Homage to Nazrul

At the end of last year, Bhabna's director and choreographer, Samina Hussain Prema, launched a dance-drama based on Kalidasa's Abhigyan Shakuntalam- the first of its kind in the country. While everyone anticipated what they were about to witness, the expectation for music, even for Alomay Biswas who crafted the script for the dance-drama, lay in the hands of Rabindranath.

But Prema had other ideas.

Born on the same day as Kazi Nazrul Islam himself, Prema had wanted to work with Nazrul Sangeet for a very long time. “I grew up around Nazrul Sangeet. My sister is a Nazrul singer, and through her my affinity for his melodies kept growing,” she says.

Unlike Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam did not have his own dance-dramas, where each song would represent the situation in the play. Prema went far and beyond to find the perfect song for each situation in Kalidasa's Abhigyan Shakuntalam. “I wanted to direct and choreograph my own version of Shakuntala as a dance-drama, after I had performed it once in Kolkata under someone else's direction. That was when I thought, 'Why not Nazrul's music?' It just made a lot of sense to me. I feel Nazrul's music could add more depth in the story through his lyrics,” she said. With the help of Khairul Anam Shakil and others from Chhayanaut, Prema began her journey to find the perfect songs for the right moments. She also made sure to use the lesser popular songs of Nazrul through the sole intention of passing on the passion for his music from her to the audience.

After finding the ideal songs to fit into the story—songs such as “Dao Shourjo”, “Dola Lagilo”, “Shey Chole Gechhe Bole”, “Aadhkhana Chaand” and “Mora Chhinu Ekela” among others, Prema travelled to Kolkata to craft the background score and music for the dance-drama. “We used Suman Sarker's studio in Kolkata for our recording. We depended mostly on Indian Classical instruments. But I wanted to make sure the voices are from our own land. I feel only Bangladeshis can represent Nazrul in the most authentic and traditional manner. We had excellent singers from Chhayanaut, with Khairal Anam Shakil and Priyanka Gope singing the lead roles. With their undying support and rich musical sense, 'Shakuntala' started becoming a reality for me.” While a risky move, Prema now knows that she could not have made a better decision than to rely on the wondrous melodies of our Rebel Poet. After the first show, one of the biggest successful aspects had turned out to be the music, and it was on the tip of every tongue.

 “Nazrul is such an integral part of our culture. Nazrul is a rebel, a lover, a revolutionary. There is no situation he did not comprehend, no leaf he left unturned. He made music for every instance, every circumstance. So, there was no doubt that using his music to tell one of the greatest love stories was a decision I would never regret,” she says.

According to her, and everyone who has encountered the blissful tunes of Nazrul, his greatest role in our nation was the healthy leadership he had given just through the use of his words and melodies- a leadership he still offers, even years after his departure. All we have to do is switch off the world, and switch on his music.