Breaking News:

Shotoborsher Pothik

.
Sheikh Arif Bulbon :

Momin Ali Mridha, popularly known as ‘Dadu’ to all, died on December 20 last year as over hundred-years-old. He was the first model of Charukala. Dadu moved to Dhaka when the Language Movement was at its peak. He worked as a gardener at the bungalow of the then district magistrate Ali Ahmed. That is where he came in touch with Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin who brought Dadu to the Institute of Fine Arts as a model. Since then, he had met many artists.
There are thousands of portraits of Dadu made by students, for whom he modelled. He was a musician as well, and a well travelled man. His earthen jewellery was quite popular.
As a young man, Dadu travelled to distant places of India including Dimapur, Kohima, Manipur and Meghalaya. The World War II broke out when he was young.
Photographer Shahadat Parvez had been snapping portraits of the model for the last eight years.
Dhaka Art Centre (DAC) organised a launching ceremony of a bi-lingual photo album titled “Shatoborsher Pothik” (The tireless traveller from Bangladesh) by photographer Shahadat Parvez, at its gallery in the city’s Dhanmondi area recently. The book is featured as many as 70 photographs of ‘Dadu.’
Eminent educationist Dr Anisuzzaman, famous puppeteer and artist Mustafa Monowar and renowned artist Rafiqun Nabi unveiled the photo album.
The opening ceremony began through a flute presentation from Dadu’s friend Labu Mia. However, an exhibition featured 20 selected photographs those were on display on the wall at the Dhaka Art Centre’s gallery.
While shearing his feelings about Dadu, Shahadat Parvez said, “Mridha becoming ‘Dadu’ has an interesting background. Artist SM Sultan used to call him that. But the fact is he has earned this endearing term by virtue of his love for every living being.”
“Dadu always considered Charukala to be his home. He believed in art with the commitment of an insider, and had decided to stay at Charukala till his last breath,” said Parvez.
Shahadat Parvez is a professional photographer, writer and photography trainer. He was born on October 8, 1977 in a village at Bhaber Char of Gazaria in Munshigonj. He had the desire to become a poet and wrote some poems in his teens. He later started taking photographs, which finally became his profession.
His formal journey into the photographic world began with a training course with Chanchal Mahmud School of Photography in 1999. He later received higher education in photojournalism with Pathshala-The South Asian Institute of Photography.
Parvez is now working as a senior photojournalist with Prothom Alo. He has won many awards including the Asahi Shimbun Gold Medal in 2006, Honourable Mention in the first Asia Press Photo Contest in 2006, second APPC Gold Medal in 2007 and Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO Award in 2008.
He organised his first solo photographic exhibition named “The Journey of a Legend” at the Faculty of Fine Arts in the University of Dhaka in 2008. He has also held many photographic exhibitions with others. He also takes fancy to making documentaries on children, nature, birds, rivers and the underprivileged people. n