Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra artistes remembering the days of victory

Rafiqul Alam

Many events took place at the time of Liberation War, all of them being remarkable. When I joined the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, I had just passed the Intermediate exam and was not yet prominent. I came from the Mafassil area. One of the officials of the Kendra asked me to sing. I sang the song Shat Koti Aj Prohori Prodip written and tuned by my elder brother Sarwar Jahan. I was rehearsing and recording the song till late at night. I still can remember the small studio in Baliganj Circular Road. Maroon curtains were hanging from the wall. Kaderi Kibria, Rothindranath Ray, Manna Haque, M A Mannan, Mitali Mukharjee and her elder sister were there too. The song was okayed at the first attempt. The emotions within us played a vital role. We recorded the song till late at night.

Kolyani Ghosh

All of our three bothers and sisters were involved with the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, Probal Chowdhury, Uma Khan and myself. War was going on in the country. We took music as a weapon of the war. I had already started to perform in stage programmes; and on one such occasion I took part in a Martyrs Day special song Amar Bhayer Roktey Rangano . Suddenly I noticed the famous actor Pahari Sannyal sitting amongst the audience and tears were falling from his eyes. I was overwhelmed as well. I can never forget this incident in my life.

Bulbul Moholanobish:

As the day of independence approaches every year, the excitement of the artistes of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra rise. The treasured memories are never to be forgotten. Not even a year had passed after my marriage, when the war had started and as a conscious citizen my husband went to war. We had to flee to India with my family. There are countless memories, which I can still recall, but among them one still makes me shiver. While rehearsing songs written by Shahidul Islam and tuned by Shujeyo Shyam titled Bijoy Nishan Urchhe Oi with Ajit Ray in the lead vocals, I suddenly looked at the window and froze. I thought it was nothing more than my imagination. But I could not take away my eyes from there. Ajit Ray scolded me for being inattentive. I saw my husband standing behind the window. I could feel the warmth of victory that day. The tunes of victory overwhelmed me with joy and pride.

Arup Ratan Chowdhury

When I went to Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, many eminent singers were already performing. Haralal Ray a noted folk singer of our country asked me to sing for a particular programme.. I was pleasantly surprised, as many great artistes were performing at that time. At first, I was hesitant to sing Shahidul Islam's song titled Jwalchhey Praner Desh. The tuning was beautifully done and so was the recording. Nasrin Ahmed Nilu and I sang this duet. The song was broadcast everyday from Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra till Independence. Hearing this song my family members learnt that I was still alive. It is one of the memorable events of my life.