Week long Folk music festival at Shilpakala Academy

A week long folk music festival is on at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA). On the fourth day of the festival (January 28), discussants, artistes and people from all walks of life flocked to the BSA premises to enjoy Hason Raja’s compositions.

Hason Raja, was born in 1854 to a zamindar family near Sunamganj, Sylhet. Historical records suggests that much of his youth was spent in materialistic pursuits. After the death of his father Dewan Ali Raja, Hason became responsible for overseeing his family’s vast estate at an early age of 15. Despite his age, he proved to be a very successful zamindar, not only in administering the estate but also setting up a number of local schools, religious organisations, and providing for the needy in his community. At this stage, Hason began to shun worldly pleasures and entered a soul-searching phase. It was this mental awakening that drove him to compose philosophical works of literature that opened a whole new dimension in contemporary thinking.

Director of the Department of Music and Dance of BSA, RA Mahmud Selim delivered the welcome speech, while Professor Mridul Kanti Chakraborti of the Department of Music of Dhaka University enthralled the audience with his erudite speech on Hason. His speech included allusions and excerpts from almost all the leading mystic bards of the country.

“Like other Baishnav poets, Hason Raja was always in search of the creator through love. Sometimes a sense of paradox or dualism crossed his mind. He hunted birds and would soon set them free. Sometimes he was restless in solitude; again he yearned for loneliness,” said Professor Chakraborti.

Most importantly, amidst his speech, he rendered a number of folk songs including Hason’s “Premer bajarey bikiye manik o sonarey”; “Agun lagaiya dilo koney”; “Jaiba nirey Hason Raja”; “Premer pothey gele paibarey Khoda” and “Lokey boley”. He also sang “Shyam jadi hoito mathar kesh” (by Syed Shahnoor); “Khanchar bhitor achin pakhi” (by Lalon Shah) and more to support his speech.

Director of the Department of Training of BSA, M Mannan Hawladar presided over the discussion.

Later, Mohammad Aftab Mian from Sunamganj performed three of Hason’s songs titled “Ekdin tor hoibo rey moron”; “Chhutitey na parey jeno” and “Lokey boley boley rey” followed by Akramul Islam’s rendition of three songs of Hason Raja “Aankhi mojiya dekho ruup”; “Baula ke banailo rey” and “Ami na loilam Allahjir naam.” Assistant Professor of the Department of Music of Kabi Nazrul University , Trishal Mymensingh, Zahedul Kabir Liton performed a Hason song “O e-go mawla tomar lagi.” Choreographed by Deepa Khandakar, artistes of Dibya Sanskritik Shongathan performed a dance item followed by another folk dance by the artistes of Shukonya Nrityayon.

Kiron Chandra Roy, Fakir Shahabuddin, Jayonto Mukherjee Shibu, Abdus Salam Khan, Awal Sarkar with his troupe members, Alam Dewan with his troupe members and other artistes performed Hason’s songs along with other folk songs.

Zahangir Alom