WB CM Ms Mamata Banerjee arrived at Dhaka yesterday after 17 long years to attend the Bhasa Divas ceremony.
She has been invited as the chief guest of the ceremony by the Bangladesh Government. This is her first visit to Bangladesh as the Chief Minister of West Bengal.
Stregthening cultural ties
‘Baithaki Bangla’ was the first engagement of the Chief Minister which was a platform for interaction between the luminaries of both the countries from the world of literature, drama, music. She would be later meeting the President and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh during her stay.
The cultural fraternity of both sides of Bengal met and discussed how to strengthen cultural ties and standing relations between West Bengal and Bangladesh.
Rising above borders
WB CM Ms Mamata Banerjee called this initiative as a ‘meeting of minds’. At Baithaki Bangla, the CM said that no border in the world can divide the hearts of two Bengals. She proposed a series of steps to cement the cultural bond between her state and Bangladesh, including the construction of a “Bangabandhu Bhaban”, a building to be named after the country’s founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“Political geography has divided us, but there is no division in our two minds. I feel proud to be a part of the Bhasa Divas celebration,” she said during her interaction with litterateurs and cultural figures.
Here is what she tweeted after Baithaki Bangla:
Last evening I arrived at Dhaka after 17 years! #BaithakiBangla was out first engagement.
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) February 20, 2015
Luminaries from the world of literature, film, drama, music from both sides met for a heart to heart interaction in stimulating environment
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) February 20, 2015
We discussed how cultural exchanges can mutually benefit and further strengthen long standing relation between Bangladesh and West Bengal
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) February 20, 2015