Shaheed Munier Chowdhury Award conferred

Award recipients along with the guests at the programme. Photo Courtesy: Sudip Chakrobarthy

Veteran director Mamunur Rashid received this year's Shaheed Munier Chowdhury Award. On the other hand, young director and teacher Sudip Chakrobarthy received the Mohammad Zakaria Memorial award. Both awards were conferred by the troupe, Theatre (Bailey Road), on November 29 at the Experimental Theatre Hall, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mijarul Quayes, was the chief guest at the programme. ITI Worldwide President and director (organisation) of the troupe, Ramendu Majumdar, among others, spoke at the programme.
The ceremony also marked the 87th birth anniversary of Shaheed Munier Chowdhury, one of the pioneering theatre personalities of the country.
Munier Chowdhury was born on November 27, 1925. Chowdhury attended Aligarh Muslim University and studied English Literature for his bachelor's degree, in 1946. He did his master's at Dhaka University in 1947.
Chowdhury actively participated in the Language Movement (1952), and was imprisoned by the Pakistan government. He wrote the famous symbolic drama, “Kabor”, during his imprisonment.
On December 14, 1971 Munier Chowdhury, along with other Bengali intellectuals, was abducted from his house and executed by the Pakistani army and its Bengali collaborators.
Mamunur Rashid's troupe Aranyak is celebrating its four decades this year. On this occasion, the troupe has re-produced its first play, Munier Chowdhury's “Kabor”, with young members as performers. The play has been directed by Rashid.
Sudip Chakrobarthy has re-designed two of Theatre's early plays -- “Payer Awaj Pawa Jae” and “Kokilara”.