Cultural programme at South Asia Social Forum

The five-day South Asia Social Forum (SASF) Bangladesh 2011 ended with high hopes and determination to build a new South Asia. The event was organised on a large scale at different venues of Dhaka University (DU) campus. The closing ceremony of the event at the Shadhinota Stombho, Suhrawardy Udyan was held in the capital on November 22.

The official statement of the event was read out by World Social Forum leader Amit Sengupta. Vice Chancellor of DU, Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique, presided over the programme.

Chairman of Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation, Bangladesh, Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman; Chico Whitaker of Brazil; Lidy Nacpil of Philippines; Karamat Ali, Farooq Tariq and Shakila Naz of Pakistan; Dr. Keshav Khadka of Nepal; Ahmad Jardar of Palestine; Binod Rayna and Sameer Dossani of India; Chairman of Manusher Jonno Foundation, Shaheen Anam; Farah Kabir of Action Aid, Bangladesh; MB Akhter of Oxfam GB, Bangladesh; Khushi Kabir of Nijera Kori, Bangladesh along with many eminent national and international personalities were present and spoke at the closing ceremony.

A cultural programme featuring solo and choral renditions, along with vibrant dance presentations, was held at the venue. Patriotic and Baul songs dominated the repertoire.

Artistes of Udichi Narayanganj unit started with the chorus “Jai Bangla Banglar Jai”. Their performances of two Lalon numbers -- “Onashey Dekhtey Pabi Kon Khaney Shai-r Baramkhana” and “Raat Pohaley Pakhi Boley Dere Khai” -- were vibrant and rhythmic, and earned a round of applause.

Sameer Baul and his troupe also performed Baul songs at the event. Noted Tagore singer Rezwana Chowdhury Bonnya rendered “Aguner Poroshmoni” and “Jodi Tor Daak Shuney Keu Na Ashey”. Members of the classical based fusion band Chirkut also performed at the programme. Chirkut started off with the timeless DL Roy number “Dhono Dhanyo Pushpo Bhora”. Mahmud Selim also presented a solo at the programme.

Choreographed by Wasek and Prema, artistes of Nandan Kala Kendra and Bhabna performed dance pieces on the occasion while dancers of Spondon presented a piece, titled “Amader Jatra Holo Shuru”. Anik Basu choreographed the piece.

The highlight of the cultural event was showcasing Raibeshe, a popular and exquisite martial dance form of Bengal, by the artistes of Shadhona. Raibeshe (meaning “royal bamboo”) was used by lathiyal deployed by the feudal lords. It is believed that during the reign of Raja Protapaditya (of Jessore region), there were around 52,000 Raibeshey who performed this dance to boost the morale of soldiers. Aside from playing the Bangla dhol, dhuli (dhol player) Shafiq produced a series of bol during the performance. Amit, Biju and Arpita choreographed the much-appreciated piece.

An Actor's Spyglass Pierrot le Fou: Life, nothing else but life

Many of us want to do whatever we want. In fact every human in this mechanised world wants to break free. Freedom of expression. Freedom of choice. Freedom to lose control and get away. Particularly, when in love, there is a burning desire in almost everyone at times to jump from the sky, fall into the ocean, walk on a rope, enjoy every moment the way one wants.

“Pierrot le Fou” is a film in which you can find that kind of expression. This Jean-Luc Godard film (1965) embodies all the ideas that French New Wave cinema is all about. French New Wave was mostly inspired by the Italian Neorealism. This trend evolved from unconventional way of expressing the emotions through editing, colour correction, visual style etc. Pioneers of this style include François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Éric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol and Jacques Rivette. “Pierrot le Fou” was the 15th highest grossing film of 1965 with a total of 1,310,580 admissions in France.

It's a film about lovers -- Ferdinand Griffon (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and Marianne Renoir (Anna Karina). The audience discovers that they know each other from the past but now they are separated. Ferdinand is married to a rich man's daughter and unemployed and Marianne has come to Ferdinand's home to take care of his daughter as a babysitter just for the night. Ferdinand is persuaded by his wife to go to a party at his in-laws, even though he is reluctant to move. He leaves the party shortly though, and comes home. He starts chatting with his former lover, Marianne, and they decide to elope. They have no money, no place to live, get embroiled in a murder, steal a car, and become fugitives. They take the audience on an adventure.

They read poems at the beach, have breakfast with a parrot, run in the woods and passionately demonstrate their love for each other -- without a care in the world. When you watch the film, you'd feel that sense of freedom and that carefree love the protagonists share despite facing thousands of hazards. The film has a fantastic twist but I won't spoil it for you by disclosing it.

“Pierrot le Fou” is a poetic, visual representation of various ideas and makes clear statements against wars around the world. The director has incorporated his views and the film manifests the characteristics of New Wave cinema beautifully. In the film, an American filmmaker explains what film is to the Americans, and the audience learns about Jean-Luc Godard's take on cinema: “A film is like a battleground; it is love, hate, action, violence, death -- in one word emotions.”

Miguel Oliver exhibition at Gallery Chitrak

Gallery Chitrak will host a 10-day solo painting exhibition of renowned Spanish artist Miguel Oliver. The exhibition begins tomorrow.

Cultural personality and lawmaker Asasuzzaman Noor will inaugurate the exhibition as chief guest. Bangladeshi expatriate painter Shahabuddin Ahmed and poet Rabiul Hussain will be present as special guests at the opening. Noted architect and art critic Shamsul Wares will preside over the programme.

Oliver was born in 1968 in Spain. As student of architecture, he started painting in the early 1990s. In 1993, he opened his studio in Costa Rica and later on in 1997 moved to Buenos Aires. He has been living in Madrid since 2001 and has visited Bangladesh several times.

Oliver focuses on the human form, both male and female visages and still life. He is a powerful painter, and drawing is a major aspect of his works. His paintings are realistic.

Oliver has participated in a number of art fairs and group exhibitions. He has held several solo exhibitions in Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina and others countries.

Portrait of Time Group art exhibition at Zainul Gallery

A five-day group art exhibition, titled 'Portrait of Time', opened on November 19 at Zainul Gallery, Faculty of Fine Arts (FFA), on Dhaka University campus.

Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University, AAMS Arefin Siddique, inaugurated the exhibition as chief guest. Renowned sculptor Hamiduzzaman Khan, artist Lalarukh Selim and Dean of FFA, Professor Matlub Ali, were present at the inaugural.

Five of the six participating artists were MFA (second part) students -- Ashim Halder Sagor (Ceramics), Gopal Chandra Saha (Oriental Art), Maharunnessa Nipa (Crafts), Uma Mandal (Printmaking) and Forhad Uddin Masum (Drawing and Painting). Shyamal Chandra Sarker was a freelance artist who also completed his MFA from the Department of Sculpture, FFA a few years back.

Twenty-five artworks in various media including woodcarving, watercolour, raku, serigraph, acrylic, and etching aquatint are on display.

With his sincere commitment to the research-based and thematic exploration of ceramics, Sagor showcased his three new works, titled “Catharsis-2” (raku), “Me & My Myth-6” (white glaze with enamel paint), and “Searching Reality” (terracotta) at the exhibition. The life that represents present and the time that is flowing is the ultimate expression of Sagor's work. Sagor is also passionate about capturing the incongruence of society through his works.

Gopal wants an accident free life. The sound and stack of broken pieces of glass on roads haunt him as these shatter dreams. Yet people want to see their reflections on glass again. His watercolour, “Man of Light”, portrays the image of a melancholic Mother Teresa. Geometric shapes dominate his light golden and azure mingled watercolour. Deft use of colour symbolises his artistic subtleness.

Masum believes that time and space always generates chaos and conflict among men. His artworks tell the story of life, time, space and broken dreams.

Nipa, coming out of the conventional configuration, displays experimental works. She uses her own portrait in several of her serigraphs where spectacular Arabic calligraphy is to be found. Diversity in subject, use of colour and expression of thought are apparent, incorporating her adolescence and spirituality.

The theme of Shyamal's works has been inspired by our National Poet: “The best of the creation -- half accomplished by women and half by men”. She showcases three semi-abstract woodcarvings (man, horse and dog) that delineate beauty with dexterity.

“All is unending to the eye of childhood. We grow up learning in a socially constructed confined ambiance. The days of flying kites and throwing tops gradually lead a child to harsh reality. The young ones constantly learn from nature and the experience of drawing lines, success of recognising letters, showing of dominance and jilted feelings of ignorance remain afresh in her/his subconscious mind. I tried to depict that feeling of a child in my series called 'Boyhood',” said Uma.

The exhibition ended on November 23.

Why silent movies are golden once more

A silent film hasn't won the Oscar for best picture since “Wings” took the top prize at the very first ceremony in 1929. A year later, the talkies had taken hold, and it's fair to say they have dominated the awards ever since. But now, for the first time in more than 80 years, a silent movie is being talked up as a real Oscars contender.

“The Artist” is a French film, but set in Hollywood at the end of the silent era, and shot like one of the very best films from that time. That means it's black-and-white, it uses the squarer “Academy Ratio” frame rather than widescreen and, yes, it's silent. It's a beguiling, “A Star is Born”/”Singin' in the Rain” story of two lovers whose paths and careers cross -- a leading man from the silent days falls down on his luck, while a young flapper named Peppy makes it big in talking pictures.

But while “The Artist” is self-conscious about being a silent film, it's not just a novelty; it's a funny, beautifully made romance, and it's not so much of a surprise that it is being released in a prime position for awards season. In fact, “The Artist” has already won some big prizes -- including best actor at Cannes for its suave lead, Jean Dujardin, and the same festival's unofficial Palm Dog trophy for Uggy, its scene-stealing terrier.

If you still don't believe such a retro movie could get the Oscar nominations, or even the audiences, you may be in for a shock. Hollywood is nostalgic for the early 20th century at the moment. Woody Allen's latest, “Midnight in Paris”, was a declaration of love for the 1920s. Martin Scorsese is at it too, with the prohibition-era TV series “Boardwalk Empire” and his new film “Hugo”, a 3D adventure for children. Pedro Almodovar has even said that he considered making “The Skin I Live In” as a silent film.

Of course, it's not the end of the road for the talkies, but “The Artist” is about to remind us of what we lost when synchronised sound came in -- and we haven't heard the last of silent cinema.

Tech Photo Med tools for iPhone

A woman tests an iPhone device for measuring body temperature (right) and bloodpressure (left) at the "Medica World Forum for Medicine" (MEDICA) fair on November 17 in Duesseldorf, western Germany. Photo: AFP

AjkerDeal.com: Hot deals and more...

AjkerDeal.com, an initiative by BdJobs.com, the largest job portal of the country, has officially started its operation, says a press release.

The website, AjkerDeal, is an e-commerce site which offers special and discounted deals on various products and services every day. However, the deals are valid for a certain period.

To get the deals, buyers have to collect coupon from AjkerDeal website by paying online with debit or credit cards and show it to the authorities concerned.

AjkerDeal offers discounted deals on popular businesses like dining, travel, entertainment, movies, spa, healthcare services, fitness centers, beauty parlors, internet service, computers, laptops, fashion products and more on a regular basis.

Similar services were launched by Akhoni.com earlier this year.

Nokia N9 All it takes is a swipe

Nokia N9, the much-anticipated smartphone from Nokia will hit the local market next week. Let's have a look at the N9, the first ever pure touch phone with no buttons.

So far this is the best-looking and slickest device from Nokia. Its awesome design, display and ease to use make it reasonable alternative to Android and iPhones.

Having said that, the phone still lags the flexibility of Android or iOS's number and quality of third party applications. But the N9 App market gained numbers after its launch and the phone comes with some preloaded apps and games such as facebook, twitter, skype and more.

With MeeGo as the operating system, the user experience of the N9 feels natural. Swiping from edge-to-edge to unlock the screen, go back to the default home screen or see important notifications is effortless and easy.

The idea around navigating the N9 is that whenever you are in an application you simply swipe from the edge of the screen (either side) to go back to the home screens. However, there is no back button.

You can also set the N9 to close apps by swiping down when in an app.

The N9 interface is based around three "home views" an applications screen that lists all your apps, a notifications screen for calls, messages, calendar events and social networking feeds and a currently open applications screen.

The casing of the phone is made of polycarbonate monolith. The back is slightly curved with an oval chrome-finished pod that's flush with the body and houses eight megapixel autofocus camera. There is a dual-LED flash to the left of the lens.

The front is almost all-screen with no buttons, and just a tiny slit for the earpiece on top. Curved Gorilla glass flows into the bezel like liquid spilling onto a flat surface. It has 3.9-inch FWVGA (854x480) ClearBlack AMOLED display to rival Samsung's Super AMOLED screen.

The volume controller and power / lock keys are on the right side. A speaker and microphone are at the bottom and at the top side there is 3.5mm headphone jack, a machined door protecting the micro-USB connector and the micro SIM tray.

The battery is sealed and there is no microSD card slot, but the N9 comes with 16GB of built-in flash storage. The 135g phone feels solid and comfortable in hand.

The phone will have a pricetag of Taka 52,000.

3rd CFICC winners awarded

The award giving ceremony for the third “Citi Financial IT Case Competition (CFICC)”, a financial systems development contest for students, was held on October 19 at a hotel in the capital.

With an aim to offer opportunities for undergraduate students in the public and private universities to compete in the development of unique information system solutions for the financial sector of the country, the competition was organised by D.Net and Citibank, N.A. Bangladesh.

This year, 65 teams from 22 public and private universities across the Bangladesh participated in the contest.

The teams competed at four different stages and the top five were chosen to compete in the final round held on October 1.

Throughout the four rounds, a jury panel of prominent professionals assessed the case solutions based on the project evaluation guidelines.

BUET's Spondon championed the contest and received USD 3,000; IBA's Chrome received USD 2,000 as the first runner up; BUET's ThunderStorm won USD 1,000 as the second runner-up; and BUET's Snipers and Chariots' each won USD 500 as the third runner-ups.

Bcs Ict World 2011 ICT extravaganza ends today

The vibrant five-day BCS ICT World 2011 fair will end at 8:00pm today. So if you haven't been there, today's your last chance.

As always, the exposition has been oganised by Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS) and is being held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital.

Tech-savvies have been thronging the fair to taste and buy the latest devices from the day it started. Laptops and other mobile devices are topping their priority list.

Fifty local and foreign companies are participating at the fair with 70 stalls and 30 pavilions. Exhibitors expressed their satisfaction with the crowd saying sale rates are very impressive in this year's fair.

Participant companies are offering discounted prices and gifts with their products.

Visitors too showed contentment with prices. In fact, some of them came to the fair only to buy gadgets at special rate. Rumon Ahmed, a student of Rajshahi University came to Dhaka only for the fair. “I have been saving money to buy a laptop from the fair”, said Ahmed.

To make the fair more attractive and fun, organisers have arranged entertainment programmes with musical shows, interactive sessions with celebrities and more.

For the first time in Bangladesh, a web fair, ICT World Web Fair, has also been arranged at the expo.

Visitors can take part at the web fair by logging on to the website (bcsictworld.com.bd) of the expo and win prizes every day. However, to win prizes, s/he has to register.

At the fair, visitors also get to try the 4G (4th generation) internet, online video streaming, IP TV, online radio and internet gaming. Besides, there is also a dedicated gaming zone.

Like previous BCS fairs, painting competitions for children are also there. The fair has digital art competition which is free for all and quiz contest. Raffle draws on entry tickets give the visitors a chance to win laptops, smartphones and other latest gadgets.

Entry fee to the fair is Tk 20. But, as always, entry is free for the school children, provided they show their ID cards.

Five seminars on information technology and Bangladesh have also been arranged on the sideline of the fair.

Organisers expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the fair.