Artistic Director of Shadhona and Cultural Activist of South Asia, Lubna Mariam enlightens the world on her ideologies on the evolution of culture and how it shapes us. Humayra Rahman Mitul is all ears
When was the last time you walked down the longest beach in the world or taken a stroll through the aromatic tea estates of Sylhet? It’s an undeniable fact that cultural influences from all over the world are strong catalysts in determining any lifestyle. With the towering influence of the Western world, Lubna says that this may not be a bad thing entirely. “I believe that culture and innovation goes hand in hand and as soon as it stands still, it stagnates and is destroyed.”
“Culture is everything – from what activities we participate in to what we eat or wear. The negative effect of the western culture is consumerism as it has changed the urban centres. We will still find the plurality of culture in rural societies,” claims the dancer.
Another problem that Lubna points out is the failure of the education system. “Education has to be rethought, with the influence of the internet reaching far and wide. Now is an exciting time with many possibilities; all that needs be done is to utilise the energy properly and the whole world can be conquered,” Lubna exclaims. She also adds, “An unfortunate tendency in Bangladesh is the rise of ‘mediocrity’. Mediocrity arises due to an unwillingness to push ourselves to reach the best of our potential and it is, again unfortunately, a majoritarian propensity. Since we believe that the majority of the population is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, Bangladesh ends up taking popular decisions based on mediocrity. We can overcome this if we allow minority voices of reason to rise above the cacophony of mediocrity,” she reveals.
Many enlightened cultures have been witness to our rich history. “We have a lot to learn from personalities like Lalon, Rabrindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam and Atish Dipankar who have uplifted our culture.” Lubna emphasises.
Despite political agendas Lubna believes that the greatest strength Bangladesh has is in their tolerant lifestyle. “There are so many ethnic cultures living together in harmony. We have not leaned towards fundamentalism despite strong and dominant Islamic influences. Building walls and creating division will ultimately cause our downfall. Ordinary people do not think in-depth; we are swayed by aspirations created by transnational lifestyles,” asserts Lubna.
Shadhona has a feminist dance project called ‘Shakti’ to empower young dancers, include issues of social justice into their work in mainstream performances. “ ‘Shakti’ aims to create a space for critical reflection, based on the conviction that the arts, and the artistes who practice them do not exist in a vacuum but are active participants in the process of shaping our culture. It aims to direct young dancers and performers to believe that creativity and imagination are powerful instruments to change lives and build a better world.”
The folk performing arts centre Shadhona is set to launch its new project, Nurturing Intangible Cultural Heritage in Bangladesh. “We plan to continue our Manipuri Dance Teaching Project ‘dhrumel’ which we conduct in Komolganj (Srimongol) with the help of a local group Manipuri Theatre.”
Lubna also plans to collaborate with the folk performances of ‘Manasa Mangal’ (The Myth of Manasa) and work with the various ‘lathikhela’ groups all over the country. Lubna discloses what we can expect from Shadhona in the next few months.
“ek pa egiye (ONE STEP FORWARD), a four month long Contemporary Dance Residency, in conjunction with the American Center and World Dance Alliance – Asia Pacific, will commence soon as well. We have a dance production on Muslin Hawaye Indrojal coming up, which we are producing for Drik. Lastly, we plan to continue our series of Indological Lectures,” she adds.
“I believe dancing is a powerful art, as not only does it display a burst of emotions but also it defies cultural strains that a woman cannot perform in public and from what I see Bangladesh has not lost its way.”
Bangladesh has an extraordinary history of a confluence of belief systems, where Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism have come together to leave for us a profoundness beyond mundane socio-cultural structures. “I strongly feel young people should explore these and rise above present day parochialism and intolerance. East Bengal, now Bangladesh, has always celebrated a willingness to allow the existence of opinions or behaviour that one does not necessarily agree with. This is who we are.” Lubna asserts passionately.
Lubna is proud of the twenty years (1952 to 1971) of vibrant language and cultural movement which has instilled a lot of values and cultural norms in the people and she encourages the masses to revisit and discuss our heritage so that all that was gained is not lost. “For a country as small as Bangladesh we have twenty-nine ethnic communities living together. We must get to know them all and revel in the plurality of our culture. This will continue to make us a tolerant nation.” As we take off, Lubna’s final words to generation, “Walk around Bangladesh, explore, be proud of your heritage!”