An Anthology of Bangladesh folk music: “Folk Melody of Bangladesh”

Nokta publications is set to release "Folk Melody of Bangladesh" by Iftekhar Anwar, a book that comprises the findings of a decade-long research project, aiming to understand the origins and maintain Bangladesh's traditional yet timeless folk music and culture. A Prelaunch of the book will be held on the 16th of September hosted by the American International School Dhaka and Courtesy of Shah Cement. The seminar should be an exciting one, with the descendants of the great Radha Raman Dutta, Hason Raja, Ukil Munshi, Kalushah Fakir, Alepchan Dewan, Bijoy Sarkar, Osman Khan, Bokhth Shah Chishti, Moheh Chandra Roy, Nurul Islam Jahid and many more attending! The Queen of Lalon Songs Farida Parveen, Legendary Folk Singer Arif Dewan, Folk Song Researcher and the Great Grandson of Hason Raja- Shamarin Dewan, and Dr Jesmin Buli, an Expert and Specialist in the music of North Bengal, will all be present and speaking about the book. The book is scheduled to be published in December 2022.

The Folk Music Project set out on its mission in 2010, with a team consisting of experts and remarkably skilled music enthusiasts. The team explored and travelled in all directions of Bangladesh, in search of the existing resources, long-lost folk music scripts, and with an aim to connect with the remaining disciples and descendants of the early lyricists. 

The journey to the roots of each of these songs posed several challenges. Some of these songs are being sung for centuries and had gone through several renditions. There was much debate about their exact melody, lyrics, and their true creators. The subjective nature of the people of this river delta and the fact that each generation had heard the songs growing up with their families, friends and communities had posed doubts regarding the true origins of these songs. Meticulous research was carried out by delving into these remote areas of Bangladesh, interviewing, and verifying to get to the true origins of each of these remarkable creations.

When asked to say a few lines about this book Iftekhar said, "I thought I would finish this task by myself in 1 week and today, 9 years have flown by, and I am doing it with the help of hundreds of well-wishers and supporters. I would like to thank everyone who has been a part of this tremendous journey. I believe the world will experience the undiscovered treasure from this part of the world from this book…"

The book consists of the melody in staff notation, the lyrics, and detailed descriptions of more than two hundred and ten folk songs, their composers, and lyricists. The book captures and documents the evolution of the tunes and lyrics of the folk music through the passage of time. This process of research and documentation will make the folk music of Bangladesh accessible all around the world.

The book takes a step toward the modernity of the folk music of Bangladesh. "Modernity" is initially a western concept is often misinterpreted in this subcontinent. It does not amount to undermining our collective memories, traditions, art, and music; rather involves taking steps to apply rational thinking in every discipline. The author of this book aims exactly that, bringing our folk songs to the realms of modernity so that new musicians, scholars, and teachers of this country and all around the world can learn, teach, and be inspired by them.