A Brief note on Agni Veena: Kazi Nazrul Islam

Kazi Nazrul Islam (May 24, 1899 – August 29, 1976) was a Bangladeshi poet, novelist, and musician who was also the country’s national poet. Nazrul is regarded as one of Bengali literature’s best poets. Nazrul wrote a significant corpus of poetry, music, messages, novels, stories, and other works on topics like equality, justice, anti-imperialism, humanism, resistance to injustice, and religious devotion. Nazrul’s political and social engagement, as well as his poetry “Bidrohi,” which means “the rebel” in Bengali, gained him the moniker “Bidrohi Kobi” (Rebel Poet). His compositions belong to the Nazrul Geeti avant-garde music genre (Music of Nazrul).

Kazi Nasrul Islam Early Life

Kazi Nazrul Islam was born on May 24, 1899, in Churulia, Bengal Presidency’s Paschim Bardhaman district. Zahida Khatun and her husband, Kazi Faqeer Ahmed, worked as a ‘Imam’ (Head of the Masjid) and caretaker at a local mosque, and he was born into a Muslim Taluqdar family. Nazrul acquired his primary education at a mosque-run Maktab before transferring to a Dargah-run Madrasa. His studies included theology, Islamic philosophy, the Quran, and Hadith.Nazrul’s father died while he was only ten years old. To help support his family, a young Nazrul began working as the mosque’s new custodian, replacing his father. He also served as the mosque’s muezzin.

After that, Nazrul joined his Uncle Fazle Karim’s travelling theatre company. He took advantage of the opportunity to study acting. He also began writing songs and poetry for stage productions, which exposed him to Sanskrit and Bengali literature as well as sacred Hindu texts. He also began writing interesting folk plays for his theatre company.

• In 1910, Nazrul left the theatre company to attend Asansol’s ‘Searsole Raj High School.’ Nibaran Chandra Ghatak, a Jugantar activist, was one of his teachers at the school who impacted him. Nazrul was then enrolled at the ‘Mathrun High English School,’ where he studied under poet and headmaster Kumudranjan Mallik.

Unfortunately, Nazrul could not afford to continue his schooling and had to drop out before joining a group of folk artists known as ‘kaviyals.’ He then worked part-time before enrolling at Darirampur School’ in 1914. He studied Hindustani classical music as well as Sanskrit, Bengali, Persian, and Arabic literature.Nazrul enlisted in the British Indian Army when he turned 18 in 1917. Ironically, Nazrul’s decision to join the military helped him later in life become a poet because he began reading Bengali and Persian poems while in the military. He read writings by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay and Rabindranath Tagore, among others.Nazrul was introduced to the works of Omar Khayyam, Hafez, and Rumi when it came to Persian poetry. These great men’s works motivated him to write his own works, and he published his first prose and poetry in 1919. His poem was titled ‘Mukti,’ while his prose was titled ‘Baunduler Atmakahini.’

Kazi Nasrul Islam Career

In 1920, Nazrul left the army and joined the ‘Bengali Muslim Literary Society.’ Soon after joining the society, he released his first novel, ‘Bandhan-hara,’ and followed it up with his first collection of poems. Nazrul wrote the revolutionary Bengali poem ‘Bidrohi’ in 1922, and it is regarded his most popular work. He continued to write revolutionary poems that were both commercially and critically successful. He founded his own journal, Dhumketu, on August 12, 1922, which provided as the ideal forum for his revolutionary activities.

The British eventually accused Nazrul with sedition and detained him on January 23, 1923. His rebellious and bizarre lyrics generated a lot of talk, and he quickly became known as a “rebel poet.” During his time in prison, Nazrul wrote a number of songs and poetry that were later outlawed by British authorities due to their rebellious nature. He began a 40-day fast in April 1923, stating that one of the jail superintendents had misused his authority. Following his release from prison in December, he published ‘Bisher Banshi’ in 1924, which the British once again banned.

Religious beliefs of Kazi Nasrul Islam

Kazi Nazrul Islam was an omnist who frequently proclaimed his desire for religious tolerance in India. He condemned religious fanaticism and blamed religious bloodshed in India on humans rather than religions. Following the deaths of his mother and sons, Nazrul began to explore religious subjects. As he began to compose more Islamic devotional songs, this was reflected in his work. He also wrote bhajans and kirtans, which are Hindu devotional songs. He also investigated Hindu and Islamic philosophy and combined Hindu and Islamic principles.

Later Life of  Kazi Nasrul Islam

In the mid-1930s, Nazrul’s popularity as a poet and composer landed him a job in the film industry. When he made his directorial debut with Dhruva Bhakta, he became the first Muslim director to helm a Bengali film. He was then hired to compose the music for a film based on Tagore’s classic novel Gora. He also appeared in a number of plays before joining Calcutta Radio in 1939. His wife Pramila fell gravely ill in the same year, prompting him to return to journalism in order to cover his wife’s medical expenditures. In the early 1940s, Nazrul got ill and depressed since his illness was incurable.

Nazrul and Pramila were sent to London and Vienna for treatment in the early 1950s by a group of volunteers. Dr. Hans Hoff, an Austrian psychiatrist and neurologist, evaluated him in Vienna and confirmed that he had Pick’s disease, which is an incurable disorder. On December 15, 1953, he returned to Calcutta and spent a lengthy period in the acute medical unit. Bangladesh requested India’s permission to transport him to Dhaka on May 24, 1972, and he was granted Bangladeshi citizenship in January 1976. Nazrul died of his infirmities on August 29, 1976, and his lifeless remains were buried in the ‘University of Dhaka,’ as he had requested.

Conclusion

Kazi Nasrul Islam was a great poet. In his honour, a number of educational institutions and other learning centres have been constructed. The ‘Nazrul Endowment’ was founded to preserve his principles as well as his extensive collection of books. In addition, various organisations and streets in India and Bangladesh bear his name. He has a number of streets named after him in Kolkata and Dhaka. Bangladesh designated Nazrul as its national poet in 1972. Bangladesh’s government recognised him with the ‘Ekushey Padak,’ the country’s second-highest civilian award, in 1976. He was also given the country’s third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, by the Indian government.