As Bengal Classical Music Festival returns for the third time, Dhaka is once again in a state of exuberant celebration. Who would have thought that the classical genre will be able generate this level of enthusiasm here in Dhaka? Many prominent musicians of Bangladesh have attended BCMF. A few of them shares their opinions regarding the event with ICE Today.
Rajrupa Chowdhury
Of course playing classical music requires a lot of commitment, but so does listening to it. When I started learning to play as a child I was told that only playing and practising was not enough, but that it was vital that I listened to music as well. I did not stick to the methods my teacher showed me but I tried out different ways I heard other musicians use. This also stimulated my creativity. If I have nothing original to add then I’m not contributing anything but rather just playing my guru’s music. Through BCMF I got the opportunity to interact with many different types of people – architects, musicians and even ones from corporate circles. When I spoke to an architect I met there, who listens to classical music to some degree, he shared how he actually waited for the Fest to take place again, for November to arrive. Another gentleman I met had a very busy schedule; he went out of his way to arrange his routine so as to accommodate time for the Fest. This other time I had a conversation with a lady who told me that she would finish work quickly so she could attend the Bengal Fest. In the morning she would go home and attend her duties there and eventually return to work before attending the next evening’s program. This is an incredible occasion where people from different walks of life leading vastly different lifestyles can come together to attend a festival on common grounds – the music itself. This is only possible because of the Bengal Classical Music Festival.
Samina Husain Prima
Simply attending the festival reduces stress. The meditative qualities are sort of obvious to us who have grown up practising classical music. But general listeners weren’t aware of it. Classical musicians and dancers have to struggle a lot in order to reach even a semblance of success in Bangladesh. But ever since the Fest started, it has given us hope. It sort of gives meaning to all our struggles. The Fest represents a proper platform to witness, learn and seek inspiration.
Labik Kamal Gaurob of Ajob
There are two aspects I’d like to discuss. The first – there are musicians like us who play contemporary music. We don’t play to make catchy melodies but rather approach the serious side of music, as in playing not solely to make it to the charts. We always complain that enough people aren’t listening to us unless we “rock” things up a bit we aren’t doing it right. However, Bengal Foundation proved us wrong by showing us how thousands of people can sit together and listen to music in complete silence. It’s not even about the music, the mere fact that fifteen thousand people gathered together in a single venue without causing a ruckus, in itself is a huge deal. This showed contemporary musicians a number of things including that there is a serious audience base in Dhaka.The second matter is that there are many in Bangladesh who are actually resistive to classical music. It’s become a stereotype of sorts that classical music induces “sleep”. The younger generation of musicians in our country always focus on speed improvement and instrument techniques from a very “Western” standpoint. Making this group of people listen to such performances, whether live or even on YouTube, would’ve been extremely difficult for us. Bengal Foundation has opened a whole new door for the “uninitiated,” letting them explore a whole new aspect of music. This one fellow I met during the last festival showed up on the first day entirely out of curiosity, and he did get bored by the end of the night. He showed up the very next day with a friend regardless of his own complaints. His complaints subsided on the third and ultimately he ended up attending all four days, along with his family and friends. I think this is a fantastic enterprise as well as an awesome opportunity for the audience.
Saadul Islam
Ustaad Azizul Islam, my uncle, is a renowned classical musician and when I was young, every time he would have a show he’d invite us. I would always dread those shows, thinking that they were boring. I bet many would understand my sentiment. I haven’t had the opportunity to properly experience Indian classical music before this festival started. I, personally, never expected myself to enjoy it this much. I never would have thought that I would ditch work and take all my friends to go be part of such an event. It was very inspiring for me. My family isn’t all that much into music, much less classical music, except my sister. But even they are excited about this event. It has become sort of like a culture and I think that’s amazing. Props to Bengal Foundation for making it happen!
Pinto Kumar Ghosh of Chirkutt
Even though Bangladesh has a rich history of classical music, throughout the years, the influence and practise of classical music has taken a back stage to make way for more ‘easy to get’ music. The hard work, commitment and struggle it requires discouraged many. What the Bengal Classical Music Festive has done so far is to make classical music accessible to the general audience. During the Fest of 2013, around twenty five to thirty thousand people stayed until dawn listening to the various performances. As a musician, I think that presenting such a niche genre of music in such a significant way is a praiseworthy endeavour. Many musicians, like me, are getting to experience something new by learning fresh methods. Watching the gurus live teaches us a lot about on-stage presentation, techniques, playing and performance. Watching a video of the same performance on YouTube is not enough to bring about this level of inspiration. In Bangladesh, I think this is the only event that can do this.
Buno
The most exciting thing about the Fest is that it goes on for four to five nights on an end and the audience turns up for each of those days and stay back until the break of dawn. Whether they’re listening to music or simply hanging out, they go and stick around for the entire night. And the best part is that Bengal provides transportation. This is extremely considerate of them. I can listen to music until two in the morning without much thought because I know that there is a sure way to go back even during those hours. I didn’t have to concern myself with safety issues or finding public transports. When I watch great musicians, like BB King, perform abroad at international festivals, I’d be awestruck. Most people in Bangladesh do not get a chance to see great musicians like that. Festivals like this actually give a sense of how big the world is. This exposure was much needed and I’m glad it’s occuring in this scale in Dhaka now. Whether one plays music or not, most people in Bangladesh have never been exposed to music on this level, ever.
Sharmin Sultana Sumi of Chirkutt
We’ve all been frustrated with the music scene of Bangladesh for a while, not that we aren’t anymore, what with all the piracy, no royalty, etc. The first time the festival took place my band and I were performing in Delhi. This was the first time we got to play music on an international level. We were read about it all on Facebook and other social media sites. It had clearly become a big deal in a very short time. It genuinely felt like we were missing out on something extraordinary and that too in Dhaka. But thankfully we were able to attend the second one. The much needed success of BCMF is an inspiration for Bangladesh and hopefully someday we’ll be attending other such music festivals of different genres. The concept of a festival concert is still very fresh in Bangladesh and it has effectively stirred general audiences.