Down the melodic lane of Bangla music

The journey of Bengali Literature started with music, as the psalms of Charyapada bear the testimony of ancient text of Bengali Literature. This was followed by literary texts and musical genres like Nath Sahitya, Sri Krishna Kirttan, Mongol Kavya, Vaishnav Padavali, Shakto Padavali, PuNthi Sahitya, Kobigaan, Baul Gaan, Bangla Tappa, Panchokobir Gaan, adhunik songs, inspirational songs of Shadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, patriotic songs, film songs, opulent genres of folk songs band music and more. To revisit the rich heritage of Bangla music, Government Music College, Agargaon, together with Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA), organised a unique musical programme titled “Hajar Bochhorer Bangla Gaan” at National Theatre Hall auditorium of BSA on July 29. 

Cultural Affairs minister Asaduzzaman Noor graced the programme as chief guest while secretary to the ministry Md. Ibrahim Hossain Khan attended the event as special guest. Professor Kristee Hefaz, Principal of the Music College, delivered the welcome address. Liaquat Ali Lucky, Director General of BSA, presided over the programme.

In his speech, the chief guest mentioned that almost half of Bangla music was composed by the mystic folk bards who were not literate.  

Artistes of the Government Music College perform diverse melodies of Bangla songs, with presentations of dance and recitation at the event. Photo: Sheikh Mehedi Morshed

“Though Government Music College is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, we, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, support it as the institution has a number of quality artistes. We also sent delegations from the college twice to India to represent Bangladeshi culture. Our ministry has also initiated a pilot project to start music education at various educational institutions in 10 districts. If successful, we would like to gradually expand the project. They may not all become artistes, but participation in cultural activities is imperative in helping them become well rounded individuals,” said Asaduzzaman Noor.

“Our endeavours were made possible because of the hard work the teachers of our institute have invested. It has taken intensive research to produce this outcome, and from my findings I have grown to realise that the history of music of a race, is the history of race itself. The oldest music in our tradition is Buddhist, and there you have the Charyapada, following which we have the spiritual explorations within the Nathgeetika, which are very secular in nature. During our Liberation War we had inspirational songs, and today band music has become an established genre. History is very accessible through reading, but through this initiative I wanted to revive those eras, and show people how they really sounded,” mentioned Kristi Hefaz about the programme.

The event set off with the presentation of a dance set on the Charya songs based on Raga Patomonjuri, Dev Gandhar and Basant. The proceedings were followed by a dramatic presentation of Leela (union of eternal and earthly souls of Radha and Krishna), nogorshongkirttan, puNthipath, kobigaan, Baul songs composed by Fakir Lalon Shah, Panchokobir Gaan (songs by Tagore, Nazrul, DL Roy, Atul Prasad and Rajanikanta), band music and more.

The artistes of the Department of Folk Music, Government Music College greatly entertained the audience with their rendition and representation of Lalon songs. Songs performed included “Ke Tomar E Besh Bhushan”, “Nirikh Bandho Rey”, “Boro Bisshas Koira Jaga Dilam”, “Dekho Dekho Monorai” and “Ke Jeno Amarey”.

The event continued for three hours to represent a concise essence of Bangla music over a thousand years. Though the set and lights were aesthetically designed, the sound system fell short and hampered the quality of performances. In a nutshell, such an arrangement is highly appreciable though not impeccable on some fronts.