June(Minutes)
On 19th June 2021, Gantha organized a delightful “adda” on the theme of “borsha” or monsoon in all its sights and sounds across genres. The program was inaugurated with Professor Dr. Niaz Zaman’s introduction and a declaration that Gantha will arrange its regular events on Bengali women writers from onwards as it is a platform for prioritizing women’s writing. It is planning on a long-term project to publish researched articles on significant women writers from Bengal by its members in series. A formal CFP will be emailed to those who are interested. Jharna Rahman discussed the influence of the monsoon on Bengali music. Dr. Ruposhi Mumtaz (Kalakar award winner) made a Special Guest appearance and played Raag Jayjayanti on the violin— a piece she composed herself based on Nazrul lyrics – “Megho meduro boroshay kothay tumi” especially for this program. Nurquamrun Naher spoke on the influence of monsoon in Bengali poetry and fiction. Tasneem Hossain recited her self-written English poems – “Rain Music” and “Rain Song”. Marzia Rahman recited her translation of Mahadev Saha’s poetry -“In the City, in This Rain”. Afroza Parveen’s rendition of Tagore’s poem “Abhishar” from memory was a marvel for the listeners. Jackie Kabir read the titular English short story from her collection— Silent Noise. Parveen Rahman read from an interesting essay by Fazlul Hoque Saikat – “Aj bari jhore jhorojhoro bhora badore”. Nigar Sultana performed a four-line extempore rhyme from her monsoon series “bristi”. Masrufa Ayesha Nusrat delivered some extracts from Anwara Syed Haq’s travelogue – Bristir Bhitore Rabindranath. The program came to an end by thanking all the members for their contribution in setting up the online Gantha portal. The members decided to meet again next month on 17th July 2021 and will speak about some renowned women from the past and their contribution to art, literature, culture, and education on the occasion of the centenary celebration of Dhaka University. The “borsha” or monsoon event was arranged and conducted by Masrufa Ayesha Nusrat. Gantha is also thinking of publishing a small collection, “monsoon musings” by its members. Here is the recording of the event, if you are interested to watch:.