Trust you are well.
It was wonderful to see you all on Saturday, 10th April at the BAAWA Bangladesh Fair 2021 (Banglar Mela). As organizer, It was very satisfying to see all the happy faces, throughout the day and the best part was nobody wanted to leave the venue when the program ended. Even the younger generation were enjoying themselves in the beautiful atmosphere that you all created. Thank you! Thank you for believing in us, and coming in big numbers to welcome the Bengali new year 1428.
An event like Banglar Mela needs a lot of preparation, hard-work, planning, finances, manpower, dedication and so on, but more than anything it needs a lot of love and passion, and I see no lack of it from everyone who took part to make this year's mela possible.
On behalf of BAAWA, I would like to first thank our Platinum Sponsor – KI Group for coming forward and showing their support. Thanks to our Gold sponsor – Flexible Homes, Silver Sponsors – Indian Gourmet Cannington (Ausbangla) and Wattle Flooring & Outdoor Living, Bronze Sponsor DKD Accounting. Banglar Mela was also supported by the City of Canning.
Our cultural team, led by Dr. Tanmoy Deb Nath, assisted by Nusrat Zareen (Lima) and Partha Deb, yet again delivered a well planned, organized and beautifully executed cultural program that started with a colorful Mongol Shobhajatra. I would like to congratulate our Cultural team for their top effort and all the volunteers, performers, coordinators, and families of performers for their time and participation to produce such a vibrant cultural program. A list of performers and coordinators as provided by our Cultural Secretary can be found at the end of this email. My special thanks to our stage management team, led by Partha Deb, assisted by young Rakin and Mouno.
Thanks are due to our dearest Ms Sabera Sultana Apy bhabi for decorating the stage, entrance and the venue in general. Apy bhabi did an amazing job with help from young Saibah, Subah and Megha to give us a beautiful mela. The early morning wind didn't do justice to the effort and finished work of this hardworking team, but I know how passionately this team has worked to prepare these decorative items. Thank you!
Thanks to our Dress As You Like coordinator Dr. Tania Urmee and our Art Competition Coordinator Mr. Sharif Ahmed. Thanks to our judges as well – Dr. Meghna, Dr. Rita Afsar (for Dress-as-you-like) and Apy bhabi, Borsha bhabi (for Art competition)
I feel very proud and optimistic when I see our next generation get involved in any shape and form in BAAWA events. This year's mela was no different when it came to second or third generation's cultural participation. However, what was really outstanding is to see how our next generation of leaders stepped forward. Megha Mehreen Rahman and Subah Shahid – these two young ladies have coordinated a team of 19 volunteers (Priyanka, Sabira, Lamisa, Fareeha, Rishi, Barsha, Shreya, Mahir, Gourab, Tahseen, Adiba, Shaima, Ameer, Prasun, Sneha, Rozin, Ramin, Zeba, Shanila) who monitored the entrance, parking, cleaning, performer management, hand sanitizing station, venue setup and a lot of other tasks throughout the day. Well done, girls! And thank you all the volunteers for your wonderful effort!
I would like to thank our current Executive Committee for their time and effort. Specially, our President Dr. Shahedin Shahid (Rajoo) bhai has inspired us all to deliver what needed to be done to make this happen. I am indebted to AGS, Mr. Abu Saeed Anwar and Kifayat Islam Mazumder for managing the food stall so well, and for their overall assistance. Thanks to Anis bhai, Raj bhai, Sabbir bhai, Muzaffar bhai, Nipu bhai, Tarik bhai, Susan bhai, Jahangir Alam bhai, Shamsu bhai, Rabiul Hassan (Robin) bhai, Roni bhai, Tohura bhabi, Hashi bhabi, Ashraf bhai, Shumon bhai (Wattle Grove), Asif bhai, Bapon bhai, Maqsood bhai, Sarowar bhai for helping Saeed bhai and Kifayat.
Thank you once again.
Tasneemul Galib (Amit)
GS, BAAWA Inc.
Cultural program performer/coordinator/volunteer list as provided by the Cultural Secretary –
