Bulbul-Moyna: The singing duo

The couple with musical leanings

Bulbul, was musically inclined from an early age. Though his family had no background of music, he started taking lessons in his early teens at an institution named Lalitakala Academy in Sirajganj. There, Bulbul learnt classical music under three gurus Sudharam Guha, Kanchurar Adhikari and Rajendranath Karmakar.

Although the institution did not teach any musical genre in particular, the young boy had an instinctive inclination towards Rabindra Sangeet. This instinct was rooted in the Liberation War of Bangladesh. 'Although at that time Rabindra Sangeet was prohibited, we often listened to the Shadhin Bangla Betar Kendro that sometimes aired Rabindra Sangeet', Bulbul says. 'The song O amar desher mati, sung by Ajit Ray and, later, Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, especially touched my heart. Thus was born a keen love for Rabindra Sangeet,' he adds.

Moyna's family unlike Bulbul's was culturally oriented. 'My father could sing very well although he was never formally trained, and he always wanted his daughters to learn it,' says Moyna. So it is no wonder that, while merely a child of four or five, Moyna learnt two Nazrul songs from her elder sister. And, the songs she learnt were not easy ones: they were Akashey helan diye and Chikon kalo beder kumar.

Eminent Rabindra Sangeet artiste Wahidul Haque played a very important role in the musical career of both Bulbul and Moyna. Towards the end of the 1970s, Bulbul met Wahidul Haque in Rajshahi at a Rabindra Sangeet conference. Haque immediately noticed the youth's talent. At his advice, Bulbul came to Dhaka in 1980 and enrolled himself at Chayyanaut. Besides his three-year studentship at the acclaimed institution, he also learnt Rabindra Sangeet at Wahidul Haque's Anandadhwani later. And during this period he came in contact with a number of renowned maestros of the genre including Kanika Bandyopadhyay, Neelima Sen and Shailoja Ranjan Mojumdar.

Moyna's tale is even more interesting. In Comilla, she once went to watch a Rabindra Sangeet competition. But the contest could not start due to the lack of a required number of participants. 'The organisers, who knew me, persuaded me to participate in that competition,' says Moyna. The problem was not over yet. 'I found that I knew none of the songs on the list from which each participant had to perform,' she says. However, for the sake of the competition, Moyna sang two Rabindra songs of her own choice. And guess what? To her Surprise, she secured the second position in that competition.

Later in 1990, Moyna participated in the Rabindra Sangeet competition at the national level. This was at the insistence of Wahidul Haque, who had seen her perform in Comilla. And this time too fate smiled on her: the would-be Nazrul artiste again snatched the second position at this national meet.

Nevertheless, Moyna was bound to Nazrul Sangeet. 'As soon as I finished my turn at the competition, Rabindra Sangeet artiste Mita Haque came to me and asked whether I actually sang Nazrul Sangeet?' recalls Moyna. 'As I nodded, Wahidul Haque expressed great surprise.' Having brought an end to her 'probable' career in Rabindra Sangeet, Moyna then got herself admitted in Chayyanaut and started learning Nazrul Sangeet from Subal Chowdhury.

Till date the couple has brought out three albums: Bulbul has Doley Premer Dolon Champa from Commitment Products, and Antarey Jagiccho from Kolkata; and Moyna has Khuji Tarey Ami Aponay. Both are now working for their next titles to be produced by Bengal Foundation.

They have a son, Divya Ritwik, who used to show deep interest in music until the age of five. 'He could recite from Chitrangada and loved to play on the tabla,' say the proud parents. 'However, lately Divya shows more interest in sports and computer games,' says Bulbul adding, 'we won't put pressure on him regarding choosing his own way of life.' The mother, however,asserts, 'I'm sure one day he will turn to music again.'