Tamzidur Rahman reviews Jatra Biroti
Culture is an ever-evolving phenomenon especially in a growing metropolitan like Dhaka. Being home to a diverse many, the city has seen its fair share of change in the last few decades. In terms of music, the 1990s were all about the local pop from greats like Azam Khan, Nagar Baul and Ayub Bachchu. The 2000s were a golden time for the Dhaka rock music scene with younger musicians like Cryptic Fate and Black taking centre stage. The current times, mid-2010s to be specific, has taken a very different turn from the preceding decades. Our traditional arts, crafts and music are finally being embraced by the younger people with much more enthusiasm than ever before.
Jatra Biroti, a multi-purpose event space (and occasional art lounge), is all the rage nowadays. Jatra introduced the event in order to promote what they call the “Jatra culture.” Although Jatra does host a variety of events ranging from crafts exhibitions to concerts by foreign artistes, what really attracts the crowd is their weekend agenda. The Friday Open Mic Sessions at Jatra provide a unique platform for up and coming musicians (or simply just enthusiasts) to perform for the attendees. People casually gather around on Jatra’s rooftop located at 60 Kemal Ataturk, Banani during such evenings with their friends to do more than just enjoy the music. The Saturday Electro/Acoustic Sessions are a more serious ordeal. Established musicians take the stage on these days – even the audience that attend are more than just casual listeners. Although music is what drives these evenings, Jatra offers more than just that. The entry charge (Tk 300 on Fridays and Tk 400 on Saturdays) includes complimentary tea and chotpoti/phuchka. The decor is very folksy – the walls and floor plastered with cultural symbolism and colour. The lighting is dim providing a very rural and rustic ambience. An ample space for people to just stretch their legs and get away from the music to hangout doesn’t hurt either.
“I genuinely have nothing bad to say about Jatra. I think they’ve started something really amazing. I think the best thing is definitely the environment. I’ve been to a few similar events in the past, but the crowd, food or just the unnecessary chatter all around was a mood killer. But at Jatra they’ve really set the tone well. You can sit in front of the stage and just listen to the music and I like how personal and cosy that is. On the other hand if you want to chat with your friends and also enjoy the music, you can go to the other side. And the local food only adds to it. All in all, the cosy, earthy intimate feel of Jatra’s events is why I’ll keep going back again and again.”
– Shuprova Tasneem, Deputy Manager at Brac
“Finally an event for music enthusiasts where they can truly experience different forms of folk, psychedelia and electronic music from established as well as up and coming artists. Weekends aren’t as boring anymore when you can go to one of the shows, get a nice cup of tea, sit around with a bunch of hipsters and enjoy the soothing sonic conjurations of these fine young artists.”
– Irad Mustafa, Officer at DBBL
“For 300 bucks you get amazing phuchka, unlimited tea and raw entertainment in the form of live music by talented artists (both old and new). It’s an amazing initiative! Jatra Biroti’s commitment to making their venue a very relaxed, chill music wonderland is nothing short of amazing. It’s low key but has a very laid back vibe that’s charged with inspiration – be it the way they have draperies on stage to the floored seating arrangement to the open air roof top set up.”
– Anita Amreen, Staff Writer at Dhaka Tribune
“As weekend approaches, Jatra Biroti’s amazing rooftop gathering gives us all something to look forward to. It’s such a great platform for musicians to come together, collaborate, introduce different kinds of talents! I remember watching a young kid beatbox in one of the shows and being completely awed at the fact that this kind of talent existed around us. All in all, its an absolutely remarkable initiative making Dhaka that much more interesting.”
– Istela Imam, Graphic Designer