Memories of Shaheed Altaf Mahmud and the Liberation War returned to the stage at Chhayanaut auditorium on Saturday, where survivors recalled the dawn raid that changed their lives forever.
Smriti 71 organised the programme to honour the composer of ‘Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano Ekushey February’ and remember those who never returned. The organisation also announced a research grant to help recover Mahmud’s lost songs.
Comrade and painter Abul Barq Alvi, banker Nasser Bakhtiar and singers Linu Billah and Khanu Billah shared memories of their imprisonment and survival. Bakhtiar asked, “Why did we return, and why didn’t Altaf?”
Mahmud was taken from his Dhaka home on 30 August 1971 after freedom fighters’ weapons were discovered there. He was never seen again and is believed to have been killed in September after torture.
The evening also featured the documentary ‘Hridoye Ekattor’, a play and performances of songs composed by Mahmud.
