Flights of Passion

Clockwise: Bulbuli, Kokil, Khanjan, Peacock Photo: Birds of Bangladesh by M A Taher

As our train sped through the evening fog and the clogged Dhaka streets opened up to the quiet suburbs, we started counting down the hours to reach Rajshahi. When we finally disembarked, a sweet aroma of mango blossoms greeted us. Spring was in the air.
We were staying at the outskirts of a newly developed neighbourhood by the river Padma. Vast plantations stretched to the horizon, as far as the eye could see. Our host, Professor Abdul Khaleque, seemed to have a green thumb. The garden in front of his house was a wild burst of colours of dahlia, marigold, chrysanthemum and more.
While we chatted away in the garden, our host pointed out at a bird on the nearby fragrant kamini bush, “It's the rare Bulbuli that Nazrul was so fascinated with,” he said.
“The Bulbuli lays eggs in a nest, deep inside the bush, to keep predators away,” he added. I watched in amazement at the small greyish bird with a crop of feather on its head -- much like a crown. So this was the Bulbuli -- the Red-vented Nightingale that had inspired Kazi Nazrul Islam to write countless songs!
I could see with my mind's eye how the poet must have sat and watched in wonder as the Bulbuli chirped away and flapped its dainty wings. One of his famous ghazals, “Bagicha-e Bulbuli tui phool shakhatey dishney aaji dol” (Bulbuli don't shake the stems laden with flowers) was an apt homage.
Nazrul had even named his son Bulbul. When the son died prematurely at the age of four, Nazrul was shaken. He wrote:
Bulbuli, my songbird, is tired and has fallen asleep.
The evening's flowers, dropped off from their stems, gaze with mournful eyes.
Flowers blossomed to its singing until it was silenced by some hunter's arrow; in the forest's lap.
The Evening-queen wails with dishevelled hair.
(Translated by Sajed Kamal)
Nazrul had used the imagery of the Bulbuli no less than 69 times in his works. Besides the Bulbuli, there are as many as 45 species of birds woven in the rebel poet's literary works and songs. Mujahidul Islam, a photographer, had captured the images of these birds and displayed them at an exhibition at the Nazrul Institute some time back.
Another bird, the long tailed Papiya whose melodious songs captivated the poet so deeply that he wrote odes to it 64 times. Interestingly, the Papiya during monsoon is known as Koyel or Kokil in spring.
The Black Drongo, which is popularly known as Fingey in our country, with its majestic posture, is also found in Nazrul's poetry. Our national bird Doel (Magpie) has been depicted 17 times by the poet. The queen of spring, Cuckoo appears 52 times while the mesmerising Peacock “spreads it plumes” 42 times.
There are numerous other instances where Nazrul shows his love of nature and birds in his poems. Through the imagery he depicts both love and grief.
For instance, in “Kuhu kuhu kuhore pahari Kuhu -- Piyal daley -- rumjhum ke bajaye” in Raga Nirjhorini, the Kokil reflects the grandeur of mountain-encircled valleys, as the distant woods awaken to the melody of a waterfall.
The popular folk song “Nodir naam shoi Onjona -- nachey teerey Khonjona” is about the Khonjona bird that the poet visualises, perched happily by the banks of the river Onjona.
The song “Bajey mridongo boroshar oi” includes the lines “Bon moyur anonde nachhey -- dhara pollob shongey”, depicting the Bon Moyur or the Peacock in the woods spreading its majestic plumes to greet the rain.
“Mora aar jonomey hongsho-mithun chhilaam” elaborates on two Swans locked in blissful unison. In “Bhoriya poran”, composed on Raga Behag-Basant, the verses “Chandrachuur megher gaye -- moral mithun uriya jaye -- nesha dhorey chokhey alo chhayae” brilliantly describes moonlight brushing against the clouds; the soul steeped in torpor, as a couple of Moral flit across the sky.
In grief, as in love, birds form vivid images in his poems.
In “Aajo kande kanoney Koyelia”, in Raga Hambir, the Koyel pines away in spring. In “Papiya piu piu boley-- phagun unmono bono”, the Papiya weeps for its mate in spring as nature offers its bounty. In “Potho hara pakhi”, Nazrul articulates a grieving lover lost like a bird losing its bearings. In “Kuhu kuhu Koyelia”, he articulates a bird singing away in the mahua woods.
Timeless songs such as “Chokh gelo pakihirey”, a Nazrul composition popularised by Sachin Dev Burman, is about a bird that reproduces the sound “chokh gelo”. Another popular number also articulates the feelings: “Wipe my tears away / Return, winged one, to whence you came.” In the song “Ashiley e bhanga ghorey ...ke mor ranga otithi”, he compares the Titir Pakhi (turkey) with the dark clouds.
“Shunno e bukey pakhi mor aye”, based on Raga Chhayanaut, Nazrul bemoans his son's death by depicting the image of a dying bird. Then there is “Megh-o bihin khoro Boishakhe”, where he refers to Chatak, a bird that is prepared to withstand the blazing heat to wait for the raindrops, the only water that will quench its thirst.
He speaks about the mythical birds Bihog-Bihogi in “Nishi nijhum ghum nahi ashey” -- a restless bird that cannot sleep even in the dead of the night.
Apart from these birds, many others feature in his works such as the Jhut Shalik (Jungle Myna), Gang Chil (Gull), Pyacha (Brown Hawk Owl), Chorui (Sparrow), Babui (Weave Bird), Bene Bou or Holdey Pakhi (Black Oriole), Manik Jor (Black Necked Stork) and Khanjan (Wagtail).
Poetry is painting passion with words, and Nazrul was a virtuoso at this art, drawing a seemingly endless source of energy from nature all around him. Birds captivated his imagination. It was as if he was captivating them, in turn, in his mind and through the power of his pen, setting them free to fly across the barriers of time and distance. The birds, in reciprocity, have carried Nazrul's message of love and heartache to millions of people seeking a higher meaning of life.
We hardly noticed as dusk engulfed the sky. I hummed a few lines of the songs mentioned above. The birds, after a long day of flight, were happily gliding back to their nests. Nazrul, if he were here, would undoubtedly have penned memorable lines to describe the beauty of the birds, flying in unison across the setting sun. We simply sat in silence, lost for words.