Star Chat

Music and Friends

Musician Shaker Raza
Talks to
Elita Karim

Courtesy : Musician Shaker Raza

I don't have many memories from the early days of school. But I do remember giving an admission test for the Eton International School, which I incidentally failed! Even then, I was admitted to class 1, for some reason. In spite of the fact that I was the silent sort, I loved to play in school during the break time or recess. I would go out in the field, play and then return to my class to eat the lunch that was packed from home. One day I noticed that my lunch box was empty. Upon returning home and charging my mother, she said that she packed up the lunch in the morning. This went on for some time, until I decided to check out for myself, as to which student would sneak up and steal my lunch. I stayed back during recess that day, hiding behind a table, when I saw the bua (maid) sneaking into my bag and stealing my food! I even remember complaining to the principal about this.

Today I am a guitarist and I play with my band Shunno and am also a music director and a sound engineer. Even after all these years, I sometimes remember my campus days with fondness. After class 8, I shifted to Siddique's International School. In class 10, I followed a few friends to join a senior boro bhai in the area to learn to play the guitar. I still remember the first guitar I had bought -- a local made acoustic for Tk 1,100. After my O level examinations, I would practice day and night during the long break that we had before starting class 11.

I joined the International University of Bangladesh (IUB) right after my A levels, and I must admit, it was a lot of fun, much more than school. That was when I began my music and brought out Shunno's first album, which was self-titled. This happened just a few years ago, and even then, I was not sure if I would take music as my profession. I, along with my band mates, really like the appreciation that our friends and other listeners would give us. Since we would perform basically for university and school students, the band got very popular in all the campuses! While I was finishing my university, our second album came out -- Notun Srot, which was equally appreciated by students and teachers. Even now when we go to different campuses in Bangladesh to perform, it feels great to find people my age singing Shunno's songs along with the band -- makes me feel very special.

I remember the day after Shunno had done a live show on Television, many students and teachers came up to me after and before class (and even during class!) and told me how much they had liked our performance. It was nice to feel all important and 'popular' at university!

It is on campus that one discovers one's true talents and also makes lifelong friends. I am glad I got a chance to nurture my talent and was not far from making some good friends for life either!