President for evaluating rural talents

President Abdul Hamid yesterday underscored the need for evaluating the rural talents for checking the growing evil culture in the country.
"We've countless talents remain scattered across villages who are actually living in their own creative worlds without any patronage.  We know if any merit doesn't get proper appreciation and recombination, it can't get mature and thus the path for other creative minds get constricted. This creates the scope for the rise in evil culture and terrifying demons in the country," he said.
The president made the remark while addressing a function marking the distribution of the first-ever Shilpakala Padak-2013 to seven recipients in seven categories at Jatiya Natyashala Auditorium in the capital.
The award recipients are Amanul Haque (Dance), Ustad Motiul Haque Khan (instrumental music), Khaled Khan (dramatics-posthumous), Fahmida Khatun (music), Manzare Hasin Murad (film), Samarjit Roy Chowdhury (fine arts) and Saidur Rahman Bayati (folk culture).
The president appreciated Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy for introducing the Shilpakala Padak recognising the fact that there are dedicated artists in rural Bangladesh.
“The boundary of the traditional down to earth culture and art practices of Bangladesh has already spread across the world, crossing the country's border. Our music, dance, drama, jatra and fine arts are bright on their own merit as they possess some uniqueness and exoticism in performances,” Abdul Hamid said.
Human beings are born with their own taste and aesthetics. Aesthetics can also be proliferated through art practices. The aim of art practices is to make human beings more human and guide the inner-self towards greatness, observed the president.
Mentioning that the progress of a nation depends on the creativity of its citizens, he said human beings have always been attracted by the beauty and artworks to fulfill their intellectual demands, and for mental peace and joyfulness.
“May be, attraction to beauty has been the inspiration behind the creations by human beings,” said the president adding that time on time, human beings have been involved in art practices in accordance with their own education, capacity and taste.
Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Hasanul Haque Inu, cultural affairs secretary Ranjit Kumar Biswas and Director General of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Liaquat Ali Lucky and padak recipient Fahmida Khatun, among others, spoke on the occasion.