Essay About Western Music And Liberation War

Western Music in Bangladesh – a Curse or a Blessing?
Western Music in Bangladesh – a Curse or a Blessing?
Abstract
Bangladesh is a rich musical playground. People of this country have variety of musical
taste, but for the last twenty years western music has made a radical change in the taste of
the music lovers of Bangladesh. All though it was highly criticized at the beginning but
soon most of the musicians appreciated it. Our radio and television media played a vital
role for the exposure of western music. Many bands have come across to create Bengali
songs with a touch of western flavour. Although there have been many criticism, new
bands were formed and with the help and suggestions of senior musicians they have
managed to mix up the western music with traditional Bengali songs and created a new
genre which is known as fusion. So that day is not far away when Bangladeshi songs will
make its own place in world music.
Western Music in Bangladesh: A curse or a blessing?
Introduction:
Farzana Rashid, a 25-year-old school teacher never leaves home without her cell phone.
And its not just because she wants to stay in touch with everyone while shes away. Her
Nokia 7610 is loaded with MP3 songs and when she gets bored of them she just switches
on her favorite radio station to listen to the new releases of her favorite artistes. This is
the scenario of how Bangladeshi people are attracted to music. Bangladesh has a very
rich musical heritage since music has always played an important role in the lives of the
people. Over the times new influences where introduced to our music culture and musical
styles have changed. Musical development was better than many other spheres of life
because such development was well appreciated by the music gods. After liberation war,
western music made an immense change in our music taste. Though there were lots of
criticisms regarding the practice of western music in Bangladesh, it has many positive
impacts on our music arena. We have added a new gene in our culture which is known as
Fusion1. Besides we have improved the overall sound quality of our songs throuth the use
of western instruments and equipments. Many re known artists and performers are now
habituated with western influence and it also added a new horizon to our Bengali Music
Culture.
Early Days:
Soon after our War of Liberation in 1971, Azam Khan, with Uchcharon and the Akhand
Brothers (Lucky and Happy) created hype in the music industry with their straight-
down-the-line magnetic songs during the early and late 70s. Happy Akhands “Abar elo
je shondha” is a milestone and probably one of the dearest songs ever produced. The
steam of western music has entered in our culture through various paths. The broadest
was band music. Besides, there were other musical arenas where western music has been
playing vital role since the early 80s. The film industry of our country is one of them.
“When it was necessary we used keyboards, saxophon and guitar. There is no
shame using western instruments beside our traditional ones like dhol, tabla,
harmonium, bashi etc” (Personal interview with Alam Khan, Music Director)
according to him, if we want to pace up with the advanced world, want to develop our
sound quality there is no other alternative.
Exposure of Western