MOHUA (2015)
Based on a true story of the Mymensingh region of Bangladesh, MOHUA is a lyrical Musical Play where a collection of traditional marriage songs, ghetu gaan, pala gaan, and other folk ballades weaves a tale of MOHUA’s life. This production was held on Saturday, June 13, 2015, at Thomas A. Edison High School in Alexandria, VA.
EKTARA Folk Festival 2011
“EKTARA Folk Festival 2011” featuring the musical drama “Mohajoner Nao” was held on Saturday, 24 September 2011 at West Springfield High School in Springfield, VA. In the feature presentation “Mohajoner Nao”, we celebrated the life and songs of “Baul Somrat” Shah Abdul Karim (1916-2009). “Mohajoner Nao” is based on the bard’s mystical journey into the world of baul music. It is written by renowned documentary film maker and media personality Shakoor Majid.
BIOSCOPE (2010)
BIOSCOPE reminds us of those nostalgic days in the streets of Bangladesh where in the narrow alleys, the BIOSCOPE-wala used to roam around with a throng of kids running behind them. The unique way the BIOSCOPE-wala presented the glamorous world of cinema took us to a different world where our imaginations came true.
Just like the traditional BIOSCOPE, in 2010 EKTARA production portrayed the silver screen of Bangladeshi cinema and how it influences our social life. We presented the evolution of Bangladeshi cinema through the many lenses of BIOSCOPE. Our feature presentation was a very well-known dance drama Alibaba and Forty Thieves.
EKTARA (2007)
In 2007 we presented our second large-scale production called EKTARA. The idea for this production came from a traditional Bangladeshi musical instrument called EKTARA, which is a single-string musical instrument used mainly by baul singers of Bangladesh. Throughout the last couple of centuries, Bangladesh has seen generations of baul singers who have contributed vastly in the evolution of Bangladeshi folk culture. EKTARA was a folk-based program where our main goal was to portray the rich heritage and history of Bangladeshi folk culture through music and dance. The life history of one of Bengal’s greatest baul Hason Raza was depicted through our feature presentation dance drama called “Hason Raza”. Another highlight of this production was a very colorful fashion show featuring various beautiful Bangladeshi saris.
ITTADI (2004)
Our first large-scale production was in 2004 called ITTADI. It was a variety show where we presented Bangladeshi folk music, folk and modern dance, and fashion shows. The feature presentation of this production was a dance drama called “Nakshi Kanthar Matt”, which was originally written by poet Jasim Uddin. Many of Jasim Uddin’s significant works portrayed the rural life of Bengal in a simple yet strikingly artistic fashion. That is why he is known as `PolliKobi’ or folk poet; ‘Nakshi Kanthar Matt’ is no exception. ITTADI was a mega success and was well accepted by the Bangladeshi community.
