MNS:- A high level eight member delegation led by Shri Abul Kalam Azad, Minister of Culture and Information, Republic of Bangladesh called on Kumari Selja, Minister of Culture and HUPA here today. During their half-an-hour meeting both the dignitaries exchanged views on further strengthening cultural ties between the two countries. India and Bangladesh share close historical, cultural and ethnic links. The cultural agreement between the two countries was first signed in Dhaka in December, 1972. They appreciated the successful implementation of a number of articles listed in the current Cultural Exchange Programme for the years 2010-12 between India and Bangladesh which was signed on 11th January, 2010 in New Delhi in the presence of the Prime Ministers of the two countries when the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina paid a State Visit to India.
The two ministers further exchanged ideas about capacity building and trainings of the officers and technical staff from Bangladesh in conservation and management of archaeological sites. It was agreed that both sides should increase the cultural exchanges between India and Bangladesh. For this purpose the Joint Commission as per article 31 of the current Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) should be activated so as to meet frequently to review the progress of the implementation of the CEP. Both sides also agreed to strengthen institution-to-institution coordination in the fields of conservation and restoration, drama, literature, fine arts and performing arts etc., apart from exchanging exhibitions. The delegation from Bangladesh expressed interest in the visit of a team led by DG, ASI to Bangladesh to do a training needs assessment on priority.
The visiting dignitary invited Culture Minister Kumari Selja to pay a visit to Bangladesh. The latter invited Shri Azad to the Culture Ministers Conference proposed to be held in New Delhi in February, 2013.
Shri Abul Kalam Azad, along with his 7 delegates, will now proceed to Kolkata for the presentation of replicas of the Padma and Chapola Boats on 12th September, 2012 to Visva Bharati University in Shantiniketan and Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata.
The Padma boat, along with the Kuthibari in Silaidaha in Bangladesh’s Kusthia district, in intrinsic to Tagore’s creative output, agree scholars. The poet is known to have used the houseboat regularly as a retreat in between his managerial duties at the family estate intermittently for a decade from 1890. On this Boat, Tagore began his English translation of ‘Gitanjali’. ‘Malini’ was also written in during this period.
The Chapala was a dinghy attached to the Padma. The poet used it to travel into narrow strips of water where the barge couldn’t go.
The present visit comes in the wake of the recently concluded 150th birth anniversary commemoration of Rabindranath Tagore.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/india-and-bangladesh-discuss-bilateral-cultural-cooperation/
