Holding on to the Legacy

Musician Farshid Alam
Talks to
Fauzia Sultana

Courtesy: Farshid Alam

I studied in Radiant International School, and completed my A' levels in the year 2003. Among the many reasons, the one reason that my friends remember me is for the prankster I was back in school. My Bengali teacher was a cranky one and I always found it amusing to make a commotion during her period. It was our Bengali teacher's habit to walk in the aisle that divided the class into two sides. So one day, I planned with my classmates that whichever side the teacher would teach or look at during the class, the other side would hum. The humming annoyed her so badly, that she went complaining to the principal in the middle of the class.

After school, I joined the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) and graduated from the Department of Media and Communication, with a major in Media and Communication. At present, I am working in the Department of Public Relations, IUB as assistant public relations officer and adjacently pursuing my Masters degree in film and documentary from IUB.

Music has always been a part of my life, consciously or unconsciously, more because of the family I belong to. And unlike others, it took me a while to figure out its true value. We had music classes in school which was mandatory for everyone. It was rather like a mission to bunk all the classes and getting an intentional D in Music. My music teacher used to pity me for my grade and told me it was a shame to end up with such poor grade, in spite of my parents being singers (Abida Sultana and Rafiq Alam). Instead of making me feel ashamed, his words always made me feel somewhat proud. It was not until I was a teenager that I started realising what music meant. Suddenly all the old songs seemed to make sense to me and I kind of started to understand the tunes and melodies better. I then joined the band Pentagon as vocalist and remained a part of it for ten years; but I realised I was more inclined towards playing the instruments rather than being a vocalist. So during my undergrad years at IUB, I joined the band Bohemian, making my debut as a bassist in their second album.

Of course I grew up listening to the classical and adhunik shangeet , but I made sure to not remain confined to those only. There was a time when I used to listen to Tamil songs as well, along with the contemporary western music. However, I always felt closer to the western genre than I did to classical.

A presumed notion that most people conceived or conceive about me is that since I come from a renowned family, I must get things the easy way, be it music or work. My parents have raised me like the parents of ten other kids in the neighbourhood. They have not indulged me in any way and always made sure that I never relied on their but my own identity. In the near future, I plan to open a music school for all the music enthusiasts. Considering my dedication and passion for music, five years from now, I don't see myself at an organisation with a five-to-nine job, but I see myself making a marked position in media and music.