A lively evening with fun, frolic and food

On Friday, 23 March at Cityscape Tower, Jete Chao? and Cookups presented an event to celebrate Women's Day. These two ventures, both led by women, created the opportunity for numerous other female entrepreneurs in Dhaka to showcase their work, and talent in a place collectively called "Sheroes of Today."

The event had an extraordinary line-up of stalls that included everything from food, home décor products, books, jewellery, stationary, candles, art, skincare, makeup to wardrobe and so much more, all under one roof. Once you enter with the "Jete Chao?" seal on your hand, the whole thing can get a bit overwhelming with everything happening at once, but in a few minutes it passes and the place really starts to grow on you.

At the event, there was what we now know as the best candle makers in town, Newton's Archive with their huge selection of candles that not only looked great, but smelled good enough to eat. For all things stationary, we did not have to look far, as Made With Love put up a stall showcasing all their lovely bookmarks and journals, while Hulo Craft had on display an eye catching range of journals.

The Gamcha bounded journals were surely one you would not find elsewhere. The Fandom fanatics also rejoiced for Numinous did not disappoint with their illustrations and fandom t-shirts. For books there was only one stall, but it was more than enough, as Epilogue had all the latest collections any bookworm would seek.

Next, there was SoaperStar, a local handmade soap and skin care brand that had soaps that looked nothing less than dessert pieces. For jewellery, Bcraft Initiatives was one to get everyone's attention with their authentic tribal jewellery handcrafted by the tribal craftsmen communities here in Bangladesh, along with 6 Yards story with their metallic ornaments.

Kryolan Bangladesh was also there with all their products on display with testers for every shade and product which made the job easier for every girl there to find the right product. Shazfa, a boutique had on display a unique collection of wardrobe that was a fusion of traditional kameez with contemporary designs.

Some might think that was all there was to it, but even the senior citizens enjoyed this event just as much with stalls like Kajoli Kantha, where everything you find is made from kanthas, and The Inside Story with their shabby-chic and rustic home décor pieces, and Rubina with hand painted stools, mirrors, boxes and much more.

The line-up of artists and great art was not small either. With Art for the Soul demonstrating their marble paintings, and Aesthesis by Venessa Kaiser offering self-portraits, the artist community would surely be proud.

At the Cookups stall, one could find not one or two, but a whole team of some of the best home cooks in Dhaka offering their different dishes. From gorgeous greens cakes to pretzels to Chole Bhatore to some of the best Doi Boras that was just the right mix of sweet and sour, it was a foodies' little corner of happiness.

There were many more stalls beside this such as By Anasua, which carried mouth-watering prawn cakes that sold out in no time, and Sweet Sensations with their distinctive Sweet mihidana laddu and saffron speckled cheesecakes. Overall, it was hard to curb those cravings with such a great selection of both sweet, savoury, and drinks on offer.

On top of all the stalls, the entire event had live music by Fairooz Nazifa and Tashwin, and free raffle draws with gifts from SoaperStar, Newton's Archive and many more which made this event all the more special. The longer you stay, the more the place pulls you down. Although it was hard to leave such a lively place, let us all hope for more such events that celebrate such days with such passion.

Cookups is Bangladesh's largest homemade food market, and an online platform for buying and selling homemade food, and "Jete Chao?" helps you to find all the little events around Dhaka that you did not know were going on.

 Get all the details about the event, its organisers, and vendors from the event page on social media: https://www.facebook.com/events/1545269202188648

The corporate partner for the event was Maya Apa and it was organised by HerStory. Radio partner was ColoursFM, Media Partner — The Daily Star, and Video Partner was The Royal Vault.

Photo: Collected