How To Save A Life

I, just like several others of my age agree that the music being made these days is like just another season that will eventually go away, lose its charms and character. Seasons come by again as the earth revoles, but here todays music fails to resemble the seasons for they won't be listened to again. Teenagers still crave for music by such legends as Eric Clapton, John Lenon, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, but will the next generation crave for the music by Britney Spears or Eminem? Probably not, but that doesn't also rule out the fact that great music is still being made, music that conveys message that soothes the soul. A good example would be the song 'How to save a life' by the band 'The Fray'. The lyrics so wonderfully written in such simple deep words connects even more wonderfully with the piano and guitars and the soulful voice of the vocalist. Many might still consider this to be plain 'commerical' music but I would ask them to listen to the song again and listen to the lyrics and only then would they know how beautiful it really is.

The Right, The Wrong

There are ways in which one is expected to behave, rules set to differentiate between the good and the bad, the right and the wrong. Laws established to punish the ones who cross the line and step into the not-to-be-talked-about other side, step down to decadence, to the chamber of demons and grotesque evil that turns them into one of their own. Yet how many of us have actually been there? Is it really a chamber where red tongued demons float about in harmonious vice and lick the blood of the innocent? Or is it the superficial image imposed in our minds so panoramically by the even more superficial society?

What would be a valid explanation for wrong? Is it wrong for a young child to want what is not his own? Most will disagree with me for the child doesn’t know what he should or should not want. But it is still ‘most’, not all. The idea of wrong and right various with age groups, personalities and background. Yet how can we so easily claim that a person is wrong if in fact what we perceive to be wrong might be right to several others? How do we continue to rely and want to abide by the rules set by society, when the ones who comprise of the society seldom act according to their lofty words? When all they are doing is dinning with the devil himself and pointing fingers at us? When their sons and daughters are associated with all that is wrong and they sit around and pass sardonic judgments on you and your offspring? Perhaps we are blind, blind to see all the obscenities, the injustice and the sycophancy so impeccably hidden. Or rather, are we frightened? Frightened of being labeled, being known in society as ‘the one’ who broke the rules and ‘the one' that should be discriminated and questioned, better yet discarded?

Relationships cease to remain the same with time. Most tend to take a downhill ride, crashing into stones and thorns on the way. We tend to contemplate and ruminate about what went wrong. Was I to blame? Where did i go wrong? And the questions too keep crashing like landslides in our heads, leaving us in a blurry world of bewilderment that only caters to the lost. Some of us are not the obsessing kind and seldom wish to ponder over what has been lost. These are the brave ones, the insensitive ones, the ones who would say ‘Never regret, Never apologize’ like John Le Carré had stated through one of his characters in the novel ‘The Naïve and Sentimental Lover’. We say we are individuals, each unique in our behavior and personality. As true as that is, my sociology professor once said ‘You say you are individuals but I do not see any of the young men wearing a skirt or anyone being naked. I do not see anyone standing on their desks or dancing around. But y’all are sitting down where you are supposed to be and wearing clothes that may have different colors and patterns, regardless the men are all wearing some form of shirts and pants and the women dressed in shalwar kameez”

Hence are we to consider that sociology has invalidated the obvious? We again fail to see the obvious. We may be unique and diverse but our actions put us all in groups or patterns which reveals that maybe we are not that different after all. Well then how do we acknowledge people with whom we have nothing in common, whose personality changes like the colors of a chameleon and ‘us and them’ could be compared to ‘ebony and ivory’? I assume some things are just beyond our comprehension and are a part of the wondrous, enigmatic, horrendous, unpredictable and dark journey that we call life.

Will the surprises ever end? Will we have peace of mind and will the questions finally fade away? I can’t help but smile because I just realized I’m again asking more questions. Maybe we shouldn’t question or maybe we should I do not know, but yes I do know that whoever said ‘Ignorance is bliss’ couldn’t have said anything more right in his/her life.

The Norm

I’m back to the norm
But the norm is suddenly the exact opposite of the norm
Pretentious and deceptive
Rules, rituals and the vague society
Cruel enough to cut like a knife
Will we ever be understood?
Or simple drift by like a wandering wind?

120 Performers in One Show

Kutub Uddin Kamal experiences the biggest ever music festival organised in Bangladesh in the five-day Music Festival 2007
photo by Al-Emrun Garjon

For music-enthusiasts, the five day long Music Festival 2007 at the Bashundhara city was tantamount to history in the making when they witnessed, for the first time ever, 120 performers take part in one single event. Not only were they treated to the songs, albums of all these artists were launched through this event and was put up for sale. Several hundred people thronged level-7 of Bashundhara City from September 6 to 10 for the event which was organised by Showbiz Entertainment, the first of its kind in Bangladesh. It turned out to be a shrine for music-lovers all across the country. ‘The core motive of this festival was to try and bring all those involved in music including artists, record companies and people in the music arena together under one roof,’ says Mehdi Hassan of Showbiz Entertainment. Inspired by the South Park Music Festival, the festival was also the celebration of Showbiz Entertainment’s seven year anniversary. The event featured an astounding 120 artists including some

of the biggest names in the music industry like Bappa Majumder, Habib Wahid, Ornob, Mehrin, Kumar Biswajit, Mila, Kaniz Shuborna and previous Close Up-1 contestants and winners along with the bands, Cryptic Fate, Artcell, Yaatri, Renaissance, Abida & Pentagon, Nemesis. ‘The festival was not just about the performances but also an initiative to promote music in Bangladesh and expose more people to local music,’ mentions Mehdi. ‘We have organised several one day concerts at home and abroad but had never done anything this big.’ During its 5-day run, ‘Jhalmuri-1 & 2’, two mixed albums were launched. Both the albums featured tracks by several renowned music artists. The floor was surrounded by small stalls featuring thriving music companies like G series, Ektaar Music as well as popular radio stations and television channels. While music albums could be purchased from the record company stalls, the festival also sported a celebrity corner where celebrities could sit and enjoy music. This allured more people to visit the festival in an attempt to see their favourite stars. Celebrities were not just restricted to music artists but came from all media backgrounds such as television and movies to show their support in helping the promotion of music. The festival continued from 10am till 7pm everyday during the five days. While people of all age groups continued to arrive throughout the days, Mehdi adds, ‘The maximum of the visitors were teenagers or young adults.’ Organising such an enormous event and especially to be able to schedule performances for all the artists is palpably challenging. However, Mehdi mentions that the artists have been very co-operative and extremely enthusiastic about this event and its outcome. Above all, the event was entirely non-commercial. ‘We did not charge any money for the stalls and have also had to bear a considerable amount of loss. Yet we decided to go along with this project because we believe it would make a difference in the music scene of Bangladesh today,’ he says. The music artists who performed at the festival did so voluntarily without any payment from the organiser, reflecting their keenness towards promoting music and creating a better atmosphere for future music artists and music-lovers. Events like this should be prevalent in all media sectors to help our entertainment industry to go one step forward, expressed organisers.

A New Era in Fashion Designing and Education

“I don't design clothes, I design dreams” as Ralph Lauren had once stated, we too design a dream, a dream of boasting about our own fashion industry, comprising of globally acclaimed brands and we as a nation, would beam with pride. The dream is no longer a fantasy but is in the making of a reality. We have come a long way from the time when children’s clothes were the products of their mother’s wondrous weaving expertise, when fashion was a term seldom acknowledged by most. Yet not many could have prophesied the introduction and need for fashion in our society. Today, it doesn’t require a keen observer to notice how fashion is associated in our lives, for even a simple garment worker tries to keep up with the latest trend as allowed by her meager salary.
This transformation didn’t occur overnight and was backed by several individuals and institutions who worked effortlessly to promote fashion and help those interested in fashion education to pursue their dream.

The first of such institutions is INIFD – an international design institute that was launched in Bangladesh in 2002 at Banani. A sister concern of Giant Management & Services Limited, the core aim of the institution is to help those students who are deprived of fashion education rather than making a large profit, mentions Sharmeen Hassan, the executive director of INIFD. ‘Today everyone wants to make their own fashion statement as opposed to before when whatever was available at the malls was considered to be fashion’ says Sharmeen. She explains that there is a lot more to fashion designing than what people perceive, there is much to learn including lessons on the history of costumes, the different eras etc. Aside from the minimum requirements, students have to sit for an entrance test before enrollment. Scholarships are given to meritorious students.

INIFD has a fine environment and rich laboratory & library facilities. ‘It is a brilliant institution for studying fashion with an experienced faculty; students willing to join should work hard and the results will speak for themselves’ says Nusrat Fatema, a student of INIFD.
It is a widespread misconception that students studying fashion will end up being unemployed, but Sharmeen explicates that individuals with a background in fashion are required in garments, buying houses and may open their own boutiques. ‘Teaching at INIFD is a pleasure and the enthusiasm of the students is amazing’ says Kazi Kamrul, who teaches Graphics and also says that the institution is a promising one for fashion education.

Eight students from INIFD participated in ‘The Lakme Next Gen Designer Search 2007’ - the first televised competition held for designers in Bangladesh, and three made it to the top ten of the competition.

The institution which stated off with merely twenty five students has palpably come a long way and Sharmeen has soaring expectations ‘I dream that one day my students will design clothes for grammy winning celebrities’


Pearl Fashion Institute (PFI) started in Bangladesh in March 2006 at its Baridhara campus. It is a branch of Pearl Academy of Fashion, India and is affiliated with the prestigious Nottingham Trent University, UK. PFI is a leading institute which provides quality education and includes mostly recognized international faculty members. It occupies a four storey building and provides a tranquil atmosphere for studies with a proper library & well equipped laboratories for sewing, graphics etc. Scholarships are available for commendable students. ‘The industry for fashion in Bangladesh has tremendous possibilities and it is just a beginning’ says Rajat Bhattacharya, the executive director for PFI. He also assures that there are incredible opportunities for employment in the sector.
‘People misconstrue the garment industry to be only producing jackets or sweat shirts, but they fail to see the glamour involved’ mentions Rajat. He says that every country is driven by youth and it is the young generation who will take this industry forward. ‘Bangladesh has had a consistent positive growth in the garment industry which is an exception and it will sustain itself with the help of trained professionals who we help to make at PFI’ states Rajat. He also adds that if Bangladesh has such local professionals a giant amount of foreign currency will be saved for the country and help the economy massively.
‘It is extremely gratifying and fulfilling to be working at PFI. To be able to see my students become successful is a gift’ says Garima Sribastaba, the head of academics at PFI and adds that with the international access that PFI has, students need not worry of employment.
‘At PFI job assurance is 100%’ says Prokash Dash, a graduate from PFI who is currently an executive merchandiser at Beximco. ‘PFI not only focuses on academics but also trains students for the work place and gives emphasis on learning English’ He adds.
Archana an international consultant and a visiting faculty at PFI says ‘PFI is a very interactive institution and the system of studying is quite unlike from what students are habituated to in colleges or universities and the commitment of students is remarkable’

The time has come for an evolution in our country. Be it fashion, music or art, but one should be able to choose the career of his/her desire. Nurturing ones talents can help a person to gain the true zest one needs for success. The basic reason for spending nearly one-third of a person’s life in education is to obtain a respectable job, but if satisfaction at work is unattainable, is there really any joy in working? Occupations are not just restricted to engineering and medicine, as our society may have one believe, but it is us who can alter this disturbing trend and make a difference. With fashion schools such as INIFD and PFI, the choice is yours.




INIFD:

Location: 41, Kemal Ataturk Avenue (5th Floor), Banani.
Courses: fashion designing, Textile designing, manufacturing, marketing, merchandising, pattern making and grading
Minimum Requirement: ‘O/A level’ or H.S.C
Duration: 6 month courses to 2 years of Advance Diploma.
Fees: Tk. 22,000 (6 months) - Tk. 42,000 per year depending on course.
Contact: 9893510, 9862341

Pearl Fashion Institute (PFI):

Location: H#11, R#6, Baridhara.
Courses: Fashion designing, merchandising, production technology, marketing, clothing technology, knit wear merchandising.
Minimum Requirement: ‘A level’ or H.S.C
Duration: 1-2 years depending on course
Fees: Tk. 90, 000 – Tk. 205,000 depending on course
Contact: 8857763, 9887419