Ferdous Wahid and Habib with their memories

Habib and Ferdous Wahid in an informal ambience. Photo: Mumit M.

To music fans, Habib and Ferdous Wahid need no introduction, for father and son have both been successful in their fields. Recently The Daily Star caught up with Habib and Ferdous Wahid at their home for an informal adda.
The prime topic of that adda was Eid.
At the adda father and son shared their Eid experiences, how they pass their Eid, memories and more.
Recalling his childhood Eid, Ferdous Wahid said, “Back then Eid was observed with a lot more enthusiasm than it is these days. To a child it was like a dream coming true. On that day the most exciting part was the new clothes. We are nine brothers and sisters -- six brothers, three sisters. Our parents gave us two sets of dresses, payjama-- panjabi and Eid dress. The dresses were same in colour so it was really a great sight.”
“As for any other child, the Chand Raat (the night before the Eid day) was very exciting to me. I was busy planning how to spend the big day ahead. On Eid day one of the top priorities was the salami collection,” said Wahid.
“From class six to class ten one of the major attractions on Eid day was smoking. Among my friends the closest ones were-- Syed Siddiqui, the proprietor of Cats Eye, Golam Sarwar and Masud Khan. On Eid day, no matter where we were at three o'clock all four of us met at Dhanmondi lake. That was our adda spot. Back then Dhanmondi lake was much different from now, an Eden within the city. There was no noise, there were no crowd just calm.”
“One of my best childhood Eid memories was an Eid in the rainy season. That year it rained heavily. Most of the fields in the village went under water. My father, who was in the launch business, took four launches to the village and the Eid jamaat was held on top of the launches.”
“One of the main attractions during Eid in childhood was building miniature mosques. From class six to class ten, I built five miniature mosques with paper and small sticks and glue. It took me twenty days to build one. On Eid day I decorated them with small lights and colour. It was really amazing, and it was a must finishing reciting the Quran. I did it regularly.”
For Habib Eid in childhood was a time of great joy.
“On every Eid my mother always bought me new clothes. During Ramadan I was always excited. New clothes were bought and after they were bought I was anxious to wear them. I could hardly wait for Eid day.”
In my childhood, the main attraction of Eid was to go to the house of my Dora phupu in the afternoon. It was a family get together. I could find all my cousins of my age there. It was really fun, we played many kinds of games and during the evening we went to my mamas house.”
Recently, the joint music album Obocheshey … featuring Ferdous Wahid and Habib for the first time was released for Eid.
The album futures eight solo tracks four by Habib --Keno Emon Hoy, Choltey Clotey Dekha Holo, Phirey Ashona, Katena Mayabi Raat and four by Ferdous Wahid -- Neel Jochhona, Dhukho Chhuye Dekho, Bhalo Lagey and Chokhey Chokhey.
Why so late? Why could this venture not come earlier?
Answering the question Habib said, “Because it was the right time. After I came to the music industry I wanted to know how much my work is accepted by people and it seems I am very lucky to have such well wishers and fans. So when everything seemed right the album came out.”
“And again, I always have gone about working in a planned way. I had plans to release the album this Eid.”