Channel click
Keeping alive the Nazrul mystique
Shumon's medoldious renditions
Sadya Afreen Mallick
While channel surfing, early in the morning yesterday, a special programme on selected songs of Nazrul on Channel-i caught my immediate attention. Sumon Chowdhury, a singer who has established himself in the realm of Nazrul songs, was performing. Nashid Kamal, in her usual calm and collected way, was the anchor. The set was simple, yet appropriate. The superb interludes of violin by Shunil Das and the neat rhythmic coordination of tabla was a pleasant change from the cacophony of distuned instruments, which we are accustomed to.Shumon presented three different styles from Nazrul's marvelous compositions. The first song Ekon mudhur sharab diley, is an Islamic song. This was first recorded by Abbasuddin Ahmed. The second song Amar Shyma Mayer, is a devotional song based on raga Kafi Sindhu and Khambaj. This was first recorded by Gyan Goswami. The third song was a semi-classical Chand Herichey on raga Bagesri. Shumon has made a niche for himself as a performer. He has developed a gayaki or a style of his own with gamaak, gitkari, and the lightening taans which flow naturally. His presentations are a testament to his deep passion for Nazrul songs. The raag prodhan or semi genres of classical songs are particularly well suited to Shumon's melodious voice. It is widely known that composers like Tagore, DL Ray and Atul Prasad composed songs to which the common man had little access. It was Kazi Nazrul Islam whose songs infused passion and liveliness and attracted people from all walks of life. His love songs represented traditional classical music with special emphasis on kheyal and thumri. His modern songs won the hearts of listeners for its enchanting lyrics and tune. The recording companies and films in those days readily extended their patronage to the Nazrul genre of music. It is a matter of great regret that special programmes on TV, portraying our National Poet Nazrul Islam have often been subject to mediocre direction and a poor stage set-up. This has caused audiences to turn away. On the other hand, some of the music videos telecast on the erstwhile ETV sometime back by leading Nazrul artistes showed marks of innovation. Even though some of the tunes seemed a bit 'modernised', it was a rich combination of music, vocal and location. There might be critics who will probably not like to see Nazrul Sangeet turned into music videos. But this seems a good effort at wooing the audiences. The TV channels have the onerous task of promoting the works of our National Poet. Established and upcoming artistes need to be brought forward. The songs should be aired with innovativeness and care.
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Shumon Chowdhury, sitting third from left, rendering songs at a programme of Panchaswar |
