A three-day Lalon Fair will kick-off on Wednesday, March 20, at Lalon’s Shrine in Cheuriya, Kumarkhali, of Kushtia district. The fair is being organized as a memorial festival to commemorate the life of Lalon Fakir, with an accompanying village fair.
On the night of Dol Purnima, this three-day festival will be officially inaugurated at the Academy premises of Lalon’s Shrine. The festival is being organized by Lalon Academy with the support of the Cultural Affairs Ministry and Kushtia District Administration. The theme for this festival are the immortal words of Lalon Fakir: “If the negativity of one’s heart passes away, then one shall see all the positive things.”
The festival will be inaugurated by Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, energy adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The special guest for the inaugural ceremony will be Bangladesh Awami League’s Joint General Secretary and Member of Parliament (MP) of Kushtia-3 constituency, Mahbubul Alam Hanif. The inaugural ceremony will be presided by Kushtia’s Deputy Commissioner (DC), Md Aslam Hossain.
On the second day of the fair, the chief guest will be State Minister for Cultural Affairs, KM Khalid, with Kushtia- 1 constituency MP, AKM Sarwar Jahan Badshah, as special guest. The chief guest for the third day will be Khulna’s Divisional Commissioner, Lokman Hossain Miah. Police Superintendent (SP) SM Tanvir Arafat is the special guest on that day.
In order to prevent any kind of unpleasant incident at this three-day festival, several layers of security have been introduced by the district administration.
Kushtia’s DC, Md Aslam Hossain, said: “For the sake of the Lalon Fair and the village fair, security at the Lalon Shrine and nearby areas has been strengthened. The entire area of the shrine will be monitored by closed-circuit cameras. District police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Detective Branch (DB), and undercover agents of law enforcement agencies will also be on patrol around the festival. At the same time, our executive magistrates will also have key responsibilities for the Lalon Fair.”
A discussion and cultural program will be held at the open stage of Lalon shrine. On the banks of the Kalinga river, a village fair has started, selling all kinds of different items.
Chief Khadem of the Lalon Shrine, Fakir Muhammad Ali Shah, said: “Thousands of Lalon devotees, from every background, are already streaming towards the shrine from different countries around the world.”
Preparations for the Fair are already complete. Many devotees and followers of Lalon Fakir have already taken their place at Lalon shrine. The shrine area has a colourful atmosphere with the impending festival.
The festival will end on March 22.
