A twentieth-century poet and musician
who became the National Poet of Bangladesh and who revolutionized the
style of bangla music and literature. He was imprisoned for his
anti-British writing but continued to flourish until 1942 when he was
seriously disabled by illness.
Kazi Nazrul Islam in known as the
national poet of Bangladesh. He brought about revolutionary changes in
the spirit and style of Bangla literature and music.
Early struggles
Nazrul was born on 24 May 1899 at
Churulia village in burdwan district of West Bengal. India Nazrul’s
family was poor and his father died when he was only nine. Therefore, he
had not even completed his primary education before he had to go
through a lot of struggle for existence. Later he worked as teacher of a
village maktab, a custodian of the shrine of a saint and as a muezzin
in a village mosque before he joined a leto group. Leto was a mobile
musical troupe which roamed around singing and action in the
countryside. He soon became the main poet of the group and made his
place there by composing a number of folk plays.
Between 1910 and 1917, Nazrul was able
to return to school and studied until class X, However, he could not
pursue his education further because he did not like the rules and
regulations and he had financial difficulties. During this time, he
worked as a cook at the house of a railway guard and later at a tea
stall at Asansol. Thus the young Nazrul, aptly nicknamed ‘Dukhu Mia’,
experienced the harsh ralities of like in the very early days of his
life.
Kazi Nazrul Islam
The beginnings of his literary activates
During the First World War, in 1917,
Nazrul joined the Bengal Regiment of the British Indian Army. He was in
the army for two and a half years and rose form an ordinary soldier to a
havildar (battalion quartermaster). His literary activities began when
he was posted in Karachi Cantonment.
During his stay in the army, Nazrul
learnt Persian from the regiment’s Punjabi moulvi, practiced music with
other musical-minded soldiers to the accompaniment of local and foreign
instruments. At the same time he pursued literary activities in both
prose and poetry which were published in different literary magazines.
Baunduler Atmkaini (Autobiography of a Vogabond), his first prose work,
was polished in Saogat, a reputed literary magazine in Kolkata. His
first poem to be polished was Mukti (Freedom).
With the end of the war, Nazrul returned
to Kolkata to start a career in literature and journalism. In 1920 he
became a joint editor of Nabjug, an evening daily published by A.K.
Fazlul Haq, the well-known politician. While Nazrul worked as a
journalist, he wrote numerous poems in different literary magazines and
secured his place in the literary world of Kolkata. At the same time, he
met with prominent writers, poets and other literary figures of the
time, including Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore and Nazrul maintained a
close contact till the former died in 1941.
Influences on him
During this time, the political
situation was very volatile in India. Everywhere, the Indians wer
involved in the non-cooperation and khilafat movement against the
British Raj led by Mahatma Gandhi. He wrote may poems and articles in
support of the struggle against the British. He wrote against the
injustice, the oppression, the exploitation and the violence that was
carried out all over India. He was concerned about the landless farmers
and workers and fought against social injustice through his writings. In
this he was influenced by the socialist revolution in Russian that took
place in 1917.
He wrote his famous revolutionary poem,
Bidrohi (The Rebel) in 1921. He also wrote bhangar Gaan, Proloyollash
and Kamal Pasha. Some of these poems were published in his famous book
of poems, Agnibina (The Fiery Lute). Agniina created a stir in Banlga
literature and proved to be a turning point in Bangla poetry, in terms
of both content and style. Its first edition was sold out soon after
publication, and several editions in quick succession had to be printed.
Reactions
Nazrul was arrested in 1922 for his
anti-colonial writings. He was sentenced to a year of rigorous
imprisonment. While in jail, he went into a 40 day hunger strike to
protest against the mistreatment of political prisoners. During this
time, Rabindranath Tagore sent his famous telegram to Nazrul that said:
Give up hunger strike, our literature claims you. So he stopped and
continued to write while he was in jail. Nazrul married Pramila, a girl
form a Brahmo family in 1924, despite a lot of disapproval form society,
Many of his love songs and poems, some of them being collected in his
first book of poetry. Dolon Champa, were inspired by his relationship
with Pramila.
Political involvement
Towards the end of 1925, Nazrul formally
joined politics and attended political meetings all over Bengal. Apart
from being a member of the Bengal Provincial Congress, he played an
active role in organizing the Sramik-Praja-Swaraj Dal. ON 16 December
1925, Nazrul started publishing the weekly Langal, with himself as chef
editor. The Langal was the mouthpiece of the Sramik-Praja-Swaraj Dal,
which aimed to end class differences in society. THe manifesto of the
party, which was published in the paper, demanded full independence for
India. At this time Nazrul published his published in the paper,
demanded full independence for India. At this time Nazrul published his
book Samyabadi O Sarbahara containing songs for workers and peasants.
Among Nazrul’s other purlicaitons about this time were an anthology of
short stories, Rikter Bedan, and four anthologies of poems and songs:
Chittanama, Chhayanat, samyabadi and Puber Hawa. Chittanama was a
collection of songs and poems that Nazrul had composed on the sudden
death on 16 June 1925 of Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, pioneer of the
cause of Hindu-Muslim unity.
A flourishing career
Nazrul’s career continued to flourish,
and he was involved in a variety of activities ranging from a recording
artist, a composer, a music director, a singer, a poet and an story
writer. He also acted in films, plays and performed on the radio. Nazrul
was particularly keen on composing various forms of songs and he in
said to written even more songs than Rabindranath Tagore had.
A long illness and honours
In 1942, Nazrul became ill and this led
to the loss of his voice and memory. He was treated at home and abroad,
but his condition became worse. Financially, Nazrul’s family went
through a lot of hardship as he was the only earning member.
Nazrul was awarded the Jagattarini Gold
Medal by Kolkata University. He was awarded the Padmabhushan title by
the Government of India in 1960. In 1972, when Rabindranath’s Amar
Shonar Bangla was declared as the National Anthem of BAngladesh,
Nazrul’s famous and rhythmic song, Chal Chal Chal, ws declared as the
battle song of Bangladesh . In the same year, Nazrul and his family were
brought to Dhaka, by an agreement between the governments of Bangladesh
and India. During the war of Liberation, the Freedom Fighters were
inspired by the rebellious and patriotic songs of Nazrul which were
aired by the swadhin Bangla betar Kendra (Independent Bangla Radio
Station), a radio station that was set up in India to inspire the
freedom fighters.
He was conferred an honorary DLitt
degree by the University of Dhaka in 1972. He was granted citizenship of
Bangladesh n January 1976 and came to be known as the National Poet of
Bangladesh. In February the same Year, he was awarded the Ekushe Padak,
one of most prestigious literary awards in Bangladesh.
Nazrul died on 29 August 1976, but in
reality he had remined completely silent and inactive for 34 years since
his illness in 1942. He was buried at Dhaka University Mosque as he had
wished, with one of his ghazals (Moshjideri pashey amar kobor dio bhai)
