BULLETIN BOARD
Pahela Baishakh 1421 adorned with Airtel Alpona
As the dawn quietly approached, the first rays of the morning sun unveiled a massive design at the heart of Dhaka city. An ambient layout of colours stretched across almost 7.5 acres in length and presented itself proudly as a mammoth representation of our culture at Manik Mia Avenue.
The artwork, known as 'alpona', was created to mark the arrival of the Bangla year 1421. People from all walks of life united at the middle avenue of Manik Mia as the countdown begun from the eve of Pahela Baishakh. An aura of festivity dispersed among the people of Dhaka city with live musical performances by folk artists and popular Bangla bands.
In Bengali culture, alpona is perceived as a traditional symbol of celebration. “Alponay Baishakh” has been the 3rd consecutive initiative taken by Airtel Bangladesh Limited and Prothom Alo along with Berger Paints Limited. This year, Airtel Bangladesh Limited and Prothom Alo have pushed the boundaries to achieve a monumental feat of 326,000 square feet (7.48 Acres) in length, thus, presumably creating the largest alpona in the world.
The design of this year's alpona was revealed on 8th April, 2014 by renowned artists -- Qaiyum Chowdhury, Samarjeet Roy Chowdhury, Ashok Karmrakar and Moniruzzaman -- along with Matiur Rahman, Editor, Prothom Alo; Aly Zaker, Chairman, Asiatic 3Sixty; Rajnish Kaul, Chief Operating Officer, Airtel Bangladesh Ltd and Rupali Chowdhury, Managing Director of Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited. Berger Paints joined in the celebrations with Airtel and Prothom Alo, as it provided paint for the artwork.
The event was inaugurated by the Speaker of the National Parliament, Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury MP, as the Chief Guest, on April 13 at 9pm. People participated in the gigantic work of art, while others stood in awe of the beautiful, vibrant and artistic shapes that started to emerge before them. With dawn breaking on April 14, Pahela Baishakh 1421 was truly embraced with “Alponay Boishakh” as a grandiose blueprint of Bangladeshi spirit.
HATIRJHEEL: DREAM BEGINS
Inspired by Hatirjheel, the young team of MassiveStar Studio Ltd has created a computer game series titled “Hatirjheel: Dream Begins”. The objective of this game is to uphold and promote our unique culture and environment in a virtual reality medium to the young generation, using Hatirjheel as a backdrop. The game was launched officially on March 24 with the association of ICT Ministry, where Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP, State Minister for Post, Telecommunication and ICT, was the chief guest. Shameem Ahsan, President of BASIS, and Mozammel Babu, Chief Editor and MD of Ekattor TV, were present as special guests. Mahbub Zaman, Ex. President of BASIS; Wong, Project Director, “We Make Games”; Gousul Alam Shaon, Managing Director of Grey, spoken at the event. The programme was hosted by SM Mahabub Alam, CEO, MassiveStar Studio Limited.
The game has been created with a mix of fantasy and reality. It combines the features of the real Hathirjheel with a futuristic virtual Hatirjheel. The theme of the game encompasses the three aspects of water, land and air transportation with 31 levels in it.
The developers announced that they will introduce the android version of the game after the PC version launch.
Researcher and CEO of the company, SM Mahabub Alam, said that MassiveStar will run a nation-wide programme called “We Make Games” where 100,000 students from 500 schools and colleges will learn game development.
Pahela Baishakh Celebration at NSU
North South University (NSU) celebrated Pahela Baishakh, the first day of the Bangla Year 1421, at its campus on April 14. The event was organised by NSU Shangskritik Shangathan with the slogan “Abar Ashuk Jhor”. Thousands of students brought out a colourful procession on NSU campus displaying different types of festoons to welcome the New Year. NSU Pro Vice Chancellor, Professor ANM Meshquat Uddin, inaugurated the function. In addition to cultural programme, a Baishakhi Mela was also arranged on campus. Students performed many songs of Rabindranath and Nazrul, folk songs, and staged puppet show throughout the day. The special attractions of the day were choreography and fireworks.
BRAC University Honours Professor Anisuzzaman
BRAC University recently arranged a reception ceremony to honour Professor Emeritus Dr. Anisuzzaman for receiving 'Padma Bhushan', the third highest civilian award in India conferred by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. The founder Chairperson of BRAC and BRAC University, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed KCMG honoured Dr. Anisuzzaman, who is also a member of BRAC University Board of Trustees. Sir Abed lauded Dr. Anisuzzaman and said that the award brought pride and honour for our country. Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, who attended the event, said that Dr. Anisuzzaman is an icon of the cultural and literary arena.
CIMA Organises Workshop for O & A Level Students
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) organised Flashback Session on O and A Level Accounting, Mathematics and Chemistry on April 19 at Marriot Convention Centre, Dhanmondi. The aim of the session was to help O and A Level students achieve better results in their exams. Zareef Tamanna Matin, Country Manager of CIMA Bangladesh, said, “We organise these programmes to ensure better output from our future business leaders.” Md. Muhitur Rahman hosted the class of Accounting (Edexcel & CIE), while the classes of Mathematics and Chemistry will be held at same venue on April 26. The workshop was open to all O and A Level students.
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