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Views of Nazrul Artists on Various
Issues
106th Birth anniversary: 2005 |
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| Salauddin Ahmed | Ferdous Ara |
Shumon Chowdhury | Nashid Kamal | Khairul
A. Shakil |
Fatema Tuz Zohra |
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Salauddin Ahmed Courtesy:
Daily Star [May 25, 2005] Salauddin Ahmed was trained in India in classical music by Ustad Mashkur Ali Khan and in Nazrul songs by Pandit Shukumar Mitra . He is a regular performer on TV and radio. Besides being a trainer at Nazrul Academy, BAFA and Ansar VDP Cultural Team, Salauddin is currently engaged in restoring the notations of Nazrul songs.
Nazrul's legendary popularity, his immense stock of songs and the lack of copyrights were certainly at the core of the problem. By 1968-69 there was an initiative in Bangladesh for authenticating Nazrul sangeet notations by the Nazrul Academy. Later on, in 1985, government-run Nazrul Institute took consolidated efforts to preserve the works through authentic notations. The preservation process started from archives of original gramophone records made before the poet fell ill. There was a minimum of 1500 discs containing songs ranging from classical to folk, ghazal to modern, but mostly in dilapidated conditions. "The concept of following the swaralipi or notations in Nazrul songs is relatively new," says Salauddin Ahmed. "The students need to listen to quality performances. One has to have technical know-how to carry on the task of re-composing the swaralipi," he says. "There is a misconception that to be a good tutor, one need not be a good vocalist. The idea is not totally true, The students need to listen to quality performances and develop a taste for good music through the tutor, he says. "Ironically, Nazrul was in fact very liberal with songs. He allowed the stalwart artistes to make variations in style. But it was never meant to be exploited and distorted according to the whims of a few people, especially at a time when the poet was incapacitated to intervene. "Previously the songs had to be rendered for gramophone records in a time span of 3 minutes 11 seconds. So there are several instances when many songs had to be finished midway. The recording companies did not want to bear the expense of re-recording. Therefore, in many instances it would be the unedited versions that were often released. So following the original records could result in the distorted version being accepted as the original," says Salauddin. Salauddin points to a number of initiatives to tackle this issue. Leading performers who have a good understanding of Nazrul's music can be more involved with the notation restoration process. At present there is a dearth of authentic trainers across the country. Government institutions such as Nazrul Institute, Shilpakala Academy and other renowned private institutions certainly have a critical role to play. The media's role can be central to the whole process, he says. Re-recording of the original songs by talented singers has become a necessity. The role of sponsors is also vital. There
are instances where the multinationals sponsor musical ventures. It
would be a welcome change if such instances were implemented for
preserving Nazrul's work, especially since he is the country's National
Poet. |
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Ferdous Ara Courtesy:
Daily Star [May 25, 2005] Ferdous Ara's
breakthrough performance as a Nazrul singer was through the song "Patho
hara pakhi". She has two publications on Nazrul titled Sangeet
Bhubaney Nazrul and Sanchitar Katha Barta. She also conducts TV
programmes on Nazrul such as Sanchita on Channel i and Ei Shomoy on ntv.
She also runs a music school named Sursaptak. She has launched a VCD on
Nazrul songs titled "Shaono Ratey" and also sang for the
upcoming movie "Meher Nigar" by Impress Telefilm. To Ferdous Ara, Nazrul comes with his
versatility, however, as she says "The sad part is that we have
never realised the spirit of Nazrul. That's why we have failed to
project this legend amongst the young generation properly. The steps
should be taken personally as well as collectively. It should begin at
the family level."
The negligence of the government and
private initiators to patronise Nazrul disturbs Ferdous Ara. "We
need a wide publicity for promoting Nazrul and for this the government
should come forward as they have the advantage of reaching the
masses," she asserts. The initiative should be taken from the
grassroots level. For instance, the ethos, the versatility and the
spirit of Nazrul should be projected through the school syllabuses and
in the performing arts in schools.
"Not only that, Nazrul artistes
should be included as representatives in the state programmes and
official cultural tours. This can also attract the young artistes,"
she believes.
She asserts that lack of sponsors and the
attention of the recording companies, is another reason for the young
generation drifting away from such music.
Culture is an ongoing process that
attracts newer ideas. Ferdous Ara strongly recommends, "We need to
keep pace with time. We should welcome the modern musical instruments in
Nazrul songs to make it widely acceptable. In fact, Nazrul's songs have
such wide variations that it can easily adapt to the changes. Even the
scope for fusion is there if done with care."
She adds that as it is the era of visual
entertainment, so using of VCDs of Nazrul songs and even using Nazrul's
medley of songs in cinema, TV and stage plays can draw attention among
the new generation.
"Today, Nazrul's legacy continues to
energise the Bangalees. His poems and songs are part of the rites of
passage for each generation of Bangalees. Yet there is a recklessness
about him, both in life and in songs, that never fail to attract the
imagination that is the eternal hallmark of youth," concludes
Ferdous Ara. |
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Shumon Chowdhury Courtesy:
Daily Star [May 25, 2005] Shumon Chowdhury started his music lessons in 1972. His mentors in classical music were Sheikh Jamiruddin, Ustad Phool Mohammad, Ahsan Murshed, Narayan Chandra Basak, Mithun Dey. He started learning Nazrul songs from Sohrab Hossain, Anjali Roy and Sudhin Das. He aspires to have extensive lessons on classical music from the renowned classical music exponent Ustad Mashkur Ali Khan. He started his career as a trainer and music teacher from 1980. He plans to teach higher level courses on Nazrul songs and Khayal Before discussing how to incorporate Nazrul more effectively in our institutions, we have to overcome the obstacles in practicing Nazrul's songs accurately. We have to keep in mind that unlike his prominent contemporaries, Nazrul's creations were not consistent. For his valiant stance and outspoken defiance against the British 'Raj', his songs and poems could not be circulated widely. Quite a few of his works were even banned. The Rebel Poet's creative flow was hindered socially and politically. Socially, since his secular ways infuriated both the fundamentalist Hindus and Muslims. His Shyama-sangeets were no less heartfelt than his Hamd and Naats but this unheard of talent was harshly castigated and shunned by many, when he should have been revered. Nazrul was never financially solvent. The tragic fact is that Nazrul had to sell the rights to myriad songs for a meager remuneration. For lack of proper concern, some of his songs were lost. Thus in his lifetime, quite often some of his songs were altered or rendered using wrong notes. Nazrul lost his speech and memory at the age of 42 due to a long neurological ailment. Hence, it became even harder to properly regulate his works. Lastly, Nazrul was a true bohemian by nature. So, all these factors resulted in an inconsistent collection of works, some of which were distorted, making for uncertain quality. The original records of Nazrul songs that the institutions follow, often contain inaccurate renditions of the songs. At times, the songs are also difficult to comprehend, as the intonation of the artistes from that era is somewhat unfamiliar. So, the students have a hard time learning Nazrul songs accurately. We have to research on Nazrul songs thoroughly and make efforts to resolve this issue. It's not true that we don't have youngsters who show interest in Nazrul songs but they have to be encouraged as well. Quite often, we, the seniors don't treat our juniors condescendingly. There is this trend of practicing Nazrul songs in contrasted fashions in different institutions. We have to put a stop to this phenomenon. We must make it a point to unify all the institutions to follow a proper method of practicing and rendering Nazrul songs. Nazrul songs are colourful and to manifest this trait of his songs, an aspiring artiste has to learn different techniques and styles. To be able to do that, a student should be trained under not just one veteran teacher but a number of skilled gurus. Accomplished Nazrul song teachers are not evenly distributed among the several institutions either. We have to work on this. Most importantly, we need adequate
Government backup. There was a time when classical music was not popular
in our neighbouring country. However the radio used to play classical
music often, creating a strong base and aficionados of classical music
there. Perhaps, we can apply some similar method to popularise Nazrul
songs. Funds for the institutions have to be well monitored as well. |
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Nashid Kamal Courtesy:
Daily Star [May 25, 2005] Nashid Kamal, a well-known Nazrul artiste, is also trained in folk music and modern songs. She was trained in classical music by Ustad PC Gomes, Akhter Shadmani and Kader Zameree. She learnt Nazrul sangeet under maestro Sudhin Das. Nashid began her musical career as a child artiste. She has three CDs (Nazrul, folk and Urdu ghazals), six audio cassettes and two LPs to her credit. Discussing the popularity of Nazrul sangeet, well-known singer Nashid Kamal said that in Bangladesh both BTV and private channels like Channel I and ATN are making efforts to popularise this genre."In West Bengal, on the other hand, channels like Tara have no separate slots for Nazrul sangeet. Today, when there are public performances on stage and TV, there is a fairly good demand for Nazrul sangeet, especially as an accompaniment for dances. However, when we look for new CDs and cassettes we find that these are rare. Only solvent or popular artistes get a chance to do commercial recordings. Due to lack of initiative and constant changes of authorities the Nazrul Institute has failed to make more CDs," said Nashid. The Nazrul Institute, however, Nashid said, has been active in producing correct notations, which will be useful for future generations. Dwelling on this theme, she said that only a few Nazrul sangeet artistes get to go overseas in foreign delegations. She was emphatic that was a need to create more demand for this genre of music among expatriates and music enthusiasts overseas. She pointed out that Nazrul should not be remembered only on his birth and death anniversaries. The Shilpakala Academy, Nazrul Academy and the Nazrul Institute should have monthly programmes, with slots for different artistes, to this end, she insisted. She continued, "To encourage artistes, the institutions should help with correct tunes and training. They should also be told how to get on with the media in order to record their CDs and cassettes, as the new generation is much more interested in band music." In addition to the above, she said that
that we need to send eminent Nazrul sangeet exponents to India through
cultural programmes, in order to create an interest in this genre in
India. She insisted that the same should be done for USA, UK and the
Middle East, where children of expatriates are eager to learn Nazrul
sangeet. |
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Khairul Anam Shakil Courtesy:
Daily Star [May 25, 2005] Khairul Anam Shakil is a long time Nazrul singer. He began singing when he was 10 years old. He took part in the Natun Kuri competition in the then East Pakistan and bagged the first prize in music. Shakil took his basic music lessons in Chhayanaut. He is the disciple of personalities such as Sanjida Khatun, Wahidul Haque, Sheikh Lutfur Rahman, Sohrab Hossain, Narayan Chandra Bashak and Indian classical guru Muhammad Sagiruddin. Shakil is the Secretary of Chhayanaut and a regular teacher of Nazrul Sangeet. His breakthrough song was "Padmar dheure", a Nazrul song belonging to the folk genre. Apart from Nazrul songs Shakil also performs songs of yesteryears. Talented Nazrul singer, Khairul Anam Shakil, is voluble on the subject of Nazrul as the National Poet. As he says, "Nazrul always spoke for the common people. His rebellious spirit weathered the nation through every crisis and political oppression we have faced."After the Independence he was declared the National Poet of Bangladesh. But Shakil regrets, "Nazrul is a universal poet. None has ever realised his true spirits and he has never been interpreted accurately." According to Shakil, "Apart from negligence about the Rebel Poet, the reason is also lack of adequate media support on Nazrul regarding this issue." Shakil says, "There is a lack of coordinated effort in projecting Nazrul accurately and presenting him with proper respect. We should depict Nazrul with a neutral perspective. This would eventually lead to an authentic portrayal of this humane poet. "The government along with prominent Nazrul researchers and artistes should deliberately inform the new generation about his contribution. Well-rendered Nazrul songs by quality singers should be presented to make the new generation develop an affinity for Nazrul songs." Finally Shakil urged the media to uphold
the spirit of Nazrul. The need of the hour, he said, was to promote
Nazrul songs and project the problems of the artistes. |
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Fatema Tuz Zohra Courtesy:
Daily Star [May 25, 2005] Fatema Tuz Zohra stepped into the world of music in 1963. She started taking lessons from Habibur Rahman Shathi and the tutelage continued till 1977. From then on she was trained by Mithun Dey. Fatema's rendition of the Nazrul Song "Ami Purob Desher Puro Naari" has wowed the audience for years. She fondly remembers how Legendary Nazrul artiste Feroza Begum taught her this song. Fatema intends to give it her all to the cause of making Nazrul songs appealing to this generation. Let me take this opportunity to say that I feel blessed to be a Nazrul singer. Nowadays we hear the complaint that the younger generation is not responsive to Nazrul songs or classical music. This is not quite true. I'm elated that many youngsters are taking an interest in Nazrul and quite a few of them are fairly talented.Having said that, I strongly believe these emerging artistes need promotion and encouragement and this is where the media can play a pivotal role. In fact not just the upcoming ones, even the prominent artistes need media support. In today's CD-audio cassette-music video culture, the audio-visual media plays a central role in making an artiste a household name. A song can be very evocative but expressed through a fitting music video, a song can hit the target and make an intense impact on an individual. He/she can relate to the song in a more profound way. We need visually engaging, creative music videos that can present Nazrul songs from a unique perspective. It is really unfortunate that the audio-visual media has not shown ample interest in promoting Nazrul artistes, as there is this erroneous notion that Nazrul songs don't sell. Theme-wise, the diversity of Nazrul songs range from folk and classical numbers to traditional Arabian, Cuban and Turkish tunes. This distinctive trait of Nazrul songs should be utilised skillfully. Besides the audio-visual media, live performances are also vital. Year around we notice these lavishly organised concerts by pop artistes and popular bands. Can we not have well organised concerts by Nazrul artistes on a grand scale? In our neighbouring country, I have noticed that even the non-Bangla speaking artistes convey their reverence for Kobiguru Rabindranath Tagore by rendering his songs. Perhaps, their accent, modulation and skills are not fit for rendering that certain genre of songs, but the passion and admiration for the music cannot be ignored. Similarly, if our popular artistes rendered even a few lines of Nazrul songs as the opening act at the concerts, it would be a well-appreciated boost. Lastly, the print media has to be true to the cause of Nazrul songs. Newspapers and magazines should give necessary exposure to both emerging and eminent Nazrul artistes. Our National Poet should just not be
visible in textbooks or reminded by a busy avenue named after him. He
has to radiate in our souls, through our passion for his spirited songs
and enlightening literature. |
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