Music for a cause: Over 20 bands and musicians rock TSC

"My bus ticket was done and I was all packed to leave for Khulna with my friends, this afternoon. But I cancelled everything as I came across a Facebook post for this event only an hour before leaving for the bus terminal."

This was the story shared by Rakibul Hasan, a music enthusiast and student of Stamford University, who cancelled all of his plans to come and show support at "Bornattoder Jonno Concert" an event organized by Dhaka University (DU) students to raise funds for flood victims in Sylhet and Sunamganj.

Not only Rakibul, but thousands of music lovers and social activists, from different walks of life gathered at TSC, University of Dhaka on Monday and Tuesday to enjoy some amazing performances and express their solidarity for the cause.

The social and cultural clubs of Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) in DU, arranged the two-day fundraising concert for the flood-affected people. The fund raised during the concert from tickets and donation would all aid those suffering from the Sylhet-Sunamganj floods, the organisers said at the press briefing.

Till Tuesday, the flood had claimed the lives of 87 people, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). A total of 70 upazilas in Sylhet, Rangpur, Mymensingh and Chattogram divisions have been affected by the flood, with millions of people being marooned and many losing their homes, assets, belongings and even their families.

Shibli Hasan Joy, one of the organisers, said "The impact of this year's flood is devastating, it's quite hard for the government to tackle it all by themselves. Collective efforts are needed, and we thought that music could bring people from all walks of life together for a greater cause. With that in mind, we have organised this show."

Indalo and Avash were initially announced in the concert's line-up, however, the bands could not perform due to some of their members being ill.

Jon Kabir, frontman of Indalo said, "We were looking forward to joining the cause, but it was really sad that we couldn't participate due to some of us experiencing sudden illness."

Joy Shahriar, Parvez Sajjad, Ashes, Krishnapaksha, Sarbonam, Averse were among the 11 acts performing on the first day of the concert.

On the second day, Tuesday, the scenario was quite different. By evening, the whole campus and people from different parts of the city had showed up to the concert.

People were not only there to headbanging and have a great time, many were donating various amounts to the collection boxes throughout the show.

Abhradyuti Das, who came from Kolkata said, "Music is so abstract that it goes beyond the boundaries of rational and verbal language, and people can connect through experiencing it together. In Kolkata and Malda we also raised funds for the flood affected people through music,

The audience's excitement peaked when AvoidRafa surprised audiences by stepping onto the stage around 7 PM. AvoidRafa had not been announced for the event, but came to show their support for the cause.

Eleven bands including Ark, Warfaze, Viking, Shonar Bangla Circus, Shohojia and Pentagon kept the audience on their feet till midnight, when the concert finally came to an end.

While the city was sleeping Hasan and Ark took the audience on a nostalgic-joyride with his performance.

The whole venue was abuzz with thousands of voices singing along with Hasan's, "Eto Kosto Keno Bhalobashay", "Ja re ja… Ure Ja", "Sweety Tumi Ar Kedo Na" and other popular verses from Ark's songs.

TSC was almost full to its capacity, giving regular audiences of the venue a different experience, as such a huge crowd in a ticket-concert at TSC has not been commonplace in recent times.

Hasan recalled the days when he and his friend distributed safe drinking water in the flood-hit areas, many years ago.

He expressed his gratitude to the organisers for taking such an initiative and also thanked DU students on behalf of the band. The artist also thanked Bangladesh Band Musical Bands Association (BAMBA) for continuing the legacy of arranging such concerts to support flood-affected people, an initiative BAMBA had started decades back.

The organisers then said that they chose music for this collective initiative, as nothing else could unite people, the way music did.