Life's Lyrics
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.
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.
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.
Life's lyrics / 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.
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.
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.
Life's lyrics / Nazrul Convention 17
Anandale Washington DC had not seen so many beautiful men and women together, all dressed in colourful sarees and matching kurtas! Fall is a colourful time in USA, the leaves start taking different hues, from pale orange to deep crimson, from a subtle green to a bright spinach colour.
A true Tagorean
We had a mutual friend named Manjur Karim. Whenever he called Chanchal Khan, he would say, “Hello Chanchal, Ami shudurer o piyashi” (I have a thirst for that yonder), and both would burst into laughter.
More than half a century of Bangladesh Television
There came a big cardboard box and we gathered around the box as the electrician took out a black- coloured box and fitted it in our...
Bengal Classical Music Festival
My personal favourite is Shubha Mudgal. In her bright pink sari, when she appeared on stage at around 3.30 am, the entire area lit up with her glow.
Marina - from Stingray
The CNG dropped us in Sat Bangla junction in Mumbai, India. Marina looked at me and gasped, “Nashid apa! Oh my God!”
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.
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.
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).
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.
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).
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.
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.