INDEPENDENCE DAY Glorious culture and heritage of Bangladesh
by ZIAUL HAQUE HOWLADER HISTORY UNRAVELS that Bangladesh has been the cradle of civilisation, a centre of cultural diffusion, since the dawn of history of mankind. It was the meeting ground of various peoples in different states of civilisation, the most primitive as well as the most advanced. The cultural history of Bangladesh is one of the greatest and glorious heritages, which every Bangladeshi is legitimately proud of. Each phase of the history of Bangladesh has its distinct characteristics and every race of people who came and settled here, left its individual racial, religious or cultural impacts in the form of temples, stupas, monasteries and mosque along with their associated objects.
Bangladesh is a country of diverse attractions, bountiful nature and friendly millions with more than a millennium of cultural heritage. The landscape of Bangladesh looks like a magical tapestry in green woven intricately by nature crisscrossed by a network of several major rivers and their numerous tributaries and canals. In fact, Bangladesh is the largest riverine delta in the world.
In Bangladesh, the cultural landmarks of antiquity range from the 3 BC to 19 AD. At the time of independence, the total number of monuments and sites protected in the then East Pakistan under the Ancient Monument Preservation Act was 80, whereas, the number has now increased to 345. The department of Archeology in Bangladesh, the government agency responsible for preservation and conservation of cultural property in the country has not only protected these monuments, but has also taken the responsibility to conserve them through specialised methods so that these are preserved in their original features for the posterity.
Sculpture, tapestry, engravings are developing along the main stream contemporary art, drama, mainly of indigenous origin, has distinct feature. Pantomime, puppet, theatre, caricature, acrobatics and circuses have their own novelties. Music in Bangladesh has developed through centuries along the three mainstreams-folk, modern and classical. Folk, tribal and classical are the prominent forms of dances.
Fairs and festivals, both religious and social always play a significant role in the life of the people of Bangladesh. Bengali New Year’s Day, Independence Day, National Martyr’s Day- the International Mother Language Day, Eid-ul-fitr, Eid-ul Azha, Durga Puja, Christmas Day, Buddha Purnima are a few of such occasions to mention. Beside these, various fairs and exhibitions are held throughout the country round the year.
The cultural resources of Bangladesh for tourism, such as the visual and performing arts, crafts, traditional dress, ceremonies, architecture and life styles are being technologically developed, interpreted and managed. These are also significant aspects of the cultural heritage of a particular area of Bangladesh, which are being preserved for the benefit of residents.
Visual arts and crafts are important attractions for tourists and can be a source of income for residence of the tourism areas including people living in village and rural areas. For the authenticity of local arts and crafts, these arts reflect local designs, materials and craft skills. The whole Bangladesh is famous for arts and crafts. Bangladesh has developed some special areas like Dhamrai, Comilla, Sonargaon, Rajshahi, which are famous for local arts and crafts. Government has taken some institutional measures for developing and marketing different sorts of visual arts and crafts.
Traditional dance, music and drama performances of Bangladesh are also of much interest to many tourists. There are also institutional training programmes in Bangladesh to ensure high quality levels of the performances.
The traditional music in Bangladesh shares the perspectives of that of the Indian sub-continent. Music in Bangladesh can be divided into three distinct categories - classical, folk and modern. The classical music, both vocal and instrumental is rooted in the remotepast of the sub-continent. Ustad Alauddin Khan and Ustad Ayet Ali Khan are two names in classical instrumental music who are internationally known. The store of folk song abounds in spiritual lyrics of Lalan Shah, Hasan Raja, Romesh Shill and many anonymous lyricists. Bangla music arena is enriched with Jari, Shari, Bhatiali, Murshidi and other types of folk songs. Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul Sangeet are Bangalees’ precious heritage.
Bangladesh has a rich tradition of art. Specimens of ancient terracotta and pottery show remarkable artistry. Modern painting was pioneered by artists like Zainul Abedin, Qamrul Hasan and S.M. Sultan. Zainul Abedin and S.M. Sultan earned worldwide fame by their stunning sketches of the Bengal Famine in 1943. Other famous artists of Bangladesh are Abdur Razzak, Qayyum Chowdhury, Murtaza Baseer, Aminul Islam, Debdas Chakraborty, Kazi Abdul Baset, Syed Jahangir, and Mohammad Kibria.
The other important segment of cultural tourism in Bangladesh is archaeological heritages. Cultural tourism based on archaeological heritages is being developed in a significant manner. It has a good market share compared to other segments of the tourism industry. Bangladesh believes cultural tourism can include all products associated with public archaeological promotion, including visit to archaeological sites, museums, interpretation centres, re-enactments of historical occurrences, and the rediscovery of indigenous products, festivals, etc.
Though the total enumeration of archaeological heritage sites in the country is not yet complete but the survey in four divisions i.e., Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal and Dhaka indicates that the number of sites of various nature and dimensions may be more than two thousand. So far only 417 have been declared as protected archaeological sites for which Department of Archaeology is supposed to preserve and promote. Of them about 30% are cultural mounds, which needs to be exposed and the rest are either standing monuments or exposed by archaeological excavation and subsequently preserved. The latter two categories include city site, palace, port, bridge, road, monastery, temple, mosque, tomb, fort, inns etc. Notable of them are Mahasthagarh and Pundranagar in Bogra district, Mainamati in Comilla district, 60-domed mosque (a UNESCO designated World Heriatge Site in Bagerhat district, Wari-Bateswar in Narsingdi District, Panam City in Narayanganj, Tajhat Zamindar Bari in Rangpur, Paharpur Monastery (also a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site) in Naogaon district, Kantaji Temple in Dinajpur District, Lalbag Fort in Dhaka, etc.