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Nazrul known as the ‘Rebel’ poet in Bengali literature and the ‘Bulbul’ or
Nightingale of Bengali music, was one of the most colorful personalities of
undivided Bengal. He may be considered a pioneer of post-Tagore
modernity in Bengali poetry. The new kind of poetry that he wrote made
possible the emergence of modernity in Bengali poetry during the 1920s
and 1930s. His poems, songs, novels, short stories, plays and political
activities expressed strong protest against various forms of oppression -
slavery, communalism, feudalism and colonialism - and forced the British
government not only to ban many of his books but also to put him in
prison. While in prison, Kazi Nazrul lslam once fasted for 40 days to protest
against the tyranny of the then British government.
Kazi Nazrul Islam was born on May 24, 1899 in Churulia village,
Bardhawan in West Bengal, India. His mother was Zaheda Khatun and his
father Kazi Fakir Ahmed was the Imaam of the local village mosque. The
second of three sons and one daughter, Nazrul lost his father in 1908 when
he was only 9 years old and his father died at the age of 60. Nazrul’s
nickname was “Dukhu Mia” (hapless chap), a name that aptly reflects the
hardships and misery of his life right from the early years. His father’s
premature death forced him, at the age of 10, to become the Muazzin (a
caller for prayer) of the local mosque. This early exposure to the principles
and practices of Islam was to have a significant impact on his later literary
endeavors.
In 1910, at the age of 11, Nazrul returned to his student life enrolling in
class VI. The Headmaster of the school remembers him in the following
words: “He was a small, good-looking boy, always the first to greet me. I
used to smile at him and pat him on the back. He was very shy.”
Again, financial difficulties compelled him to leave school after class VI,
and Dukhu Mia ended up as a cook in a bakery and tea-shop in Asansole.
In his youth, Nazrul joined a folk-opera group inspired by his uncle Bazle
Karim who himself was well-known for composing songs in Arabic, Persian
and Urdu. As a member of this folk-opera group, the young Nazrul was not
only a performer, but began composing poems and songs himself. Nazrul’s
involvement with the group was an important formative influence in his
literary career.
For almost three years, up to March-April 1920, Nazrul served in the army
and was promoted to the rank of Battalion Quarter Master Havildar. Even
as a soldier, he continued his literary and musical activities, publishing his
first piece ‘The Autobiography of a Delinquent” (Saogat, May 1919) and his
first poem, “Freedom” in Bangiya Musalman. Sahitya-patrika, (July 1919),
during his posting at Karachi cantonment. What is remarkable is that even
when he was in Karachi, he subscribed regularly to the leading
contemporary literary periodicals that were published from Calcutta like,
Prabasi, Bharatbarsha, Bharati, Saogat and others.
When after the 1st World War in 1920, the 49th Bengal Regiment was
disbanded, Nazrul returned to Calcutta to begin his journalistic and literary
life. His poems, essays and novels began to appear regularly in a number
of periodicals and within a year he became well known not only to the
prominent Muslim intellectuals of the time, but was also accepted by the
Hindu literary establishment in Calcutta. In 1921, Nazrul went to
Santiniketan to meet Rabindranath Tagore – his master-poet, the source of
his inspiration…
The same year, Nazrul was engaged to be married to the love of his life -
Nargis, the niece of a well-known Muslim publisher Ali Akbar Khan, in
Daulatpur, Comilla, but on the day of the wedding (18th June, 1921)
Nazrul suddenly backed out at the last moment, and left the place due to
some serious misunderstandings and disagreements. However, many
songs and poems reveal the deep wound that this experience inflicted on
the young Nazrul and his lingering love for Nargis.
In 1922, Nazrul published a volume of short stories Byathar Dan (The Gift
of Sorrow), an anthology of poems Agnibeena, an anthology of essays
Yugabani, and a bi-weekly magazine, Dhumketu. A political poem
published in Dhumketu in September 1922, led to a police raid on the
magazine’s office, a ban on his anthology Yugabani, and one year’s
rigorous imprisonment for the poet himself.
On April 14, 1923, when Nazrul lslam was transferred from the Alipore jail
to the Hooghly jail, he began a fast to protest the mistreatment by a
British jail-superintendent. Immediately, Rabindranath Tagore, who had
dedicated his musical play, Basanta, to Nazrul, sent a telegram saying:
“Give up hunger strike, our literature claims you”, but the telegram was
sent back to the sender with the stamp “addressee not found.”
Nazrul broke his fast more than a month later and was eventually released
from prison in December 1923. On 25th April 1924, Kazi Nazrul lslam
married a Hindu woman Pramila Devi and set up his residence in Hooghly.
An anthology of poems ‘Bisher Banshi’ and an anthology of songs ‘Bhangar
Gan’ were published later this year and both volumes were seized by the
government. Nazrul soon became actively involved in politics (1925),
joined rallies and meetings, and became a member of the Bengal Provincial
Congress Committee. He also played an active role in the formation of a
workers and peasants party.
From 1928 to 1932, Nazrul became directly involved with His Master’s
Voice Gramophone Company as a lyricist, composer and trainer, and many
records of Nazrul songs, sung by some of the most well-known singers of
the time were produced. The newly established Indian Broadcasting
Company also enlisted Nazrul as a lyricist and composer and he remained
actively involved with several gramophone companies and the Radio till his
last working days. Nazrul songs were in great demand on the stage as
well. He not only wrote songs for his own plays, but generously provided
lyrics and set them to tune for a number of well-known dramatists of the
time.
...My nerves are shattered. For the last six months, I used to visit Mr.
Haque (A. K. Fazlul Haque, the then Chief Minister of undivided Bengal)
daily and spend 5-6 hours like a beggar…I am unable to have quality
medical help…
This might be my last letter to you. With only great difficulty, I can utter a
few words. I am in pain almost all over my body. I might get money like
the poet Firdausi on the day of the funeral prayer (janajar namaz).
Yours,
Nazrul
Earlier his wife, Pramila Devi, had become ill in 1939 and though paralyzed
from the waist down, she spent the next 23 years of her life, caring for her
husband until her death at the age of 54 on 30th June, 1962. As per her
last wish, she was buried at her husband’s birthplace, Churulia. [Nazrul’s
sons, Aniruddha died in 1974 at the age of 43, and Shabyashachi in 1979
at the age of 50.]
On 22 July 1975, Nazrul was transferred to the Post Graduate Hospital for
continuous medical supervision. He spent the remaining one year, one
month and eight days of his life there. Towards the end of August 1976,
his condition deteriorated, his temperature shot up to over 105 degrees,
and on 29 August 1976, he breathed his last at 10:10 a.m.
As soon as Nazrul’s death was broadcast over Radio and T.V. the news
spread like wild fire and plunged the Bengali nation in profound gloom. Life
came to a standstill in Dhaka as thousands of men and women lined up to
have a last glimpse of the rebel poet’s mortal remains in the Teacher-
Students’ Centre of the University of Dhaka.
At 5 p.m. on the same day, Kazi Nazrul Islam was buried with full state
honor beside the Dhaka University mosque. Now almost three decades
after his death, Kazi Nazrul Islam resides in the hearts of millions of
Bangladeshis as their national poet.
By the time he passed away in Dhaka on August 29, 1976 -- having spent
34 years in paralytic torment – he had become a legend, the exemplar of a
religious sensibility that was not bounded by abstract definitions, but
defined itself in the acts of devotion, empathy and creativity. He was the
Rebel Poet. His humanistic vision, philosophy and spirit transcended many
orthodox boundaries. He was also a very down-to-earth, maatir-manush,
his communication so simple and straight-forward that could be
understood by the masses.
Dear Motihar,
As a friend, I have a request. Please don't let anyone know about it.
Dear Motihar,
For conferring on me the honor as the chair of this Eid conference, I offer
my gratitude to the Bengal Muslim Literary Society (Bongio Musalman
Shahitto Shomiti). Let me first offer you my Eid greetings. Eid is the
celebration of joy and sacrifice.
Today, this is a poetry conference. Poets and writers have gathered here.
Poets, writers, musicians are messengers who bring to people the message
from the realm of joy and beauty. That’s why they are the pride of human
civilization. The human thirst for joy and beauty is eternal. Just as a
person feels hunger for food, so he does feel thirst for beauty…The poets
are there to quench the thirst of the non-poets. The demand for the beauty
dimension of life co-exists with the ordinary needs of people’s life. One day
I observed a person returning from the market, holding a hen in one hand
and some Tuberose (Rajanigandha) flowers in the other. I complimented
him saying, "I have never seen such a combination of Fair and Fowl (foul)
together!"
I vividly remember my great feeling and realization of this one day in life.
My son passed away. My heart was broken by the deep sadness at this
loss. That day, I found Hasna-Hena (a flower) blooming in my house. I
smelled the fragrance of that Hasna-Hena to my heart’s delight. That’s the
way to enjoy life – that’s living a full life. I have cherished the experience
of this very kind of life. My poetry and music have emanated from my life’s
experiences. I sang with the rhythm of life – these are the expressions of
that rhythm. Whether my poetry and music are great or mediocre, I don’t
know. But I want to state emphatically – I have lived my life fully. I have
never dreaded pain or suffering. I have dived into the ocean waves of life.
I was the first in my class. The headmaster had great hope that I would
bring more honor to the school, but the world war of Europe came along.
One day I saw people going to war. I also joined a platoon. I went to
Chattogram, saw the sea, and I thoroughly enjoyed my life by diving into
it. One day a policeman aimed his pistol at my forehead, while standing
right in front of me, and said, "I can kill you." I exclaimed: "Friend!
Indeed, I have been searching for death all along…”
Acknowledgements: www.nazrul.org