Kazi Nazrul Islam (Bengali: কাজী নজরুল ইসলাম pronounced: [kadʒi nodʒrul islam]) (24 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) was a Bengali[2] poet, writer, musician, and revolutionary, and is the national poet of Bangladesh. Popularly known as Nazrul, his poetry and music espoused Indo-Islamic renaissance and intense spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. Nazrul's impassioned 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). Accomplishing a large body of acclaimed works through his life, he is officially recognised as the National Poet of Bangladesh and is highly commemorated and revered in India, especially in West Bengal.[3]
Born into a Bengali Muslim Quazi (Kazi) family, Nazrul received religious education and worked as a muezzin at a local mosque in his early life. He learned of poetry, drama, and literature while working with rural theatrical groups 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 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 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 tremendously inspired the Bengalis during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Nazrul's writings explore themes such as love, freedom, and revolution; he opposed all bigotry, including religious and gender. Throughout his career, Nazrul wrote short stories, novels, and essays but is best known for his songs and poems, in which he pioneered new forms such as Bengali ghazals. Nazrul wrote and composed music for his nearly 4,000 songs (including gramophone records),[4] collectively known as Nazrul geeti (Songs of Nazrul), which are widely popular today. In 1942 at the age of 43 he began suffering from an unknown disease, losing his voice and memory. It is often said, the reason was slow poisoning by British Government but later a medical team in Vienna diagnosed the disease as Morbus Pick,[5] a rare incurable neurodegenerative disease. It caused Nazrul's health to decline steadily and forced him to live in isolation for many years. Invited by the Government of Bangladesh, Nazrul and his family moved to Dhaka in 1972. Later, he was accorded Bangladeshi citizenship. He died four years later on 29 August 1976.
Early life
Kazi Nazrul Islam was born in the village of Churulia in Asansol subdivision in the Burdwan District of Bengal Presidency (now in West Bengal, India).[6] He was born in 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. Nazrul's mother was Zahida Khatun. Nazrul had two brothers, Kazi Saahibjaan and Kazi Ali Hussain, and a sister, Umme Kulsum. Nicknamed Dukhu Miañ (দুখু মিঞা literally "Mr Sad Man" the One with Grief), Nazrul studied at a maktab and madrassa run by a mosque & dargah respectively, where he studied the Quran, Hadith, Islamic philosophy and theology. His family was devastated with the death of his father in 1908. At the young age of ten, Nazrul began working in 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.[1][7]
Attracted to folk theatre, Nazrul joined a leto (travelling theatrical group) run by his uncle Fazle Karim. He worked and travelled with them, learning acting, as well as writing songs and poems for the plays and musicals.[6] 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 included Chāshār Shōng ("the drama of a peasant"), plays about characters from Mahabharata Shokunībōdh ("the Killing of Shakuni,"), Rājā Judhisthirer Shōng ("the drama of King Yudhisthira" ), 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"),[1]
In 1910, Nazrul left the troupe and enrolled at the Searsole Raj High School in Raniganj. Here he was influenced by his teacher revolutionary and Jugantar activist Nibaran Chandra Ghatak, and initiated lifelong friendship with fellow author Sailajananda Mukhopadhyay, who was his classmate. He later transferred to the Mathrun High English School, studying under the headmaster and poet Kumudranjan Mallik. Unable to continue paying his school fees, Nazrul left the school and joined a group of kaviyals. Later he took jobs as a cook and at the well known bakery of the region Wahid's/Abdul Wahid and tea stall in the town of Asansol. In 1914, Nazrul studied in the Darirampur School (now Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University) in Trishal, Mymensingh District. Amongst other subjects, Nazrul studied Bengali, Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian literature and Hindustani classical music under teachers who were impressed by his dedication and skill.[1]
Nazrul Studied up to Class 10 but Nazrul did not appear for the matriculation pre-test examination instead he enlisted in the Indian Army in 1917 at the age of eighteen. He had two primary motivation for joining the British Indian army first, a youthful desire for adventure and, secondly, an interest in the politics of the time.[8] Attached to the 49th Bengal Regiment, he was posted to the cantonment in Karachi, where he wrote his first prose and poetry. Although he never saw active fighting, he rose in rank from corporal to havildar, and served as quartermaster for his battalion.[1] During this period, Nazrul read extensively, and was deeply influenced by Rabindranath Tagore and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, as well as the Persian poets Hafez, Rumi and Omar Khayyam. He learnt Persian poetry from the regiment's Punjabi moulvi, practiced music and pursued his literary interests. His first prose work, "Baunduler Atmakahini" ("Life of a Vagabond") was published in May, 1919. His poem "Mukti" "মুক্তি" ("Freedom") was published by the "Bengali Muslim Literary Journal" ("বাংলা মুসলিম সাহিত্য পত্রিকা") in July 1919.[1]
