupting assembly proceedings, warns Speaker UT Khader
Belagavi: Speaker U.T. Khader on Friday warned that members who disrupt Assembly proceedings by talking in their seats during debates will be made to sit in the House for an entire day as a disciplinary measure.
The warning came after the Question Hour, when Deputy Leader of the Opposition Arvind Bellad was permitted to initiate a discussion on the development of North Karnataka.
At this point, expelled BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal objected, stating that he had been seeking a debate for the past three days but had not been given an opportunity.
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Responding to the objection, Speaker Khader said Bellad had already been granted permission and assured Yatnal that he would be allowed to speak at the next opportunity. He noted that even as a serious discussion was underway, several MLAs were speaking among themselves with their microphones on, disrupting the proceedings.
Expressing displeasure over the conduct of members, Khader likened the situation to football, where players receive red, yellow, or white cards for violations. Similarly, he said, the Assembly issues warning cards to members who disturb the House. If they fail to correct themselves despite repeated warnings, they would be required to remain seated in the Assembly hall for a full day as punishment, he stated.
