Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976)
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Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976)
Kazi Nazrul Islam (Bengali: কাজী নজরুল ইসলাম, English: Kazi Nazrul Islam) (25 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) was a Bengali poet, writer, musician, and revolutionary, and is the national poet of Bangladesh. Popularly known as Nazrul, he produced a large body of poetry and music that used themes of Islamic renaissance and marked the beginning of spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. Nazrul's activism for political and social justice earned him the title of the "Rebel Poet" (Bengali: বিদ্রোহী কবি; Bidrohi Kobi). His compositions form the avant-garde genre of Nazrul Sangeet (Music of Nazrul). In addition to being revered in Bangladesh, he is also commemorated and revered in India, especially in West Bengal.
Born into a Bengali Muslim Quazi (Kazi) family, Nazrul 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. After serving in the British Indian Army in the Middle East during World War I, Nazrul established himself as a journalist in Calcutta. He assailed theBritish 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 publication Dhumketu (The Comet). His nationalist activism in the Indian independence movement often led to his imprisonment by 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 the Bengalis during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Early Life
Kazi Nazrul Islam was born in the village of Churulia in the Asansol subdivision, Burdwan District of the Bengal Presidency (now in West Bengal, India) on 25 May, 1899.[8][9] He was born into a Muslim Taluqdar family and was the second of three sons and a daughter. Nazrul's father Kazi Faqeer Ahmed was the imam and caretaker of the local mosque and mausoleum.[10] Nazrul's mother was Zahida Khatun. Nazrul had two brothers, Kazi Saahibjaan and Kazi Ali Hussain, and a sister, Umme Kulsum. He was nicknamed Dukhu Miañ (দুখু মিঞা literally, "the one with grief", or "Mr. Sad Man"). Nazrul studied at a maktab and madrasa run by a mosque and a dargah, respectively, where he studied the Quran, Hadith,Islamic philosophy, and theology. His family was devastated by the death of his father in 1908. At the young age of ten, Nazrul took his father's place as a caretaker of the mosque to support his family, as well as assisting teachers in school. He later had to work as the muezzin at the mosque.
Attracted to folk theatre, Nazrul joined a leto (travelling theatrical group) run by his uncle Fazle Karim. He worked and travelled with them, learning to act, as well as writing songs and poems for the plays and musicals. Through his work and experiences, Nazrul began learning Bengali and Sanskrit literature, as well as Hindu scriptures such as the Puranas. Nazrul composed many folk plays for his group, which includedChāshār Shōng ("the drama of a peasant"), and plays about characters from the Mahabharata including Shokunībōdh ("the Killing of Shakuni,"),Rājā Judhisthirer Shōng ("the drama of King Yudhishthira" ), Dātā Kōrno ("the philanthropic Karna"), Ākbōr Bādshāh ("Akbar the emperor"), Kobi Kālidās ("poet Kalidas"), Bidyan Hutum ("the learned owl"), and Rājputrer Shōng ("the prince's sorrow").
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