A Beautiful Epiphany

Musician Dio Haque
Talks to
Naziba Basher

Courtesy: Dio Haque

All through out playgroup and all the way to class 10 in South Breeze International School, I used to live in my own little world. My mother was a teacher at my school, so I was the 'goody-two-shoes', always trying to always stay within my limits. Our batch never had more than 30 students, so spending 14 years with the same people created a beautiful relationship and I always felt like I was in my comfort zone.

When I was in class 7, I started getting involved with music. I actually even remember the day I got inspired to start a band with my friends. Maher and Zohad were seniors in school and there was a show that they had performed in. Watching them play the guitars and sing and just rock the stage totally blew all of us away. My classmates and I were in so much awe that we all got this lightning of inspiration and decided to make our own band. Of course, this was not my only form of inspiration. My father, Maqsoodul Haque is a singer and I kind of grew up around music. But somehow it never occurred to me that I may get into the scene myself. I actually did not even know which instrument was my cup of tea. I had a drum kit at home and I assembled it together and just started playing and I guess that is when the flow came.

Getting into Mastermind for A levels was a different experience for me, since I finally had to leave my batch of old friends and make new ones. But then came university -- I joined the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) to study Media and Communication and had a culture shock! During O and A level studies, I came across people with similar backgrounds, but it was in university that I realised how diverse people are! Interacting with all of them was an amazing experience and it kind of opened my eyes to seeing that we all may be Bangladeshis, but we all have fundamental differences and are all unique in our own little ways. University helped me communicate with people better and explore a world outside mine.

I was never an 'A' student, but for some reason my teachers used to love me so I kind of took advantage of that and got away with bunking every now and then! After joining university, things got hectic for me when it came to balancing music and education. Since I am a professional musician, it gets tough to get my priorities straight. But I love what I am studying and so somehow, find my way to strike it right.

I think that is the key to almost anything that you do. Doing it for fame, money, power will only get you so far. But if you put your heart and soul into what you do, and do it with passion, the sky will be your limit!