The three-day Lai Haraoba festival of the Manipuri Meitei community began on Wednesday at the Cultural Complex in Tetigaon village, Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar. The event, which started at 12:30 p.m., will conclude on Friday, April 10, 2026. Renowned artists and researchers from Bangladesh and a group of performers and scholars from Manipur, India, are participating in the celebration.

According to the Lai Haraoba Steering Committee, Bangladesh, the festival is organized with financial support from UNESCO Bangladesh and the Bangladesh National Museum. It is being conducted by the committee in collaboration with Manipuri Cultural Complex, Bangladesh Pouroi Apokpa Marup Religious Cultural Organization, and Sadhan Bangladesh. The event aims to preserve and promote the intangible cultural heritage of the Manipuri community.

Lai Haraoba, meaning “festival of the gods,” is one of the oldest and most significant Manipuri festivals, celebrating creation, divinity, and harmony through rituals, music, chants, and traditional dances. The organizers invited people from all walks of life to join the celebration, which is part of a national initiative to highlight community-based traditional festivals across Bangladesh’s eight administrative divisions.