Sisimpur Carnival at Shishu Academy

Children and parents at the event.

‘Sisimpur Carnival' was held at the Bangladesh Shishu Academy, Dhaka on July 1 and 2; the intent being the introduction of Sisimpur's various activities to the kids, according to a press release. As a part of that initiative, Lalmiah auditorium was built on the carnival premises in memory of Amal Biswas Kotha who featured as a postman called Lalmiah. Kotha passed away in 2005. The Sisimpur exhibition started the following day where Halum and Tuktuki, the favourite characters from the show appeared before the children.
The children sang and danced with Halum and Tuktuki and took pictures.
A huge Ludu board was placed in front of the Lalmiah auditorium; children queued up to play.
The interests of the parents were drawn to a stall named 'Halka Bhari'. Children's height and weight were measured there. Following the measurement, a card with the information (name, age, weight, and so on) was handed out.
Six-year-old Aria from Kalabagan was standing in a queue for a while to complete a puzzle. There were four huge puzzles at the stalls. At last when she got her chance, Aria directed her undivided attention to complete the puzzle. Success made her ecstatic. Then there was the stall 'Rong-Chong-Shong' next to 'Poralekha'. This stall drew attention of the little painters.
What is a carnival without a merry-go-round? There was one right next to the carnival ground. Children had lots of fun with their parents on the merry-go-round.
Another stall that was thronged by children was called 'Click Click'. The stall had cut-outs of the children's favourite muppets. Children took photos with their favourite muppet characters -- Shiku, Ikri, Tuktuki and Halum. Braving the rain, the children arrived in hordes.
Shishu Academy's Sisimpur Outreach Project director ABM Zakir Hossain said, “We intend to hold Sisimpur Carnivals in all the divisional cities.” Anwar Hossain, project director of Sesame Workshop, producer of the Sisimpur programme, said, “In future there is a plan to organise a carnival on a bigger scale with increased efficiency.” Project chief of the other producer, Nayantara Communications, Sara Zaker said, “Despite difficulties caused by the rain, children are really enjoying the carnival. I hope that next time the organisers would hold the programme when the weather is better.”