Moner Kotha, a childhood show and the memories with it

We all might remember the golden years of BTV in the 80s and 90s. A rare gem of that period is a children's art show directed by Mustafa Monowar. It was named Moner Kotha and ran for twelve years. Many children grew up with this show and later practiced art. 

Basic art lessons with a pinch of philosophy never made it mundane– "We need to know the color of white because no colorful picture will be colorful without the presence of it." There are things and speeches we might not have understood while watching this show in childhood, but while reminiscing the extended programs– it finds a place to be remembered all over again, and then we realize why it was called 'Moner Kotha' (Words of the heart) in the first place.

Puppets, being an authentic form of entertainment, were less prevalent in the urban areas. Still, through a mass medium channel like BTV, Mustafa Monowar brought it to all the children who had television facilities. They learned about how puppets act and talk. Even in the contents, he emphasized awareness in a very amusing way through witty conversation and some moral concepts.

The characters of the show were very inclusive– a baul (folk singer), a small girl named Parul, and a buffalo. The baul and the buffalo were respectively called Parul Baul bhai and Shar bhai.

Due to their differences of opinion and mindset, yet with a friendly bond, they used to have these silly conflicts and arguments over any issue and had their own happily ever after.

Of course, there was this wise grandpa figure who was eventually the essence of the mastermind behind this successful show– Mustafa Monowar. As a renowned artist, he initiated the program to teach the audience basic drawing and painting.

In the earlier shows, he is represented by a puppet figure, but in the later episodes, he appears as himself and is called 'Shilpi bhai' by Parul, Baul, and Shar– the buffalo. 

Among all the characters, Parul is the heart of the show– being a bubbly girl, very enthusiastic about art, and having a friendly interest in others. She is also often seen to maintain the harmony between two conflicting figures– Baul and the Buffalo.

"Easy things are also to be learned, known, and seen; otherwise, the easiest tasks might seem very difficult at times." – A profound sentence came from Parul, the magnetic part of the show. Tamanna Tithi voices this character. 

Baul is shown in a classic Bengali folk singer attire, and he starts to sing whenever he gets a chance. This character is not in favor of the buffalo and loves to argue about every single thing.

The buffalo could be more friendly with him and counter-argues now and then. Anukul Das voices this character. As the Baul culture is rural, this character speaks a dialect rather than urban Bengalis. However, the other characters do not use any dialectical form, which also indicates the audience type, which is children from cities. 

Moner Kotha showed us an authentic 'adda,' a platform for having heartfelt conversations with a lot of creative inspiration, and that, too, is mainly for younger people.

Besides the usual characters, the show often invited some other puppets to engage as guests, and then they all learned something new from the Dadu (Grandpa), Shilpi bhai, or Parul.

This show taught us all about how communication is essential, how we can always agree to disagree with our friends and take beautiful essence from the world in the most natural ways.

It did teach us many things while not being in a moody teaching scenario. The show helped us learn in a humorous, enjoyable, and memorable way that stays even after childhood disappeared. While in the first lessons of tolerance, empathy, building a community, and resilience, the name Moner Kotha will always be a part of Bangladeshi kids from that period. 

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