Dreams dwelling in dance

Passionate about dancing, Masum Hossain completed his MA in Kathak from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, in 2018. A scholar at Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Kolkata, Masum also did his BA and MA in History from Dhaka College (under National University), Bangladesh.

From a young age, he learned Kathak under the tutelage of renowned dancer Munmun Ahmed. Pandit Krishan Mohan Mishra from Delhi was Masum’s guru throughout a three-year specialisation course on Kathak. During his time at Rabindra Bharati University, he did a two-year special course under the guidance of Madhumita Roy in Kolkata. He also completed a certificate course on dance from Bulbul Academy for Fine Arts (BAFA). He has been working as a dance trainee and assistant to Munmun Ahmed for the last twelve years.

Masum is a dance teacher at BAF Shaheen English Medium School and he also teaches at Dhaka City Coorporation Cultural Center and Bangladesh Shishu Academy. “I would like to extend my gratitude to the authorities of BAF Shaheen English Medium School, Dhaka City Coorporation Cultural Center and Bangladesh Shishu Academy, for supporting and encouraging me, as I went for my education at Rabindra Bharati University,” says Masum.

He is hugely inspired by his gurus, all of whom play integral roles in his flourishing career in the field of Kathak. He is also grateful to his family and his wife, Fahima Akter, for their unwavering support over the years.

Masum won the UNESCO Club Cultural Award-2005, organised by National Association of UNESCO Club in Bangladesh. He also won the gold medal in the Inter-College Cultural Competition 2009, organised by Dhaka College (under National University). He also performed as a Kathak dancer at the Bengal Classical Music Festival in 2016.

Masum opened up about what he values as a professional dancer. “I strongly believe that we must set a foundation for Bangladeshi art and culture to thrive. We can learn so much from Kathak, be it history, music, literature, respect or discipline,” he asserts. “We must take it as our responsibility to make sure that our traditions and values carry on to the future generations of artistes.”

He was also one of the dancers of Helena Waldmann’s Made in Bangladesh, a Kathak dance performance about the workers in Bangladeshi garment factories, which created quite a stir accross the globe. From Dhaka to India to Europe, the team of Made in Bangladesh travelled to many locations.

In addition, Masum enthralled audiences with his spectacular performance titled, Kathak Yatra, at ICCR, Kolkata, for the first time this year. The performance was organised under the banner of Masum’s own institution, Parampara Nrityalaya. He was accompanied by Biswajit Ghosh on vocals, Sandeep Neogi on sitar, Subir Thakur on tabla, Manab Parai on bol pandhant and Shouvik Paul on flute.