During the nine-month long Liberation War, thousands of people - both Chilians and the freedom fighters - wrote letters to their near and dear ones. These letters depict and document turmoil and life during the war. Recently Prothoma Publication, in association with the Bangla daily Prothom Alo and Grameenphone, published a collection of letters written by freedom fighters. The publication, titled "Ekatturer Chithi," has been considered an authentic account of the war.

The Central Recitation department. Bangladesh Udichi Shilpi Goshthi arranged a programme at the Shawkat Osman Auditorium. Central Public Library on June 4. Members of the organisation recited selected letters from "Ekatturer Chithi" at the programme.

The stage was designed to look like a battlefield. The dimmed lantern, makeshift bunker and a couple of (replicas of) firearms placed here and there created an apt ambiance. With the combat zone as the background, members of Udichi recited letters, one after another, that were written at the real battlefields.

The programme started with a recitation of a letter written by Shaheed Amanullah Chowdhury Faruk. Shaheed Faruk wrote the letter to his father few days before his death. Unsurprisingly, most of the letters recited at the programme, were written to mothers by the soldiers. A recitation of a letter by Shaheed Nurunnabi to his mother was next. Shaheed Nurunnabi was a student of Rajshahi Medical College and was at the front line of the Rajshahi battle zone.

Reciters chose to read out the letters chronologically, so that developments during the war could be better understood. A letter written by Shaheed Abdul .Aziz to his spouse on April 16,1971, followed Khorshed Alam's writing on April 23 to his mother Rahela Khatun.

A letter by Shaheed Rumi, son of Jahanara Imam, to his uncle, Pasha, on June 16,1971 was also part of the recitation.

Ataur Rahman Khan's letter to his daughter written on July 16,1971 outlined the sacrifices that the freedom fighters made during the war for their beloved motherland. A wounded freedom fighter Md. Abdur Rahim wrote a letter from his hospital bed to his mother on August 2,1971. He was bearing eight splinters in his body.

Belayet Hossain. Syed Saifullah, Sumit Paul, Moumita Jannat. Shikha Sen and Anita Rani Das. among others, recited the letters at the programme. Belayet Hossain directed the programme. Instrumental rendition of popular patriotic songs as the background music by Sunil Sarkar. .Almas Ali and Shahid respectively on keyboard, violin and flute added to4he| ambiance.