Bhaber Hat celebrates its 10th anniversary in Sydney, honors three luminaries

The 10th anniversary celebration of 'Bhaber Hat', a popular cultural organization of expatriate Bengalis, has been held in Sydney, Australia.

The three-and-a-half-hour event took place at a local auditorium in Sydney on Saturday evening (June 27). The main theme of this year's event was the songs and philosophy of mystic poet Radharman Dutta.

The program began with the national anthems of Australia and Bangladesh. In addition to Radharman Dutta's songs, artists Faria Ahmed and Lamia Ahmed Lunia performed songs by Lalon Shah, Shah Abdul Karim and Ukil Munshi. Dance was performed by Arpita Som Chowdhury. The entire program was conducted by Bachik artist Shakil Chowdhury. Sohel Khan, Bonful Barua, Abhijit Da, Tapas Kar, Faisal Aziz Sajeeb and Rashnan participated in this fusion of traditional folk songs.  

Many people were emotional as they left the event. An elderly viewer said, "I felt like I was back in my childhood. Reading is being done in the backyard." The organizers said that next year, 'Bhaber Haat Season-11' will be held on a larger scale to meet the needs of the audience.

Three people were awarded lifetime achievement awards for their contributions to Sydney's culture at the ceremony. The awardees were freedom fighter Mizanur Rahman (young), Rajan Nandi and actor and director Rahul Ganguly. They were presented with crests, rosaries and flower bouquets by community figure Nazmul Ahsan Khan and 'Protiti' founder Sirajus Salekin.