Samina Chowdhury. Photo Courtesy: Rafiqul Islam/xposre

The second phase of the Celebrating Life Festival, which is to provide exposure to the winning entries (taking them to 12 districts in Bangladesh), is currently underway. This tour is the uniqueness of the Celebrating Life contest, that the orientation is not Dhaka-centric. The more we can take these events to the remote corners of Bangladesh, the faster will our arts and culture develop. Musicians and music directors are still busy recording the last few tracks out of the 10 award winning lyrics of the Celebrating Life contest, and we at The Daily Star are busy coordinating with them. Samina Chowdhury, one of the artistes working with us, has sung three songs of Celebrating Life -- one with Fahmida Nabi, one with Pancham, and one in chorus with Fahmida Nabi, Syed Hasan Tipu and Shafin Ahmed.
Written statements have a completely different power of their own. Things we say may be forgotten or simply misinterpreted, but once written and published, the message is documented. The words then become a witness in time.
A good number of Bangladeshis have come of age listening to Samina's songs. When she speaks, it seems as if the words have found the impeccable rhythm.
Samina had requested me a number of times to visit her home on August 28. Even though it was a busy day, I thought I should catch up with her. And I found out that it was her birthday! I was a bit embarrassed, since I was not aware. What I observed that day was that Samina has all the qualities of a superb artiste.
People sometimes say that in all these years not a single artiste has come up to the level of stars like Runa Laila and Sabina Yasmin. I do not necessarily agree with this assessment. Of course, Runa Laila and Sabina Yasmin are two of the most popular artistes of Bangladesh, and they are still actively engaged in the media. But I believe that those with talent and potential will find their calling in the world -- and this definitely includes Samina. With time and effort, she has fine-tuned her skills, and after years of devotion to music, she is in a position to experiment with diverse tunes and weave magic with the lyrics. What she needs are talented music directors who can use her voice appropriately. The hardest link to make is that involving a talented artiste, an able music director and a good producer.
With exposure and media hype, artistes from neighbouring countries perform to packed halls, despite the high ticket prices. Surprisingly, even the most talented Bangaldeshi artistes do not draw the same kind of crowds, simply because they do not have the same exposure, or because they did not sing a hit song in a foreign film. Even when musicians of questionable calibre from overseas perform in Bangladesh, people still rush to the concerts. This obsession with everything "foreign" has become a craze in our country. One does not know when the much-needed emotions of patriotism will grow in our hearts, but we really need to start paying due respect to our own artistes.
It is high time for us to turn things around, and only we can do so. By paying equal, if not more, attention to our own artistes as we do to those from neighbouring countries, we can promote the talents of Bangladesh. I truly hope that with time, Samina will earn the respect she deserves.

The writer is In-charge, Star Insight.