Lalon festival starts today

A three-day programme to commemorate the 127th death anniversary of Baul Samrat Lalon Shah, the most prominent figure in Bangladesh's baul tradition, will start on Monday. The Lalon Academy and Kushtia district administration are jointly organising the festival with the Cultural Ministry's assistance. Mahbubul Alam Hanif, the Kushtia sadar MP, will inaugurate the festival on Monday evening. Lalon died on the first day of Bangla month of Kartik in 1297 (October 17, 1890) at the age of 116. He was laid to rest beside the Kaliganga River. Fans and followers of Lalon have been thronging his cemetery at Chheuriya. Businessmen have set up makeshift shops to sell products like food items and musical instruments. Lalon has secured a unique position in the history of traditional music for his humanitarian songs, blending philosophies of different devotional traditions. Fakir Mohammad Ali Shah, the caretaker of Lalon's shrine, said they had been organising the festival since Lalon's death. “Nobody needs an invitation to come here,” he said. Security has been ratcheted up ahead of the festival to avoid any untoward incidents like last year, when miscreants attacked and killed several followers of Lalon. Lalon Academy president and Kushtia's Deputy Commissioner Md Zahir Raihan said preparations had been taken to ensure safety of the festival's participants. “The whole area has been brought under CCTV camera surveillance. We hope, there will not be any problem,” he said.