Upholding the National Poet’s legacy

An audio anthology of 125 Nazrul songs performed in strict accordance with authentic lyrics and compositions by seasoned veterans and emerging artistes from Bangladesh and West Bengal was released at the festival.

A two-day festival, titled "Nazrul Utsav 2022", was held at the capital's Gulshan Society Lake Park recently.  Organised by Bangladesh Nazrul Sangeet Sangstha, Arunaranjani, and Gulshan Society, it aimed to celebrate the work and philosophy of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.   Nazrul Sangeet exponents Khairul Anam Shakil, General Secretary, Bangladesh Nazrul Sangeet Sangstha, convener of the festival and Masuda Anam Kalpona shared their plans of preserving the work of Nazrul.  They intend to preserve the heritage of Nazrul and promote wider awareness of the depth of his work. "We also want to continue this festival annually, not only in Dhaka, but all over the country," adds Shakil.     "We intend to inspire the younger generation of artistes to carry forward the legacy of Nazrul. We are trying to uphold the philosophy of the great poet, which he documented through his work."  Artistes from both the Bengals participated in the festival. Apart from the music, an exhibition on Nazrul's life was also organised.  An audio anthology of 125 Nazrul songs performed in strict accordance with authentic lyrics and compositions by seasoned veterans and emerging artistes from Bangladesh and West Bengal was released at the festival.  In addition, an online archive that will ultimately include 2,000 to 2,200 songs by Nazrul in authentic form was launched, which is available free of cost. 

The archive includes all background information of making the songs, primarily collected from newspapers published before 1942.   Shakil shares that Nazrul Sangstha has a team that is working on a project that will explain the context of the poet's works. "Nazrul's writings convey multi-dimensional messages, however, explaining the proper context will help people to refrain from misinterpreting his thoughts," he explains.  Both Shakil and Kalpona are grateful to the late Dr Rafiqul Islam, one of the most distinguished researchers of Kazi Nazrul Islam, for his immense support and ensuring the authenticity of the works they are preserving.   Nazrul Sangstha is supported by researchers, who have been investigating Nazrul for many years, from Bangladesh and India.  "We can sense the change already, as students from several divisions call us and say that they have been following the original tunes of Nazrul Geeti," says Kalpona. "This makes us happy and proud."  The Nazrul Sangstha aims to arrange workshops four to six times a year. "Our workshops connect the students from all over the country, and also overseas," she explains. A panel of around 30 teachers, including noted artistes Salahudiin Ahmed, Yaqub Ali Khan, Nasima Shaheen Fancy, Sharmin Shathi Moyna, Mahmudul Hasan, Bijon Mistri, Rezaul Karim, and a group of young aspiring artistes conduct these workshops.   "We provide certificates to the students, and our technical team is working hard to improve our virtual activities," adds Kalpona.  Shakil sees a ray of hope, as this initiative will also increase cultural activities. "The young generation needs to understand the philosophy of our National poet, it will certainly enlighten them and inspire them to raise their voice against oppression and help to come out from the compromising zone, they are in," he shares.     Both the artistes conveyed their gratitude to Syed Ahsan Habib from Gulshan Society, Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Gulshan Society, and the community police for traffic management during the festival.  

"Above all, their around-the-clock supervision and coordination made the event a huge success. I would also like to thank BLUES Communication management, Ashfaque Swapan, for his creative and graphical works for the entire event including the emblem, main stage, backdrop, brochure, standees, Maasranga, our media partner, and last but not the least, HSBC in particular and all the other twelve sponsors without whom we could not have turned our dream into a reality."