What began as a remembrance for legendary Lalon singer Farida Parveen in Mymensingh yesterday transformed into a cultural outcry against recent assaults on Baul traditions.
The programme, hosted by cultural collective Porompora at Baroitola on the banks of the Brahmaputra, honoured the late Lalonkonna with music, poetry and heartfelt tributes. But the stage soon became a platform for resistance.
Speakers and performers condemned the spate of cultural attacks, including the humiliating shaving of an elderly Baul’s beard and hair, and the desecration of sacred shrines that have shaken Bangladesh’s mystic folk community.
In a striking gesture of solidarity, Porompora president and poet Shamim Ashraf cut his own hair at the very start of the event, symbolising both protest and mourning.
Farida Parveen, revered for carrying forward Lalon’s philosophy through her voice, passed away on September 13.
The gathering not only remembered her legacy but also amplified a collective demand: to safeguard the Baul way of life from intolerance and aggression.
