120th Birth Anniversary of Nat’l Poet: Three-day celebration begins today
Marking the 120th birth anniversary of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, a three-day national level programme will begin at Darirampur in Mymensingh’s Trishal, the place imbued with Nazrul’s memory, today.
The celebration at Darirampur Nazrul Mancha, organised by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Mymensingh District Administration, will conclude on May 27.
Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni is expected to inaugurate the event as chief guest. Hafiz Ruhul Amin Madani, MP; Asim Kumar Ukil, MP; and Prof Bidyut Chakrabarty, vice chancellor of Visva Bharati University, are set to attend as special guests.
The poet’s granddaughter Khilkhil Kazi and acting Secretary to Ministry of Cultural Affairs Dr Md Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal will also speak on the occasion.
KM Khalid, state minister for cultural affairs, will chair the inaugural event while Dr Subhas Chandra Biswas, deputy commissioner of Mymensingh, will host it.
Vice Chancellor of Rabindra University Dr Biswajit Ghosh will present the “Nazrul Speech” on the occasion.
The programmes marking the celebration will include bringing out processions, discussions and live performances.
Nazrul was born in the village of Churulia, Asansol Sadar, Paschim Bardhaman district of the Bengal Presidency (now West Bengal, India).
According to the book “Nazrul Jiboner Trishal Oddhay” by researcher Rashedul Anam, also assistant director of Institute of Nazrul Studies at Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, the poet stayed at Kazir Shimla and Darirampur in Trishal for a year in his boyhood and studied at Darirampur High School (now Nazrul Academy).
Kazi Rafizullah, a sub-inspector of police then working in Bardhaman, brought Nazrul to his village home in Kazir Shimla in 1913 and enrolled him in class VI at the school, said Anam.
Bipin Chandra Chakraborty was the then headmaster of the school. English teacher Mohim Chandra Khasnabish is quoted: “Nazrul remained silent and absent-minded in class.” Nazrul was good at poetry recitation, Mohim Chandra had apparently said.
Nazrul later shifted to Bechutia Bepari’s house in Trihsal Namapara to shorten his six-mile commute from Kazir Shimla. According to several accounts, young Nazrul was often found playing flute under a banyan tree on the way to school.
Nazrul left Trishal for West Bengal the same year, leaving a heartfelt letter for his headmaster that apparently moved the teacher. Before leaving, Nazrul only informed Bepari’s daughter-in-law Saforjaan Banu.
Initiated by PA Nazir, the then deputy commissioner of Mymensingh who also hailed from Bardhaman, Nazrul’s birth anniversary celebrations started in Trishal in 1965, Anam said.
To keep the poet’s memory alive, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University was established in Trishal in 2005. Marking the occasion, the university authorities have also planned a daylong programme on campus today.