National poet of Bangladesh

                  Kazi Nazrul Islam ( The Rebel Poet of Bangladesh )
                              

Kazi Nazrul Islam (Bengali: কাজী নজরুল ইসলাম) (১১ই জৈষ্ঠ্য, 26 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) was a Bengali poet, writer, musician, and revolutionary. He is the national poet of Bangladesh. Popularly known as Nazrul, he produced a large body of poetry and music with themes that included religious devotion and spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. Nazrul's activism for political and social justice earned him the title of "Rebel Poet" (Bengali: বিদ্রোহী কবি;Bidrohi Kobi). His compositions form the avant-garde genre of Nazrul Sangeet (Music of Nazrul). The same genre is known as Nazrul Geeti (Music of Nazrul) in India. In addition to being revered in Bangladesh, he is equally commemorated and revered in India, especially in the Bengali-speaking states of West Bengal and Tripura.

Born in a Bengali Muslim Kazi family, Nazrul Islam received religious education and as a young man worked as a muezzin at a local mosque. He learned about poetry, drama, and literature while working with the rural theatrical group Letor Dal. He joined the British Indian Army in 1917. After serving in the British Indian Army in the Middle East (Mesopotamian campaign) during World War I, Nazrul established himself as a journalist in Calcutta. He assailed the British Raj in India and preached revolution through his poetic works, such as Bidrohi (The Rebel) and Bhangar Gaan (The Song of Destruction), as well as his publicationDhumketu (The Comet). His nationalist activism in Indian independence movement led to his frequent imprisonment by the colonial British authorities. While in prison, Nazrul wrote the Rajbandir Jabanbandi (Deposition of a Political Prisoner). Exploring the life and conditions of the downtrodden masses of the Indian subcontinent, Nazrul worked for their emancipation. His writings greatly inspired Bengalis of East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Bangladeshi literary critic Azfar Hussaincharacterized Kazi Nazrul Islam as one of the greatest revolutionary poets in the world.

Nazrul's writings explore themes such as love, freedom, humanity and revolution. He opposed all forms of bigotry and fundamentalism, including religious, caste-based and gender-based. Throughout his career, Nazrul wrote short stories, novels, and essays but is best known for his songs and poems. He pioneered new music forms such as Bengali ghazals. Nazrul wrote and composed music for nearly 4,000 songs (many recorded on HMV, gramophone records), collectively known as Nazrul Geeti, which are widely popular even today in Bangladesh and India. In 1942 at the age of 43 he began to suffer from an unknown disease, losing his voice and memory.A medical team in Vienna diagnosed the disease as Morbus Pick,^[10] a rare incurableneurodegenerative disease. It caused Nazrul's health to decline steadily and forced him to live in isolation in India (he was also admitted in Ranchi (Jharkhand) mental hospital for many years. At the invitation of the Government of Bangladesh, Nazrul and his family moved to Dhaka in 1972. He died^[11] four years later, on 29 August 1976. Both Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal (India) observed mourning for his demise.

                                 Biography of Nazrul
NICK NAME     : Dukho Mia
BORN            : 18TH May 1899 ,Churulia , Burdwan ,west Bengal ,India
DIED             : 29 August 1976 ( aged 77),Dhaka ,Bangladesh
RESTING PLACE; Dhaka Unversity
OCCUPATION  : Poet
                    Short Story writer
                    Song Composer ,Novelist ,Playwright
NATIONALITY  : Indian,Bangladeshi
LITERARY MOVEMENT :Bengali renaissance
NOTABLE WORKS: Bidrohi ,proloy ullash ,Dhumketu , Agniveena , Badhon hara
SPOUSE           : PROMILA DEVI 

    

Signature

Childhood & Early Life

• He was born on May 24, 1899 in Churulia village in the Burdwan district of West Bengal to Kazi Fakir Ahmed, the caretaker of the local mosque and mausoleum, and his wife, Zahida Khatun. He was the second of their four children.
  
• After his father’s untimely death, he was nicknamed 'Dukhu Mia' by the villagers because of the hardships he faced in his early life. When he was ten, he started working in his father's place as a caretaker to support his family, as well as assisting teachers in school.
  
• In 1910, he attended the Searsole Raj High School in Raniganj and then the Mathrun High English School. But soon he abandoned his studies due to financial crisis and started working as a cook. Later, he took up a job at a bakery and tea shop in Asansole.
  
• In 1914, he resumed his studies and studied up to Class X. He studied Bengali, Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian literature and Hindustani classical music.
  
• In 1917, he joined the Indian Army as a soldier and served there for three years, rising to the rank of Battalion Quarter Master (Havildar). In 1919, he published his first piece, 'The Autobiography of a Delinquent' or ‘Saogat’, while serving in the army.

  Career

  • In 1920, he left the army and joined the 'Bangiya Mussalman Sahiya Samiti' where he wrote his first poem 'Bandhan-hara' or 'Freedom from bondage'.
    
  • In 1922, he wrote his poem titled 'Bidrohi' which was published in 'Bijli' (Thunder) magazine. The poem described a rebel passionate about his cause and received praises from people belonging to different classes of the society.
    
  • In 1922 again, his political poem ‘Anondomoyeer Agomone’ appeared in the magazine ‘Dhumketu’ which he had started publishing. This led to his arrest during a police raid at the magazine’s office. While imprisoned, he composed a large number of poems and songs until his release in December 1923.
    
  • Eventually, he became a critic of the "Khilafat" struggle and the Indian National Congress for not bargaining political independence from the British Empire. He also motivated people to fight against the British and organized the 'Sramik Praja Swaraj Dal'.
    
  • From 1926 onwards he started writing poetry and songs for the weaker sections of the society. Later in life, his works shifted from rebellion to religion. He explored 'namaz' (prayer), 'roza' (fasting) and 'hajj' (pilgrimage). He devoted works to 'Qu'ran' and the life of Islam's prophet 'Muhammad'.
    
  • In 1933, he published a collection of essays entitled 'Modern World Literature' which had different themes and styles of literature. He also published 800 songs based on classical ragas, kirtans and patriotic songs in 10 volumes.
    
  • In 1934, he got involved in the Indian theatre and motion pictures, and debuted in a movie based on Girish Chandra's story called 'Bhakta Dhruva'.
    
  • In 1939, he started working for the Calcutta radio and produced music such as 'Haramoni' and 'Navaraga-malika'. In 1940, he started working as a chief editor for 'Nabayug', founded by A.K. Fazlul Huq.

    Major Works

    • His most notable works were his rebellious poems such as 'Bodhan', Shat-il-Arab', 'Kheya-parer Tarani' and 'Badal Prater Sharab' etc. which received critical appreciation from all over.
      
    • In 1926, he wrote one of his most famous poems titled 'Daridro' ('Pain or Poverty') which received appreciation from the classes and the masses.
      
    • In 1928, he became a lyricist, composer and music director for 'His Master's Voice Gramophone Company'. One of his biggest works in the industry was writing songs and directing music for a bioepic play named 'Siraj-ud-Daula'

      Awards & Achievements

      • In 1945, he received the Jagattarini Gold Medal from the University of Calcutta for his work in Bengali Literature.
        
      • In 1960, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian honors of the Republic of India.
        
      • He was conferred the title of 'national poet' and awarded the 'Ekushey Padak' by the Government of Bangladesh. .

        

      On 24 May 1972, the newly independent nation of Bangladesh brought Nazrul to live in Dhaka with the consent of the Government of India. In January 1976, he was accorded the citizenship of Bangladesh.^] Despite receiving treatment and attention, Nazrul's physical and mental health did not improve. In 1974 his youngest son, Kazi Aniruddha, a guitarist, died, and Nazrul soon succumbed to his long-standing ailments on 29 August 1976. In accordance with a wish he had expressed in one of his poems, he was buried beside a mosque on the campus of the University of Dhaka. Tens of thousands of people attended his funeral; Bangladesh observed two days of national mourning, and the parliament of India observed a minute of silence in his honour.

      
      

                                  Some Famous poems of Nazrul In English 

      Bidrohi (The Rebel)

      I am the unutterable grief,
      I am the trembling first touch of the virgin,
      I am the throbbing tenderness of her first stolen kiss.
      I am the fleeting glance of the veiled beloved,
      I am her constant surreptitious gaze...
      
      I am the burning volcano in the bosom of the earth,
      I am the wildfire of the woods,
      I am Hell's mad terrific sea of wrath!
      I ride on the wings of lightning with joy and profundity,
      I scatter misery and fear all around,
      I bring earthquakes on this world! "(8th stanza)"
      
      I am the rebel eternal,
      I raise my head beyond this world,
      High, ever erect and alone!

      ( Translated by Kabir Chowdhury)

                     

                                 Daridro (Poverty)

      O poverty, thou hast made me great
      Thou hast made me honoured like Christ
      With his crown of thorns. Thou hast given me
      Courage to reveal all. To thee I owe
      My insolent, naked eyes and sharp tongue.
      Thy curse has turned my violin to a sword...
      O proud saint, thy terrible fire
      Has rendered my heaven barren.
      O my child, my darling one
      I could not give thee even a drop of milk
      No right have I to rejoice.
      Poverty weeps within my doors forever
      As my spouse and my child.
      Who will play the flute?

      ( Translated by Kabir Chowdhury )

      
      

                           Naari (Woman)

      I don't see any difference
      Between a man and woman
      Whatever great or benevolent achievements
      That are in this world
      Half of that was by woman,
      The other half by man.

      ( Translated by sajid kamal)

      
      

                         Barangana 

      
      

      Who calls you a prostitute, mother?

      Who spits at you?

      Perhaps you were suckled by someone

      as chaste as Seeta.

      ...

      And if the son of an unchaste mother is 'illegitimate',

      so is the son of an unchaste father.

      ("Barangana" ("Prostitute") Translated by Sajed Kamal

      
      Kazi Nazrul Recited Robi Hara dedicated to Rabindranath Tagore 

      
      
      

      
      

      here in the following i put a video about the struggling life of kazi nazrul islam .any one can gather many information from the video and take a lesson from nazrul life .