We remember Nazrul
Kazi Nazrul Islam was a poet, a writer, a musician and a revolutionary. He is the National Poet of Bangladesh. Popularly known as Nazrul, he penned a large body of poetry and composed music that included themes of Islamic renaissance and spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. Nazrul’s activism for political and social justice earned him the title of the “Rebel Poet” (Bidrohi Kobi).
Nazrul studied the Quran, Hadith, Islamic philosophy, and theology at maktab and madrasa. His family was devastated by the death of his father in 1908. In his 10, a very young age, Nazrul took his father’s place in a mosque as a caretaker to support his family, as well as assisting a teacher in school. He later had to work as the muezzin (whoso calls people loudly to Salat).
His famous works are:
Aggni Bina (The Fiery Lute), 1922,, Sanchita (Collected poems), 1925, Phanimanasa (The Cactus), 1927, Chakrabak (The Flamingo), 1929, Satbhai Champa (The Seven Brothers of Champa), juvenile poems, 1933, Nirjhar (Fountain), 1939, Natun Chand (The New Moon), 1939, Morubhaskar (The Sun in the Desert), 1951, Sanchayan (Collected Poems), 1955, and Nazrul Islam: Islami Kobita (A Collection of Islamic Poems; Dhaka, Bangladesh: Islamic Foundation, 1982)
He wrote in his poem Aamar Kaifiyot:
“Hungry child wants not self-rule,
Wants handful of rice, little salt.
Day passes on, child taken not food,
Burns his empty stomach.”
Kazi Nazrul Islam was born on the 25th May in 1899 in West Bengal and died on the 29th August 1976 in Bangladesh. We gave him nothing. So, let us try to establish him in our country as a rebel poet.
Ameer Hamzah
Dhaka
