The Vietnamese Embassy in Bangladesh has given Friendship Medal from President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Certificates of Merit from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, to three Bangladeshis in recognition of their contributions to promoting friendship relations between the two countries, especially to introducing the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh to local residents, VNA reported Saturday.

Three Bangladeshis awarded for promoting relations with Vietnam. Photo: baoquocte.vn

The awardees are Pooja Sengupta, Artistic Director of Turongomi Dance Theatre, Dr Mostafizur Rahman Faisal, registrar of Heritage University of Bangladesh and KM Abdul Mozid, a senior reporter for Dainik Arthoniteer Kagoj newspaper.

Sengupta, the author and main artist in the ballet “Ho Chi Minh - Journey to find the light”, was awarded a Friendship Order from the Vietnamese President.

Sengupta penned an emotional post on Facebook thanking her friends and family for the award.

"I am truly honoured and blessed to receive this award from the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. My heartiest thanks and congratulations to my team, my audience, and my well-wishers. May this be the beginning of a new era of friendship and cultural exchange between Bangladesh and Vietnam," the post read.

According to The New Nation - a English daily in Dhaka city, Turongomi received the official letter from the Vietnam Embassy in Bangladesh to produce and stage a dance theatre on the life of President Ho Chi Minh in 2019.

In September 5 to 6, 2019 the production premiered in Dhaka at the National Theatre of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. The production received huge appreciation from the audience, critics, media, bureaucrats, diplomats and eminent artists of all genres.

It is the first Bangladeshi production to be cited at the panorama of International Dance Council UNESCO, being mentioned as the first ever Biography Dance Theatre in the world. The 40-minute Dance Theatre is a creative work conceptualized, scripted, designed, choreographed and directed by Pooja Sengupta.

In 2017, Turongomi was nominated and awarded at the very prestigious ‘International Dance Festival 2017’ hosted by the government of Vietnam. Turongomi was selected for their popular production Anamika Sagorkonna.

Dr Mostafizur Rahman Faisal, registrar of Heritage University of Bangladesh and KM Abdul Mozid, a senior reporter for Dainik Arthoniteer Kagoj newspaper received the Certificates of Merit from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam. Photo: baoquocte.vn

Meanwhile, Faisal and Mozid, who translated books "Ho Chi Minh’s Biography” and “How Ho Chi Minh wrote his testament”, were presented with Certificates of Merit from the Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The translation of the book from English into Bengali was jointly conducted by the Vietnamese Embassy and Nawab Salimullah Institute – a non-governmental organisation of Bangladesh that was founded in 1987.

The translation of the books into Bengali have boosted mutual understanding between the Vietnamese and Bangladeshi people, thus helping to nurture the traditional friendship between the two nations.

Speaking at the awarding ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Bangladesh Pham Viet Tien underscored that the Party, the State and people of Vietnam always remember the support from the Bangladeshi people in the past struggle for national independence as well as in the current process of national construction and development.

He hoped the awardees will continue to have more excellent works to further contribute the friendship between the two nations, and introduce not only Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh to Bangladeshis, but also introduce Bangladesh and Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Vietnamese people.

The books “Ho Chi Minh’s Biography” (L) and “How Ho Chi Minh wrote his testament” in Bengali. Photo: VNA

Speaking at the books' launching in 2019, journalist Abdul Mozid, the translator of the book “Ho Chi Minh’s Biography”, said the motivation behind his work was to help more Bangladeshi people from all walks of life gain easier access to the book and understand more about President Ho Chi Minh’s life and career.

Mozid said he admired President Ho Chi Minh for his simple life, adding that he has learned from his journalistic style and skills during the translation process.

On the occasion, the ambassador presented certificates of merit bestowed by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh to the Nawab Salimullah Institute and its head Muhammad Abdul Jabbar for their contributions to the enhancement of the Vietnam-Bangladesh solidarity and friendship.

The Vietnamese Embassy and Nawab Salimullah Institute had previously worked together in introducing the Bengali language version of another book titled “How Ho Chi Minh wrote his testament” by Vu Ky, a secretary of the late President.

Bangladeshi artists at the "Ho Chi Minh" play, choreographed by Pooja Sengupta, staged in Dhaka in September 2019. Photo: VNA

In a 2020 article, Sengupta, said like in Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh is admired by a large number of Bangladeshi people who view him as a dedicated politician.

Recalling the production of the “Ho Chi Minh” play, Sengupta said her crew concurrently studied the leader’s life via books, newspapers and documentaries before they wrote the script.

Reenacting the whole life and career of Ho Chi Minh in just 40 minutes was difficult, and creating a work for the international audience was even harder, according to her.

This put great pressure on the crew, Sengupta said, adding they had received considerable support from the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangladesh during the production. Artists from the Turongomi Repertory Dance Theatre and students from the Turongomi School of Dance worked enthusiastically to perform the play.

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