Abdul Alim possessed a powerful voice that immortalised Bangladeshi folk songs. His unique style highlighted the essence of our rural tunes and mesmerised the audience. Holudia pakhi, Naiyyarey nayer badam tuila, Rupali nodirey are some of the timeless songs popularised by him.

Born on July 27, 1931 in Murshidabad, West Bengal, Alim migrated to Dhaka after Partition and joined the radio as a staff artist. During his illustrious musical career he performed at a number of music conferences and received several awards.

The programme began with a short discussion. Dr. A.M.M. Shafiullah, vice chancellor, BUET was the chief guest. Dr. Mohammad Mahmudul Hassan, secretary, Bangladesh UNESCO National Commission was the special guest at the event. Mintu Rahman, general secretary of Narzul Academy and folk singer Nadira Begum also spoke at the programme.

The discussion was followed by a musical programme featuring performances by Asgar Alim and Nurjahan Alim, son and daughter of Abdul Alim. The artistes began with a duet, Ei jey dunia kishero lagia,one of Alim's evergreen songs. It was followed by a group performance by students of ULA. Asgar Alim also rendered Shorbonasha Padma nodiand Thakbona ei abeshey. Nurjahan Alim sang Holodia pakhi, Bohudiner pirit bondhu and a few other songs.