Coke Studio Bangla, the Bangladesh edition of Coca-Cola’s international music property – Coke Studio, has launched the second song of the inaugural season, titled “Prarthona.” The song is performed by the legendary Momtaz Begum and Mizan Rahman, former vocalist of Warfaze. The song also contains the soulful music by the Maizbhandari group from Chattogram.
After the success of the first song, “Nasek Nasek”, which highlighted the soulful music of the Hajong Community, “Prarthona” looks to bring the spotlight to the beautiful Sufi music of Maizbhaandari that can be heard in the port city of Chattogram. Alongside that, the second song of Coke Studio also introduces the audience to the unique music produced by the khartal instrument. Khartal is an ancient instrument mainly used in folk songs or songs of that portray devotion.
Prarthona is an enticing spiritual song commending the divinity in all its forms. The song sees a beautiful fusion of two songs including “Allah Megh Dey”, written & composed by Girin Chakraborty and “Baba Maulana” written & composed by Kobial Ramesh Shil (Maizbhandari).
Legendary singer and Member of Parliament, Momtaz Begum, said” To be able to work on an iconic song as “Allah megh dey pani dey” is a great honor. It gives me great joy to be able to bring such a beautiful and enigmatic song on a global musical platform such as Coke Studio Bangla. Hopefully, our listeners will enjoy this music as much as we did when making it.”
Shayan Chowdhury Arnob, Music Producer of Coke Studio Bangla said, “As the music producer and the composer my job is to find and bring music, musicians, and artists together. I need to create a positive space for all of them to come and collaborate. As we all have come from different musical backgrounds with different upbringing, I tried my best not to uproot them from their roots, but rather proudly accepted their musical upbringing, their artistic beliefs, and their free-thinking. Because that is what makes a performance spontaneous and authentic. That is where the real magic begins.
There is a saying by Picasso – ‘Taste kills creativity’, which I believe in one hundred percent! If we start to worry about what is in and what is out, if we start being concerned about what the current trend is, if we begin to dismiss ideas or musical styles based on their origins, we will be the ones to lose out. Music is vast and all inclusive, and if we want to make real magic, we must keep our hearts and minds open to all that music has to offer, through artists from all walks of life. I’m really happy for what we have achieved here, all of us being in harmony, freely expressing our ideas, emotions, and experiences. And the best part of it is being able to spread the joy with you all.”
Prarthona symbolizes the eternity of virtue and how the Real Magic of devotion can withstand the test of time, connecting generations, old and new.
About Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola has been operating in Bangladesh over five decades with the purpose of refreshing the world and making a difference. Our portfolio of brands include Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Diet, Sprite, Fanta, Kinley Water, Kinley Soda, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite Zero and Thums-Up Current. The Coca-Cola Bangladesh System comprises of a company-owned bottling entity, namely, International Beverages Private Limited (“IBPL”) and an independent authorized franchise bottler, namely, Abdul Monem Limited (“AML.) of The Coca- Cola Company (TCCC). Coca Cola system currently employs more than 800 people directly and indirectly provides support to over 21000 people. We seek to positively impact people’s lives through various programs to provide water, sanitation, hygiene as well as rainwater harvesting projects across the country. The “Women Business Center” is our flagship program in Bangladesh where the goal is to empower women financially, having empowered 100,000 women in the country by 2020. For the last 10 years, as part of global commitment to create a “World without Waste”, Coca-Cola in Bangladesh has been the proud partner of International Coastal Cleanup. Additionally, The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) teamed up to develop the IWET project in partnership with the specific overarching goal of “introducing Water-Efficient Technologies” in Barind Tract. With support from TCCF, the company continues supporting communities during the pandemic, positively impacting over 50 lakh lives in Bangladesh