'Rainbow in a Heart' comes to Dhaka

Eldest daughter of Tajuddin Ahmad is visiting her homeland with a message of peace

Dhaka, Jan 3 (bdnews24.com) -Come weekend, Dhaka will be audience to a story that teaches of a revolution of the heart to promote love and peace in our world.

Sharmin Ahmad Reepi, the daughter of Bangladesh's first prime minister and Liberation War hero Tajuddin Ahmad, is bringing her dance drama Rainbow in a Heart to a Bangladeshi audience for the first time at Jatiya Shilpakala Academy on Jan 6 and 7, a media statement said.

Rosemary Mitu Gonsalves, a student of classical dance legend Gowhar Jamil and Rowshan, established the dance school Jago Art Centre in USA as an extension of the original school in Shilpakala Academy where she trained. She was the first to envision the book as a drama, and at her request, Sharmin composed the screenplay and two songs for the performance.

Rainbow in a Heart was originally a children's book that Sharmin authored in 2003.

She dedicated the book to her mother Zohra Tajuddin Lily, whose contributions to the Liberation War are substantial. It is now included in the English language Arts curriculum for the public schools in Montgomery, ranked among the best schools in the US.

So how was Sharmin inspired to write the book?

"My then five �year-old daughter asked me 'how have you become my mom?' The answer I gave her blossomed into a story which cherishes love as an ideal, peace as a goal and rebels against all forms of violence."

The story, she says, seeks to promote understanding between different cultures, and celebrates human universality through diversity. "It explores this possibility through a child's adventurous quest for a mother who can serve as a lifelong teacher and guide for universal harmony and peace. "

"In this technologically- advanced and fast spaced world, our children are witnessing, on a daily basis, the most gruesome forms of violence against humanity.

"Technology can provide material comfort and mastery over information, but to promote love and peace a revolution of the heart is needed."

The first performance of the dance drama was held on Sep 19 last year at F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre in Rockville, Maryland.

Sharmin said she was excited to finally bring this work to her homeland.

"We have dedicated the dance drama to our mothers' Stella Sandhya Rebeiro and Zohra Tajuddin who have been the greatest inspirations of our lives," the two producers said in a statement.

bdnews24.com/corr/mi/sh/nir/0123h