Jamming pads around town

The interest in rock music in Bangladesh and the popularity of rock bands has increased tenfold in the last 5/6 years. And as bands like Artcell, Black and Cryptic Fate attained household-name status, they inspired others to get into this genre of music. That's probably why we've seen so many bands emerging recently. It is while taking a stroll down the city one day that we realized that quite a few jamming pads had also been established to help these bands bring out the best of their musical talents. So we decided to visit two of these jamming pads and try to give the readers a general idea on this matter.

MUSIC MANIA
Music Mania jamming pad is the first of its kind around the posh area Dhanmondi. Previously, underground band members who lived around Dhanmondi and Lalmatia area had to go as far as Moghbazar and Shegunbagicha to practice, which also added transport cost to their accounts.

The jamming pad is situated right beside the pool club 'Pool World' in Dhanmondi Road 6/A. The soundproof room was pretty cool and impressive at first sight, and their mixers were situated at a closed cubicle right beside the room, separated by glass. It pretty much looked like the modern recording studios…minus the more sophisticated recording equipments.

Rising Stars got a chance to talk to Tridib of the band Annex, he takes care of the family business in Music Mania. His brother Shuhash is in charge of the sound mixing. Tridib let us know that the charge for practicing with a single pedal for the bass drum for a two-hour session is Tk. 450, while for using a double bass pedal is Tk.500. There are three sessions in a day in Music Mania from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. which is a half-shift and costs Tk. 200 and an extra Tk. 50 if one wants to use double bass pedals, from 10 a.m. to 2p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The drum-set they have is TAMA Rock Star 522 DS, but the bands must bring their own instruments apart from drums if they want to practice. So far we haven't seen a single jamming pad, which offers all the instruments for hire in a single session, and Music Mania is no exception.

Artcell, Aurthohin, Reborn, Stentorian, DNA, Annex and Severe Dementia are few of the underground bands who often come here to practice. Tridib also informed us that Music Mania is planning to move to a bigger place, opposite their current location within the next three or four months. The good news is that they have a plan to start a recording studio after they move to the new location. Till then, we have to wait and see. Bands who often practice there gave us the hint that once Music Mania starts the recording-studio, their life just might become a bit easier.

SOUND CENTRE
For those band-members who are low on cash and live around Moghbazar area, Sound Centre might be just the right choice. Sound Centre started its journey in 1999 according to the manager who greeted us there. The owner Mr. Sajjad Hossain however, was not available at the time of interview. Sound Centre basically started out as a sound management and event management center. There are two jam pads, and the sessions are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The cost per session is Tk 300 on weekdays and Tk 400 on Fridays. The jamming pad is equipped with a TAMA Rockstar drum-set and a TNT Bass Amplifier. Bands like D.O.T, Genesplit, Zeal, Satanic, Alter-Nation and Equation often come here to practice.

The outlook of the jamming pad wasn't pretty impressive at first sight, but it was okay nonetheless. However, the location might not be very convenient for some of you wannabe-rock stars out there, especially if you don't live in somewhere close to Moghbazar! For those of you who are interested, the location is 244, New Circular Road, Moghbazar.

Well, we weren't carrying our press cards with us and so we had to quickly move out. On our way out, we noticed the manager showing us the 'shifty-eyes' as to whether we really are from the Rising Stars. Oh well! We just hope they read this. And yes, next time, we might as well carry our press cards with us. Till then, adios!

By Shamma M. Raghib and Zeeshan B. Rahman

Aisel noticed that her parents were avoiding talking at the dinner table nowadays. She missed those usual dinner-table discussions, even it were complaints against her behavior. Two weeks later, she began to regularly hear muffled yelling from her parents' bedroom late at night, and a week after that, her parents started sleeping in separate rooms. If Mom slept at the bedroom, Dad slept in the drawing room couch and vice versa. She knew that a change was taking place surrounding her family's life- an unwanted change.

It was on Saturday that Dad finally revealed to Aisel that he and Mom were not getting along too well and they need some time to think things over. Aisel felt her world spinning around her. She stared blankly ahead as tears fell down her cheeks. That night, she stared at her ceiling, sleepless, void of any feelings for her parents. The ones, who loved her unconditionally, were now breaking the vows of lifelong partnership. Distressed, Aisel turned to a gloomy life. Initially her grades dropped. In class, her mind was always diverted- what life would be like to live with only one parent. She started curbing out of social life. Her feelings were mixed- she wanted to help out her parents to be together. But, then again, she was suppressed by the thought that her parents knew better and hence she left it up to that.

A week later, her parents filed the divorce. Aisel, being only seventeen, had now the option of living with any relative or either of her parents, but never together. She chose to live with her Grandma. Her hatred towards her parents grew into intolerance for everything. She often lost her mind at silly matters. Aisel chose the gloomy way of life- seeking, with the help of a street vendor, a moment of pleasure as she drifted to the world of drugs.

And this is just half the story.
If we read about a famous celebrity getting married and then getting divorced twenty-four hours later, we could care less. But, if our own parents, whom we have seen together for the past some-teen years, who have been there for your first breath and who have seen you through your first day of school, are at the verge of ending their marriage, then life takes a turn. You believe at that point, that even your best friend cannot help you. Hang on out there! At these moments, your parents need you the most.

Sometimes, things just don't work out. When there are too many compromises in a relationship, the misery accumulates and converts to hatred. In such cases, separation is possibly the best option for the parents. What the teens and kids of such parents should realize is that initially to you this separation might seem oblivious and hurtful, but over the time, your pain will ease out. Life has to go on- but just do not follow Aisel! Drugs and smoking are not how you can end your emotional conflicts. Take up a new hobby; spend more time with your best friends. They can really help you to put your mind elsewhere rather than the home issue. For those of you whose friends are going through a similar problem at home, the best option is initially to advice a bit on his/her problem and then just talk about some other issue. Hopefully in this way your friend will avoid stress and drugs. Just remember you are not the only one with parental conflicts. Every child has to go through a phase; some are just lucky to get away with it, while others are not. If things turn out too unbearable, take the help of a psychologist. Yoga is also a good way of self-control and soul-meditation. Hang on! Then again, there is Rising Stars where you can pour out your heart's content in words!

By Shamma M. Raghib

From the 24th to the 30th of April, Stamford university's student debating club Stamford Debate Forum (SDF) organized its first ever inter department debate competition. The club has been in action only for two years and in such a short time it has gone leaps and bounds in the debating world.

All the 12 departments of the university sent their teams in the competition. Some departments sent more than one. In total, 30 teams took part in the competition. 22 for Bengali debate and 8 teams for the English debating competition. The first round for both English and Bengali consisted of traditional debate format. From the second round, the teams participated in the more popular parliamentary debating format. In addition a public speaking session was also organized in both English and Bengali.

The final was held on the 30th of april. The teams for the Bengali final were BBA as the Government and EEE as the opposition. In the fierce battle of logic, the BBA team was voted the clear winner with 5 to 1 judges vote. The team comprised of Abida Sultana as the team leader along with Kohinoor Sultana and Mosharraf Hossain. For the runners up team, there was some solace as team leader Abdullah Md. Shukrana was voted the best speaker overall. His team members were Bijoy Roy and Ruhan Mahmud Shams.

In the English Debate, it was BBA vs. English Dept showdown. The English Department was declared the winners. Team members Tasneem Tayeb, Shifat Irene Mou and Md. Nazimuddin. The best speaker, however, went to the losing team leader Tanvir hafiz. His team members were Tarin Hasan Khan and Aditi Antora.

Later in the Prize giving ceremony, The president of the Forum Shukrana and Chief Co-ordinator Ms. Tahsina Yasmeen thanked the audience and the distinguished guests for supporting the week long event. Guests present included Sonjeeb Shaha from BDF, Registrar Mr. Hasan Toufiq Khan of Stamford University and Deputy Registrars Mr. Faruk Kobiruddin and Mr. Abdul Matin. Prizes was given to all participants including Shukrana for best Public Speaking Bengali and Morshed Hasib Khan for English. Crests were also handed out to the guests.

By Tanvir Hafiz