KAZI Nazrul Islam (1899-1976), who was popularly known as Nazrul, the national poet of Bangladesh, was widely respected in the subcontinent for his contribution to Bengali literature. Besides being a poet, he was a committed musician and writer who had penned many short stories and novels in his life. Nazrul had created a record number of songs, and was often credited as the man who introduced ghazal as a genre to Bengali music.

Prior to the creation of Bangladesh, he was also considered the national poet of Pakistan. Pakistan Television (PTV) used to telecast programmes featuring him in discussions on poetry and literature.

Poetry recitation competitions related to Nazrul’s poetic output were also held from time to time by various organisations, and mostly Bengali students studying in what at the time was West Pakistan, used to participate.

In one such programme organised by the Arts Council in Lahore in 1970, I had also taken part. Not being familiar with the Bengali language, I got the Urdu translation of one of his ghazals and sang it in the competition in my own composition.

Its opening verse was Ashk Tumhari Ankhon Mein Hein, Daman Mein Hein Phool. I got the first prize in the competition, as the local audience could better understand the beauty and nuances of Nazrul’s romantic verses. I have recently recorded the song which is available on YouTube.

The ambiance of Nazrul’s poetry was unique to him and his craft, and it amazingly stood out even in its Urdu translation. It is always a blissful expe- rience to go through his creative output.

Parvez Rahim
Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2023