Rebeka Sultana's four decades in the musical arena
The programme began with a recitation of Amar Porichoy by Rahman Shojol. Prior to Rebeka's performance, Nazrul Professor Rafiqul Islam, poet Saiful Bari, veteran radio and TV personality Hena Kabir, singers Sadya Afreen Mallick and Rowshan Ara Mustafiz, Shafiqul Islam Selim and Hasina Mariam Shobha of Amra Surjamukhi spoke on the occasion.
Hena Kabir said about Rebeka, "She comes from a family that has a rich musical tradition. Rebeka has been dedicated to her art as long as I can remember her."
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Sadya Afreen Mallick outlined the current situation of Bangladeshi culture. In her speech she said, "The young generation are drifting away from our traditions. Some good works are being done but they often go unnoticed. We have to preserve and promote our songs, our culture and present it in a way that our future generations can be proud of. The regular efforts by Amra Surjamukhi that promote quality Bangla songs are laudable."
Nazrul researcher Dr Rafiqul Islam, chief guest of the event said, " Kazi Nazrul Islam, despite being the country's National Poet has had his work distorted perhaps more than any other among his peers. He was in fact very liberal with songs. He allowed the stalwart artistes to make variations in style. But it was never meant to be exploited and distorted according to the whims of a few people." He also pointed out that among the 3,500 songs of Nazrul, only 1,500 songs are available on records. Moreover, among these songs the artistes usually render about 150 to 200 popular songs.
Rebeka began the soiree with the presentation of a khayal in raaga Basant. Although Rebeka's forte is Nazrul songs, her performance also included songs of Tagore, Rajnikant, Atul Prasad, songs of the yesteryears, folk songs and adhunik songs.