Timir Nandy: When music was his weapon

Nandy is nostalgic as he goes back to the turbulent times of the Liberation War when he worked actively with what was then the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra (SBBK) in Kolkata. Excerpts from a recent conversation with The Daily Star.

'Before the attack on March 25, 1971, we went to Kurigram to join our relatives. We heard that the Pakistani army had carried out a genocide all over the then East Pakistan. When the army came to Rangpur, we decided to move to the village Bagua. Every night we listened to SBBK because we had doubts about the authenticity of Pakistani radio broadcasts.

'I was then 13 and wanted to join the battle but my family thought that I was too young to do so. The Pakistanis were killing and attacking innocent people in houses and villages. The Pakistani army had spread out to Ulipur near Bagua. We rented a big boat and prepared to move to India to a safer place.

In Kolkata, we were on the lookout for SBBK. Once I saw a photograph in one of the dailies. The picture depicted a young freedom fighter putting his rifle on the feet of his father and asking for his blessings. The picture inspired me to take part in the war.

My mother felt that I should join the SBBK if I wanted to play a role in the war. Finally, after a long search, I was able to locate the organisation, which was based in Ballygunge, Kolkata.

At SBBK, I came in contact with many Bangladeshi music directors and renowned singers. Among them were Mohammad Abdul Jabbar, Ajit Roy, Shujeo Shaym, Fakir Alamgir, Anup Bhattacharya, Rafiqul Alam, Lucky Akhand and Rathindranath Roy. It hurt me when I saw the poor living conditions of these renowned people. There were around 20-25 people in one house and one floor. I was in my brother's house.

I was a singer in the children's group. The authorities of SBKK said they would call me when they recorded a chorus song, because only the renowned artistes were doing solos.

I soon became a member of Shilpi Shoronarthi Goshti, a cultural organisation. This institution had members such as Mamunur Rashid, Assaduzaman Noor, Fakir Alamgir, Rafiqul Alam and Mitali Mukherjee.

What were we doing with this organisation? We went to the border areas where the freedom fighters were and everywhere in Kolkata with our songs, to stage dramas. The aim was to keep the morale up of the freedom fighters.

We sang different kinds of patriotic songs. Among them were Tirhara Ai Dhauer Sagar, Manbona Ai Bondhona and Shono Ekti Mujiborer Theke,' concluded Nandy.

The last 33 years since the Liberation War have seen Nandy go from strength to strength. Now a well-established singer, his memories of this momentous historical period live on.