10 essential songs that changed band music in Bangladesh

10 essential songs that changed
band music in Bangladesh

When solid gold is extracted from its ores by mechanical means and separated from other metals by chemical processes, it gleams like this - 10 essential songs changing the face of band music in Bangladesh. Writes Faizul Khan Tanim

So why did these songs change band music? Because no matter how old they are, whether it is playing in the car stereos, at sports events, or in congregations, you are still humming them all along. Be it in the shower; performing them at live concerts or used as soundtracks, they invite you to sing along and establish the phrase – evergreen songs from all aspects.

Abar Elo Je Shondha (Cholona Ghurey

Ashi Ojana-te)

by Happy Akhand, Lucky Akhand and the Windy Side of Care
This hit illustrates the early sound of band music in this country. The chorus is so irresistibly catchy that it forces you to sing along in every trip you make…in every outing you take. This is one of the first songs, which oozed out the bohemian-ness and the craving to be carefree.

A very emotional Lucky Akhand reminisced, ‘this song was written by S M Hedayet and composed by the band Windy Side of Care, which included both Happy and me during a tour to Naogaon district in 1974. The track was then recorded in 1975 at the Ipsha Studio in Dhaka and was first performed by the band at a television show in 1975.’

‘I guess the very first telecast made history, as the crowd sang along every time it was performed on stage and it was also later used as a soundtrack in the film Ghuddi in 1982’.

Mon Shudhu Mon Chuyechche

by Souls
One of the finest lyrics, one of the sweetest tunes ever produced and sung by one of the most-endeared vocalist of our nation – Tapan Chowdhury. It turned out to be one of the greatest ballads in the history of band music in this country, because every time one listens to this song, they comfortably fall in love all over again.

‘It was written and composed in 1978 and after recording, the song was released in the self-titled debut album of Souls in 1981 and hummed, sang at cheered at- till this day in 2008,’ said the lyricist and composer of the song, Naquib Khan, after a brief chuckle.

Mela (Melai Jaire) by Feedback
Everywhere one went in the troubled years of 1991-2, one would hear Maqsoodul Huq’s immortal refrain: Bashonti rong shari pore lolonara hete jaye…melai jaire. Even today, because of the song’s extremely catchy intro, chord progressions and lyrics, it is the most played song after the Boishakhi anthem Esho he boishakh during Pahela Baishakh.

Maqsood says, ‘this was both written and recorded in 1988 and I started performing the song with Feedback from 1989 and believe me it was a massive hit! Its official release in 1990 on the album Mela allowed fans to listen to it at home and not just at concerts’.

Few songs like Mela do so well that they truly unite

jubilance rock and festival pop in 5 minutes 32 seconds of pure bliss.

Bangladesh (Rail Line er Oi Bosti Te)

by Azam Khan with his band Uchharon
This is probably one of the greatest socio-politically motivated songs. And there is our Guru from back then – the lanky long-haired and bearded, imaginative composer who ignited socio-political theme with his songs and sang the song Bangladesh, which spoke of love, discontent and frustration in it’s own way, during the early 70’s.

This straight-down-the-line magnetic song even today makes not only our hair stand up but also urges thousands of people in concerts, at stadiums around the country, to salute, spell out letters with their hands and arm gestures, and shout aloud one word – Bangladesh. It becomes a pure, passionate, phenomenon when you sing this song.

Shei Tumi (Cholo Bodle Jai)

by LRB
Leaving Souls and forming LRB was probably the best decision made by the veteran musician Ayub Bachhu. And who knows, if that incident did not happen, we would not have been blessed by this truly amazing song. Tumi keno bojhona tomake chara ami oshohay…amar shobtuku bhalobasha tomay ghire…Could Ayub Bachhu have ever imagined that this would be one of the most familiar lyric lines in the history of rock ballads in this country?

Chaad Tara Shurjo Nou

by Miles I do not have a single memory during the early to the mid 90’s Eid festivals, which does not have this song in it. A lot of well-known drama and film sequences has this song stitched to the background as the soundtrack and we would see music enthusiasts rocking out to this classic hit in their cars, or in their houses- a reflection of what so many of us had been doing since the release of this mind-blowing monster track. It is catchy, alive, and easy to sing along with full of killer hooks, and it defines what we know as pop-rock perfection.

Taray Taray Rotiye Debo

by James / Nagarbaul

Stylishly longhaired James of NagarBaul in his punjabis, denims and combat boots around the 90’s, brought about a transformation of lyrics and wardrobe style within heavy rock music fans.

James said, ‘this song is taken from different verses of the poetry Uttor by Shamsur Rahman. It was recorded at the studio Audio Art and released in the album titled Nagarbaul when our band’s name was Feelings’.

With the entrancing Taray taray rotiye debo tumi amar, James showed us all how an ordinary musician could transform himself into a music idol. Sing along this song and you can actually imagine yourself there!

Ekti Chele

by Warfaze
When Sunjoy first sang this song in his shrilled and exciting voice, to many it was total madness. But for those screaming heavy metal and hard rock, it was pure revolution. Yes, a music revolution, which had rollicking riffs, thumping bass lines, exciting drum rolls, and killer guitar solos. Most importantly, Ekti Chele shouted urgent lyrics, coming out of the conventional wording style, which many bands used to follow at that time.

The former Warfaze vocalist Sunjoy said, ‘Babna wrote the lyrics and composed this song. And it was the BAMBA concert (a concert where all bands had to perform their own Bangla numbers and no English covers) of December 16 1990 where we first performed this song. To our astonishment, we had a good response’.

‘That was the driving force for the band to want to record the song and an album. But we soon realised that no one was interested. Then God sent Badal and Sentu bhai and blessed us with their Sargam Studio where we recorded Ekti Chele in 1991. Music enthusiasts would come often, listen to the track, and ask about its release and when the song was finally released…I guess you know the rest’, added Sunjoy with a smirk.

Mon Kije Chai Bolo

by Winning
This song was probably one of the illustrious hits in the country. And what very few people know is that this song foresaw the future rise of Hyder Husyn, who is the lyricist and composer of this song.

The band’s drummer Tipu said, ‘when we were performing this song at live concerts in 1987, we received huge appreciation and the song was finally released in 1991, fans were humming Mon kije chai bolo…jarey dekhi lagey bhalo…mon keno badha porena…kijani keno janina with greater passion’.

Sraboner Meghgulo

by Different Touch Where would events like informal gigs be without the song Sraboner Meghgulo? It is possibly one of the most memorable sing-along songs in history. Regardless of how it had very simple lyric and composition, it soon had the world singing along, and particularly, the chorus.

The one-hit wonder band Different Touch, unfortunately, can no longer be traced.

A landslide, one year on - landslides in Bangladesh

A landslide, one year on


Faizul Khan Tanim visits the site of the landslide disasters in Chittagong last year, where human habitation has once again developed, and finds out why little has been done to avoid another impending disaster


photo by Momena Jalil

It has been one year since that horrifying night on June 11, when in Chittagong, torrential rains for over 24 hours triggered a series of landslides burying hillside localities and claiming at least 127 lives.

Most of the victims were asleep when large chunks of earth rolled down the hillocks and buried thatched and mud houses near Chittagong cantonment. The rest were killed in Pahartali, Devarpar, Kusumbag, Nasirabad and Chittagong university areas.

At the time, environmental experts, city planners and concerned authorities of the government pointed to relentless cutting of hills as the major reason behind landslides adding that 22 of the city canals were either filled up or encroached, which caused the unprecedented water logging.

They also termed the debacle a signal of further catastrophes and stressed the need for taking stern measures to put an end to hill cutting immediately.

But, most importantly, the occupants of the hillside localities had to be relocated immediately, to avoid any further danger, the experts said then.

As a year completes, not only have new houses been built on site of disaster, many of the old inhabitants still remain, some say, the actual number of inhabitants have increased.

‘Here, at the foot of the hills, it is a very nominal charge we pay,’ says 40-year-old Amena Begum. She reasons her incapability to move inside the city by pointing out the higher living expenditure.

Erecting thatched houses has become more expensive now because of the price hike of raw materials like corrugated sheets, bamboo and others, she says.

‘Most of us here are from Barisal and we came to this place during the era of late President Ziaur Rahman after the hungry rivers consumed all our homes and land,’ says Liton, a rickshaw-puller. ‘And the only reason we want to live here is that we have nowhere else to go which would be cheaper than here’.

Almost all residents of Kaichhaghona and Lebubagan, the two worst affected areas near Chittagong cantonment, inform that according to a government order published on national newspapers, they have been asked to vacate the places they are living in presently due to the areas’ nature of being prone to disaster.

‘Where do we go?’ ask the residents equally distressed by the vulnerability.

The inhabitants, meanwhile, relive the shocking memories everyday and live through anguished fear of another disaster, every time it rains.

‘We are so terrified now than even if it rains the slightest, we start packing and sit by the doors so that at least we can run for our lives,’ says Shirina Akhter, 25.

Parveen Begum, 27, lost all three of her daughters – Sharmin, Shahinur, Shahida and mother-in-law Zakiya Khatun, to the grisly landslide accident.

‘It was continuously raining for two to three days at a stretch and on the early morning of June 11, when most of us were asleep, large chunks of earth rolled down the hillocks and buried our thatched houses.’

‘I escaped from death by getting outside. I saw eight houses around me, at the foot of the hill, getting buried early in the morning. And as much as I know, an old lady is still buried under the debris’, Parveen added by pointing to a nearby pit, hunching that if properly dug, they might recover the old lady’s skeleton.

‘The soil on these hills are mostly sand and the surface of the hillocks easily wash away during heavy rains. It is literally impossible to move during nighttime when it rains, as the paths become extremely slippery,’ says Liton.

URING the few days after the disaster, the media and experts went hard on government officials. Who had given permission for these hills to be cut? Who had given permission for these people to live in these dangerous places?

There was also a lot of talk about rehabilitating these people, bringing the culprits to justice, and bringing an end to hill cutting.

One year on, none of that seems to have gone through.

‘Landslides mainly occurs due to two reasons —tectonic plate movement which can form uplifted mountains and earthquakes and secondly, man-made cause of tree felling and hill cutting,’ says Prof Nurul Islam Nazem of the Centre for Urban Studies.

‘There is a specific way to cut hills for human habitation but that was certainly not followed,’ he says.

‘We should not cut the hills at all. There is no need to cut the hills and make the landscapes flat (which is a common practice in this country) and then construct houses. Instead, houses can be made at the base or slopes of the hills as is done in many European countries’, adds Nazem.

‘Geologically, the hills are from a recent age,’ says Dr Amanat Ullah Khan, professor of the department of Geography and Environment, University of Dhaka.

‘This means that the soil structure did not solidify or consolidate properly and continuous rain will therefore always cause landslides,’ he says.

‘Human habitation started in these hillocks before they could mature. If you see closely, there is no rock formation yet and therefore clearly unfit for human habitation’.

‘There should be a governing body comprised of geologists, soil scientists, geographers, urban planners, and more, who would study soil structure of the hills and based on their research, permit residential zoning. According to the present condition of soil composition in those hillocks, habitation should not be allowed as it is very risky,’ Amanat added.

According to Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) and Department of Environment (DoE), Chittagong Division, there is an authorisation committee in Chittagong, pahar korton o ba mochon committee, who can only suggest or propose hill cutting when any particular person or organisation applies, but the final decision always rests at the hands of the Housing and Public Works Department (PWD), Dhaka.

Ashraful Islam, member secretary of CDA, however claims that the soil component of those hillocks are mainly sand, which is why the disaster occurred in torrential rainfall.

‘There is no fault in the cutting method of the hills because first and foremost, the soil structure is so loose that heavy rains will definitely wash away the surface’.

Nazmul Hoque, director of DoE Chittagong Division further that they have stopped permitting hill cutting for the last one year. ‘The disaster was a natural calamity due to heavy rainfall and water stagnancy,’ he says.

‘Almost fifty to sixty thousand people are leading vulnerable lives at the bottom of those hillocks,’ says divisional commissioner of Chittagong, Hussain Jamil.

‘We are looking at a railway land near Jaan Ali Haat railway station and proposed to the government to acquire that five to six acres land to rehabilitate some of the people from the affected areas’.

That land may however not be sufficient to rehabilitate all the people.

‘It depends on whether building is vertical or horizontal, which would tell us how many people we can accommodate,’ says Jamil.

‘We can start working as soon as the government gives us the green signal. But from the looks of it right now, the area is definitely not sufficient to rehabilitate all the affected people’.

Jamil however apprehends that rehabilitation may not be a permanent solution.

‘Once we vacate the affected areas, a new set of people will come and start living. The main task will have to be to keep those risky areas out of human habitation and that vigilance is continuous,’ Jamil added.

As frequent landslides take place in Chittagong almost every monsoon, the human casualties last year have raised strong demands by the city-dwellers for stern measures to stop the cutting of hills.

They say indiscriminate hill cutting by developers, brick kiln owners and construction of unauthorized structures on the hill slopes were responsible for this disaster and should be immediately stopped.

*this article was first published in Daily NewAge Xtra Magazine June 20

Momtaz, The travelling songbird of Bangladesh

The travelling songbird

Faizul Khan Tanim interviews one of the most celebrated artists in Bangladesh and learns more about her distinguished, and perhaps unlikely, career

‘I do not know how to play the harmonium nor do I wake up every morning to practice’

One expects interesting interviews from great storytellers. In Momtaz, one of the country’s most prolific musicians, one sees such a storyteller. The awe-inspiring honesty in the stories she tells of rural and urban experiences reflect her ability to vividly conjure stories in her music.
What makes her a yet more powerful singer is her high-pitched voice, which never goes out of tune and sounds fuller, richer and more open with every song. Her style makes the songs so dominant and adds such a potent emotional touch that everyone listens as if the Pied Piper of Hamlin is bewitching them.
Her most humble admission was that she does not even know how to play the harmonium neither had vocal training nor does she practice singing every morning. ‘I have an honest, God-gifted vocal, that is my magic and honest to God, that is my inspiration’. It is this gift that allowed her to once record a staggering four albums in a single day, where most trained singers would struggle to properly complete just three songs.
‘The day I lose this gift you will not find the Momtaz in me, and a small secret to my success is that I can sleep anywhere comfortably. Sleeping, I believe, is the greatest cure [and the] motivation [that] keeps me energetic and running,’ she added.
Born in the village Bhakum in Shingair thana, Manikganj district, her childhood was spent watching her father, Modhu Boyati, sing folk songs and write lyrics, mainly in the baul and pala gaan genres. ‘I literally learned how to talk through musical notes as the atmosphere and ambience of my home was so full of tunes. Baba was my first mentor and his songs and the world of spiritual music became an integral part of my life.’
From her school days, her personality was translated into song, as everyone in the area knew that Modhu Boyati was a great artist. Her friends and teachers would ask her to sing quite often. ‘I never felt shy to sing or hum and, opposing all the negative forces and comments made by the villagers, I kept on singing. It felt as if the world was on one side and me on the other but the reason I could succeed was my father’s support.’
Pausing for a moment, the emotional singer added, ‘People always used to [say to] Baba, “Boyati why do you not teach your son to sing? Why the daughter?” But I always felt that music is such a divine enthusiasm that it depends on the person’s will to learn rather than being taught and in that respect, I lived on music.’
When she was in class two of Joymontop Primary School, her teachers forced her to take part in a singing competition where she won the first prize and all of a sudden veteran Modhu Boyati realised that she was a singer in the making. ‘Baba, at that time, did not start tutoring me as yet and was amazed to find out how I was quietly listening to his practices, picked up his songs and won a school award for myself.’
She was an ardent listener and a natural singer and quite often she would pack her bags with textbooks and leave with her father for musical shows in other districts. She would promise to study hard for exams while her father was on tour, performing on different stages everyday.
When she was young, her father became extremely sick as she was preparing to compete in an inter-district championship. It was as if her world had come crashing down; her father was the one that used to take her everywhere and missing the opportunity to sing on such a stage would be devastating for any promising singer.
‘I always believed in the phrase, “if there is a will, there is a way,” and it all happened within seconds. My teacher, Rashid Master, took me to that meet to participate. I remember, it was so late that night, my time slot for singing was during the end and after finishing my song, there wasn’t any more bus service running for me to return home so we hopped on a truck and finally made it.’
Another teacher who helped her fulfil her dreams was Adom Ali. During her father’s ailment, her teachers inspired her to continue singing and taking stages.
It was evident by then that nothing could stop her, so Modhu Boyati brought her to Mirpur, Dhaka to an ustad at Shah Ali Baba Majar Samiti called Matal Kobi Rajjak Dewan. They rented a house in Dhaka so that she could get proper tutoring and, as days passed, her creativity convinced her ustad to visit her village and continue teaching her the art of pala gaan.
‘During 1992, I was travelling a lot. Travelling to perform at gigs in various parts of the country, and my singing style and arresting songs actually created my first fan bases ever. Soon they were asking for audiotapes and I thought that bringing out an album had become a necessity and it was not a luxury anymore,’ she said as the gleam in her eyes became more prominent than before.
She continued, ‘My first album was in that same year. Visiting a couple of record labels, we finally settled with Jonny Electronics, who would conditionally bring out my album [so] that if they incurred a loss, we would have to pay the full amount.’
‘I not only completed the album within half of the shift instead of taking the full time, but they immediately signed me up to sing another album and paid a royalty of Tk 2,000. The technology at that time was to record ‘live,’ where all musicians were required to sing, play with harmony and record in a single take instead of track-based modern recording available now,’ she added.
Soon, Boithoki, Biroho-Bichchedh and spiritual albums like Bichchedh Super and Khelchey Pakhi Ulta Koley became hits, mostly in the rural areas. It was after releasing 300 solo albums that her 1999 debut television appearance came, in Hanif Sangket’s Ittyadi. ‘I still remember the song – Return Ticket Haat-ey Niye. Those were my golden days, as any album I released was a super hit.’
The ‘super hits’, mostly produced by Hassan Motiur Rahman, were Ashol Boithoki, Noyon Tara, Murshid-er Talim and Konna Kon Geram-e Ghor, duet albums with Shujon Raja and Ashraf Udash called Ballo Bondhu and Prem-er Driver, and more. The song Ami Jokhon College-e te Pori was such a hit that it was played on repeat in almost every rural cassette player and, even today, when performing in India, she sings this song as an encore.
She has released almost 700 albums to date, she informs.
She is still one of the busiest artists in the country, playing almost 15 shows a month in Bangladesh and another 20 concerts a year abroad. Her next tour will start on June 21 this year, slated to make stops in London, NewYork, Dallas and other venues in the United States.
Today, Momtaz is not only an artiste at heart, but also a great philanthropist. She did not forget her villagers and built two hospitals; a fifty-bed Momtaz Eye Hospital in 2003 to honour the memory of her mother and another Momtaz Child and Eye Hospital, which was inaugurated on May 10, 2008.
She is also a participant in urgent campaigns by singing in advertisements addressing issues like AIDS, tree plantation, environmental problems and food crises. ‘The days of singing songs with lyrics full of cheese and mischief are over,’ the artist added.

*This article was first published in New Age's XTRA Magazine's Inaugural Issue - June 13 2008

The acoustic vagabonds of Bangladesh - Shahed and Dipto's albums reviewed

The acoustic vagabonds
by Faizul Khan Tanim

Dipto’s debut album Akta Shorol Onko talks about a carefree wanderer, a determined writer, celestial relationships, and finds solace in complexities of the daily life

The title is deceiving. Deciphering this album will take more than one try. Its concept is simple but the rendering generates a lot of personal and emotional energy.

Dipto invites listeners to a session of chilled out rock and intimate storytelling. He tells his tales in narrative melodic lyrics woven into funky, groovy and psychedelic compositions. The melodies are balanced with overlapping beats on the snare and crash, and acoustic guitar strumming.

In a nutshell, for anyone who loves to reflect on life through music or find beautiful elucidation by applying simple math — as Dipto suggests in this album’s track — the reaction to this album would interestingly be more of a pleasant WOAH! than the ordinary Hmmm!

The music is addictive and it grows on you as you keep listening, I got myself addicted after going through the entire album for the twelfth time.

The compilation speaks to the writer in me, I feel as if it catches the essence of my inner soul. Especially the last song, Lekha Jhoka, which is about a writer who is asking his consciousness to never stop writing, for fear that he will forever lose the sanctity of manifesting his emotions through his poetry.

Then there is the song Ke Torey Bhalobashey, celebrating the birth of a child. It waxes poetic about the bizarre beautiful baby noises, the love of parents, the dawn of existence and most importantly, the joy of becoming a father. It seem the music of the song and words were so inspiring that even the composition itself joined into the celebration.

This album has a lot of passion, and a positive energy flowing through most of the songs, for example Ontor Nai, Dighir Jol, Nichhokh Onubhuti and of course, Oshukh Korena, which hums the carefree life of a charming wanderer.

Shahed’s album Classroom-e Boshey Shekha sports honesty, romance, bohemian lifestyle and simple living. If uncomplicated words and tunes bring happiness, then this album is a sure shot for urban pessimists
This album leaves me dreaming that I am part of a fictional cult called ‘acoustic vagabonds.’ It is a world of musicians in torn denims, blemished shirts, acoustic guitars, and a king Shahed. And he would be singing the lines Tui pagol tor baap puro pagol, pagol pagol korishna…ami pagla, tui pagli, amra shobai pagla pagli…pagla chhara duniya jomena.

Although this chorus from the song Pagla Chhara Duniya sound extremely comical I felt that these words are honest to the core. The rest of the songs contain similarly undeniable truths. They have a deliberate bohemian appeal, accompanied by the lively guitar strumming, sentimental riffs, ballad effects and folk-ish chord structures. Even the song titles filled with colloquial expressions, scream similicity — Jhumpak Jhakkas, Shundori, Bondhur Rong, Amar Akta Bou Dorkar and many more.

Shahed’s songs are written in the spirit of honesty. They are a candid retelling of intimacies and perpetual desires — ones that represent one’s most natural wishes and instincts.

Many of his fans feel the album is a compilation of songs that represent various phases in his life. Although some songs outshine the others, each one describes people and memories Shahed hold dear, just like the song Khola Chul.


The albums are available at audio outlets throughout the country and online at www.amadergaan.com/shop for legal download.

*This article was first published in New Age's XTRA Inaugural Magazine Issue - June 13 2008

Srabon Reza’s show begins - creative photography in Bangladesh

Srabon Reza’s show begins

Faizul Khan Tanim

The most intriguing part about Srabon’s photography is that his work tries to say something through children’s creativity. He expresses the essence of his inner feelings through the eyes of children. This deliberate depiction was perhaps because the expressions of children always speak the truth…their feelings are unalloyed.

Inaugurated by the eminent intellectual Professor Anisuzzaman and Shykh Seraj, director and head of news, Channel i, this exhibition started on June 06 and will continue until June 19 at the Alliance Francaise Dhaka.

Titled ‘Beyond the dream’, its generic theme is children, and our everyday expressions - joy, love, wrath and even joy of creation as modelled by the little ones. For example, the piece titled ‘making dream’ sports the picture of a little boy constructing his dream-thatched house. The picture threw a powerful real-life idiom ‘as simple as children’s thoughts’ so to say, simple yet deeply meaningful.

Then, there is ‘money maker’, which boldly screams Survival; ‘born free’ - showing the exuberance, the jubilance, the essence of existence that a village kid is trying to find fun in water while diving in a river. Or even in the picture ‘concentration’, where a child seeks to become imaginative and a discoverer. It expresses how we elders can actually start to think simply like children and make our lives less complicated.

Talking to New Age the photographer, Srabon said, ‘it is easier to work with children. Their expressions are unique and the gestures more friendly. And because of such simplicity, the overall compositions of the photographs bloom to a different proportion’.

Almost all the visitors felt that when children have creative control of their life for a while, they learn to look at the world a little differently, like noticing unique patterns, which they never did before. They observe with distinctive perspective, and develop their confidence in their own way.

Photography is essentially a means of not only documenting the past, but also communicating with the present and preparing for the future.

The art of capturing children learning to predict outcomes and expressing themselves as important component of this society - Srabon’s presentation and vivid ideas of turning camera stills into learning about ‘simplicity’ have been amazing. It therefore deserves kudos all the way.

Upolobdhi

Upolobdhi

bondhotta periye bhor er aloy probesh,

jeno srinkhol chirey feley muktir onubhuti...

bipoth er bibhotsho sritir hok nishhesh,

jeno mukto batash e pakhi der gaan er amontroni.

shett pathor er dalan e chilo amar boshobash,

oshustho chinta, bibek er porajoy.....niti'r hoto grash.

shitol batash,jhorna dhara...kromagoto alo,

krittim shukh.....mithher aboroni...jeno shobai ache bhalo.

[pre-chorus]

shihorito mon tai apon mon e bhabey....

mithhei gora,mithhei bhanga....mithhhei shohobash.

[***chorus***]
//rukhte chai ei chorom obokhhoi

"SHOKTI DAO" amayiii, shuru hok shotter odhhay.

dhongsho hok "ROCHITO" kabber mohamari...

dhriro protiggo....shokto haat e...(ami) e shomoy debo pari.//

"atto rokhha noy eti atto tyag eri joog"

sharey tin haat matir opor dekho joog er oshukh.

BIDHATAR ayin shombol kore judhhey jetey hobe,

mrittur dheu...mohagrashi proloi...mukti milbe kobey?

[*kichu khudro proshno...kichu noirashho...kichu obolilay shikarokti...]

faces of change - climate change in Bangladesh

faces of change - climate change in Bangladesh
(a special issue on climate change - in association with the campaign for sustainable rural livelihoods - a publication of New Age)

BANGLADESH happens to be the largest natural drainage system in the world. Despite having merely seven per cent land mass of South Asia, it drains 90 per cent water of the region into the Bay of Bengal. The country, except for small pockets, also happens to be an active deltaic region literally criss-crossed with rivers and canals which play a significant role in the livelihoods of millions of people. Given its population density, climatic changes will have serious consequences on the people of the country which has about 150 million with some 60 million living below the poverty line.

Over half the population of the country depend on agriculture for their livelihoods and even minor changes in the agricultural calendar are having a devastating domino effect on the rural economy.

The impacts and changes in weather patterns and physical systems have different impacts on each of the 30 agro-ecological zones of Bangladesh. In Faces of Change, New Age profiles 30 individuals, mostly small or marginal farmers, from Bangladesh’s 30 zones letting them speak about whether and how they have seen their environment change in the past decade.

-taken from (-http://www.newagebd.com/2008/may/31/climatechange08/02.html)

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AGRO-ECOLOGICAL ZONES
Bangladesh is divided into 30 agro-ecological zones on the basis of physiography, soils, land levels in relation to flooding and agro-climatology. An agro-ecological zone indicates an area characterised by homogenous agricultural and ecological characteristics. This map is reprinted courtesy of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council

=-=-=-=
Faizul Khan Tanim visits 5 agro-ecological zones, spoke with 5 farmers. Below is a transcript from their discussion:-

1) Shahida Begum, 45, Farmer, Shakrail, Saturia, Manikganj

ZONE
Young Brahmaputra and Jamuna Floodplain

CHANGES
* Changes in rainfall pattern (increased in monsoon and decreased in winter)
* Increased temperatures in monsoon and winter
* Increased humidity

POTENTIAL IMPACTS
* Severe flood
* Land erosion
* Drought

'THE most disturbing thing that agonises me is that kal baishakhi storms (Nor’westers) are no longer arriving from the usual ishan kon (northeast) direction for the past five years at least. This is how our ancestors have known it – why is it changing?’ asks Shahida Begum who owns 35 decimals of land at the border between Saturia and Gorpara areas of Manikganj.

‘Nowadays, we cannot cultivate rice like before as there is no water for irrigation. Planting tobacco is fetching more money. The soil here, which undergoes land erosion every now and then, is also less fertile for rice cultivation, due to the usage of excessive fertiliser and tobacco farming. Therefore, we cultivate two crops here – tobacco, followed by corn,’ Shahida says.

Shahida says that the people of her area look at floods as blessings as they bring nutrient rich sediments to topsoil damaged by tobacco crops. ‘Sometimes, we harvest Aman rice crop in the rainwater crammed paddy fields but it never does well.'

She explained that since there is less and less rain over long spells it causes rice paddy diseases so instead of taking the risk, the local people opt for tobacco plantation. She also stated that the irregular rainfall and at times, excessive flood over the past three to five years are making them concerned about what is happening. ‘Even three to four years back, the temperature was much cooler but the heat now is extreme all of a sudden and especially this year,’ she says.

She adds that the rivers are drying up so fast that it is definitely an alarming situation. Many ponds she saw during her childhood are totally dried and fish harvests have dropped.

The groundwater level has greatly decreased in Shahida’s area and now almost seven pipes have to be installed for one tube well which must reach 90 feet to extract the groundwater level. ‘Even then, we are not getting water properly,’ she says.

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2) Wadul Miah, 45, Farmer, Phulbagan, Trishal, Mymensingh

ZONE
Old Brahmaputra Floodplain

CHANGES
* Rainfall Pattern Change (increased in monsoon and decreased in winter)
* Increased temperatures in monsoon and winter
* Humidity

POTENTIAL IMPACTS
* Flood
* Drought

'THERE is usually three feet of water in the paddy fields during this time normally in the Bangla Baisakh-Jaishtha months but it rained only once so far,’ says Wadul Miah. ‘The cultivable land is so dry that even the plough breaks at times. In addition, because of a lack of rain, the crop-eating insects and pests have increased drastically, which would have been washed away otherwise. Crop diseases are also spreading,’ says Wadul.

For Wadul, the worst part is that he had to buy an extra 360 kilograms of rice to feed his family last year, and to make matters worse, his Boro crop did not do well due to poor rain.

‘Due to this change of temperature – and frequent dry spell – I cannot sow the seeds of my next crop timely as every crop needs a specific time to grow. The water bodies are so dry that the surface water is decreasing and moreover, the groundwater level has seen a huge decrease’, added Wadul. He says recently they have had to dig down to 50 feet to extract groundwater.

Discussing the effect of storms, Wadul claimed that it really depends on the wind velocity. If it occurs in the crucial time, it brings good luck but often untimely ones have started occurring with hotter winds and greater wind velocity, destroying the crop.

According to preliminary studies, the Old Brahmaputra Floodplains — an agro-ecological zone — to which Wadul’s area belongs is increasingly suffering from erratic rainfall and variations in temperature and humidity causing floods and droughts in the monsoon and a prolonged dry season.

Wadul says that haphazard rain causes the muddy roads to disintegrate and worsening communication systems. ‘The recent dry spell has sucked the water from the soil, hampering grass growth, and therefore the domestic animals cannot find enough food. This dry spell has caused most fruits like mangoes and jackfruits to fall before ripening,’ he says.

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3) Md Seken Ali, 50, Farmer, Bilpakuria, Pangsha, Rajbari

ZONE
Lower Ganges River Floodplain

CHANGES
* Rainfall pattern change (increased in monsoon and decreased in winter)
* Increased temperatures in monsoon and winter
* Increased humidity

POTENTIAL IMPACTS
* Flood
* Drought

'THE temperature is changed greatly. Summer times never used to be so hot five years back but this year, we can hardly work on the fields in the morning. It is so hot that we get blisters all over our body,’ say Seken Ali.

Seken and other farmers in his area have talked often about why temperatures could be rising like this and they think it is the population explosion and deforestation that is causing the heat. Most of the farmers in the area are landless and of the 158 acres of khas (government owned) land in their village, almost 114 acres are distributed amongst 500 families.

Seken says that they cultivate one rice crop only – Aman (mainly used to make puffed rice) in a year and cultivate jute and other vegetables and spices like green chili, onion, garlic, turmeric, wheat and more, many of them known as chaitali phashal.

‘The rice that is cultivated in my land fetches one third of the total demand for rice in my family in a year, which means, my harvested crops last only four months per year and then I need to start purchasing again.

‘This is the case since 20 percent of the paddy gets wasted due to diseases and is caused by drought and inappropriate use of fertiliser. Even the jute plants are one to two feet high whereas the standard height of those plants five years back were 3.5 to 4 feet’, he added.

He complains that the embankment built on the Padma river in his village actually stops floodwater coming in, but increasingly rainwater stagnates because of it. Therefore, not only are we missing the nutrients that the floods bring to the soil, but rainwater cannot flow out, and destroy the crop base,’ says Seken.

‘A lot of industrialists have installed mills and are dumping all their wastes in to the nearby rivers or using pipes to send them underground. The groundwater here is contaminated,’ says Ruhul Amin Bulu, a member of the Palli Bandhu Sangstha, Rajbari.

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4) Muhammad Ranjan, 38, Farmer, Srinagar, Munshiganj

ZONE
Arial Beel

CHANGES
* Rainfall Pattern Change (increased in monsoon and decreased in winter)
* Increased temperatures in monsoon and winter
* Increased humidity

POTENTIAL IMPACTS
* Flood
* Sedimentation


'THIS is a very low area here which is why we dumped extra soil and raised the height of the cultivation land/beds so that random floods could not harm the crop,’ says Muhammad Ranjan. ‘To no avail. Increasing intensity of rain in short bursts are not only flooding their paddy fields, they are also eroding the top soil and leveling the fields again,’ he says.

‘Floods ten years ago were not like this. Sudden floods and heavy unexpected rains are causing water logging at certain times, and lack of rain is causing extreme heat at other times. These all have become unpredictable events and disrupting the regular cycle of crop production,’ Ranjan says.

‘Decrease in the surface water levels is another alarming thing which is forcing us to channel water for irrigation. Normally, we plant jute crops but for this water crisis in the past few years, planting jute crop almost stopped,’ says Ranjan.

Ranjan says that random floods are also destroying the fisheries as well. ‘We are losing the fishes and the overall communication system is being disrupted – we cannot walk anymore and sometimes need to use boats to visit next door neighbors’.

‘We cultivate mainly two types of crops – potato and rice, but in between, we farm a lot of plants to be used as fuel. Sudden floods totally destroy this cultivation’ Ranjan added.

He said, compared to last year, they had a good potato crop this year – 180 maunds, which they harvested in February but due to the soaring price of commodities, the costs of the family have doubled even as his long term income prospects are declining.

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5) Afazuddin Akhand, 70, Farmer, Bhoradoba, Bhaluka, Mymensingh


ZONE
Madhupur Tract

CHANGES
* Rainfall Pattern Change (increased in monsoon and decrease in winter seasons)
* Increased temperatures in monsoon and winter
* Less moisture and increased evaporation and drought
* Humidity

POTENTIAL IMPACTS
* Flood
* Drought

'DUE to irregular rainfall every year and random flood growing rice has become a big risk, more and more farmers are giving up their lands to industrialists building mostly spinning mills and other industries,’ says Afazuddin.

It is not much of a problem for farmers who own large amounts of land, he says, ‘But small farmers like me have small land holdings and if the crop fails, we are ruined in one harvest’.

Afazuddin cultivates rice on 64 decimals of his land, and vegetables like green chili, potato, eggplant, radish and many types of spinach on the rest of his land. He says that he collects on an average of 70 maunds of rice (Boro and Aman) each year and this crop production has seen a downward trend in the last five years. This production is not sufficient to feed his family and he has to buy an extra 130 kilograms of rice every year.

This is due to dearth of water for irrigation during summer, irregular rainfall in monsoon causing rice diseases, and excessive rainfall in many occasions causing knee-high water stagnation in the paddy field, which destroys the base of the Boro crop during Baisakh-Jaishtha (April-May) months and Amon crop during Ashwin-Kartik (September-October) months of the Bangla calendar according to Afazuddin. Moreover, untimely hailstorms damage the rice completely, which is a big blow for the farmers.

‘The winters have become unpredictable in the last five years as they do not provide the chill and shiver like before which is the main ingredient for winter vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage, while at times, unpredictable and excessive fog destroys those crops,’ Afazuddin added.

‘Many of the farmers switched to fish farming (mainly carp) or selling their lands to industrialists, which is more profitable but overall rice production is shrinking, which is our staple food. This is causing the rice shortage’.

*for more climate change profiles as above, see http://www.newagebd.com/2008/may/31/climatechange08/climatechange08.html

Shooting through the roof - price hike of rods destabilising the real estate and housing industry and its consumers in Bangladesh

Shooting through the roof

Saad Hammadi and Faizul Khan Tanim discover how the steel industry has artificially hiked the price of rods destabilising the real estate and housing industry and its consumers as a result

photo by Al-Emrun Garjon

A year ago, an apartment in Mirpur or Uttara would cost Tk 2,500 per squarefeet at a minimum price, today it is Tk. 3,500. An abrupt rise in prices of construction materials has left many potential buyers of flats, deprived. As Mukarram Husain Khan, former president of Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (Rehab) points out, ‘our buyers have become product shy because of their budget failure to afford their desired apartments.’

A New Age investigation this week reveals that the unjustifiable price hike of mild steel rods as one of the major reasons behind the rising price of apartments across the country. A number of construction firms have halted their work in progress in anticipation of a decline in prices of rods.

However, this has led many real estate companies to breach their commitment to clients, say Rehab members.

In the last quarter of 2006 when the market price for a kilogramme of 40-grade (descrived for thinness) mild steel (MS) iron rod was around Tk 40, the government issued tenders for construction setting the price of rods at a little over Tk 52 to construction firms.

Within the excess of Tk 12, a construction firm earned its revenue along with labour, tax and subsidiary costs. However, before the construction firms could initiate their tendered projects, two months later the prices increased again.

A year later, the price has almost doubled outright as the prices within this span have been revised at least nine times. At this, the construction firms failed to cope with the price hike in the construction sector for almost all construction materials.

‘Since then, I am running on a loss of more than Tk 20 lakh on at least six projects that I was issued tenders for,’ says Rokib Mostafa, proprietor of a Jessore-based construction firm Sonex International.

An uncertainty looms over the construction sector at the government’s failure to regulate the market prices for rods.

Not only that some of the construction firms have had to wind up their businesses during the period but Rokib says, most are running on losses over 60 per cent.

The present circumstance of rising prices and government’s failure to intervene and bring it down has put the market to a standstill.

‘We have already bought MS rods at higher prices and if it is brought down now, we will suffer greatly,’ refutes Mizanur Rahman Babul, president of Bangladesh Steel Mill Owners Association.

Abu Taher, secretary, and Mohammad Nasirullah, general secretary of the English Road Iron and Steel Merchants Association echo the same sentiment, stating that if a price ceiling forces them to sell the steel below their purchase price it will create discord between them and their buyers.

Although price of rod in the middle of May declined by Tk 1,500 per tonne (from Tk. 73,000 to Tk. 71,500), the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) this past week has charted an increment to the rod prices once again, by the same amount.

The prices of rods that showed a decline for a scant period has increased once again, regrets Mukarram, who is also the managing director of CapitaLand Development. ‘In fact we are not getting our required steel even after paying in advance. The steel owners are not releasing their products.’

Sources in the construction sector reveal that the current market price of Tk 72,000 and above for a tonne of 60-grade MS rod —the best quality for building construction— is overpriced by Tk 12,000 as it can easily be sold for Tk 60,000.

But Mohammed Mohsin, an executive member of Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association and managing director of Rahim Steel Mills has a different opinion. ‘The prices should be at Tk 80,000 per tonne by now. The cost of production has increased.’

This however, is opposed by real estate owners. ‘Our production cost should be less than our neighbours like India and China,’ Mukarram opines reasoning, ‘Our cost of energy is much cheaper than our neighbouring countries. Our ship breaking and labour cost is cheaper. In many countries they do not allow ship breaking for environmental reasons. In our country the environmental rules are very lax.’

The commerce ministry in its meeting on April 17 said that between November 2007 and February this year, a total of 12 ships were imported by Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association at Tk 36,900 per tonne.

However, in March alone the ship breakers association imported 19 ships at approximately Tk 42,000 per tonne.

The stock in trade for the 31 ships imported in five months does not finish all at once, say Rehab members. It takes at least six months to one year to complete the sale of raw materials from each of those ships.

If that is the actual cost, the ship breakers association can raise the market price by another Tk 20,000 per tonne to meet their duties, expenses and make profit, the ministry’s meeting was informed. The total market price therefore should not exceed Tk. 60,000.

The duty accounts for 10 per cent on ships and ship scraps.

With the existing stock in trade, the price for rods under no circumstances should increase in the local market irrespective of increments in world market price.

The ships purchased in March should facilitate the steel market for at least until November at a much lower price, Mukarram points out.

‘There is no justification for the steep rise in steel prices in the local market right at this moment.’

Meanwhile, the sharp rise on prices of construction materials has not only troubled the construction sector alone but has compounded into a national crisis as the cost of housing and apartments have went beyond the affordability of the people at large.

Square foot prices have gone high irrespective of the areas, say real estate firms. An inquiry at different real state firms reveal that square foot price in Dhanmondi area has increased to Tk 6,000 to Tk 7,000 from Tk 4,500 to Tk 5,000 in 2006. In Gulshan the prices have gone up to Tk 7,000 from Tk 5,000 two years ago.

The construction cost which has increased by 40 per cent in last one year however, has not been fully imposed on the prices of apartments, warns Malik Hafizul Islam, managing director of City Technology Limited and a member of Rehab.

‘A number of real estate firms have halted their construction work on sites waiting for a decline in the cost of materials,’ he says. However, in this unstable market situation, Malik fears that the prices are unlikely to come down within a short time. Land owners and apartment buyers are victims of an indefinite delay on delivery as real estate owners hold back progress to construction in the face of abnormal price hike.

According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, – monitor for the market prices of MS rod– the 60-grade is retailed between Tk 71,000 to Tk 72,500 per tonne and 40grade at Tk 67,000 to Tk 70,000 as of May 27. The 60-grade rod in January last year was available at a maximum price of Tk 40,000 while the 40-grade was Tk 37,000.

A year and a half later the rod prices show an increase by 80 to 90 per cent.

Sources in the Bangladesh Re-rolling Mills Association, however, claim that this is due to an increase in import costs of raw materials and scrap iron, and rising international prices.

‘Almost 30 per cent of the cost of construction of a building actually goes behind the cost of MS rods. This is a huge blow for the construction sector,’ says Tanveerul Haque Probal, an engineer and president of REHAB, ‘Any severe problem in this sector therefore has a direct impact on the employment of 25 lakh day labourers, masons, carpenters, other workers associated with this field and almost one crore of their family members.’

‘A [fair] price of 60-grade MS rod should be Tk 60,000. The additional Tk 12,000 and above are definitely the result of an artificial crisis made by a syndicate.’

‘Real estate is the largest sector which uses the highest number of country’s unskilled labour force. For example, the villagers who migrate to Dhaka can take up any work like breaking bricks, putting distemper (paint) on buildings, laying foundations and dumping soil. Something alarming as this would definitely harm the sector which contributes almost 20 per cent to the country’s GDP,’ continues Tanveerul, providing a grim assessment of the danger of rising costs.

Rehab sources point out that, in addition to these problems, the price hike might aggravate Dhaka’s prevailing accommodation problem and rent prices will increase drastically. Industries dependent on or associated with the construction sector, like banking, advertising, sanitation, paint and others could face serious consequences.

The syndicate within the ship breakers’ association has to be broken, says Malik if the rod market has to calm down. The government must withdraw the ship breaking association’s exclusive right for importing mild steel rods and open the market for all, say real estate firms.

The association members however deny that a syndicate operates within the ship breakers association.

The price of raw materials for rod has increased due to global price increment, says Zafar Alam, chairman of the advisory committee of Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association, denying the association’s involvement in raising the price artificially.

The price of melted scrap that is used for producing 60-grade rod has increased by 87 per cent between March 2007 and April 2008, says Mohammed Mohsin. ‘The price of iron ore that is controlled by India, Australia and Brazil has increased by 250 per cent. Coal, another component used for producing steel is controlled by China and it has raised the price by 200 per cent.’

The commerce ministry in April formed a probe committee to determine why the price of MS rod keeps increasing. One committee member says, ‘we submitted the report to the commerce ministry and if the suggestions made in our report are followed, then the syndicate is likely to be broken’.

‘The prices of melted scrap and ship scrap —raw materials for MS rod— have gone up in the international market, but the hike should not affect the local market before six months to one year because it takes that amount of time to process them into finished materials,’ says a member of the probe committee.

The syndicate is accused of withholding scrap supplies to artificially raise prices and misleading officials about the prices at which they purchased the scrap. ‘This syndicate is saying that they imported melted scrap with prices between $670 and $700 [per tonne] but that is not true. The scrap was priced around $400 to $450 six months back when they bought it.’

Scrap ships that were bought at earlier prices have been on sale over the period, Zafar says, right from when the ships’ cutting began. The stocks are on the verge of ending and therefore, the prices are feared to increase further. New Age however learnt that the association’s latest consignment of 31 ships that arrived between November 2007 and March this year at a cost of between Tk 36,900 and Tk 42,000 per tonne should continue to sell at a much lower price at least until November.

The probe committee member recommended that Tk 900 tax per tonne of scrap should be declared; there should be a flat tax of Tk 1500 per tonne of rod imported to make it easier for any business to import rods without conditions and reduce the dependence on ships. The purchase of ships for breaking should be unrestricted on which the navy and customs have to provide a clearance; and the district commissioner (DC) should restructure and refurbish the ship-making yard to allow new businesses to operate.

‘Under no circumstances our price should be higher or the same as that of our neighbour,’ says Mukarram. ‘Our neighbours’ economy is growing at a very fast speed. Their consumption is very high, and they can get away by charging more because the economy is growing. The economy has eight to ten per cent growth every year.’

http://www.newagebd.com/2008/may/30/may30/xtra_cover.html

A cure for emotion sickness - music of Sumon, Anila and Topu...Bangladesh

A cure for emotion sickness

Faizul Khan Tanim listens to two of the latest albums by Sumon & Anila and Topu, both produced by Fuad, and realizes how these songs are harnessing the power of our everyday emotional lives

A soul looking for romance, love and affection is a lot like someone craving for a high. We all want the cure which will relieve our emotion sickness; we want that euphoria where there is no emptiness and no loneliness, and we want to feel inundated with love.

Of course, these feelings are only temporary. Soon, the nagging starts and quite often the comical phrase of ‘wearing the three rings – the engagement ring, the wedding ring and the suffering’ comes to life and the relationship drives the innate longing for happiness to seek a new substance all over again.

These feelings are beautifully rendered in the two albums in question. It feels like the musicians, with the production of Fuad, narrate the turmoil in our lives.

In the chorus of Shobar Jonno Tumi, a track from their album Akhon Ami, Sumon and Anila sing, ‘Shobar haat e rakhcho je haat, amar angul shunno rekhe...amar kol e akhono kano, tomar chul er sporsho thakey,’ clearly meaning ‘I am missing you,’ but in the acoustic version of the same song, a twist is added to the chorus, which ends with, ‘Tomar kol e akhono kano, amar chul er sporsho thakey?’ The message is sent so beautifully, that it’s actually not me missing you, but vice versa.

The title song will be loved by those who appreciate sarcasm, and it oozes cynicism. The lyrics, vocal style, music composition and even the saxophone playing were so incredible that one is bound to be reminded of Belle’s witty mockery of Gaston in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The song is a beautiful revelation, proclaiming that my life is my own and no one can play with it, nor will it come to a halt for anyone else.

The rest of the songs in the album are as potent as the ones mentioned and are likely to profoundly affect the listeners’ emotions.

The second album is the debut solo effort of Topu, a member of Jaatri, entitled Bondhu Bhabo Ki? In it he unveils a genre of love-blending and heart-wrenching acts that illuminate contemporary romantic thoughts. The credit goes to Topu, whose humble words, polite compositions, acoustic guitar and, most importantly, soothing and serene vocals make the compilation a success. Topu has the charisma of a natural front man, and his sentimental ballads and songs about present-day issues suggest that he is very passionate about his music.

His instant hits from the album, Meye and Nupur-2, tell the tales of beautiful love stories weaved with friendship set in the romantic setting of seashores.

While most of the songs from the album are ballads, Banglar Gaan talks strongly about the country and Ichcher Ghuri, a beautiful duet, is an inspirational song to boost the morale of a generation. Both songs carry Topu’s signature tunes and his usual compositional commitment. All the songs definitely send a message of peace and offer hope to the restless spirit.