“Chol chol chol
Urdho gogone baje matol
Chol re chol re chol…”
Sang the voices of the many musical artists that were present on the Shahid Minar premise the 16thof February, as they made their way to the Shahbag’s Projonmo Chottor. A musicians Alliance Project in Dhaka
Acoustic Guitar strums, drum beats and a wide orchestration of voices… all harmonious to the rhythm of “chol chol chol” the revolutionary anthem by Kazi Nazrul Islam, filled the airwaves of the Shahid Minar premise. Witnessed once again by her some 42 years later.
Footsteps marched on….
Their journey somewhat similar to that of Hamelin’s pied piper but not half as dreadful but rather enlightening, illumination radiated through their music, triggering the hearts of many who soon followed along, singing the same song as inspiration soon filled the airwaves. Struck by the magical flute of passion, the true power of music rediscovered.
All unanimous, all together, unified, with a regiment of hundreds of voices all carrying the same message in their breaths, that same glimmer of hope in their eyes, they marched, marched for the hope of justice, the hope we need, the justice we deserve.
“Everyone has a strength, a power, a true talent in them, and that speaks louder than words when expressed. We here all have the same talent and that is music and all we want here is for our voices to be heard!” – a musician in the crowd.
The event was organized by Jewel and Rafa through their newly established Musician Alliance, an attempt to unify all the musicians together regardless of their popularity or their musical talents and to strengthen their voice, unanimous this time.
Nearly all the rock bands came through. The big shots in rock music such as Black, Cryptic Fate, Miles, Powersurge, Artcell, Mechanix, Arbovirus, and many more, as well as the smaller indie bands made their mark there.
“The news spread through Facebook, It was short noticed but despite that, despite our busy schedules we all seemed to have made it here” says Farshid, a member of the music band Bohemian and the host of the Music Buzz show in channel Ekkator.
Zohad from Nemesis spoke that the protest non-violent in nature is an attempt to bring forth a justice for the war criminals and also for the death of blogger Rajib Haider. “It’s a heinous and serious act of terrorism they committed and for that they deserve punishment, our attempt is to bring forth the justice for that.” mentioned Zohad.
The guitarist of Powersurge, Nahiyan, wearing Che’s iconic star marked hat, talked about the many struggles that he had to go through to achieve his status of a musician that he is now, and a struggle he is willing to go through if his attempts could somehow bring justice to the country, to the people.
The event was also covered by a duo of enthusiasts who were passionate on their efforts to make a documentary on the event. Their efforts are soon to be seen in Youtube they mentioned.
Shakib, the lead of Cryptic Fate spoke that he is really happy to be a part of this movement for justice, “the cause is noble and necessary. And I’m glad to have arrived here” – Shakib.
The atmosphere in Projonmo Chottor as many of you have witnessed there is somewhat festive. There is a mix of eclecticism, a desire for hope, and an undeniable fury for justice in the hearts, eyes and voices of the non-violent protesters of Shahbag.
The band of musicians sang their anthem of “Chol chol chol” in projjonmo chottor and evoked enthusiasm to the hearts of the crowd; they were cheered and applauded by the thousands there. Afterwards they arrived in front of Charukala institute and continued singing there in a peaceful and communal manner.
As the day rolled to an end, their voices may have disappeared but their echoes were heard in the hearts of many, and are to be heard again everytime a passion for the right insurges somewhere deep down in us.
Inspiration remains….always.
