My Publications

Songs screaming Bangladesh If we had one great compilation of patriotic band songs, of contemporary nationalistic hymns, which would boil our blood with patriotic passion, give goose bumps or even make our hair standup. Which would they be? Writes Faizul Khan Tanim Bangladesh by George Harrison and friends This is the song, which ignited immense strength and power for all freedom craving Bangladeshis in 1971. And again around the early 90’s, when popular TV show Ittyadi telecasted the powerful music video of this song, once again, The Concert for Bangladesh was revisited and it oozed out inspiration about our nation’s birth for the young generation. And today, when this immortal song is played with Harrison’s words: My friend came to me, with sadness in his eyes. He told me that he wanted help before his country dies. Although I couldn’t feel the pain, I knew I had to try. Now I’m asking all of you to help us save some lives...Bangla Desh, Bangla Desh, our citizens should remi...

Powerful, perpetual, and optimistically melancholic Faizul Khan Tanim finds himself mesmerised and awestruck by Black’s latest work Finally, rock music is back again in the midst of other reigning fruity genres. Thankfully, Black’s third studio release ‘Abar’ is filled with sound of acoustic instruments and carries the essence of the prevalent international music scene. Their guitar notes are more emotional than ever. The compositions are built on simple yet energised guitar riffs, kicks, with upbeat imaginative drumming, overwhelming hollered vocals with melodic outline of the song phrases and harmonious bass lines diving into ‘stylish’ without being extravagant guitar solos – a rock music enthusiast’s dream-come-true compilation. So, welcome to this generation’s midlife emotional crisis because the songs of this compilation speak of just that. The album’s most sublime rock minutes are probably the duration of track number six Ei Gaan, a song about clutching on to a vengeance a...

Black launches 3rd album Rock band Black in cooperation with Warid Telecom released its third album titled ‘Abar’ on Thursday at the Bashundhara City Shopping Complex in the city after a break of five years. The band launched its first album in 2001 titled ‘Amar Prithibi’ and second album ‘Uthsaber Par’ in 2002. As the CD was played on the loop at the launching ceremony, it was made clear to the fans by the band that they did not fall short in creating contemporary and creative rock sound. Yes, Black did it again! From their release of the track ‘Obinashshar’ in a mixed album in 2002 onwards, they sent a bold message of creating fresh compositions. Their music always captured the essence of pre- valent international market of the time. The latest title Abar has one of the most superb album cover – a fusion of classic retro style with post-modern alternative rock attitude. All the ten songs from the album have their unique style and taste. With excellent sound production, mature composi...

Our hero on aviators One of the exceptional film actors of the silver screen, Riaz tells Faizul Khan Tanim about the struggles he has overcome from his career and his admiration for ‘Top Gun’ photo by Momena Jalil From aviation, to entertainment and now about to enter business, celebrated film actor Riaz is flying high and looks beyond. Blessed with boyish good looks, a ‘mystery-shrouded’ past, inimitable manners and appropriate acting skills, Riazuddin Ahmed Siddique today stands tall in the silver screen and is one of the most revered heroes in Bengali cinema. He has also made forays in modeling, television drama as well as art house production. Sitting for an interview with him in his house, I noticed his home décor spelled boldness and manliness in a subtle note, and with a tinge of male ego —there are vertical swords as wall hangings, the air force eagle decoration pieces, Victorian furniture, award plates and crests. Amazingly, no show-off and fancy pictures of him hugging super...

Third person singular number Faizul Khan Tanim writes on Farooki’s latest venture Dealing with the issue of a single woman living independently in our society, the movie ‘Third Person Singular Number’ asks an inevitable question- is she always meant to be treated as an outcast? If the subject itself does not excite you, than be informed, that the movie will be packed with dialogue scripted by none other than the dynamic duo of Mostafa Sarwar Farooki and Anisul Huq, while the music score will be done by contemporary musician Topu. After the success of ‘Bachelor’ and ‘Made in Bangladesh’, this will be Farooki’s third full feature film and it promises to be a trailblazer deviating from the first two in content and style, yet retaining Farooki’s signature perks. To start, Farooki never ceases enthuse audiences with his out-of-the-box titles. This time around, Farooki could not have chosen a better name to capture the plight of single woman by using a phrase from the grammar books, wh...

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...

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 ha...