MUSE: 50 Years of Bangladesh Special Issue Launching Ceremony

MUSE: 50 Years of Bangladesh Special Issue Launching Ceremony

Publish Date: 
Friday, December 17, 2021

The Department of English and Humanities at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) organized the launching ceremony of the 50 Years of Bangladesh special issue of MUSE, the Mouthpiece of ULAB Students of English, the student e-magazine of the Department, on December 17, 2021 in celebration of the Victory Day of Bangladesh. The event took place online with the Pro-Vice Chancellor of ULAB and Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, Professor Shamsad Mortuza, the Head of the Department, Ms. Arifa Ghani Rahman, current students of BA and MA, and the faculty members of DEH in attendance.

Currently in an e-version, MUSE has been a publication platform for the students of DEH since 2014. Under the editorial guidance of the Head of the Department and the Faculty Advisor, an Editorial Board, comprised of six students who work as sub-editors, plan, write, make selections of submissions, edit, and publish the magazine. The special issue had DEH Lecturers, Ms. Qazi Mustabeen Noor and Ms. Nishat Atiya, at the helm. The sub-editors were Anika Labiba Ahmed, Shahriyer Hossain Shetu, Fairuz Maliha Surma, Md. Sahedul Islam Hira, Quazi Farhina Hassan, and Umme Hani Anika.

The program commenced with the opening remarks and heartfelt regards to the successful launching ceremony by Ms. Arifa Ghani Rahman, Associate Professor and Head of DEH. The Pro-Vice Chancellor, ULAB, and Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, Professor Shamsad Mortuza, officially declared the inauguration of the special edition of MUSE, Fall 2021. As the first Editor of MUSE, he reminisced about the past issues and congratulated the entire editorial board for successfully launching the e-magazine. 

A cultural segment was put together to celebrate the Victory Day and the success of MUSE. Students of DEH from different batches were involved in this segment. Marzuk Ahmed Khan Mojlish (183) kicked off this segment with a fitting instrumental rendition of the Bangladeshi national anthem. This was followed by poetry recitations in Bangla and English by Humaira Mehnaz Audity (193) and Lamia Jashim Uddin (183). From Batch 201, Tasfiyah Saba sang the song, Muktiro mondiro shopano tole, as her tribute to the heroes of ‘71. Shushmita Roy Ushno from Batch 181 performed a beautiful dance to the song Dhono Dhanno Pushpe Bhora which was followed by a rocking performance of “Rokto diye naam likhechi” by Alen Henry Costa (211). Anika Labiba Ahmed (173), a student of DEH and a self-taught artist, was interviewed by the MUSE team. She described how, during the pandemic, she taught herself to paint and produced some brilliant works of art which were showcased during the launching ceremony. Former MUSE sub-editors, Radia-al-Rashid and Sofia Zafrin, shared their wonderful memories as MUSE alumni. 

The highlight of the launching ceremony of MUSE was the segment that paid tribute to the 50 years of Bangladesh with love letters written and voiced by MUSE sub-editors. Abrar Farhan Zaman (191) was an integral part of the writing and editing process of the video. A short video also showcased the best submissions of MUSE as a token of appreciation to all its contributors. 

The cultural segment concluded with a cover of the famous George Harrison number, “Bangladesh”- performed by Marzuk and Zahir. 

The MUSE team gave their sincere thanks to all its contributors for giving Bangladesh hope about the future of creative writing. 

At the end of the program, Ms. Nishat Atiya Shoilee, DEH Lecturer and MUSE Advisor, delivered the vote of thanks with heartfelt remarks about the team and to all who supported them in successfully launching this special issue of MUSE. The event was hosted by Shahriyer Hossain Shetu, Teaching Assistant of DEH and Sub-editor at MUSE. 

The video segments can be viewed at the DEH YouTube channel.

Report by Shahriyer Hossain Shetu (182013004), Teaching Assistant, DEH