About

A Journey for ICH Bangladesh

Our Story

The name of the Organization is Bhābanagara Foundation. It was formally established in 2011.

Though the organization is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh, it has outreach location at Somapura Mahavihara monastery (presently called Paharpur Buddhavihara) in Naogaon district and Mohastangarh in Bogra district, the two renowned spots of world’s heritage. However, our activities operational areas are spread across the Bangladesh especially in the districts of Kurigram, Rangpur, Comilla, Sylhet, Kushtia, Mymensing, Netrokona, Kishoreganj, Chattagram and Bramhanbaria where testimonies of intangible cultural heritage are living and in practice.

Despite of its formal inception in 2011, the founder Chair of the Organization, Dr. Saymon Zakaria has been continuously working with the Baul-Fakirs closely since 1990. Thus, he has been collecting Baul songs and making and updating the List of elderly and guru Bauls as well as observing their food and health habits including their traditional way of producing, collecting and distributing foods. He has lead UNESCO’s research team for Action Plan for the Setting of Baul Songs Project during 2008 to 2010. All these experiences inspired him and the peers to establish Bhābanagara Foundation.

Since the beginning, Bhābanagara Foundation organized seminars and symposiums on Ethnomusicology and folk Performances in Dhaka; workshop on the Implementation of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage based on field work across villages in Manikganj district; musical dance performance based on traditional Bishad Jari; Sadhu Paribarer Gaan (The songs of Sadhu Family) performed by sadhu families using traditional musical instruments without unnatural sound systems and so on.

In 12^th May 2014, the Organization started Bhābanagara Sadhusongo on every Wednesday of the week with the motto of face-to-face interaction through sadhan samgeet, philosophic, literary and folk culture discussion in the context of ever-changing socio-economic-cultural-scientific and technological trend. Youth group of Bhābanagara along with scholars, academicians and practitioners get together at Sadhusongo that meaningfully contribute to safeguarding of cultural heritage and national and global development perspectives.

In 2015 Bhābanagara started the venture of revival of ancient Bengali Buddhist Mystic songs of Charyapada in easy contemporary Bangla Language using traditional tunes supported by indigenous musical instruments that the Baul-Sufi practitioners of marginalized economic background perform. In the project, there is equal participation of women Baul-Sufi Sadhakas regardless of social status.  In 2013, Bhābanagara in coordination with the associate organization VIAAN organized special exhibition on the theme of the “The dream’s Wear: Influenced by folk painting and song” in Dhaka.  Bhābanagara Foundation organized regularly cultural tourism event for exchanging rural and urban practices of folk culture. Bhābanagara Foundation also publishes Bhābanagara, an international journal of Bengal Studies twice a year. The journal publishes fresh articles on Bangla Studies. It is an open access online journal.

Bhābanagara is documenting the Intangible Cultural Heritage and Folklores of Bangladesh by its fieldwork-base research.

Bhābanagara Foundation’s core objective is establishing a cultural force through its vision and mission to highlight the national image in the eyes of the international audience. It is committed to reviving the cultural origin and spreading the essence of its beauty in order draw back attention to the roots.

Its mission is articulating age old multidimensional language, literature, education procedure and cultural performances among people in-country and abroad by coordinating and preserving relevant research works done and going all over Bangladesh and West Bengal of India as well as overseas on Bangla language, literature and culture. The organizations wants capturing best practices specific communities carrying on to persuade responsible actors active in achieving sustainable development goal for equally including every individual and community in the global and national development processes.

Bhābnagara Foundation and its members possess expertise in adapting unique practices of traditional and contemporary indigenous and academic knowledge. It deals in diverse geographic dialect based occupational culture, life style, stories and performances for archiving, promoting and sharing with practitioners and non-practitioners, academic and non-academic audiences. The organization has strong communication and involvement with scholars and institutes all over the world engaged in intangible cultural heritage of Bangladesh and West Bengal – oral and written. Local institutes including Bangla Academy and mainstream media recognize Bhābnagara’s works with due importance. It has outstanding event management and facilitation capacity that contribute to both government and non-government initiatives regarding cultural heritage and linkages with the development plans and operational schemes.    

Highlights

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc pretium enim nec ex molestie mattis. Sed non pellentesque mauris. Vivamus imperdiet turpis lacus, id consequat eros condimentum eget habitant morbi