Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall, Masterda Suryasen Hall and Salimullah Muslim Hall of Dhaka University (DU) have large and well-planned auditoriums. But due to lack of maintenance and care from the auditorium to the TV room and sports room, the curtain has not been raised on the stage of the auditorium for many years. The structure is being destroyed and the cultural practices of the students of the hall are disappearing. Experts are claiming it as 'cultural misery'.
Salimullah Muslim Hall was inaugurated on August 11, 1931. In 1966 and 1967, Masterda Suryasen Hall and Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall were established as the largest residential halls at that time. Inside the hall, the auditorium is constructed for the healthy recreation and cultural activities of the resident students. Salimullah Muslim Hall Auditorium is now known as TV Room, Suryasen Hall Auditorium is Shaheed HM Ibrahim Salim Auditorium and Mohsin Hall is known as Mohsin Hall Auditorium. These auditoriums have proof-size stages and large audience spaces. Adjacent to the stage are auditorium offices, toilets and all necessary facilities for stage users.
But on the surface, it can be seen that table tennis is played in the auditorium of Mohsin Hall and various types of handicrafts are being made in a large space. The entire auditorium is dirty with craft materials and scattered garbage. Some people are living behind the curtain behind the stage. When asked about their identity, they identified themselves as the family of the hall employee. Behind the stage can be seen the 'Haji Muhammad Muhsin Hall Auditorium Office' established by the Muhsin Hall Welfare Society. This office is now hidden from the public eye. Most of the students in the hall are unaware of the existence of the auditorium office. Going up the stairs on both sides, it is seen that it is being used as a residence for the employees. Again, plaster cement falls from various places and from the roof. Roof irons are visible in most places.
Meanwhile, the condition of Martyr HM Ibrahim Salim Auditorium of Surya Sen Hall is also dire. Both the entrances here are locked for a long time. All the furniture of the hall is kept inside. Going up the stairs on both sides, it is seen that it is being used as a residence for the employees. From outside it is seen that the upper railing has collapsed.
According to the sources of people who have been working in this hall for many years, no event is held here for many years. A few years ago, students and staff were injured when the auditorium railing collapsed.
In this regard, Masterda Suryasen Hall Provost Professor Dr. Zakir Hossain Bhuiyan said that the auditorium is in a dangerous condition so it has been closed. Our programs take place in the TV room and various large rooms. Renovate the auditoriums if we can. As far as I know, it is supposed to be demolished and locked, there is a plan.
Provost of Haji Muhammad Muhsin Hall Dr. Maksudur Rahman when asked to speak to about this, he did not answer the phone.
Mahin Ahmed, resident student of Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall, 17-18 session, wants cultural programs to be staged in the auditorium of the hall.
He said, "If there is a democratic coexistence, there is a pressure on the administration. If there is pressure, the administration is somehow forced to continue the cultural activities. If there is no one else then who will apply the pressure? Hall students Sangsad are ineffective. Who will take the cultural programs if the Sangsad is ineffective? On the other hand, there is no cultural student organization; the absence of cultural organization makes the infrastructure of the university useless. That is why democratic coexistence is needed. Otherwise, the administration will remain unaccountable as it is now and democratic co-existence is needed to make the responsibility felt”.
Dhaka University's Department of Theater and Performance Studies Assistant Professor Tanveer Nahid Khan said about the importance of cultural and theatrical practice for students, Dhaka University was the top place for drama. When the country was partitioned in 1947, the theatrical practice of the region was centered on DU. Auditorium of Salimullah Muslim Hall Shahidullah Hall, Jagannath Hall was suitable for dramas. At that time we used to practice two types of drama. A group of progressive dramatists who practiced drama based on language and nationalism. Another group, according to theorists, practiced Islamic conservative drama. Those who were the teachers of DU, Munir Chowdhury, Akhtar Ibn Saeed, Saeed Ahmed, Syed Waliullah had great practice in drama and DU, these exercises based on hall were excellent. A drama troupe of DUCSU was 'Natyachakra'. The fact that these are not happening can be called 'cultural tyranny'.
A few years ago, with the initiative, Hall drama was born. When DUCSU was organized after the elections, there were still cultural competitions from DUCSU. They should be. As a result of non-existence, no more meritorious people emerged. When theater was practiced in halls, many people used to act, write plays, direct plays, and later they played roles in the main stream or at the national level. Today, the famous playwrights of independent Bangladesh are practicing in the halls of Dhaka University. Important dramatists such as Ramendu Majumdar, M Hamid, Mamunur Rashid have accelerated our national level theater practice by coming from Dhaka University.
But now the students are spending time on Facebook on their mobiles instead of practicing drama. The student does not go like that without playing in the TV room as well. The auditoriums of the hall should be used only for drama. As a result, the practice of healthy culture will be accelerated. When a person is associated with drama, he learns to speak beautifully, as a result of working in the theater, he learns punctuality, learns to work in a team, creative practice, contemporary events of the society come to the writing of drama. They make people mindful. But without this healthy practice, many students are getting involved with drugs, if you want to do theater, you have to study.
