Bharatnatyam festival in Bangladesh

A week-long Bharatnatyam fest is being held southern port town of Chittagong.

Dhaka: A week-long Bharatnatyam festival is being held in Bangaldesh`s southern port town of Chittagong. Among those who will perform are Sukla Sarkar, Lubna Marium, Balayet Hossain Khan, Shoma Mumtaz and Anisul Islam Hero, New Age said Tuesday.

"Bharatnatyam was integrated in children competitions including Natun Kuri of Bangladesh Television and Shishu Academy competitions at the national level in the late 80s," said Mumtaz. The first solo dance of Bharatnatyam in Bangladesh was performed in 1978 by Sukla Sarkar at Shilpakala Academy, the country`s premier institution of arts. "I was then a school student and was so enchanted by Sukla Sarkar`s performance that I decided to build my career in dance," recalls Mumtaz. The newspaper quoted Bharatanatyam exponents as saying that government patronage, more training by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and more media coverage were essential for this classical dance form to flourish. IANS