Photo: Collected

We recently lost one of the most celebrated actors of the country with the demise of Aly Zaker. In this  interview,  published on Anandadhara's December 16-31 2014 issue, Aly Zaker had spoken about his love for music and poetry with this correspondent.

"Everyone in our house was very fond of listening to music. My mother used to sing, and play the organ. Humming Rabindra Sangeet from time to time, she was more of what people would call a 'bathroom singer,'" shared Aly Zaker. "However, she used to take sitar lessons from Khadem Hossain Khan at Bulbul Academy of Fine Arts and would often be busy playing the instrument."

Aly Zaker grew up listening to Kazi Nazrul Islam's compositions and Pankaj Mullick's renditions of Tagore songs. His elder sister often sang songs by Kanan Devi. "'Akashe Helan Diye Pahar Ghumai' and 'Jokhon Porbe Na Mor Payer Chinho' were her favourites. I lost my sister during my university days. She was only 38," added the actor.

Aly Zaker, along with his family, came to Dhaka in 1953. Their first house, bought by his father, was located in Gandaria. "My mother's organ was placed in a corner. We would often have delightful, musical evenings. My younger sister and I were avid fans of the Kolkata-based programme, "Akashvani" that aired on Sundays," he shared. "I have to admit that I was not very fond of Pankaj Mullick. Rather, I preferred Hemanta Mukhopadhyay throughout my childhood. I also like Manabendra Mukhopadhyay, Manna Dey and Shyamal Mitra.  Songs by Manna Dey, especially "Ei Paare Ami R Oi Paare Tumi" are  among my favourites."

His parents were very fond of Satinath Mukherjee and his mother often performed the song, "Mormia Tumi Chole Gele".

"I lost my father unexpectedly in 1961, during my second year in college. He had a heart attack on his way to work from home," said Aly Zaker. "I still remember my mother singing this song, in tears. She passed away soon at the age of 53."

He further added, "My father was very religious and never missed his prayers. He used to pray five times a day, and also spent hours reading the Holy Quran. He appreciated and enjoyed music just like the rest of us. Music played a significant role in my upbringing."

Aly Zaker also spoke about his favourite singers and his musical preferences. "I remain faithful to timeless, old melodies. Back in those days, I was completely in love with the melodious voices of Manna Dey and Hemanta Mukhopadhyay," he said. "Now, I go back to those same compositions in Srikanto Acharya's voice. I also like Bappa Majumdar. Rabindra Sangeet exponents such as Rezwana Choudhury Bannya, Mita Haque, Adity Mohsin and Laisa Ahmed Lisa are also my favourite. Furthermore, I enjoy listening to noted Nazrul singer and my brother Mahmudur Rahman Benu's student Khairul Anam Shakil's performances. In recent times, the Rabindra Sangeet raaga is being performed with beats, and I really like it."

Songs by Rashid Khan, Alka Yagnik and Srabani Sen also mesmerise him. "I usually prefer listening to music in the middle of the night on my laptop or while travelling around the city in my car," he added.

Aly Zaker also enjoys reading poems published in the newspaper, Desh, every morning. "Among the recent poets, I like Sambhu Ghosh alongside legends like Rabindranath Tagore and Jibanananda Das. The world of literature has been going through a drought, and I hope it passes soon," he added. "When people went to pay their last respects to  noted artist Qayyum Chowdhury at the Central Shaheed Minar, there was a notebook beside him for writing comments and notes. I had rephrased a famous line by one of my favourite poets, Joy Goswami. I wrote, "Chilen, Nei, Byas Ei." I still read pages of "Ruposhi Bangla" by Jibanananda Das, on my bad days. I feel that poems are stringed to emotions in a unique manner and I love to explore them."

Translated by Ashley Shoptorshi Samaddar