Musician and folk music collector Pandit Ramkanai Das has died. His son Pinu Sen Das said after Ramkanai’s brain surgery last week, he was attacked by pneumonia and his heart greatly weakened. His doctor neurosurgeon Kanak Kanti Barua at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) said the musician passed away at the neurosurgery ICU around 11:15pm Friday. Ramkanai fell ill at his home in Sylhet last week and was admitted to a local hospital where doctors found a massive brain haemorrhage. He was brought to Dhaka the next day. On Aug 30, he underwent a brain surgery. Ramkanai Das was born in Sunamganj in 1935. In 2014, the government awarded him ‘Ekushey Padak’, one of the highest civilian awards of Bangladesh, for his contribution in collecting folk songs. However, Pandit Ramkanai’s career in art and culture took a hit last year when he was accused of plagiarism and being ‘dishonest’. A section of cultural activists of Sylhet had alleged that Das had taken credit for many popular songs which apparently were compositions of other lyricists. They had demanded dropping Das’s name from the list of Ekushey Padak winners this year. A Sylhet court in November last year had found Das guilty and ordered a stop to the publication of his book ‘Sangeet o Amar Jibon’ (Music and My Life) in a case filed by late folk song artiste Bidit Lal Das over similar allegations. Despite these allegations and his conviction, experts and music lovers admit that Pandit Ramkanai by collecting unheard of and missing folk songs from across Bangladesh has hugely contributed in enriching the Bengali music. Das inherited music talents from his parents Rasiklal Das and Dibyamoyi Das – both folksingers, lyricists and composers. He started with singing folk songs but then switched to the classical music. He also started writing and composing songs. He joined Bangladesh Betar’s Sylhet station in 1967. Ramkanai Das’s music albums include ‘Bandhur Banshi Baje’ (2004), ‘Suroddhonir Kinaray’ (2005), ‘Raganjali’ (2006), ‘Osomoye Dhorlam Parhi’ (2006), and ‘Pagla Majhi’ (2010). His book on classical music – ‘Saral Sangeet Sikkha’ – was published in 2007. Apart from Ekushey Padak, Das received many other awards and honours including honorary fellowship of Bangla Academy in 2012 and Rabindra Padak in 2000. –bdnews24.com
