"Folksongs are our cultural identity"

Malay Kumar Ganguly

Since 1949, Malay has been rendering folksongs. Malay says, "I was introduced to music at the age of five. Because of my background and cultural milieu I took to folksongs. Later, I received tutelage from Abdul Aziz Khan, Mohammad Osman Khan, Lokman Hossain Fakir and Abdul Halim Chowdhury. I've been singing on the radio since 1965 and on TV since 1967."

Special grade singer of radio and television, Malay has a long innings in our musical arena. He retired as the deputy chief music producer of radio. Moreover, he is a popular music composer of folksongs. Malay says that radio promotes folksongs, our cultural roots, and it has a sizeable audience. According to Malay, radio is well-entrenched in rural areas.

Malay worked in the transcription service of radio, the department responsible for preservation of music. Malay says, "We have been able to preserve a good number of folksongs by prominent singers of the country. However, because of technical glitches, we failed to preserve some songs by the folksingers prior to the '80s."

Malay has some reservations about the television media. He believes that only Bhora Nadir Banke, hosted by Mostafa Zaman Abbasi, could capture audience attention--partly because it was a quality presentation and it was also aired at peak hours. Though channels still air folk songs, these programmes are on air in the evenings. Although Bangla Academy is trying to preserve the lyrics as well as the documentation of folk genre, they are not doing it effectively.

Malay does not perform much on stage. In his words, "Cultural diffusion by the satellite channels is changing the audience's taste. As a result, the presentation of the stage programmes is witnessing a change. Nowadays, the audience expect 'acrobatic' movements by performers on stage and like many it is not possible for me to live up to their expectation. That is why I only perform at selected stage shows."

What is the current scenario in the music industry? "Excessive commercialisation of the production companies is harmful for the development as well as the preservation of folksongs. Sometimes without informing the singer the production companies release cassettes. As a result the singers are deprived of their royalty. And most of time they release folk albums with vulgar lyrics and substandard music. As a result sometimes the city dwellers misinterpret our rich tradition."

Malay Kumar Ganguli does not believe that the thriving trend of fusion and remix will have an impact on folksongs. He is optimistic about the revival of authentic folksongs. To quote Malay, "I am not against the westernised trend of music. It is popular.

However, the original composers should get their due. The effort of blending folk music with western instruments is not helpful for authentic folksongs. Modern instruments do not necessarily go with the tune of the folk songs. As a result folk songs are losing their earthiness. Nobody has the right to distort our folksongs. I believe in the revival of folksongs, as it is our cultural identity."

Malay has received plaudits amongst the urban and rural audience in our country. He has also participated in shows in England, USA, France, Germany, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, Malaysia and India.