::: Star Weekend Magazine :::

Music

Crafting a Bond

Elita Karim

There are thousands of poor farmers and young people who come to the cities from the rural parts of the country in the hope of a better income and a life worth living. However, many of these workers are not given the rights or the privileges that they deserve. There have been incidents in the past where workers have been killed in factory fires or other mishaps simply because they could not get past the locked doors of the factories. Some even died due stampedes caused due to lack of proper emergency exits or simply having the bad luck of working in old and worn out buildings which would eventually collapse to pieces. “If we just sit and ponder at all the events and incidents that have been taking place here in Bangladesh in the last couple of years, we would naturally want to be responsible enough to help out in solving the massive problems in society in our own ways,” says 25-year-old Rubaiyat Thakur Robin of Rupkotha Productions Limited.

Alka Yagnik with the members of Rupkotha Production Limited. Rubaiyat Thakur Robin (r) says that bringing Yagnik together with some of the biggest names in the country have helped Rupkotha spread the message of working together for a better nation.

Currently, a household name in the scene, this award winning company launched a cultural programme on both the evenings of the Batexpo fair held at the Winter Garden in Hotel Sonargaon. With the theme revolving around the tagline 'Together We Are Complete', Rupkotha Productions tried to establish a symbolic bond between the garment owners and the workers.

Tariqul Rahman Milon, the owner of Artisti, an exclusive designer wear outlet and also the Chief Coordinator of the Batexpo fair, got together with Robin and discussed how to make this event a special one worth remembering. “We created the logo of the Batexpo fair, where a worker and a factory owner are shown standing side by side,” says Robin. “This is just a symbolic presentation of something that we had in mind. I do hope, though, that we can do much more in future to actually have this idea work.”

Prominent musician James renders some of his all time hits

The two-day cultural show brought together some of the most famous names in the country, namely Ayub Bacchu with his band LRB, James, Sabina Yasmin and Alka Yagnik all the way from Mumbai. A comeback show for Sabina Yasmin, who was suffering from cancer for the past few months, as she stepped on to stage, the thousands in the audience stood up in respect with tears in their eyes. According to many, it was truly a wonder to watch Yasmin perform once again on stage. Yasmin sang her heart out, making the audience sing along to her famous numbers like Ekti Bangladesh, She je keno elo na and many more.

Alka Yagnik along with the famous musician Chetan Rana from Mumbai hit the stage next with their famous Bollywood numbers. On November 16th, Alka Yagnik, who came to Dhaka after 12 years, took some time out and urged everyone in the audience to help the distraught cyclone victims. She observed a one-minute of silence along with the rest of the people in the auditorium before moving on to more compositions.

Famous actor Riaz and his team for the very first time acted out a play on stage where the story revolved around the strength of the workingwoman in Bangladesh. "There was a time when women in a family were hardly considered significant enough to participate in a discussion or making a family decision," says Robin. "Now both the husband and the wife work outside and run a family. This has actually strengthened a woman's position in society."

Yet another highlight of the show was the fashion parade that was done by the top models of the country. “All the designs were made by the students of BGMEA Fashion and Technology Institute (BFTI),” says Robin.

The Sujon-Robin duo had started out with Rupkotha Productions Limited years ago with small concerts and musical shows. However, they have always tried to spread a message that would influence the young generation of the country or give them something to think about. For instance, they have held several musical concerts at universities, encouraging the students to enjoy healthy forms of entertainment. “Along with this, we would bring experts on environment on the spot and discuss planting trees and keeping the air pollution-free,” says Robin. “We have also had several concerts with young students where experts would talk about drugs and their consequences. We were young students back then as well.” Robin believes that everyone has the ability to help the society in their very own way, no matter how insignificant it might seem. “Let's not waste all our time calculating the returns and start doing what we can to help out with the resources that we have,” he says.