Bangladesh just hosted the opening ceremony (or BCB aka India’r dalal ceremony?) for the ICC T20 World Cup. But it did not feel like Bangladesh was in the driver's seat. If a person did not know the geographical location of the ceremony, he would have guessed it was taking place in Mumbai or Delhi. Indian performers. Indian culture. And at one point, it seemed Indian audience. Shame.
I decided to collect a couple of reviews from people who went to the ceremony. I wanted to get the inside view. So, here they go:
Mastura Tasnim, 21st Batch, Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka.
"Arrived two hours late because I had some work at the time, but the lines seemed to be longest right then, with people literally fighting to get in. By the time I entered, it was all AR Rahman and his group of dancing, singing musicians, and I was told Ayub Bacchu, Fuad and a number of other Bangladeshi musicians performed before I arrived. My mother naturally did not like the Hindi music blaring over the speakers, but I can't say I completely disliked it. Except for a few irrelevant romantic songs, the rest were quite nice to listen to. It got a little boring after some time so I figured I might as well leave, so I didn't wait for Akon. I didn't mind the Hindi music as much as the idea that they took precedence over Ayub Bacchu in many Bangladeshi minds. It would be nice if they kept some Bengali tracks for the end too, so that it didn't seem like Akon was the prime attention of the show. From the parts of the show I got to see, it just seemed very Indian music centric, but I don't think that allows me to pass comment about the rest of it. I hope others aren't being so quick in passing judgment either. Lord knows we have hasty opinions."
Tahmeed Alam Sameen, 4th Batch, Bangladesh University of Professionals.
There were moments when the concert felt like a mourning session. A.R Rahman might be one of the best singers this world has seen, but he certainly failed to make a point. The mismanagement with in the tickets and the seating arrangement puts in a bigger question of the security issue as well. Bangladesh had 4 hours to showcase their abilities, instead they showcased India”. We sold ourselves to India. They literally marketed EGYPT but not us. All in all, this would be a day I would like to forget rather than cherish for the rest of my life
It seems that we gave more importance to A R Rahman and Akon than to our musicians. One could argue that they were better than the local musicians, and I will not argue with that (at least no doubt about A R Rahman being better). But does that mean we will insult a band like Miles who has given so much to our music industry? They just asked for a 20 min slot. It was just a shame.
Moreover, the orgcom did not even try to showcase Bengali culture! Looking back at London Olympics, the British dedicated a huge chunk of their time to display, proudly, their British heritage. It was beautiful and a moment of acute pride for any British citizen. Who know when we will get another opportunity to show the whole world what we are capable of? We should have used this opportunity.
There are many people who are saying not to blame the orgcom but the people/audience because we are the one who watch Indian TV shows and listens to Indian music rather than our own. I’m not saying that doing either of those are good. But watching Indian TV shows and approving an Indian show in a Bangladeshi hosted ceremony are not parallel, because the latter is displayed to the whole world and what we are showing to them is that we kiss India’s ass. No one will know if you watch “Kyuki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi” secretly (not that I approve of it). But everyone will see when you dance to Indian tunes but boo your own country’s music.
In a nutshell, for our dignity and culture, it was a catastrophe! I hope we have learnt our lesson and do not forgive such transgressions by Government agencies.
I decided to collect a couple of reviews from people who went to the ceremony. I wanted to get the inside view. So, here they go:
Mastura Tasnim, 21st Batch, Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka.
"Arrived two hours late because I had some work at the time, but the lines seemed to be longest right then, with people literally fighting to get in. By the time I entered, it was all AR Rahman and his group of dancing, singing musicians, and I was told Ayub Bacchu, Fuad and a number of other Bangladeshi musicians performed before I arrived. My mother naturally did not like the Hindi music blaring over the speakers, but I can't say I completely disliked it. Except for a few irrelevant romantic songs, the rest were quite nice to listen to. It got a little boring after some time so I figured I might as well leave, so I didn't wait for Akon. I didn't mind the Hindi music as much as the idea that they took precedence over Ayub Bacchu in many Bangladeshi minds. It would be nice if they kept some Bengali tracks for the end too, so that it didn't seem like Akon was the prime attention of the show. From the parts of the show I got to see, it just seemed very Indian music centric, but I don't think that allows me to pass comment about the rest of it. I hope others aren't being so quick in passing judgment either. Lord knows we have hasty opinions."
Tahmeed Alam Sameen, 4th Batch, Bangladesh University of Professionals.
There were moments when the concert felt like a mourning session. A.R Rahman might be one of the best singers this world has seen, but he certainly failed to make a point. The mismanagement with in the tickets and the seating arrangement puts in a bigger question of the security issue as well. Bangladesh had 4 hours to showcase their abilities, instead they showcased India”. We sold ourselves to India. They literally marketed EGYPT but not us. All in all, this would be a day I would like to forget rather than cherish for the rest of my life
It seems that we gave more importance to A R Rahman and Akon than to our musicians. One could argue that they were better than the local musicians, and I will not argue with that (at least no doubt about A R Rahman being better). But does that mean we will insult a band like Miles who has given so much to our music industry? They just asked for a 20 min slot. It was just a shame.
Moreover, the orgcom did not even try to showcase Bengali culture! Looking back at London Olympics, the British dedicated a huge chunk of their time to display, proudly, their British heritage. It was beautiful and a moment of acute pride for any British citizen. Who know when we will get another opportunity to show the whole world what we are capable of? We should have used this opportunity.
There are many people who are saying not to blame the orgcom but the people/audience because we are the one who watch Indian TV shows and listens to Indian music rather than our own. I’m not saying that doing either of those are good. But watching Indian TV shows and approving an Indian show in a Bangladeshi hosted ceremony are not parallel, because the latter is displayed to the whole world and what we are showing to them is that we kiss India’s ass. No one will know if you watch “Kyuki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi” secretly (not that I approve of it). But everyone will see when you dance to Indian tunes but boo your own country’s music.
In a nutshell, for our dignity and culture, it was a catastrophe! I hope we have learnt our lesson and do not forgive such transgressions by Government agencies.
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