[Perthbashi] Vote of Thanks Banglar Mela 2023

BAAWA organised colourful extravaganza ‘Banglar Mela’ on 18^th March. This year we celebrated harmony week, spring as per Bengali calendar and Bengali new year 1430. The most awaited event of the cultural calendar, which is celebrated outdoors, engaged hundreds of community members throughout the day. The cultural program lasted over 6 hours and consisted of colourful songs, dances, recitation and skit.

Community members contributed towards creating banners and colourful items symbols representing Bengali culture used in Banglar mela rally. The venue decoration reminded us about Ramna Botomul and it was planned and executed by none other than our very talented Zarin Zahid, supported by Kazi Tanveer Shahid Kingshuk. 

There were various competitions for children and adult such as jemon khushi temon sajo, Bengali handwriting competition and children’s art competition. Thanks to the coordinators Suchi Barua, Dr. Tania Urmee and Sharif Ahmed for making these events run smoothly. Thanks to all community members who participated with enthusiasm. The adult hand writing competition was held for the first time and it was received passion and fervour.

We had close to 40 members participating in fashion parade. The parade was coordinated by Simi Khan. A huge thanks to Ananyna’s collection, RnZ fashion and Gleemium fashion for supporting the segment.

A program of such large scale is not possible without hours of voluntary contribution from community members who contributed by making elements for decoration, Banglar mela rally, helping with set up, back stage management, performer management, stage clean up and pack up.

We had number of second generation volunteers helping with all aspects. Their dedication and hard work is definitely praiseworthy. 

The cultural subcommittee has been working relentlessly to make the program possible. Tasneemul Galib Amit and Nafisa Chowdhury coordinated the sound tracks for the event. Cultural subcommittee members Tanzeeb Shahid Kaushik, Suchi Barua, Dr. Tania Urmee, Suchi Barua helped with various aspects of the day. Tasneemul Galib Amit, Zareen Lima and Nafia Chowdhury helped with planning and execution. Thanks are also due to Raisa Anwar and Sithi Chakraborty for their contributions.

BAAWA cultural secretary Abu Saeed Anwar and BAAWA president Dr. Anisur Rahman provided all around support for the cultural subcommittee. EC members volunteered to make the day possible.

Thanks to all the coordinators who put in hours of hard work to make the day possible. Every coordinator faced the time constraint challenge. This year post covid many of our community members were away throughout January and February, which made it particularly challenging for group coordinators to get all the members together for rehearsals. Every coordinator tried their best to present the best possible outcome over the short span of time and definitely deserve a huge thanks for their hard work and dedication.

Thanks to all the performers on the day for their beautiful performances. I have received many positive feedback from the audience about how captivating the items were. 

The table below contain itemised list of performers and coordinators. My sincere apologies in advance if I have omitted any name in error.