A Celebration of the Free Spirit
Artistes of Pallabi Dance Centre perform a dance (top); Elita Karim sings at the event. Photo: Amran Hossain
The Daily Star celebrated its 20 years of eventful journey at the Hall of Fame, Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka on April 15. The newspaper was born on January 14 in 1991.
People from different sections of the society, including ministers, diplomats, politicians, educationists, economists and cultural personalities attended the grand event under the banner “40 years of Independence, 20 years of Independent Journalism.”
Renowned newspaper editors from India, Pakistan and Nepal joined the ceremony. Praising the role of The Daily Star in the last 20 years, they spoke about its impartiality and its principle of 'journalism without fear and favour'.
In his speech, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, Mahfuz Anam said, "Without democracy, free media cannot flourish and without free media, democracy cannot survive."
"When there is a clash between the government and free media, the government will win. But that [victory] will be short-lived... in the end freedom will win but precious time will be lost,” he added.
In her welcome speech, Rokia Afzal Rahman, chairperson of Media World, the owner organisation of the daily, said that The Daily Star is more than a newspaper. It is an institution on which the people depend greatly.
At the entrance of the venue, The Daily Star arranged a photo exhibition on the landmark events over the last 20 years that drew the guests' attention.
A documentary featuring The Daily Star's 20-year-long journey was screened at the event. Poplar singer and editor of Star Campus magazine Elita Karim performed an inspiring patriotic number "Tomar Dikey Takiye Desh". Musician Shondhi (on acoustic guitar) wrote and composed the song.
The highlight of the event was a dance performance by artistes of Pallabi Dance Centre. Seasoned dancer Minu Haque choreographed the piece.
"This year is very special not only because Bangladesh is celebrating 40 years of independence and The Daily Star is celebrating its 20th anniversary but also, coincidently, we are going to celebrate 150th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore," Haque said.
The musical part of the 12-minute performance featured excerpts of songs written by Rabindranath Tagore, Shahidullah Kaisar [composed by Shaheed Altaf Mahmud], Sukanto Bhattacharya [composed by Sheikh Lutfor Rahman] and Dr. Enamul Haque [composed by Shaheed Altaf Mahmud]. The songs were "Bohey Nirontor Ontor Anandadhara", "Ami Manusher Bhai Spartacus", "Himalay Thekey Sundarbon Hothat Bangladesh" and "Jai Satyer Jai".
Actor-musician Shimul Yousuf directed the medley.
The cultural programme wrapped up with a group rendition of the theme song "Nirbhoy Niropekkho Konthey Janatar Adhikar Rokkhay Shochchar Daily Star". Noted lyricist Mohammad Rafiquzzaman penned the song, set to tune by Ali Akbar Rupu. Biman Chandra Biswas, Tilti, Imran, Monir and Tito performed the theme song.
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