The handicrafts of rural Bangladesh are popular to the city dwellers. To acknowledge the hard work of the craftsmen, a four-day fair featuring arts and crafts by craftsmen from across the country will end at the Bengal Shilpalaya today. Four participants of the fair were bestowed with the Master Craft Persons Award, which has been initiated from the late ‘90s. The award-giving ceremony took place on March 6, on the inaugural day of the fair.
Titled Master Craft Persons Award and Crafts Fair, the festival is organised jointly by the National Crafts Council of Bangladesh (NCCB) and Bengal Foundation.
Of the four winners, Joynal Abedin from Narsingdi won for his home textile, Rafiqul Islam from Dhaka bagged the award for his colourful rickshaw painting, Shonkori Tudu from Rajshahi got selected for her rural home decoration and Parveen Akter from Noakhali was the last contender for her Comilla’s khadi. Each of them was honoured with Tk50,000.
The fair is a treat for the urbanites as it is a rare occasion where so many traditional handicrafts are available for purchase at a single venue. The small shops are packed with brilliant and original traditional crafts of the country such as Manipuri Saree, fancy goods with glass work, clay dolls, toys, flutes, handmade home decors, jewelries, rickshaw paintings, shonkho and many other dazzling goods.
Gathered crowd at the fair enjoys a harmonious atmosphere in the midst of all the bustle and can take pleasure in songs of the mystic philosopher Lalon fakir and other folk songs while rummaging through the packed stalls.
Secretary of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Bangladesh, Ranjit Kumar Biswas was the chief guest who handed out the Master Craft Persons Award and inaugurated the crafts fair at the Bengal Shilpalaya premises. Creator of traditional hand-fans, eminent craftsperson and recipient of NCCB award, Suchitra Sutradhar was present on the occasion as a special guest.
Luva Nahid Chowdhury, director general of Bengal Foundation and vice president of the crafts programme, artist and designer Chandra Shekhar Saha spoke on the inaugural ceremony.
