Through the eyes: Ferdausi Rahman
INSPIRATION
The biggest inspiration of my life has always been my beloved father, Abbas Uddin. He is the one who taught me how to sing, how to live and even how to dream. Accordingly, my mother was the person who kept on supporting me in every spheres of life. I still wonder how beautifully she used to sing lullabies for us. Also, Ustad Nazakat Ali Khan and Ustad Salamat Ali Khan are my inspirations. Therefore, my brothers Mustafa Kamal and Mustafa Zaman Abbasi were very supportive too. In my student life, everyone thought that I would probably be a professor of my university. But the head of the department, Dr. Nazmul Karim said, "Ferdausi has all the qualities to be a professor, but she's born to sing." And those heavenly words became my inspiration. Unquestionably, my husband Rezaur Rahman and my children Rubaiyat Rahman and Razin Rahman are my sources of strength in all aspects of my life. Moreover, the love and respect of my fans have always been my inspiration.
PHILOSOPHY
Since childhood, I have been a very simple and subservient person. I never thought that the Almighty will give me this much. It was beyond my expectations. I am thankful to Allah as I am already blessed with more that I was destined to have. I will always remain thankful to all who supported me to be what I am today. My philosophy is to be away from stress and negativities. All I want is peace in life. I just want to see life simply, to live it simply without wanting to achieve more.
VIEW ON HER PROFESSION
Singing is my passion. Since the last 51 years, I have been teaching music to kids through a television show named "Esho Gaan Shikhi", and I just love to sing with kids. This show was introduced from the very beginning of BTV. It's a pleasure that both BTV and the show are of same age. I believe, for a singer, having a good foundation is a must. I am very hopeful of the future generation of our country. Nowadays, pursuing a career through music is appreciated, which is a matter of glory. I really appreciate the music festivals organized by the Bengal Foundation. We have to keep planning events like this to uplift the taste of our future generation.
MUSIC
My taste in music changes from time to time. But my love for old songs has always been constant. Sandhya Mukherjee, Satinath Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Hemanta Mukherjee, and Pratima Banerjee are some of my favorite singers.
FILMS
I have watched a lot of movies in my life. I love to watch movies of Satyajit Ray. At my teen age, I was a die-hard fan of Uttam-Suchitra movies. I also like to watch movies of different languages. "Roman Holiday" is one of my most favorite movies.
BOOKS
I have a huge collection of books. Since childhood, I was very fond of detective stories. I love the books of Agatha Christie. The books of Rabindranath are my all-time favorite. I also love reading the books of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Humayun Ahmed, Samaresh Majumdar and Sunil Gangopadhyay. "Tithidor" by Buddhadeb Basu is one of my most favorite novels.
FUTURE PLANS
Life is momentary and there is no end to dreaming. People keep on dreaming till their last breath and I think that it is the best part of life. I had so many dreams; most of those are fulfilled and only a few are left behind. For the last 27 years, I have been running an academy named "Abbas Uddin Sangeet Academy". I have a plan to take a place of its own so that more students can come and learn to sing. I have an unfinished dream to make my institution more established. I dreamt of making all people capable of singing some selective songs of our country. It was one of my agendas to give scholarships to some students for one month to go to different schools, colleges, universities and villages to teach everyone some selective songs of our country.
IDOLS
My father is my first idol. To me, he's not just a father. Rather he was more like a friend, a guide and a mentor. His honesty, modesty, humbleness, submission to the Almighty, the thoughts of serving others and appreciative approaches to others; all these have left a deep impression on me. My two Ustaads; Ustaad Nazakat Ali Khan and Ustaad Salamat Ali Khan are my idols. Some of my teachers, instructors and singers have also become my idols.
By Shawreen Rahman
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