Nocturnal Dhaka

Clubs teeming with vibrant crowds serenading at the top of their voices to the DJ's score, people blissfully dancing the night away to the rhythm of the music, rooms bursting into ecstasy with a hoard of red, blue, green, violet neon lights shooting out from all corners of the room — hard to imagine such a scene in Dhaka, is it not?

Much to your surprise, Dhaka's night life scene is bustling with excitement as Dhaka is truly just another city that rarely sleeps.

Amidst the concrete jungle of Dhaka, multiple clubs and houses throw parties that you can only dream of. With the likes of Diplo and Blasterjaxx already gracing the nightlife with their electric music, Dhaka is not a newbie in turning up the nocturnal noise. 

"The best parties in Dhaka are invites only. The organisers only give out tickets to selective individuals by going through their profile first to make sure that a safe and sophisticated environment can be maintained," explained Mehrab Sakib, an undergraduate student, when asked about the atmosphere of Dhaka's nightlife.

Apart from giving out tickets to selected people, a second phase of screening takes place when these tickets are given out at a high price in attempts to filter out the wrong crowd.

Special occasions like Halloween make a good excuse for friends and family to get together dressed eccentrically as anybody and everybody. This is when living places manifest into miniature discos for you to dance to the beat or capture crazy moments on your camera. And if you are thrown out at 3AM in the night because the host has office the next day, then you can definitely find another house party to enjoy your hearts out until you see the morning light.

"Parties are more than just dancing and singing all night, I see it as a platform to bond and broaden my circle," said Aadnan, an executive at a multinational. "You get to meet so many new people, some are friends of friends while others are complete strangers. Such interactions help you reflect and grow as a person," he further added.

It's fairly difficult to get into such parties in the first place. You have to ensure that you are the right type of cool as you wait in queue for the organisers to run a thorough profile on you. International Clubs like Nordic Club, Korean Club, and French Club organise exciting parties regularly, but you either have to be a foreign passport-holder or hang out with the right crowd to enter those dens. However, if you cannot make your way into these clubs you always have hotels organising parties from time to time. Do not take your eyes off of 5-star hotels, for the possibilities are endless.

Things can sometimes get nasty but that is mostly in open parties where whoever can enter. Such parties lack sophistication and the appropriate crowd. However, to attend the right parties you must always keep your eyes and ears open and on the lookout, for posh and decent parties are known of by word of mouth.

When they say it's a small world, people literally mean it. Only a select few go to such parties as you will end up meeting known faces and having a blast with them. This creates a warm and safe environment for you to let loose and enjoy the night to the fullest.

Photo: LS Archive/Sazzad Ibne Sayed