Controversies about Nazrul’s tunes
Debates surrounding the original tunes of the rebel poet’s verses have existed for a long time.
1y ago
The ‘Karar Oi Louho Kopat’ controversy
The makers of "Pippa" could have chosen singers with prior experience of rendering Nazrul Islam’s songs.
1y ago
Italy beckons Bangladeshis
Ten years' back my two daughters and I took a vacation to Venice, Italy. I was the only earning member, both girls were students.
5y ago
Music for therapy
Samia Mahbub Ahmad, a beautiful lady sang with us on the same stage in the Nazrul Mela held in Washington DC in September 2018. I had listened to her twice before, once in the Omni auditorium and another time in the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC), on both counts in Dhaka.
5y ago
Dreams do come true!
For some, dreams come true whilst for some, they don't. Take for example, my own self. As a child, I watched a procession of cinema actresses entering our house and leaving them.
5y ago
Farzeen Huq
Farzeen Huq is my friend from Holy Cross school days, 1970 to be exact. We were catching up in London where she lives, I admired her beautiful garden and every corner of her home had an exquisite piece of furniture which caught my fancy.
5y ago
Archiva
It was around the year 2003, Indian crooner Anuradha Padwal was going to have a live performance in the prestigious Dhaka Club and I was to host the show.
5y ago
A Product of Abbasuddin Shongeet Academy
He sat there in the rickshaw, his mother holding him firmly on her lap, as the rickshaw travelled the inner roads with potholes in Banani.
6y ago
September 19, 2015
Zee Bangla Sa Re Ga Ma Pa
So how does it feel? When I switch on the TV and listen to Abbasuddin Ahmed's songs on Zee Bangla, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa.
September 5, 2015
Revisiting the National Poet's Life
On 29 August 1976, the national poet of Bangladesh Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam breathed his last in the Post Graduate hospital of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
August 22, 2015
Dr. Mafruha Hossain: Woman of many talents
We all look at the rainbow and wonder how it has seven colours blended into the same being. Poet Nazrul Islam aspired to filter out one colour and offer red colour to decorate the feet of his beloved. (Rang dhanu hote lal rong chani… Alta porabo pay).
August 15, 2015
Rumana Omar: Is God a Mathematician or Poet?
Back in 1978, in Dhaka University, I came across one of my juniors in the department of statistics. Her name was Rumana Omar.
August 8, 2015
The Likes of Them
My Guru sister Padmasree Tripti Mukherjee wrote in her Facebook status last week 'During his visit in NYC for Hoover Medal awarded by Columbia University in 2009, I and Archana Gollamudi (her friend) went to meet President Abdul Kalam, with my Guruji (Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj).
August 1, 2015
A name carved in gold: Durbadal Chatterjee
Durbadal Chatterjee, a child prodigy starting his first performance at the age of seven, learning violin from his father, a famous violin player Moni Chatterjee.
July 25, 2015
Anindita Kazi: A woman of substance
Many mornings blossom with the cherished face of Anindita Kazi hosting musical sessions in Tara Muzik, India. For me, I am reminded of her father, the illustrious son of Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, guitarist Kazi Aniruddha, who really loved her dearly. He had named her Anindita, wanting her to stand out amongst all.
July 11, 2015
Nazrul Islam's Islamic songs
Rachel McDermott works as a Professor in Columbia University, USA. She studied Bangla in Santiniketan and started translating some of the songs and poems written on the Goddess, Kali.
July 4, 2015
Runa Laila is Runa Laila
This was the summer of 1990. I had taken a taxi cab to reach the Hawaii East West Centre in Hawaii, USA. I was selected by the centre to take part in a training titled 'Micro-computers in Demography.'
June 27, 2015
Two lunch breaks
There were three of us. We were all in our PhD programme under London University but when we met over lunch, we laughed and giggled like teenagers. One friend was from Zimbabwe, the other from Belgium and as well as myself.
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