Kazi Nazrul Islam

Kazi Nazrul Islam, popularly known as Nazrul, was born on 24 May 1899 and died on 29 August 1976. He was a Bengali poet, writer, and musician. He is considered one of the greatest poets of Bengali literature. He was born in Churulia, Bardhaman district of West Bengal. At the time of the birth of Kazi Nazrul, India was under British rule, and thus, he had all his life experiences of the colonial period. Nazrul died at the age of 77 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In the case of occupation, Kazi didn't acquire any specific sole occupation. He was a poet, short-story writer, playwright, singer, novelist, essayist, flutist, literary translator, soldier, film actor, and political activist. Notably, he had hardly left any part of the literature.

Nazrul won many awards, such as Padma Bhushan in 1960, the Independence Day award, etc. His poetry consists of anti-imperialism, humanity, rebellion against oppression, etc. Nazrul is popular for writing revolutionary poetries; he elaborated most of the events of his life, which were held under British rule. Nazrul belonged to a Muslim family from which he had always received religious education. When he was very young, he started working in the mosque as a Muezzin. Later, he worked with a theatrical group in his region, where he learned much about literature, drama, singing songs, poetry, and writing. Mostly, the people of the Muslim community were the members of that theatrical group.

In 1917, Nazrul joined the British army, and his posting was in Karachi. By the war's end, Nazrul became a journalist in Calcutta. After getting the position of a journalist in society, he tried to criticize the British rule in India. He started a revolution against British rule through his poetries, which inspired the readers and citizens of India to fight against the colonizers. His works impacted the minds of Indians, and they proved as a warning for Britishers; Nazrul wrote many revolutionary poems and short stories. His writings inspired the Bengalis from East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War. The basic themes of Nazrul Islam's work included the revolution, humanity, love, patriotism, etc.

Nazrul Islam was a multitalented personality. Apart from writing novels and short stories, he also composed music for around 4000 songs. Unfortunately, at the age of 43, he was badly affected by an unknown disease that affected Nazrul Islam's throat, and he lost his memory. The disease declined the health of Nazrul Islam, and as a result, he was forced to live in isolation. Nazrul was also admitted to many mental hospitals. During these difficult days of Nazrul's life, he and his family were invited by the government of Bangladesh. So, in 1972, Nazrul went to Dhaka, Bangladesh, with his family, and after four years, he died in 1976.

Early Life of Kazi Nazrul Islam

Nazrul was born in a Bengali Muslim Taluqdaar family. His father was Kazi Faqeer Ahmed, and he was a caretaker at the mosque. Nazrul's mother's name was Zahida Khatoon. Nazrul had two brothers and one sister; Nazrul was second out of three sons and one daughter. His brothers included Kazi Saahibjaan and Kazi Ali Hussain, and his sister was Umme Kulsum. Nazrul started his education in Madrasa and Maktab, which were situated in Mosques. His father was very much connected to mosques, so he always gave an overview of his religion to Nazrul. In Madrasa, he studied the Quran, Urdu language, Islamic Philosophy, etc. Unfortunately, Nazrul's father died in 1908 when he was just 10 years old. Despite his young age, he had to take over his father's position and join him as the caretaker of the mosque. Later, he joined as a 'Muezzin' in the mosque.

Nazrul was very much attracted to folk theatres. So, because of his interest, he joined a traveling theatrical group with his uncle. With this theatre group, Kazi learned a lot about different cultures, and he came to know about the different communities of his country. The theatre was the place where Nazrul also learned about the basics of literature. Nazrul learned about writing, music, acting, and singing with the theatrical group.

Nazrul traveled a lot during these days, and because of the experiences he got, Nazrul started studying Bengali literature, Sanskrit Literature, and Hindu Scriptures. In 1910, Nazrul left the theatrical group and joined a school in Raniganj. In school, he was influenced a lot by his teacher and met his friend Sailajananda Mukhopadhyay, who later became an author. Nazrul was later transferred to Mathrun High School but could not continue paying his school fees. Thus, Nazrul left school and joined the group of poets. He also struggled in this phase of his life; he worked as a cook and in a tea stall to earn some money to fulfill basic needs. Then, in 1914, Nazrul was admitted to Darirrampur School, which is now recognized as Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, located in Trishal, Mymensingh District.

He learned a lot during these days of his life; teachers also supported Nazrul in his studies because of his dedication and desire to learn. Nazrul Islam learned Sanskrit, Bengali, Arabic, Hindustani literature and Persian literature. He completed his studies till the tenth. Unfortunately, Nazrul was unable to appear for the examination of matriculation. At the age of 18, he joined the British Indian Army for two main reasons: on the one hand, he desired to join the army to serve the nation, and on the other hand, Nazrul had an interest in politics. He wanted to learn more about the politics of that time. Under the 49th Bengali Regiment, Nazrul was posted in Karachi, which was the first place where he wrote his first poetry and prose. Nazrul never participated in the war; his post primarily emerged as that of havaldar (constable).

Nazrul Islam read a lot about Rabindranath Tagore and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. He learned much about Persian literature and read about the poets Hafez, Omar Khayyam, and Rumi. The first prose that Nazrul wrote was 'Life of a Vagabond'.

Career

Nazrul worked at different places after his father's death as his family was his sole responsibility, and due to this, he completed his studies only till the tenth standard, and that too with a lot of difficulties. But, he was very sharp-minded and always interested to learn something new. Nazrul Islam joined the British army in 1917 because politics was part of his interest, and he was keen to learn about the stages of revolution that were going on during British rule. He joined the British Army for three years and left in 1920 after the 49th Bengali Regiment was over. After the army, Nazrul joined the Bengali Muslim Literary Society. Nazrul always had so much interest in literature. His first novel was published in 1920, and later, he worked on this novel for the next seven years. He made his first collection of poems, which included the poems ''Bodhan'', ''Shat-il-Arab'', ''Kheya-parer Tarani'', and ''Badal Prater Sharab'', which were discussed critically.

Nazrul met many young Muslim writers while working in the Bengali Muslim Literary Society. Mohammad Mozammel, Haq, Kazi Abdul Wadud, and Muhammad Shahidullah were members of Bengali Muslim society who were very close to Nazrul. Shahidullah and Nazrul were good friends, and they remained close to each other for the rest of their lives. Nazrul was always regular in the literary events and social clubs of Calcutta. Due to a lack of education, Nazrul's poems did not follow the literary practices presented by Rabindranath Tagore, and due to such reasons, the followers of Rabindranath Tagore criticized Nazrul's works to some extent.

Besides the criticism he faced because of the followers of Rabindranath Tagore, Nazrul always considered Rabindranath a mentor. In 1921, Nazrul was engaged with the niece of Ali Akbar Khan, a well-known publisher. However, he denied marriage because of the contract presented by Ali Akbar Khan, which said that Nazrul had to live with his in-laws after marriage, and due to this act, he was defamed a lot. In 1922, with the publishing of Bidrohi (The Rebel), he earned his fame back; this work is considered one of the vital and famous works of Nazrul Islam. He got a lot of appreciation from Bengali Muslim literary society. Nazrul presented a detailed description of the Rebel in society in his work.

The theme of the work 'Bidrohi' was very well connected to the revolutionary movements that were going on, such as the Non-Corporation movement, under the first and the major campaign against the protocols of Britishers. Nazrul explained all about the circumstances that Indians faced, and he described the actual meaning of the term Rebel. Nazrul wrote Pralayollas ('Destructive Euphoria') and his first anthology of Poems named Agni-veena ('Lyre of Fire'). These writings provided him with great financial success. After such writings, Nazrul published a short story collection named "The Byathar Dan" (Gift of Sorrow). Another volume was the collection of essays, "Yugbani".

On 12 August 1922, Nazrul started "Dhumketu", a magazine about criticism of the British Empire. After establishing the weekly magazine "Dhumketu", Nazrul got the title of 'Rebel poet', and people started understanding the point of view of Nazrul towards the British Empire. His notable poems were published in "Dhumketu", which highly criticized British rule in India. Thus, he was arrested by the police on 23 January 1923, and the office of the magazine "Dhumketu" was banned; he had to present many arguments in court.

On 14 April 1923, Nazrul was shifted from Alipore Jail to Hooghly Jail, located in Hooghly. Nazrul started a 1 month fast against the torture of the jail staff, and in December 1923, he was released from jail. When Nazrul Islam was in jail, he wrote many poems and short stories that described his experiences and the circumstances of the Indians who were struck there like him in jail. After returning from prison, Nazrul wrote several other poems; many of which were banned by the British. During these days of his life, Rabindranath Tagore wrote a play, "Basanta" for Nazrul Islam; he dedicated this play to Nazrul Islam.

Nazrul Islam always criticized the Khilafat Movement. According to him, the Khilafat movement was just a religious fundamentalism. He also criticized the Indian National Congress. Nazrul always tried to spread awareness among people against British rule. As a result, he joined the Bengal State unit of the Indian National Congress to participate in all the freedom movements. He worked with Muzaffar Ahmed and helped organize Sramik Praja Swaraj Dal, a party framed by the workers and peasants.

Nazrul met a Bengali Hindu Woman named Pramila Devi during these political movements and revolutionary phases. Nazrul was in love with Pramila, and they decided to get married. On 25 April 1924, Nazrul and Pramila got married. Because of their marriage, Pramila and Nazrul faced a lot of criticism from the side of Brahmo Samaj. The members of the Brahmin community had an issue regarding inter-caste marriage. In those days, the marriage of a Hindu girl to a Muslim guy was a big deal. Muslim religious leaders also criticized Nazrul Islam; he was criticized for marrying a Hindu girl. Such happenings impacted her writings as well. People criticized him a lot, and Nazrul became part of the controversies of those days. In 1926, Nazrul went to Grace Cottage in Krishnanagar with his son Bulbul and wife Pramila. He started writing poetries and songs for the working class. His works, written for the working class, described the aspirations and desires of the working.

By then, his songs were being represented and sung, which was a financial gain for Nazrul Islam. Nazrul Islam's work and progress inspired a lot of Bengali Muslims, whom the Bengali Hindus suppressed. Bengali Muslims were now comfortable in that environment and started to achieve their desires just like Nazrul Islam. Nazrul Islam's songs became very popular in Bangladesh, especially during Ramadan. Nazrul wrote many songs for his religion, Islam, and even wrote many songs for the Hindu Diety Goddess Kali. These songs were played and devoted to goddess Kali, especially during Durga Pooja in Bengal. He often took part in the songs composed for Bhajan's and Kirtan's. His songs and music were also composed on radio across India.

Nazrul always believed in equality and never treated the Hindu and Muslim religions as distinct. After being born and growing up in a patriarchal society, Nazrul never discriminated against women from men. According to him, all women deserve equal opportunities, just like the men of society. He had also written many poems on women, such as 'Naari', the most famous poem on women. He strongly believed that men and women are equal; his point of view was very different from the people of his generation. In his poem 'Barangana', which means prostitute, he described the prostitutes as the mother; he gave the title of a mother to the prostitutes of society, which was something very different for the readers.

In his poem 'Barangana', Nazrul accepted and explained all the prostitutes as humans and said that they all belong to the 'mothers and sisters' category. He also criticized the negativity people stored in their minds for prostitutes. Nazrul highly described traditional and nontraditional women in his works.

The collection of thousands of songs of Nazrul Islam is known as Nazrul Geeti, which is still part of the favorite list of readers and listeners. Nazrul Islam wrote a few poems for Rabindranath Tagore as well. On 8 August 1941, Rabindranath Tagore died, which was shocking for Nazrul Islam. He wrote two poems as a tribute to Rabindranath Tagore; one of them was 'Rabihara', which means 'loss of Rabindranath Tagore' or 'without Rabindranath Tagore'. This poem was broadcast on All India Radio through which, this poem became popular among all the citizens of India.

Death

Within a few months of the death of Rabindranath Tagore, Nazrul also started losing his power; he was unable to speak anymore and started doing uncertain behavior. He was transferred to several hospitals for the better treatment. Gradually, he started falling into financial difficulties as well. Besides such circumstances, his wife greatly cared for him.

He was diagnosed with Pick's disease (or frontotemporal dementia), which was considered incurable. On 30 June 1962, his wife Pramila died, and Nazrul remained in intensive medical care. In 1974, his youngest son, Kazi Aniruddha, a guitarist, passed away and later on 29 August 1976, Nazrul died due to long-standing illnesses.