The first ever Dhaka International Folk Festival, organised by Sun Events, sets off tomorrow. The three-day (November 12-14) festival awaits a number of soulful performances by both prominent and promising artistes from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Ireland and China. Noted Bangladeshi artistes - Chandana Majumdar and Kiran Chandra Roy are performing on the opening day. The artiste couple shared their visions on our rich folk music heritage, their planned performances and expectations from the festival.

Chandana Majumdar plans to perform three songs composed by three great Bangladeshi bards -Fakir Lalon Shai, Shah Abdul Karim and Radharaman Dutta while Kiran Chandra Roy may present three numbers, originally composed by Bijoy Sarkar, Akhil Thakur and one of his self composed songs.

"My expectation is that the festival in such a grand scale will return every year with newer surprises so that we can uphold the timeless heritage of our folk music. It is also a great opportunity to listen to varied folk melodies of world-renowned artistes from several countries. Last month, we

performed our folk music in Silchar, Shillong, India where the organiser Sharifuzzaman Lashkar's hospitality and the audience's appreciation of our performance captivated us," said Chandana Majumdar.

"Folk music represents our cultural roots. I expect Bangladeshi folk music and culture will be prominently reflected through this grand festival. World famous artistes will have an unparalleled experience of the power of our folk melodies; at the same time, we will learn about their folk songs. It will be a rare chance for cultural exchange," said Kiran Chandra Roy.