Copyright office hands over $10,000 royalty to Shah Abdul Karim’s family

In order to preserve the musical works of Baul Shah Abdul Karim, Rabindra Shangeet artiste Rezwana Choudhury Bannya and poet Hason Raja, three new websites have been created under the initiative of the Copyright Office of Bangladesh.

The inauguration event took place today at the conference room of the National Archives Building.

At the event, Baul Shah Abdul Karim's family received $10,000 as a year's worth royalty for his songs. State Minister for Cultural Affairs K M Khalid handed over the cheque to Shah Noor Jalal, son of Shah Abdul Karim.

"My father never expected to earn a penny from his songs. He would have been very happy to see initiative of the Copyright office," shares Noor Jalal. "He struggled financially all his life, to the point that he could not even pay for my mother's treatment and lost her to the embrace of death."

"He used to bless me saying that even if I spend my days sitting beside his grave, the shall never struggle for food and survival," adds the son.

Shah Noor Jalal has vowed to spread his father late Baul Shah Jalal Karim's music amongst the people in the voice and tune worthy of them.

Former Registrar of the Bangladesh Copyright Office Zafar Raza Chowdhury attended the event as chief guest.  Cultural personas and artistes such as Artists Khurshid Alam, Rafiqul Alam, Rezwana Choudhury Bannya, and Sujit Mustafa amongst many others were also present.

"I am not as savvy to modern technology yet, which sometimes makes me feel backdated," says Rezwana Choudhury Bannya. "The world is changing rapidly. Recording songs in our time was not as easy as it is now. There was a lot of selection in this work."

"But now songs can now be recorded very easily and it has become easier to preserve the songs as well due to the benefit of technology" she adds.

"Hasan Raja has not received any recognition in the last 100 years. He was officially recognized through this website," says Samarin Dewan, the grandson of Hason Raja.

Clarifying Hason Raja's identity as a 'Baul' artiste, he adds, "Hasan Raja was never a Baul. He used to call himself 'Baula'. 'Baula Mon' and 'Baul' are not the same. There are many differences between the two."

Zafar Raja Chowdhury said, "Although the artists are withdrawing money from online, its being deposited in dollars, which in turn is getting our nation remittances," says Zafar Raza Chowdhury. "This way, it is not just the artist who is benefited, but the nation as well."

These websites have been created to protect the intellectual property and financial security of the artistes," says the Registrar of the Bangladesh Copyright Office, Daud Mia. "A new law is being made regarding the merit of the songs of the film, so that all the artists associated with the song are not deprived of their rights."

"Artists can no longer be called poor artists anymore," says K M Khalid. "The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sanctioned a fund of Tk 50 crore to support these artists."

"Using those funds, we will stand beside the artists," concluded the Minister.