Sixth International Folklore conference 2002
In celebration of lore and folk
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Anotable gathering of folklore lovers could be seen on both the days of the two-day long 6th International Folklore Conference 2002 organised by the Bangladesh Folklore Society. The opening day conference was held at the ICMAB Auditorium, Nilkhet, Dhaka, on November 1, 2002. The second day's conference, on November 2 was held far from the madding crowd of the capital city, at Tepantor, Bhaluka in Mymensingh. The core theme of the conference was The Study of Folklore in the Modern World.
Professor Mazharul Islam in his paper, The Study of Folklore in the Modern World presented an elaborate discussion on the beginning of the human civilization and the awakening of the creative urge in men and women. He also suggested that 'folklorists are very much indebted to the scholars of many academic disciplines, such as historians, literary critics, anthropologists, linguists' and social scientists. The study of folklore gradually has been set to scientific approach. He also added that a modern day folklorist cannot avoid the understanding of the genres of folklore through structural analysis. Another important aspect of the paper was that where Professor Mazharul Islam pointed to the importance of the aesthetic elements that can be found in the subject of analysis, because ' the aesthetic sense of creative man found their expression' in the treasured aspects of folklore.
The second day of the 6th International Folklore Conference was held, so to say, on the lap of nature. The first session was held in Shalbon. The delegates and people interested in folklore were taken to the rural setting by bus in the morning. A large number of scholars and thinkers congregated at the conference, though the small number of scholars from abroad did not please the President of the Bangladesh Folklore Society professor Mazharul Islam. The reception committee, which included a number of scholars worked hard to contact the notable scholars in other countries. Professor Mazharul Islam, just before his presidential address, regretted the fact that the letters sent to those scholars, by the postal division of Bangladesh, took more than one month to reach their destination. A short cultural function was organised on the second day, at Tepantor, in Bhaluka, in Mymensingh, of the conference before announcing the end to the 6th International Folklore Conference 2002.
Dr. Joshi, from Nepal, in his address at the first day of the conference in Dhaka, expressed his hope that one day the celebration of tradition and indigenous cultures will bring the world together. Globalization, so to say, is uprooting indigenous cultures that men have treasured for long. But it can be easily understood that this process, if it goes on, will alienate people.Exchange of views and culture on the other hand is a way to add more and enrich the hitherto rich treasure, that is folklore.
Folklore is a pure and pristine treasure that belongs to many races and communities of the world. And a conference like this will surely help folklore to find a solid ground in the world where it can stand and enlighten the new generations that encounter a dynamic and changing world everyday.
Courtesy:
Saiful Islam &
The Daily Star
