Audio cassettes of Bengali songs having vulgar lyrics have flooded the markets in the city. The production companies are doing brisk business as most of these songs are composed copying popular folk tunes targeting the low-income customers.

The vulgar lyrics attract a section of customers having bad taste. Moreover, the cas-

settes are easily available at cheap prices in almost every markets of the city.

Lyrics like "Pat khete jaite more koise", "Tel mairade jouboner talai", "Kochi kochi dalim dhorechhe", "Gachh paka phol khaite chai" or "Biyar aage premer moja" set with folk tunes manifest the bad taste of the people who are releasing the cassettes.

These cassettes are released with vulgar titles such as "Roshe bhora tanki", "Tanki bhara

hobe", "Joubon gachhe kochi dalim." In some cassettes, a presenter gives crude introductions of the songs at the beginning that also shows the degradation of taste.

"Sometimes they do not use filthy words directly in the song, but the similes and metaphors convey vulgar meaning," said Mirza Abdur Rahman, a student.

Traders selling these cassettes said the trend of vulgar songs began about 4/5 years

back. "One or two such cassettes became super-hit in the year 2000 and then many more came into the market," said Sharifuddin Mahmud who works in an audio cassette store at Katasur.

The traders said the cassettes are produced by small companies at Patuatuli in the old part of the capital and then supplied to the bigger companies for distribution. The cassettes are now available throughout the country, said the traders.

Well-known singers do not sing such songs. Two or three singers have captured the market with such songs. "The cassette companies make huge profit but the singers are not paid much," commented Khairul Alam Palash, a cassette shop owner in Mohammadpur.

Mostly uneducated rickshawpullers, truck drivers and small grocery shop owners are the regular customers of these cassettes, the traders said. It is a cheaper means of entertainment for the people of low-income group as a cassette costs only Tk 30 to 35.

"The cassette companies know about their choice and release songs that match with their taste," Palash said. "But it is an alarming fact that a section of students and youngsters are also buying these cassettes out of curiosity."

"They like to hear these type of songs when they hang out with friends," said Dibakar Shankar Dipak, a salesperson of a shop in Mirpur.

The city residents believe the songs are affecting the youngsters in both direct and indirect ways. "My daughter cannot go out alone as young boys in the neighbourhood sing those dirty songs to draw her attention," said Abul Hossain, a resident of Kathpatti in Mohammadpur.

When asked, the traders said it is part of their business and they keep those cassettes only to meet the customers' demand.

The traders said the sale of vulgar VCDs slumped in the city after Rapid Action Battalion seized such CDs in the recent months. "It has affected the sale of vulgar audio cassettes also, but not to a great extent," commented a salesperson.

"It is very difficult to stop the sale of such cassettes as the business has spread all over the country," a cassette shop owner said. "Moreover, there is no controlling or monitoring agency to censor audio cassettes before their release.”