Abdul Ahad : A treasured musical heritage

Abdul Ahad on the piano

Eminent literary personalities -- Professor Zillur Rahman Siddiqui, Professor Mustafa Nurul Islam, Professor Anisuzz-aman, poet Manzur-e Mawla, Professor Karunamoy Goswami participated in the discussion and the event was presided over by Justice Habibur Rahman.

A discussion was held on Diner Sheshey Ghumer Deshey -- a commemorative book on Abdul Ahad.

Abdul Ahad was born in 1918, to a culturally affluent family in Rajshahi. He evinced a great interest in music at an early age. He moved to Kolkata for higher education and while at college, he started taking music lessons from Ustad Bali and Ustad Manju Sahib. He took part in the All-Bengal Music Competition and stood first in the Thumri and Ghazal section in 1936. In 1938, he made a mark by receiving a prestigious scholarship from Shantiniketan and thus he was the first Bangalee Muslim student to take admission in Kobiguru's Ashram.

He received tutelege directly from Tagore, himself.

After graduating from Shantiniketan, he joined His Master's Voice in Kolkata. Renowned artistes such as, Hemanta Mukhapadhyay, Pankaj Kumar Mallik, Suchitra Mitra and even his Guru Shantideb Ghosh recorded Tagore songs under his direction.

After the Partition, in 1947, Abdul Ahad joined Radio Pakistan, Dhaka as a music producer. He was a cardinal force in organising and developing the musical arena of Dhaka. He composed myriad Bangla songs as well as Urdu ghazals.

He was revered with several National Awards, including Independence Award in 1978 for his contribution to music. Among the outstanding songs composed by him, Ami shagorer o neel, Amar desher matir gondhey, Onek brishti jhorey tumi eley, Bhramarer pakhna jotodur jak na are immensely popular to this date.

Professor Karunamoy Goswami, in his speech said, "Among the first three, who revolutionised the Bangalee Muslim culture, Abdul Ahad is one; Kazi Nazrul Islam and Abbas Uddin being the predecessors. He had been an ardent devotee of music for over 50 years and had worked effortlessly to replenish the vacuum in our musical arena after the Partition."

Dr Anisuzzaman said, " The fervour for music that was noticeable in Abdul Ahad should inspire us all."

Justice Habibur Rahman in his speech, quoted some excerpts from the book, Diner Sheshey Ghumer Deshey and reflected that today, more so than ever, we need to broaden our perspectives and be more open-minded, like Abdul Ahad.

The programme ended with renditions of Tagore songs and songs composed by Abdul Ahad.