My Publications

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 o...

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 lo...

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 singin...

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 y...

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, the...

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 (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 weath...