WOW Bangladesh 2023: A nod to strength, resilience in womanhood
WOW Bangladesh 2023 was held at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy from 24 – 25 February
In the male-dominated music scene in Bangladesh, for a change, it was a breath of fresh air to witness a show with only female frontmen. Bodes well for an event celebrating women independence and empowerment, doesn't it?
Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy is at the forefront of all the action when it comes to providing a platform for upholding cultural tradition and diversity. Be it music, theatre, art, or even WOW – Bangladesh's celebration of women empowerment; Chitrashala and Nandan Mancha have always embraced artists and visionaries, irrespective of gender, race and caste, with open arms.
My first taste of the event was the 'How to avoid toxic parenting?' workshop at the Chitrashala. It was facilitated by Nishat Sultana Purobi, Deputy Director, Advocacy and Justice for Children at World Vision Bangladesh.
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Nishat talked about different aspects of traditional parenting across generations, and its unspoken impacts. She also spoke about the positive changes that can be brought in parenting to avoid toxic dynamics. The workshop was interactive, insightful, and people from different spheres of the society attended the session – many of whom were students; who are not parents yet but still wanted to learn.
Finishing the workshop, while I was headed towards the open stage, an installation by theatre troupe Prachyanat titled 'Made in Bangladesh' caught my attention. The artwork was a set of one of Prachyanat's plays based on the collapse of Rana Plaza and its aftermath.
"The misery and terror of that incident cannot be expressed through words or artworks. But, we tried to give our audience a tour of that scene," said Sarah Jabin Aditi, a member of Prachyanat.
At around 5 PM, as the twilight sun draped the Nandan Mancha, Masha Islam, donning a very complimentary magenta saree, took to the stage. However, it wasn't just her beauty that had everyone captivated, but it was her pitch perfect voice, as she sang the opening lines of 'Rangeela'.
Masha generally includes a few covers in her setlist, and Saturday was no different. She performed her own rendition of Souls' 'Mon Shudhu Mon Chuyeche'.
Masha concluded her set with a singalong with the crowd, as she performed her most popular track 'Teka Pakhi'.
One of the biggest highlights of WOW Bangladesh 2023 was the much anticipated Khiyo's debut concert in Bangladesh. The English fusion band is led by British-Bangladeshi singer Sohini Alam.
Even though they had never performed in the country before, there was a surge in the audience before they took to the main stage around 7:30 PM.
The anticipation was met with pure musical bliss; Khiyo delivered a very memorable performance. Draped in outfits themed after the Bangladesh flag, they performed 'Dhono Dhanno Pushpo Bhora'. Apart from using guitars, bass and drums, the band also incorporated a violin and cello in some songs during the show.
Khiyo's setlist included a few Bangladeshi patriotic and folk classics. However, their piece de resistance was when Sohini, along with the foreign cellist and violinist, performed the national anthem 'Amar Shonar Bangla' as their final song of the night.
Chirkutt were the showstoppers of the event and took to the stage at 8.30 PM. The band did not perform a great number of songs, but their showcase was more about quality than quantity. The fact that they have been active for over two decades could be felt in their performance. The entire crowd resonated with the lyrics of 'More Jabo' and 'Jadur Shohor'.
The event included a little of everything, there were talks, debates, workshops, theatre performances, music, dance, art exhibitions, and even various crafts and food stalls. The festival was a celebration of women's achievements and a call to action for change.
A 360-degree selfie booth also piqued people's attention.
The second day WOW included the screening of three films: 'Bangladesh Cymru Climate Stories: Women Building Resilience' (a talk by Dhaka DocLab), Scooty (a short film by Arifur Rahman) and a documentary titled 'Rising Silence'.
WOW Bangladesh 2023 was organised by The WOW Foundation, British Council, Mongol Deep Foundation and CCD Bangladesh.
Jude Kelly, the CEO and Founder of The WOW Foundation, launched WOW in 2010 when she was the Artistic Director of Southbank Centre in London. It is the biggest, most comprehensive and most significant festival dedicated to representing work by women and promoting equality for women, girls and non-binary people.
This year WOW Festivals will be organised around the world, including Pakistan, Greece, Netherlands, and UK.
