Foregone Conclusion

It has been a great year for Celebrating Life. It has also been a year of firsts for a competition that has been around for 8 years now. We have always had a focus on the youth, but this year, we went all out to celebrate that fact in all our district festivals for the first time, and the reception was obvious; a packed event wherever we went. Bringing in bands to perform was also a first for us, and with the feedback we received, you can be sure they will now be a part of Celebrating Life. So how do you conclude a year of incredible success? Obvious really; throw a spectacular finale to say farewell to 2015 and welcome the New Year along with a fresh chapter of Celebrating Life.

(Left) Abrar A Anwar, CEO, Standard Chartered Bangladesh, (Middle) Hosts Nawaf Naser and Aupee Karim. (Right) Asaduzzaman Noor MP, Minister of Cultural Affairs

The Gala event kicked off a little late, but then again, what grand event doesn't? The event was held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center, right beside the DITF field, which also helps to explain why our event started a little late. The exterior was decorated in a very tasteful manner and not going over the top and the same mantra was maintained for the gate.

Sabina Yasmin

Once you went through the security search and the beeping metal detectors, you were welcomed to a wonderful photo exhibition, reminding you that this festival is dedicated to celebrating the heritage of Bangladesh. Once you stepped into the auditorium, the grand center stage came into full view. The decoration was absolutely top-notch. The design reflected Rajshahi's famous Puthia Rajbari landmark, and it genuinely created a vibe as if you were right there in the grounds watching the event unfold. 

The event kicked off with the hosts, Aupee Karim and Nawaf Naser, welcoming the guests present and giving a very brief description of Celebrating Life. 

Syed Abdul Hadi

After that, they invited the editor and publisher of The Daily Star, Mahfuz Anam, to the stage for the welcoming speech. After that, the guests were treated to the three documentaries meant to honour the three winners of the Lifetime Achievement Awards; Bobita, Alauddin Ali, and Afzal H Chowdhury. Following the screening, the three winners were invited onto the stage and their awards were handed over by Standard Chartered CEO Abrar A. Anwar, Mahfuz Anam, and Minister for Cultural Affairs Asaduzzaman Noor MP.

Chief Guest Asaduzzaman Noor MP visiting the photo exhibition.

After the awards, the winners gave brief speeches and left the stage. Then the awards ceremony for the winners and Honourable Mentions for the different segments of this year's Celebrating Life began, with the entrants being called one by one on stage to be handed the awards before posing for a photograph. After that, both Asaduzzaman Noor MP and Abrar A. Anwar gave brief speeches regarding the importance of culture and hence the value and importance of Celebrating Life and its mission and wished it and everyone else a bright future.

After their speech, performances by Syed Abdul Hadi and Sabina Yasmin commenced, which was greatly received by the entire audience. The concluding performance was done by Chirkutt, who also performed a song based on the winning Lyrics for this year and with that, the event concluded.

So, with this conclusion, we say goodbye to Celebrating Life 2015 and get ready to start work on 2016's Celebrating Life, and keep pushing the boundaries of promoting the arts.

By Intisab Shahriyar