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Abul Khair Litu

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Abul Khair Litu
Born (1950-10-07) 7 October 1950 (age 74)
Dhaka, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan
NationalityBangladeshi
OccupationBusinessman
Years active1986 -
Known forPromotion of the country's culture, art, music, theatre and literature
Notable workBengal Foundation
SpouseMahua Khair[1]
RelativesAbdur Razzaq (uncle)[2]

Abul Khair Litu (born 7 October 1950) is a Bangladeshi industrialist and entrepreneur. He is known for his involvement in the promotion of the country's culture, art, music, theatre and literature.

Early life and education

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Khair was born on 7 October 1950[3] in Dhaka, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan (now Bangladesh).[4] His father was Abdul Khalek and his mother was Mumtaz Khalek.[5] He had a brother Asfar Khair and two sisters, Naqveen and Nazneen.[6]

Mumtaz Khalek was an artist. When Khair was in about class VIII he organized a solo exhibition of at least 30 of her drawings in the teacher's lounge of his school, Armanitola Government High School. They were lost after the exhibition.[5][7] Khair's uncle Abdur Razzaq, a Dhaka University professor with whom he lived for a period, was another person who instilled in Khair a passion for the art and culture of Bangladesh.[7] When Khair was a child, Razzaque would take him along on visits to his close friend, artist Zainul Abedin.[5]

Khair obtained a bachelor's degree in commerce from Dhaka University in 1972.[4]

Career

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He went to work in his father's factory, Purbasha Glass Industry in 1972.[8] The next year he started his own business.[7] His interactions with the artists who he met through his uncle inspired him to start his own art collection,[9] so around 1973 he began buying artwork. Early purchases included paintings by Zainul Abedin and SM Sultan.[7]

By the mid-1970s, Khair was chairman of Bengal Group.[10] In 1981, he co-founded Arab Bangladesh Bank (later AB Bank), the first private sector bank in the country. He was president of Abahani Sporting Club from 1982 to 1987.[11]

Khair set up the Bengal Foundation, a private trust funded by the Bengal Group, in 1986 to promote the art and culture of Bangladesh.[11]

Bengal Foundation

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Main article: Bengal Foundation

Over a span of twenty-five years since its inception, the Bengal Foundation has promoted a variety of visual and performing arts and crafts, with regular local, regional and international events. One such prominent event is a series of monthly music concerts where admission is free. The Bengal Foundation also holds demonstrations, seminars and workshops, and awards scholarships for those interested in studying Bangladeshi music.[12]

Bengal Classical Music Festival

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Perhaps one of the most popular events organized by the Bengal Foundation is the Bengal Classical Music Festival. The Bengal Classical Music Festival is the world's largest classical music festival in terms of number of performers on a single stage, audience capacity and duration.[13] The festival started its journey in 2012 and since then organized events every year with amazing success. Brilliant performers from all over the world like Abhijit Banerjee, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Kaivalya Kumar Gurav, Budhaditya Mukherjee, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty and many others have performed on this stage.

Bengal Foundation awards

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Litu has instituted a number of awards through the Bengal Foundation to encourage established as well as emerging Bangladeshi artists.

The Bengal Foundation Award, instituted in 1998, is awarded to an artist for commendable work in the National Art Exhibition organised by the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.[14] The Master Craftsperson's award has been instituted in association with the National Crafts Council. It is the highest honour for praiseworthy work in the crafts field.[15]

Art museums and galleries

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Litu converted one of his residences to establish the Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts in the year 2000. It is one of the earliest professionally run art galleries in Bangladesh, and is also the largest private one. Till date, the BGFA has showcased the work of over 250 artists and produced 35 documentary films.[12][16] He has also unveiled plans to set up 'Art Lounges' in places where important policymakers and strategists convene. A part of his art collection is being used to decorate them. The first lounge is the Bengal Art Lounge in the Dhaka Club.[17]

Litu also announced the building of the Bengal Museum of Contemporary Arts and Crafts, slated to be the largest private arts and crafts museum in South Asia. Construction work has begun at Savar, on the banks of the Bangshi River, on 40 bighas (45 acres) of land that he has donated for this purpose.[18]

Bangladeshi theatre and publishing

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Litu has been a longtime sponsor of Bangladeshi theatre. The Development of Theatre program that he ran between 2001 and 2007 encouraged new performers with infrastructure development, training, workshops and theatre festivals across the country.[12][18] The current theatre development program, which has been running since 2009, is aimed at marginalised communities such as Adivasis, transsexuals and Chars.

He has also founded a number of specialised publications to promote Bangladeshi art and culture.

Jamini – an English quarterly dedicated to the art of Bangladesh[18]

Kali O Kalam – a monthly Bengali literary magazine.[18] The Young Poet and Writer's award has been instituted by this publication to nurture emerging literary talent in Bangladesh.[19]

Bengal Barota – a cultural events bulletin[20]

Shilpa O Shilpi – a Bengali arts quarterly

Litu also gives greater exposure to traditional culture through his lifestyle glossies, Charbela Chardik and ICE Today, and ICE Business Times, a Bangladeshi business magazine.

TOTAL SPORTS and KHELADHULA – Two sports magazine, one in English and other in Bengali. Both were supposed to be periodic. And He started initiated funding this project through his other respected concern ICE MEDIA. Besides the print publications, he had the vision to launch two very dynamic only-sports-based website. Unfortunately, after two attempts, one in 2011 and other in 2017, the project was discontinued. He was criticised for the way the project was shut down in June 2017. The entire management was shut down without any prior notice.[21] Journalists from other reputed media joined there with their own plans and visions. But they were suddenly jobless out of the blues. This incident put a dent to his reputation in and out of the industry he belongs.

Partnership with Skira Publications

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In 2011, Litu announced that he had entered into a partnership with Skira, an Italian publishing house, to bring out a special series of 40 volumes showcasing Bangladeshi art.[22] The first four volumes are scheduled to be released by April 2012 and are monographs of photographer Shahidul Alam, painters Kazi Ghivasuddin, Safiuddin Ahmed and Zainul Abedin.

References

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  1. ^ "ACC endorses charge sheet against Litu". The Financial Express. 12 July 2024.
  2. ^ "On Gyantapas Abdur Razzaq's PhD thesis: 'Political Parties in India'". The Daily Star. 29 January 2022.
  3. ^ Hossain, Takir (13 October 2010). "Showcasing a staggering art collection". The Daily Star.
  4. ^ a b "About Founder". Bengal Group. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Alom, Zahangir (23 September 2015). "Abul Khair - The heart of an art collector". The Daily Star.
  6. ^ মমতাজ খালেকের ইন্তেকাল [Death of Mumtaz Khalek]. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 22 December 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d "Art Collectors: Their Views". Arts & the Islamic World. No. 34. Autumn 1999. pp. 62–65.
  8. ^ "Abul Khair Litu". Opulence Group. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  9. ^ Islam, S. Manzoorul. "A glimpse of contemporary Bangladeshi art". Banglamati. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010.
  10. ^ Rahman, Shafiq. "Art collectors and connoisseurs". Probe News Magazine. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  11. ^ a b "Abul Khair". Bengal Institute.
  12. ^ a b c “About Us” "Bengal Foundation Website", accessed 3 June 2011
  13. ^ Bengal Foundation (15 May 2016), The Beginning of A Legacy - Bengal Classical Music Festival 2012, retrieved 26 December 2017
  14. ^ “Bengal Awards”, "Bengal Foundation Website", accessed 3 June 2011
  15. ^ "National Crafts Council of Bangladesh (NCCB)". Craft Revival Quarterly. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  16. ^ Hossain, Takir (16 January 2009). "The thriving art scene in Bangladesh". The Daily Star. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  17. ^ “Facilities”[dead link‍], accessed 3 June 2011
  18. ^ a b c d Rahman, Shafiq. "Bengal Foundation Patron of Arts". Probe News Magazine. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  19. ^ "HSBC Kali O Kolom Young Poets and Writers Award". HSBC. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  20. ^ “Bengal Barota Official Facebook Page”, accessed 3 June 2011
  21. ^ হুট করেই স্পোর্টস প্রজেক্ট বন্ধ করে দিলো বেঙ্গল, বিপাকে ৩০ সংবাদকর্মী. SylhetToday24 (in Bengali). 18 June 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  22. ^ Alom, Zahangir (9 March 2011). "New Horizon Opens For Bangladeshi Artists". The Daily Star. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
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