"You are proud Bangalees, you should say 'Eleesh' instead of 'Cheese'"

Illustration: sabyasachi mistry

What is the relevance of your name Fakir, which is akin to Dervish?
Fakir is actually my title.

Hobbies, if any?
Not many people know that I collect letters and rare photographs of eminent personalities as a hobby. Till date, I have collected letters by Mowlana Bhashani, Hemango Biswas and Shalil Chowdhury among others and I hope to exhibit these in the near future.

Besides songs, I perform flute recitals. My first performance abroad with noted artistes of the country in 1977, at the National Day programme of Kabul was as a flutist.

How did you develop an affinity towards Gono Sangeet?
Stage shows were previously the only medium where we performed patriotic songs, guided by stalwarts such as Kamal Lohani, Sheikh Luthfur Rahman, Nizamul Huque, Ajit Rai and others.

Soon, I joined the progressive student politics and gained popularity as a singer of peoples' song or Gono Sangeet. During the Liberation War, I joined the Shadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. Songs such as Ora Amar Mukher Kotha, Pothey Ebar Namo Shathi and many others that we sang, inspired the 'Muktijoddhas' (freedom fighters) greatly.

Any amusing experience that you would like to share...
A few of us were at Dubai, attending a concert of Pandit Ravi Shankar. After the programme, we requested Ravi Shankar to take a snap with us. As usual someone said "cheese". But Ravi Shankar said, 'You are proud Bangalees, you should instead say ‘Eleesh’ (Hilsa).... From then on I have been practicing that method without fail.

Memorable experience...
During the '90s when Nelson Mandela was finally set free, I had dedicated a song to him, titled Kalo Kalo Manusher Deshey and presented it at the mass rally organised by the Afro-Asian Sanhoti Parisad. Later, when Mandela visited our country in '97, I had the rare opportunity to present the song in his presence. He was on his way to attend a meeting, when a senior government official introduced me to him. All of a sudden Mandela placed his hands on my shoulder and waited for me to sing. As soon as he did that I began to shake and tremble with excitement. To tell you the truth I couldn't recognise my own voice. As I sang, Mandela began to dance to the tune, which lasted for a few minutes. I could hardly believe that here I was standing face to face with a legend who had fought for basic human rights of his people and had taken a stance against racism. This day is etched firmly in my mind.

Elaborate on fusion music, since you are regarded as one of the trendsetters...
During the mid-'70s Azam Khan, Ferdous Wahid, Feroze Shai and myself created ripples in the music scene by introducing a Western beat with our folk tunes. The songs Kamelera Kaam Koria Kothaye Jeno Lukaise and, Mon Amar Deho Ghori, that I had performed, had an overwhelming impact. Later on Manush O Baniya, Bonomali Tumi and other songs that I performed wearing a ‘gerua’ attire, set a trend among performers.