Alpona isa traditional form of art using local motifs and patterns in a repetitive manner.The biggest Alpona festival, ‘Alponay Boishakh 1431’, will be organized welcoming the month of Boishakh- the first month of Bengali calendar to highlight Bengali art and culture. Artists are all set to paint the streets again. Asiatic Experiential Marketing Limited, Banglalink Digital Communications Limited and Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited have organized this event jointly.
A press conference was held at AS Mahmood Seminar Hall, Daily Star Center on April 8 to give details about the event. Asiatic Three-Sixty Group Managing Director Eresh Zaker, Asiatic EXP Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Sayem, internationally renowned artist Monirul Islam, artist Sheikh Moniruzzaman Liton, Banglalink Digital Communication Limited Chief Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Officer Taimur Rahman, Chief Legal Officer of the organization, Zahrat Adib Chowdhury, Chief Operating Officer and Director of Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited Md. Mohsin Habib Chowdhury and Chief Marketing Officer of the company Tanzin Ferdous Alam were present in the press conference.
From 2012 to 2019, Asiatic Experiential Marketing Limited has been organizing Alpona drawings titled ‘Alponay Boishakh’ at Dhaka’s Manik Mia Avenue and in different places of the country to organize Pohela Boishakh, a festival of Bengalis. Although Alpona festival was not organized for the past few years due to the global pandemic of Covid-19, ‘Alponay Boishakh 1431’ is finally back with its eighth edition. This year, traditional Alpona will be drawn in three cities of the country including Dhaka to spread the charm of Boishakh across the country. The locations are Manik Mia Avenue, Dhaka; Shib Bari Mor of Khulna and Mithamoin in Kishoreganj.
The event will start on April 12 at 3 pm at Mithamain, Kishoreganj. The next day (April 13, 2024) from 8:30 PM onwards, the Alpona Drawing Festival will start simultaneously at Shib Bari Mor in Khulna and Manik Mia Avenue in Dhaka. In this year’s Alpona, on Baishakh 1431, an attempt will be made to create a world record for the longest Alpana in the world by drawing a 14 km Alpana from Mithamin Zero Point in Kishoreganj to Ashtagram Zero Point.
Speaker of Jatiya Sangsad Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury will be the chief guest in the organization of Dhaka. Besides, Asiatic Three-Sixty Chairman Asaduzzaman Noor, Co-Chairperson Sara Zaker, Group Managing Director Eresh Zaker, Berger Paints Managing Director Rupali Chowdhury, Banglalink Digital Communication Chief Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Officer Taimur Rahman and Shilpi Moniruzzaman will be present.
Also, senior officials of Asiatic Three-Sixty, Asiatic EXP, Berger Paints and Banglalink Digital Communications will attend the event in Mithamoin and Khulna. Earlier, on April 6, the official announcement of ‘Alponay Boishakh 1431’ was made at Dhaka’s Manik Mia Avenue.