IN LOVING MEMORY
A little over two months have slipped by since legendary Nazrul Sangeet singer Feroza Begum left us for her eternal journey. The Daily Star organised a special musical programme in memory of Feroza Begum on Sunday at the AS Mahmud Hall of The Daily Star Centre. The programme, organised jointly with Eastern Bank Ltd. and Simantic Creative Concern, was a part of Star Melodies' regular thematic programme on Bangla Songs.
The programme began with a welcome address by Mahfuz Anam, Editor and Publisher of The Daily Star. Sadya Afreen Mallick, editor of Star Arts & Entertainment – who compered the programme, then gave a brief about the background of organising such musical programmes, including the special one on Feroza Begum. She highlighted the contributions of the legendary singer in popularising the songs of Kazi Nazrul Islam in Bangladesh, West Bengal in India as well as other countries. Shafin Ahmed, the youngest son of Feroza Begum and a renowned vocalist of the band Miles, expressed his gratitude to the organisers for arranging the programme.
The evening then rolled on with a selection of Kazi Nazrul Islam's songs, which were recorded by Feroza Begum. Shusmita Anis, a disciple and niece of the singer presented two songs “Ore shubro-boshona rojonigondha” and “Aami chand nohi ovishap”. Anupama Mukti rendered “Mor ghoom ghore ele monohor” and “Akashe aj choriye dilam”, while Nasima Shaheen presented “Mone pore aaj” and “Ami chirotore dure chole jabo” while Fahmida Nabi rendered “Amar aponar cheye” and “Bulbuli nirob nargis bon-e”.
The Nazrul Sangeet segment of the evening ended with a chorus of “Dur Dipobashini” presented by all the artistes along with the anchor, Sadya Afreen Mallick.
In the second part of the musical programme, eight songs composed by the legendary composer and husband of Feroza Begum Kamol Dasgupta were presented by the artistes. Shusmita Anis presented “Mor jiboner duti rati” and “Laguk dola”, while Anupama Mukti sang “Aami bonoful go” and “Tumi ki ekhon dekhichho shwapon”. Nasima Shaheen performed “Emoni borosha chilo shedin” and “Jetha gaan theme jay” and Fahmida Nabi presented “Duti pakhi duti teere” and “Ei ki go shesh dan”.
Interspersed with musical presentations were a few lively discussions and reminiscences by Brig (retd) Moshiuddowla, brother of Feroza Begum; Tabibul Islam, renowned dramatist; Qamrunnesa Hasan, former DDG of BTV and music connoisseur HQ Chowdhury. The speakers brought forth memories of the artiste's personality – especially in both popularising and protecting Nazrul's music, and how she performed Bangla songs on the launch of radio stations in Dhaka and Rawalpindi, against the will of the erstwhile Pakistan government. Numerous little-known facets of the artiste came forward in the reminiscences, seemingly moving a capacity-packed auditorium, almost all of who stayed till the end.
At the conclusion of the programme, at the audience's request, a visibly emotional Shafin Ahmed presented two songs --“Niye Jao” and “Mon-e Pore”, composed by his father Kamol Dasgupta as a tribute to his iconic parents.
But even as the audience emptied the auditorium, an aura of melancholy hung in the air, filled with the words and tunes made unforgettable by the legend herself. When an artiste is gone, they remain in the feelings they evoked in their audiences, and Feroza Begum, along with mentor-colleague-life partner Kamol Dasgupta – were very much present at The Daily Star Centre that evening.
Photo: Ridwan Adid Rupon and Prabir Das
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