Two street children have recently become famous after a video of one of them rapping went viral on social media.
Sitting in a packaging box, Rana raps about the stark realities of living as a child on the streets of Dhaka, and surprises everyone with his skills and talent. He has already become known as the "Dhakaiya Goli Boy".
Rana's video – shot in Dhaka University's TSC area – was uploaded by several university students on Facebook on Friday.
His rap song was actually composed by one such student, Mahmud Hasan Tabib, from Dhaka University's Department of Arabic language and Literature.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Tabib said: "Just like other street children, Rana used to wander around TSC. Then one day, he asked me if he could take a ride on my bike."
While on that bike ride, Tabib asked Rana if he could sing. "As a reply, Rana sang me a song by local hip-hop band, Uptown Lokolz."
Hearing Rana rap, Tabib thought about the ways he could utilize his talent, and came up with the idea of training him.
"I took him to a nearby friend's house, where I gave him regular lessons," Tabib said. "It only took him a few days to master rapping."
The song Rana sings in the video, Dhakaiya Goli Boy, was written and composed by Tabib.
"I was working on a few other music videos of Rana, when I saw his video of 'Dhakaiya Goli Boy' had been uploaded on social media," Tabib said. "I did not even know of it."
Tabib's song, brought to life by Rana's talented rapping, reflects the lives of many street children fighting poverty to survive in the harsh Dhaka environment.
Rana lives in Rasulpur area of Kamrangirchar. His mother works as a maid, while his father is a mechanic. He has another sibling, a brother.
But poverty stopped Rana from pursuing his education. He now spends his time selling flowers in the Dhaka University campus.
