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BSS-20
NAZRUL-BIRTH-ANNIVERSARY
Poet Nazrul Islam’s 121st birth anniversary tomorrow
DHAKA, May 24, 2020 (BSS) – The 121st birth anniversary of National Poet
Kazi Nazrul Islam will be celebrated in a limited scale in the awake of the
coronavirus pandemic.
Marking the day, Bangladesh Television (BTV) and other private TV channels
will simultaneously air around 11 am tomorrow a 50-minute programme tilted
‘Jago Amrito Piasee’ made by Cultural Affairs Ministry.
However, the observance of Nazrul’s birth anniversary would get an
additional dimension this year as his impressive Eid song ‘O Mon Ramzan-er Oi
Rozar Sheshey Elo Khushir Eid’ is going to be played tomorrow as the Muslims’
biggest religious festival, Eid-ul-Fitr, will be celebrated on the day.
The song has become an unofficial title or theme song for the Eid-ul-Fitr,
heralding the festival of the Muslims after the month-long fasting in
Ramadan.
As soon the song is played, it creates a wave of gratification among the
people and prompts them to get ready for celebrating the Eid.
Kazi Nazrul was born on the 11th Joishtha in Bengali calendar year 1306 in
Churulia, near Asansol in the Burdwan district of West Bengal.
He was famous for his fiery poem Bidrohi (The Rebel) and his many
melodious songs. He was a poet, lyricist, musician, revolutionary and
philosopher.
The nation got inspirations from Nazrul’s poems and songs during the great
Liberation War and all democratic movements and struggles.
There are 2,400 of his songs, and together, they are known as Nazrul-Geeti
or Nazrul Sangeet. He composed the songs, which he liked to tune himself.
Considering his impressive talent, Rabindranath Tagore dubbed him as
Saraswati’s bor-putra (the gifted son of the Goddess of learning).
Nazrul was the poet of rebellion against injustice and taboos. His
nickname was Dhukhu Miah (Mr. Sorrow). True to his name, Nazrul suffered a
lot in his life.
His father died in 1910 while he was still at school and he became the
breadwinner of the family working for a bakery company, Wahid’s, the most
well known in north Bengal at that time.
Later, he resumed studies at Darirampur, Trishal, Mymensingh. But he left
his studies to join the British Indian Army as a non-commissioned officer and
was posted to Karachi. He left the army and settled in Kolkata, where he
started publishing a fortnightly, Dhumketu (The Comet).
The magazine had a fiery tone and was critical of the British rule in
India. He soon found himself in prison for publishing a poem written by him,
“Anandomoir Agomone” (Advent of Goddess Durga-the Goddess of destruction of
all evil).
In prison, he did not stop writing. He wrote, “Rajbandir Jabanbandi”
(Deposition of a political prisoner).
After a prolonged hunger strike, Nazrul was released from the prison. But
throughout the 1920s, he found most of his work banned. After the death of
his second son- Kazi Bulbul- the poet was sad. He wrote, “My nightingale
sleeps forever.”
Although known for his rabid criticism of imperialism, social and
religious taboos, Nazrul also explored the themes of love, romance and
devotion.
He also introduced a robust style that was very bold and innovative. His
use of Persian and Arabic words in Bengali poetry also opened up new literary
horizons. In the 1930s, the leading gramophone company of India, HMV, as a
lyricist, employed him full-time.
Later All-India Broadcasting Authority employed him. But his luck once
again ran out and in 1942, he developed a rare neurological disorder that led
to the loss of his voice and memory. Doctors in Vienna diagnosed it as Pick’s
disease.
After independence, Nazrul was declared the national poet and he was
brought to Dhaka from Kolkata. He died here in 1976 and was buried beside the
central mosque at Dhaka University.
In his short articulate years, he also wrote and directed a play, Byathar
Dan (The gift of pain).
BSS/KC/SAH/GA/1628 hrs