Narrating the extraordinary tales of Bengali voyager Hariprabha Takeda, also revered as the 'first Bengali modern woman of Dhaka', a travel documentary titled ‘Hariprabha Takeda: an unsung traveller of Bengal’ was screened on Saturday, 5 pm at the Liberation War Museum (LWM), Agargaon in the capital.
Produced by traveller and documentary filmmaker Eliza Binte Elahi, the Rashik Barikdar directed Japanese Ambassador in Dhaka Ito Naoki as the chief guest joined documentary’s inaugural screening.
LWM trustee Mofidul Hoque and Dhaka University’s Department of History Bangabandhu Chair Professor Muntasir Mamun were also present at the inaugural screening as the special guests.
Praising Eliza Binte Elahi’s effort behind producing the captivating story of the first Bengali modern woman of Dhaka, guests and audiences lauded the documentary film after its inaugural screening at the LWM auditorium.
“On behalf of our Embassy and all the Japanese people, I wholeheartedly thank Eliza for initiating the documentary, which must have faced difficulties in the making under this Covid situation. You have dealt with the subject, which goes beyond the border for Bangladesh, so this is a cultural story regarding the cultural exchange between Japan and Bangladesh. I was really stunned while watching this documentary," ambassador Naoki said at the event.
"I learned about the story of Hariprabha Takeda three months ago, when I attended the Cosmos Foundation’s virtual dialogue on "Bangladesh-Japan Relations: Prognosis for the Future" from renowned Bangladesh scholar Monzurul Huq, who really emphasized the significance of Hariprabha’s story, and the history of Japan and Bangladesh; the friendship and partnership between the two countries, and the people to people exchange.
She was a courageous woman, a pioneer who overcame the difficulties of her time. Though there are cultural similarities between Japan and Bangladesh (rice culture, fish eating culture etc) which might have helped her to get familiarized herself in Japan, nonetheless, her story is truly fascinating,” Naoki said at the event.
Professor Muntasir Mamun emphasized on the cultural impact made by Hariprabha Takeda, whom he referred to as the “first Bengali modern woman in history” in his previous scholarly article for ‘Kali o Kalam’ magazine and in the documentary itself.
-UNB