Some Words On Kazi Nazrul Islam: The Rebel Poet

Kazi Nazrul Islam is widely regarded as the national poet of Bangladesh and respected as well as commemorated in India. His works like “Bidrohi” and “Bhangar Gaan” are still fairly popular and acclaimed for the passionate verses and the concepts such as love, emotion, freedom, and opposition of bigotry. In his lifetime, he had explored much of Indian life, traditions, values and ethics. He enlisted himself in the Indian Army in 1917 to perceive a broader world. While serving in the 49^th Bengal Regiment, he was posted in Karachi where his literary senses bloomed and wrote his first prose and poetry. Shortly thereafter, his poem “Mukti” got published in the “Bengali Muslim Literary Journal” in July 1919. He spent the next three years working for the “Bengali Muslim Literary Society” and was deeply affected by the socio-political conditions of Bengal as well as India. With the publication of “Bidrohi” at the time of the “Non-cooperation Movement” in the “Bijli” magazine, he became successful in winning literary admirations nationwide and it was received very popularly. He started to publish a magazine named “Dhumketu” in August 1922, which drew significant political attention and soon he was arrested by the British authorities and was transferred to Hooghly from the Alipore jail in April 1923. He bacame fervent and wrote a large number of songs and poems during his imprisonment and was eventually released in December 1923. Very soon he condemned the “Khilafat Movement” for its hollow and porous fundamentalism and joined the Bengal unit of the Congress. He settled in Krishnanagar in 1926 and there he wrote poems and songs which were vastly viewed as “mass music” for articulating the emotions of a poverty-ridden society. In the next phase of his life, he had to witness the death of his two sons and his mother and his works transformed its genre into a more sober and religious one. His works were led by devotional Islamic songs which were welcomed into the bengali folk music and his exploration of Hindu devotional music played a significant role to unite Islamic and Hindu values. Subsequently, he explored the deeper philosophies of both of the religions and he promoted a sense of equalism and humanity. Between 1928 and 1935 he published around 800 songs and concentrated on classical raga music.

 

Then turbulence came to his life and he was constantly reminded of the draconian realities. His wife became ill and he had to mortgage his works and records. This all happened when the Second World War had started to petrify the world. He also received a deep tremble on the event of Tagore’s sad demise. Thereafter he started to lose his mental balance and soon was sent to a mental asylum. Till 1953 his conditions did not show improvement. He was sent to Europe and his clinical condition was judged and shockingly, he was found to be suffering from “Pick’s Disease”.  Nine years later his wife left him and he moved to Bangladesh in 1972 where he kicked the bucket of life in August, 1976. His death was mourned in both Bangladesh and India.

During his lifetime, he remained as constant as the North Star in the horizon of Bengali society, culture and literature. He and Rabindranath still remain the icons of bengali poetry and art. He was conferred upon numerous awards and honours; “Jagattarini Medal” , “Padma Bhushan” and the “Ekhushey Padak” to name a few.

He became a legendary figure during his lifetime and his legacy is still felt in the veins of a society passionate and devoted to its glorious past and present. His music soothes the mind and his poetry warms the blood within the heart to spread a continuous flow of humanity in every part of this temple of the living God. His relevancy is still the same as it was nearly a century ago. A society overburdened by bigotry, violence, hatred, moral erosion, cultural degeneration and instability, needs the photon beams of an active source as illuminant as him to purify its cells with ethereal yet true love. The Nazrul Institute of Bangladesh has published many research based works on Nazrul and their earnest effort will bring sweet fruit to this world. Poet Mohammad Nurul Huda had presented a paper titled “Universalisation of the Rebel” to universalize the characteristics of a great rebel. Many other connoisseurs had contributed to widen the readership of this great poet and promoted his visions worldwide. Kazi Nazrul Islam is no longer a relatively unknown face outside the sub-continent; he has been celebrated in other nations too.

The Nazrul-Burns Centre at the University of Glasgow, Scotland was established to promote creative and innovative artistic endeavours and raising a greater mutual respect and understanding between Bangladesh and Scotland. Robert Burns (1759-1796) is a monumental figure in the world of poetry and the national poet of Scotland. A homogeneous mixture of his vision with Nazrul’s will make a greater impact on the people. The University had organized a festival titled “East-West Cultural Festival” on 21^st June, 2008 at Gilmorehill G12 Theatre. According to them,
“the festival will focus on the modernity and diversity of both Bengali and Scottish arts and culture as enriched over centuries.” It featured renowned Scottish, Bangladeshi and Indian artists. Short plays were staged based on “The Rebel” by Nazrul and “Red Rose” by Burns. This collaboration was warmly received and viewed.

In USA, Professor Winston E. Langley, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, had put a great effort to introduce Nazrul to the English speaking world. He is the author of the book “Kazi Nazrul Islam: The Voice of Poetry and the Struggle for Human Wholeness” focusing on his background and the groundbreaking power of his verses. Dr. Gulshan Kazi and Kazi Belal had also contributed in this matter. They have played the catalytic role to set up Nazrul Endowment Funds at the University of Connecticut and the California State University. “Kazi Nazrul Islam Endowed Lectureship Programme”is an event conducted by them regularly. It is attended by guests and delegates around the globe.

Dr. Kueker Neua of Japan has also given a great deal of effort in conducting an original research on Nazrul. However, Nazrul is still not vastly known in the land of the rising Sun as the efforts are actually private and sporadic.

Dr. Peter Custers of the Netherlands holds a firsthand experience in the early years of Bangladesh’s independence as he was placed there as a journalist. He is an international columnist of the newspaper “The Daily Star”of Bangladesh. He termed Nazrul “Mahakobi” and analysed Nazrul’s broader concepts in his paper "Kazi Nazrul Islam: Bengal's Prophet of Tolerance".