Our Talents

Altaf Mahmud & Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal

Altaf Mahmud (1933-1971)--singer, cultural activist and martyred freedom fighter--was born in 1933 in Barisal. Altaf's love for singing was revealed in his boyhood when he started practising music while still at school. Soon he learnt to sing Gono Sangeet (people's songs) and became famous for his performances at various cultural functions.

Altaf Mahmud came to Dhaka in 1950 and joined a cultural organisation named Dhumketu Shilpi Sangha. He joined the Language Movement and sang many songs to help promote the mass movement. He set to music the famous song Amar bhaier rokte rangano Ekushey February/Ami ki bhulite pari?--widely sung in memory of the martyrs of the Language Movement. This has secured him a unique position in the hearts of the people of Bangladesh.

He received his first lessons in singing from the famous violin player Suren Roy. Later, he took lessons in classical music from Ustad Abdul Kader Khan in Karachi until 1963. He was also associated with the noted dance director Ghanashyam and music director Debu Bhattacharya.

Altaf Mahmud returned from Karachi to Dhaka in 1965 and started working as a music director in different films. He worked in as many as 19 films including Tanha, Kaise Kahu and Kar Bou. He also continued organisational activities in politics. He was associated with different cultural organisations including Kranti Shilpi Gosthi and sang Gono Sangeet. He was equally proficient in painting and graphics.

Altaf Mahmud was one of the pioneers who struggled to uphold Bangla culture. He greatly inspired the freedom fighters and pro-Liberation forces in 1971 by composing and singing patriotic songs broadcast by Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. In addition, he gave shelter to the freedom fighters. The Pakistani Army arrested him from his residence on 30 August 1971 and killed him brutally.

In 1977 Altaf Mahmud was awarded the Ekushey Padak posthumously for his valuable contribution to Bangla culture and the War of Liberation.

Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal (1936-1989)--poet, educationist, singer and composer of songs--was born in Pabna on March 11, 1936. He was one of the young writers of the new literary trend of the 1950s. An orator, narrator and conversationalist, Abu Hena was an attractive personality. He could captivate audiences with his eloquence and humour.

Earning his PhD from London University in Bangla writing and the Bangla press, he taught Bangla at different institutions including the universities of Dhaka, Rajshahi and Chittagong.

Fond of poetry, he published an anthology, Purba Banglar Kobita (Poems of East Bengal), in collaboration with Mohammad Mahfuzullah in 1954. He has three other books of poetry to his credit: Apon Joubon Bairi (1974), Jehetu Jonmandho (1984) and Akranto Ghazal (1988) and a compilation of songs Ami Sagorer Neel. His essays on Bangla literature are collected in Shilpir Rupantor and Kotha O Kobita. These books are a valuable contribution to Bangla literary criticism.

He also composed songs, many of which were sung by his friends, Abu Bakr Khan, Anwaruddin Khan and M Asafuddawla, thus helping in the creation of modern songs. Among his popular songs is Sei champa nadir tirey, sung by Abu Bakr Khan. Abu Hena also had a mellifluous voice and regularly performed on Dhaka Betar.

He became Director General of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in 1984 and of the Bangla Academy in 1986. While serving the Bangla Academy, he died of heart attack on September 23, 1989.