My Publications

An year in soul, metal, Tagore and acoustic This year saw some fantastic music and also introduced some promising talents. Faizul Khan Tanim speaks to those who have not only made it to the top but are here to stay 2007 has been an eventful year of music- from the advent of the thrashers Power Surge to the soulful melody of Krishnakali to the creativite rendition of Tagore in Sahana’s vocals and the art of song-writing that Yaatri has introduced– it is needless to say that they have made their mark in the music industry, making this year’s music memorable. While some of these artists have undoubtedly made a mark for years, others have just started their journey and hopefully, will go a long way. Casting Tagore in a new light - Sahana Bajpaie Through the use of a variety of instruments including the guitar and Esraaj, Sahana has reintroduced Tagore song and made it lovable to her generation. There is little that needs to be said about Sahana Bajpaie, who has had a life-long love for Ra...

The story of a dying forest According to the book ‘With the Wild Animals of Bengal’ there was once panthers at the Madhupur forest. Today, there are timber thieves, banana and rubber plantations, dacoits, a shooting range, and blaring speakers. It won’t be long before someone will need to write its obituary, writes Faizul Khan Tanim Photo by Philip Gain Hiking down the highway from Dhaka to Mymensingh and Tangail, trees line both sides of the road giving a semblance of abundance to the Madhupur forest. Monkeys venture out in small groups to steal bananas that are travelling on the back of vans, heading to different marketplaces. The image of abundance is, however, an artificial front. A few steps inside the forest lies hundreds of hectares of barren land, dead roots sit in place where large trees once stood, while banana trees, pineapple trees and other fruit trees, cultivated for human consumption, have replaced the age-old indigenous trees of the forest. Thousands of priceless and ex...

Singing free by Faizul Khan Tanim Mora ekti phul ke bachabo boley judhdho kori mora ekti mukh er hashir jonno ostro dhori Words such as these go beyond the tales of Mukti Bahini in 1971 and whip nationalistic feeling. Where words fall short of doing justice to those who gave up their lives for an independent Bangladesh, there are powerful songs of independence that pulsate within hearts of millions and bring memories to life. Irish activist James Connolly once said in 1907 that ‘No revolutionary movement is complete without its poetical expression. If such a movement has caught hold of the imagination of the masses, they will seek a vent in song for the aspirations, the fears and hopes, the loves and hatreds engendered by the struggle. Until the movement is marked by the joyous, defiant, singing of revolutionary songs, it lacks one of the most distinct marks of a popular revolutionary movement; it is a dogma of a few, and not the faith of the multitude’. During the liberation war, pat...

Sanjeeb Chowdhury (1962 – 2007) Singer, songwriter, journalist, founder of Dalchhut – Sanjeeb was so many things to so many people but, above all, he was an animated and emotional human being, writes Faizul Khan Tanim photo by Moin Uddin/Drik SanjeebChowdhury’s untimely death at the age of 45 has moved people and music enthusiasts across the country. His deep voice, urgent lyrics and soulful music has made a tremendous impact in the lives of many and the country’s music scene is paying large tributes to this prodigy. Hailing from Habiganj, Sanjeeb began his career as a journalist in the 1980’s. In the mid-1990’s, he along with renowned musician Bappa Mazumder started the band ‘Dalchhut’, which raised him to the heights of fame. ‘gari cholena, cholena’, ‘bioscope’ and ‘amake ondho kore diyechilo chand’ are some of his timeless songs during his time with the band. Bappa Mazumder turned very emotional while reminiscing about the man who many people affectionately refer to as Sanjeeb Da. T...

Delta of the dead Faizul Khan Tanim visits Bagerhat district, one of the worst-affected cyclone-hit areas in the country and discovers how people are living without food, without water, without a roof, dead human, animals and trees surrounding them, absence of aid and being cheated of relief and finally, to compound their miseries, the fear of tigers illustration Shibu Kumar Shill photos Andrew Biraj/Sanaul Haque/Focusbangla The victims of hurricane SIDR which left thousands dead and many more thousands homeless, now live under the open sky, under inhuman conditions, without food, water and shelter. Along the shores of Baleshwar River towards Shoronkhola in Bagerhat district – one of the worst cyclone hit regions- the sight of human and animal corpses floating around has become a common scene. There is a sinister silence, which often breaks in a loud cry, howling and tears of a family as they are recovering dead bodies of their family members. Those who are still alive on the broken e...

Land-grabbers attack adivasis Faizul Khan Tanim visits the indigenous Oraon community in Naogaon who were recently attacked by local land-grabbers, leaving 16 houses gutted and many injured photo by Al-Emrun Garjon At 7:00am on November 5, a neighbourhood of the indigenous Oraon community in Uttar Kazipara village of Patnitala Upazilla of Naogaon district woke up to a violent assault by local hoodlums who set fire on 16 thatched mud houses, broke them, looted goods, and burnt the rest that could not bagged. More astonishingly, the attack was launched upon the women of the community as most of the men had gone to work. ‘We had earlier heard that they would attack us on the night of November 4 so we had set up strong guard and vigilance to resist them, throughout the night,’ says Mohishshor Karkata, a community member. ‘But nothing happened that night.’ ‘But following morning, the gang decided to instigate their attack shamelessly on our unarmed women as we all men went to work. They t...

The school of joy Faizul Khan Tanim returns from Dinajpur fascinated by the architecture of the premises of METI School, which is considered a breakthrough in architectural design and is also inspiring the villagers in future development photos by Anna Heringer/Khandakar Hasibul Kabir The nine projects that won the prestigious 2007 Aga Khan Award for Architecture ranges from a sustainable residential tower in Singapore to a village school hand-built by local craftspeople in Dinajpur. Built in four months by members of the local community and volunteer architects from Germany and Austria, the school makes use of easily available local materials like mud, straw and bamboo to create a new model that is being touted as an architectural feat. The first sight of METI (modern education and training institute) school in Rudrapur, Dinajpur, can very easily be mistaken as an ancient, exotic, temple or structure from the land around the Himalayas. On a sunny morning, the school building basks in...

The man behind the shades Ferdous Wahid was the most dazzling artist of the early 1970s. Wearing funky and flowery printed shirts, bell-bottom trousers and large sunglasses – he was the first to bring disco elements into Bangla songs and is still going strong, writes Faizul Khan Tanim photo Andrew Biraj FERDOUS Wahid is a symbol of pop with his flashy clothes and cheerful songs, and his music is loved by millions today. As a pop star, he started wearing sunglasses and made it a fashion statement. Watching Elvis in his bright, shiny attire and glasses was a huge encouragement for him. He remembers the first time he went to record a song for a TV programme, how all the makeup and high-powered light glowing on his face brought tears to his eyes. Inspiration struck, and he took the help of goggles to cover up those tears of joy. And from that day it became Wahid’s signature. Today, Wahid fondly remembers, ‘Soon, people could not even identify me without the pair of sunglasses. My glitzy cl...

A quest for new sound After Shono! Habib is back with Panjabiwala featuring Shireen. Faizul Khan Tanim speaks to him about the album, his work and music The celebrated artiste- singer and composer Habib is perhaps never short of coming up with exclusive and unique tracks. Following instant success of Shono! Habib is back this Eid with his much anticipated album ‘Panjabiwala’. His collaboration with Shireen has certainly added to the quality of the album. The tune is simply tantalising and towards the beginning Shireen’s dreamy, yet boyish, voice with the verse Roshik telkajala, oi lal kurtawala…dili boro jala re panjabiwala…moves ones’ sensibilities. She has a deep accent which captures the baul essence very well. Habib himself speaks of Shireen very highly. ‘There are two ways in which I can work with good music. One is by producing remixes or composing my own music and the other is when I find a great voice to collaborate with. When I first heard Shireen, I thought she has massive ta...

A quest for new sound After Shono! Habib is back with Panjabiwala featuring Shireen. Faizul Khan Tanim speaks to him about the album, his work and music The celebrated artiste- singer and composer Habib is perhaps never short of coming up with exclusive and unique tracks. Following instant success of Shono! Habib is back this Eid with his much anticipated album ‘Panjabiwala’. His collaboration with Shireen has certainly added to the quality of the album. The tune is simply tantalising and towards the beginning Shireen’s dreamy, yet boyish, voice with the verse Roshik telkajala, oi lal kurtawala…dili boro jala re panjabiwala…moves ones’ sensibilities. She has a deep accent which captures the baul essence very well. Habib himself speaks of Shireen very highly. ‘There are two ways in which I can work with good music. One is by producing remixes or composing my own music and the other is when I find a great voice to collaborate with. When I first heard Shireen, I thought she has massive ...

So what are you listening to this Eid? Faizul Khan Tanim explores the different tunes that the audio market is offering this Eid. From hip to smooth, it looks like this Eid there is a song for everyone Festivals like Eid can’t get any better with new and fresh music. This holiday, the city-dwellers can certainly expect some great and spicy tunes. The audio market during holidays almost always has something exclusive to offer but this time the collection is vast and distinct. Tune in to our audio market of Bangla songs and you will see the different flavours of tunes and songs. This year’s Eid collection is a huge array of different genre of music- the kind that can cater everyone’s taste. From the head banging rock music, amazing fruity remixes of pop, folk, electronic music, blues and psychedelic music along with a number of experimental fusion works of different topnotch artistes- the audio industry is offering music for almost anyone. Till date, Eid-ul-Fitr is still associated wit...

ROUTE 666 – where the devil logon – BEWARE of the streets where MOLOM PARTY prowl I’m sure everybody read reports about the infamous MOLOM PARTY in Dhaka. The victims are not only stripped of all valuables but left unconscious on the street to lose their eye sight and in some instances…die. Eid is around the corner and yet, the sense of security seems to be degrading day by day. Be aware if your CNG driver suddenly stops near the Film Development Corporation (FDC) gate near Karwan Bazar, Banani Road 11, in front of Dhaka Sheraton Hotel or other notorious places marked 666, after dusk complaining of a breakdown. Because in a zippy, three to four young men would close in from both sides and jump inside the vehicle. One of them would sit on your lap, if you were alone. The others would hold a gun or a knife against your head. In a muggers-friendly situation, and for example in Tejgaon - the autorickshaw would then start and proceed towards the Tongi Diversion road and on the way, your po...

The old James is back James’s upcoming album Toofan is most likely to become a twister of sound, lyrics and emotions. In an interview with New Age, he reveals the desire to work in Bangladesh more vigorously, writes Faizul Khan Tanim photo by Al-Emrun Garjon Affectionately called Guru and popularly known as the Nagar Baul – city bard, James on the interview set made it clear that he wants to work in our music industry more enthusiastically. ‘I’ve been working outside the country for quite a bit now and I feel that time has come to offer my efforts just to Bangladesh. I want to do regular gigs, be on the television with music videos and interact more with my fans here’. ‘If there is spare time after all these, then maybe I will work outside our industry’, explained the smiling Guru. Sitting on the set of a music video shoot with songs from his upcoming album for the Eid program Golden Moment to be aired on Ekushey Television (ETV), produced by Alamgir Hossain, James gave an interesting...

A tool to educate children Faizul Khan Tanim interviews Sarwar-ul-Islam, winner of this year’s M Nurul Quader Children’s Literature Award, and finds out why more novels should be written for young people The award-winning book ‘Kalopori’A child’s delicate heart and mind has its first spark of vivid imagination through bedtime stories and lullabies. Children’s novels introduce the child to people, places and ideas; as well helps build dreams and ambition from their little discoveries and adventures. Story books, most importantly, cultivate affection and create a bond between the child and writing. The words and illustrations from stories not only enhance their vocabulary and strengthen their ability to use language, but it also helps them understand the complexities of everyday life, the country’s history, popular folklores- much-needed for the proper upbringing of every child. Sarwar-ul-Islam, winner of the M Nurul Quader Children’s Literature Award 2007 for his book titled Kalo Pori ...