Passion for the Beat

Photo: Rafi Haque Antor

"Quitting my bank job and taking music as a full time profession was the toughest decision I have ever made, but it was the best decision," says Md Enamul Haque Omar, one of most popular and praised tabla players of our country. His rhythmic work has charmed many an audience throughout the country and abroad. From playing with the crème de la crème of Bangladeshi musicians such as the group Pancha Bhashkar to collaborating with Anusheh Anadil, Arnob and Buno; Enamul Haque has proved himself to be a musical asset. He is also one of the few musicians of our country who plays the mridangam (a classical percussion instrument) in Bangladesh.

Born and raised in Bogra, Enamul's voyage into the world of music started at a very early age. "My childhood was surrounded with institutions such as Khelaghor, Shishu Academy etc," says Enamul. "I was very involved with them all, and from the start tabla was my 'weapon of choice'." From the very beginning, Enamul grew a soft corner for classical and semi-classical music. "Back then Rajshahi district was very culturally rich. We had musicians coming from India every other month," says Enamul. He also adds, "Being surrounded by all this and having a musically enriched family—I think that formed the foundation of who I am today."

After completing his B.Comm, Enamul moved to Dhaka and took a job in a bank. "I couldn't play much with the work load, so when there finally came a time where I had to choose between a day time job and my soul, I chose my soul," says the musician.  The musician has been playing tabla professionally ever since and is also a senior teacher at Chayanat Biddhayaton. Enamul also collaborates with Jatiyo Rabindra Sangeet Samyalon Parishad as their chief tabla accompanist.

Throughout his career, Enamul had the opportunity to play and learn from the maestros of the music world. "I consider myself a very lucky musician in this case," says Enamul Haq Omar. "Seeing these musicians up close and personal makes you realise how vast music can be." His mentors in music include Khaja Golam Mohinuddin, Sree Shiben Kundu, Sree Shopon Kundu, Pandit Shankar Gosh, Samar Shaha, Sree Ananda Gopal and others. He was trained by the famous N V Balkrishna to play the mridangam.

In 2014, He played in the Bengal Classical Music Fest as a part of Bangladeshi Precision Quartet. His mridangam mesmerised the audience as he played uthan, peshkar, kayda, rela, loggi, sawal-jawab, combined relakayda, various laykri, rhythmic chakradartukra and several long domdar and bedomdar tehai on teentaal." Without doubt, it was the best show I ever did," says Emanul. "Playing classical music in front of such big audience is every artists dream; I thank Bengal Foundation for taking this initiative and giving classical music a comeback in our country."