‘To the roots we must go’
For the first time ever, a day-long Fagua festival was held in the remote Sreemangal upazila headquarters, about 42 kilometres from Moulvibazar district town.
Organised by Fagua Utshab Udjapon Parishad, the programme was held at Phulchhara tea garden football field premises. Pranesh Goala, member secretary of the organising committee, said, "We took this initiative with the aim to preserve our culture and rituals."
It brought together representatives of over 20 communities, who put on display recitals and performances in their own languages. In fact, other than the national anthem and a patriotic song in Bengali, every other production was done in the ethnic languages of the communities.
Fagua is considered the biggest of all cultural celebrations for communities living in tea gardens, locals said. The festivities have long been an event that occasions garden owners to declare holidays for two or three days. For those working and living outside, these are the days that bring them back home.
On a visit there, this correspondent saw a huge crowd gathered at the festival ground. Centered around the Holi festival, Fagua is a celebration of colors, which was evident in the paint that adorned the faces of almost everyone who was there.
Balaram Bhar, a tea worker from Phulchhara tea garden, said, "Our lives are riddled with struggles. I have to provide for a family of five earning only Tk 102 per day, inevitably running into many crises."
"But during these three days of Fagua, we get to immerse ourselves in joy. We try to ride this time with our friends and family, forgetting about the hundreds of shortages that are part and parcel of our lives," Balaram said.
However, before yesterday's event, Fagua used to be celebrated informally -- indoors or in close neighbourhoods.
Which is what makes yesterday's programme such a landmark event. It was the first time a formal celebration of Fagua took place.
The performances evoked a strong sense of cultural pride in the attendees, most of whom had never witnessed such a robust exhibit of their own cultures before.
Joyram Chasa, from Kurma tea garden in Kamalganj upazila, said, "Despite being a citizen of Odisha, I had never seen the (traditional) Charaia dance before today. It programmes like this continue, they can help save our culture."
It wasn't just Joyram; first-time experiences galored across the festival ground. "This is the first time I'm getting to see a Birha dance performance!", an excited Bilash Bhar said. A Deshwali man confined to the grinding life of the gardens, he had never had the opportunity to see it before.
Welcoming the organisers for holding such a grand celebration, visitors said such events will pull younger generations towards their own roots. Everywhere one looked, children, teenagers and young tea workers could be seen dancing and singing throughout the day.
The formalities began with local lawmaker Abdus Shahid inaugurating the programme. Following this, a discussion was held.
Denied government recognition as small ethnic communities, the programme served as an opportunity to not only put on display the diverse cultures and languages of the communities, but also as a platform from where to demand said recognition and the advantages that come with it, speakers said at the discussion.
In his speech, Pranesh Goala, also Chairman of Kalighat Union Parishad, said although tea garden workers significantly contribute to Bangladesh's economy, they are yet to be included in the country's list of small ethnic communities.
Akmol Hussain Nipu, a journalist, said, "In absence of government recognition (as small ethnic community), the culture and languages of these communities are not getting protection under the various programmes taken by the authorities."
AFM Zakaria, head of anthropology department at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, said the government has gazetted 50 communities to be recognised as small ethnic communities so far.
"But sadly, the small ethnic communities of the tea gardens were not included in the list, although they fulfill the criteria," he also said.
Rajghat Union Parishad Chairman Bijoy Bunarjee presided over the programme that was conducted by Prokash Bhar.
Besides the discussion, the programme was divided into different sessions devoted to displaying alpona, playing Holi, and staging various cultural performances.
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