Actress Tropa Majumdar is now busy with her new directorial venture on stage with a play based on the life and philosophy of the great baul maestro Lalon Shah.
Titled ‘Baramkhana’, the play is written by Pantha Shahrier, and will be staged by Theatre.
Being inspired after reading the novel ‘Moner Manush’ by Sunil Gangopadhaya, Tropa planned for a theatre production on baul philosophy. Later, she gave the novel to Pantha for reading. ‘Our play is mainly inspired by that novel. However, we have included some other things related to our present socio-political context,’ Tropa told about her new ventures.
According to her, the ‘canvas’ of the play will be wider. It will cover Lalon’s life, works and the situation after the Partition of India in 1947. Tropa, who earlier directed the play ‘Chhay Beharar Palki’ with Jaglul Alam and later, had her solo directorial debut by the play ‘Mukti’, says that the latest play will include more than twenty persons as cast and most of them are new. She hopes to bring the play on stage within two months.
Tropa expects to bring some variations in the play which will uphold Lalon’s philosophy and the culture based on the mazar (shrine) in the country as well. In the play, Lolon’s songs will be incorporated with dialogues. ‘No doubt, music will play an important role in the play, but variation in style will also be there,’ she added.
Tropa believes, some people tried to Islamise Lalon’s secular philosophy after the Partition. ‘Many people have also been doing politics with his ideals to meet their own vested interest. I want to show these odds by presenting Lalon as a symbol,’ she said.
Tropa is also performing in the popular drama serial ‘Poush Faguner Pala’, directed by Afsana Mimi and telecast on ATN Bangla. Adapted from Gajendra Mitra’s novel ‘Trayee’ and jointly scripted by Iraj Ahmed and Mansur Rahman Chanchal, the play is set against the backdrop of the capital and its outskirt areas at the sixties and seventies, ‘For the first time in my performing career I am playing the role as a daughter of my mother Ferdousi Majumdar in the serial,’ says Tropa.
For the approaching Eid, Tropa has completed shooting for a one-hour play written and directed Subarna Mustafa. In the play, Tropa played a kleptomaniac woman.
She is also regularly performing on stage in the plays ‘Meraj Fakirer Ma’, ‘Madhabi’ and ‘Mukti’ by Theatre Expressing her optimism about theatre she said that the theatregoers are getting better productions in recent time. Many of the contemporary plays have interesting aspects to move the audience, she said. While appreciating the tendency to experiment on the form and style of theatre, she mentioned that the experiments should be done carefully.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Ensure safe travel during Eid rush: HC
A High Court bench on Thursday directed the government to ensure that no water vessel can ply without safety requirements during the upcoming Eid rush.
It also directed the authorities to ensure that no launches or water vessels ply without having adequate number of buoys and beacon lights.
The division bench comprising Justice MA Wahhab Miah and Justice Kazi Rezaul Haque also directed law enforcers to prevent overloading of passengers in launches and vessels and also to prevent their plying without safety measures.
The judges passed the directives following a writ petition the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association.
-Daily Star
It also directed the authorities to ensure that no launches or water vessels ply without having adequate number of buoys and beacon lights.
The division bench comprising Justice MA Wahhab Miah and Justice Kazi Rezaul Haque also directed law enforcers to prevent overloading of passengers in launches and vessels and also to prevent their plying without safety measures.
The judges passed the directives following a writ petition the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association.
-Daily Star
Govt to challenge HC ruling on money return
The government is considering to appeal against the High Court rule which had ordered returning money confiscated by the military-installed interim government between 2007 and 2008.
The High Court on Tuesday asked the government to return around Tk 3 billion to two companies in the next three months which it held was obtained illegally.
The last caretaker government had realised Tk 2.37 billion from Kafeli Dated Tea & Land Limited and Tk 0.60 billion from S Alam Steel Limited through issuing a total of 54 pay-orders in 2007 and 2008.
"If there's any opportunity, we will appeal against the decision," finance minister AMA Muhith said Thursday. The minister has long been maintaining his stance of not returning the confiscated funds.
"These [money] are the outcome of corruption and laundering, so I think there's no need to return these funds," he said while speaking to the press after a meeting at the Secretariat.
According to the documents, there were no options to return this money, added Muhith.
He said that the confiscated money has been debited to the government's consolidated funds and budgetary allocations require that these funds are made available.
"And I have not kept any contingency plans for anything otherwise."
Muhith reiterated that he does not see any point of returning these funds.
Replying to a query, the minister said that the government would examine the ruling and decide upon their next step.
"If we find any weak point [in the ruling], then we would go for appeal."
In its judgment, the bench of justices Mamnoon Rahman and Syed Afsar Jahan said the government had no power to do anything beyond the constitution and that it has to apply its power constitutionally."
It pointed to article 81, 82 and 83 of the constitution which set out clear ground as to when money can be exacted by the government.
So, the court said, the realisation of the money from the two institutions was illegal and beyond the government's jurisdiction."
-bdnews
The High Court on Tuesday asked the government to return around Tk 3 billion to two companies in the next three months which it held was obtained illegally.
The last caretaker government had realised Tk 2.37 billion from Kafeli Dated Tea & Land Limited and Tk 0.60 billion from S Alam Steel Limited through issuing a total of 54 pay-orders in 2007 and 2008.
"If there's any opportunity, we will appeal against the decision," finance minister AMA Muhith said Thursday. The minister has long been maintaining his stance of not returning the confiscated funds.
"These [money] are the outcome of corruption and laundering, so I think there's no need to return these funds," he said while speaking to the press after a meeting at the Secretariat.
According to the documents, there were no options to return this money, added Muhith.
He said that the confiscated money has been debited to the government's consolidated funds and budgetary allocations require that these funds are made available.
"And I have not kept any contingency plans for anything otherwise."
Muhith reiterated that he does not see any point of returning these funds.
Replying to a query, the minister said that the government would examine the ruling and decide upon their next step.
"If we find any weak point [in the ruling], then we would go for appeal."
In its judgment, the bench of justices Mamnoon Rahman and Syed Afsar Jahan said the government had no power to do anything beyond the constitution and that it has to apply its power constitutionally."
It pointed to article 81, 82 and 83 of the constitution which set out clear ground as to when money can be exacted by the government.
So, the court said, the realisation of the money from the two institutions was illegal and beyond the government's jurisdiction."
-bdnews
Vigilance team to monitor bus train ticket fare
The Ministry of Communication today has formed a vigilance team headed by a deputy secretary to monitor the bus and train fare and smuggling of the Eid-tickets.
The team within a day or two would start its work in the city as the allegation of taking excess fare from the passengers were reported in the press.
The team was formed in a meeting of the senior officials and heads of various departments under the ministry with Communication Minister Syed Abul Hossain in the chair.
Secretary of the ministry M Mozammel Huq Khan, heads of BRTA, BRTC, Road and Highways and senior officials of the ministry were present
The communication minister asked railway officials concerned to report to the ministry within one- week on how the railway Eid tickets are being sold out in the black-market.
At the beginning of the meeting, the minister drew attention of the officials on a report published in today's newspapers regarding smuggling of railway's Eid tickets.
A senior official expressed his reluctance to discuss the issue in presence of media people. But, welcoming the media people, the minister said, "I think it would be better if more media personnel were present in the meeting to know about our actions to curb smuggling of Eid tickets and make people aware on this particular issue".
The minister asked the officials to take necessary measures for maximum utilization of railway carriers and BRTC buses to allow the commuters to travel to home on the occasion of the holy Eid-ul-Fitr.
The meeting discussed four proposals for waiving and re-fixation of the fees charged for crossing some bridges and decided to waive the toll from Natun Bazar-Puran Bazar access road in Chandpur.
The meeting also decided to take toll from second Karnaphuli Setu at current rate and formed a committee headed by the Chief Engineer of the Road and Highways to scrutinize the proposals for waiving tolls from the two bridges.
The bridges are Shaheed Rafiq Setu on Hemayetpur-Singair-Manikganj road and Shaheed Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir Setu on Chapainawabganj-Kansat-Sonamasjid road.
The meeting was informed that drive of the mobile courts under the Ministry of Communication will resume again in the city as financial constraint has gone after the Ministry of Finance allocated required fund to bear operating expenses of the drive.
-BSS
The team within a day or two would start its work in the city as the allegation of taking excess fare from the passengers were reported in the press.
The team was formed in a meeting of the senior officials and heads of various departments under the ministry with Communication Minister Syed Abul Hossain in the chair.
Secretary of the ministry M Mozammel Huq Khan, heads of BRTA, BRTC, Road and Highways and senior officials of the ministry were present
The communication minister asked railway officials concerned to report to the ministry within one- week on how the railway Eid tickets are being sold out in the black-market.
At the beginning of the meeting, the minister drew attention of the officials on a report published in today's newspapers regarding smuggling of railway's Eid tickets.
A senior official expressed his reluctance to discuss the issue in presence of media people. But, welcoming the media people, the minister said, "I think it would be better if more media personnel were present in the meeting to know about our actions to curb smuggling of Eid tickets and make people aware on this particular issue".
The minister asked the officials to take necessary measures for maximum utilization of railway carriers and BRTC buses to allow the commuters to travel to home on the occasion of the holy Eid-ul-Fitr.
The meeting discussed four proposals for waiving and re-fixation of the fees charged for crossing some bridges and decided to waive the toll from Natun Bazar-Puran Bazar access road in Chandpur.
The meeting also decided to take toll from second Karnaphuli Setu at current rate and formed a committee headed by the Chief Engineer of the Road and Highways to scrutinize the proposals for waiving tolls from the two bridges.
The bridges are Shaheed Rafiq Setu on Hemayetpur-Singair-Manikganj road and Shaheed Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir Setu on Chapainawabganj-Kansat-Sonamasjid road.
The meeting was informed that drive of the mobile courts under the Ministry of Communication will resume again in the city as financial constraint has gone after the Ministry of Finance allocated required fund to bear operating expenses of the drive.
-BSS
HC upholds visa discrimination challenge
The High Court on Thursday issued a rule on the government for gender discrimination in visa regulations.
The court ordered the government to explain why its directives stipulating more stringent regulations for foreign nationals married to Bangladeshi women should not be declared discriminatory and unconstitutional.
The ruling came regarding a home ministry circular which does not allow a 'No Visa Required' stamp on the passports of foreign men married to Bangladeshi woman.
However, the same notice allows passports of foreign woman married to Bangladeshi men to obtain the same ('No visa required') stamp.
The petitioner, a Bangladeshi/Australian dual national woman married to a US national, had challenged the circular of Aug 19, 2007 for violating her fundamental rights to gender equality and to life, including family life, referring to the constitution and to the state's obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women.
"We are delighted that the court has responded so promptly, and we hope that the government will now deliver on its pledges and take early action to deal with a glaring example of gender discrimination written into the law," said Sara Hossain, who represented the petitioner.
A division bench comprising justices Syed Mahmud Hossain and Gobinda Chandra Thakur issued the rule and passed the interim order.
-bdnews
The court ordered the government to explain why its directives stipulating more stringent regulations for foreign nationals married to Bangladeshi women should not be declared discriminatory and unconstitutional.
The ruling came regarding a home ministry circular which does not allow a 'No Visa Required' stamp on the passports of foreign men married to Bangladeshi woman.
However, the same notice allows passports of foreign woman married to Bangladeshi men to obtain the same ('No visa required') stamp.
The petitioner, a Bangladeshi/Australian dual national woman married to a US national, had challenged the circular of Aug 19, 2007 for violating her fundamental rights to gender equality and to life, including family life, referring to the constitution and to the state's obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women.
"We are delighted that the court has responded so promptly, and we hope that the government will now deliver on its pledges and take early action to deal with a glaring example of gender discrimination written into the law," said Sara Hossain, who represented the petitioner.
A division bench comprising justices Syed Mahmud Hossain and Gobinda Chandra Thakur issued the rule and passed the interim order.
-bdnews
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