Madhu Mela begins in Jessore Saturday

A weeklong Madhu Mela, marking the 193rd birth anniversary of celebrated Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutta, will begin at Michael Madhusudan Academy at Sagardari in Keshabpur upazila on Saturday.

State Minister of Public Administration Ismat Ara Sadique is expected to inaugurate the fair, to be arranged by the Cultural Affairs Ministry and the district administration of Jessore, on the bank of the Kobadak River at 3:00pm on the day.
On the occasion, discussions will be held every day where eminent litterateurs, poets, educationists, writers, lyrics and dramatists will participate.
The discussion meetings on the life, works and teachings of the great poet will be followed by sessions of recitation, cultural functions, dances and dramas.
Reputed singers and vocalists from Dhaka and other parts of the country will participate in the programmes.
The weeklong Madhu Mela will also include jatra, circus, puppet show, doll-dance and Kabi gaan.
 A large number of people from all ages are expected to throng the fair every day.
A views-exchange meeting was held at Sagardari Madhu Mancha Auditorium on January 16 for smoothly holding the fair.
Widely considered one of the greatest poets in Bangla literature and a pioneer of Bangla sonnets, Madhusudan was born at Sagardari village on January 25, 1824.
He was educated at Hindu College in Kolkata. He later converted to Christianity from Hinduism. He pioneered Bangla drama.
His famous Meghnadh Bodh, a seminal work in Bangla literature, is a modern rendition of the heroic epic.
Madhusudan's genius and appeal was in his willingness to break from the past without abandoning it. His work ushered in the modern age for Bangla literature. He used the exceptional blank verse style in Bangla poetry.

Source: UNB