"See Yourself," George Harrison (1976)

"We were talking -- about the love that's
gone so cold and the people,
who gain the world and lose their soul -
they don't know -- they can't see -- are
you one of them?"
"Within you Without you," George Harrison (1976)

George Harrison's songs have been a part of my life for more than four decades. The sweet melancholy, generosity of spirit and introspection that were his hallmarks, always attracted me. Harrison is still best known for being a member of the Beatles in the 1960's. The Beatles were more than just a band of musicians -- for so many growing up in that era, they represented a whole new way of looking at things.

I can still recall my wonderment as they transformed themselves -- and popular music -- album by album. As I get older I find myself going back to Harrison's earlier songs, still beautiful in their verse and simplicity. Of all the Beatles, he was the one I had a particular soft spot for, long before the "Concert for Bangladesh" gave him a place in the hearts of so many people of our country.

Incredibly gifted yet marked by a basic humility, he was regarded as the "Quiet Beatle," for many years, overshadowed by the more idolized duo of Lennon and McCartney. However, a number of his songs are now recognized as gems that will endure through the ages.

Songs such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Here Comes the Sun," and "Something" (which Frank Sinatra once described as the greatest love song ever written) established him as one of the greatest lyricists of our age. He also wrote many beautiful songs in his post-Beatles career, including "What is Life," "All things Must Pass," and "Beware of Darkness."

Quirky, thoughtful, and always ready to challenge the conventional wisdom, he was the one who seemed to be less than satisfied with just the adulation, fame and glamour of the rock and roll world. Harrison seemed to be more preoccupied with his own personal quest to find religious enlightenment.

He was deeply attracted to Indian music and spiritualism. While learning to play the sitar in India he developed a close friendship with Ustad Ravi Shankar, who later came to him to help raise funds for the refugees during our Liberation War.

Much has been written about the "Concert for Bangladesh" held in New York on August 1, 1997. In addition to Ravi Shankar, Harrison put together a stellar group of musicians (including Leon Russell, Joan Baez, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton) to perform together in a landmark charity concert.

The concert and particularly Harrison's song entitled "Bangladesh" gave us publicity at a critical time, symbolizing the fight of an oppressed people against an evil adversary. It helped engender public support for our Liberation War throughout the West.

It was not easy to arouse interest in such a distant war, particularly in the pre-satellite-television age. One writer noted: "The very fact that it took something like the Harrison concert to awaken many in America to the suffering in East Pakistan is an indication of how compassion dwindles with distance" ("Harrison," Robert Love (ed), Rolling Stone Press 2002, New York, p. 123).

The concert was regarded as the first of its kind, with a large number of musicians joining to make a tangible contribution to an important cause. It was an incandescent moment for the popular music scene, and was regarded by many as a fitting finale to the glorious era of rebellion and creativity that had begun in the early 1960's.

George Harrison died in 2001. I personally will forever regret that he was never officially invited to visit our country. He could have visited Bangladesh of his own accord, but it would have been a nice gesture to invite him and his family to visit the nation whose fight for freedom he supported so many ears ago.

The Greeks still remember with affection the sacrifice of Lord Byron, a passionate champion of Greek independence who died in Greece in 1824. Greece has commemorated Byron in various ways. Perhaps it is time that we considered some form of tribute to George Harrison and his friends who came together in support of our cause during those dark days of 1971.