MANABATAR GAAN (The Songs of Humanity)

Teresian Journal of English Studies, 2023

This paper attempts to critically examine two significant songs which garnered currency during the Indian independence movement against the British Raj in the twentieth century: Jana Gana Mana and Subh Sukh Chain, written by the Indian polymath Rabindranath Tagore and Colonel Abid Hasan Safrani, military officer of the Provisional Government of Azad Hind (1943-45) respectively. The paper analyzes the two songs through a comparative study and underscores the parallels, shifts, and points of convergence observed in the structure, melody, metaphor, and imagery. It also tries to contextualize the two songs by briefly discussing the creation of a national aural imagination of India through nationalistic songs, and how the two aforementioned songs have contributed to the creation of a secular image of India, against the practice of upholding a monolithic, majoritarian, and saffronized narrative of Indian society and culture.

There is no denying the fact that folk music of Bangladesh plays a vital role in representing a diverse cultural hybridization. It is also very closely connected to the emotional phase of the people as it not only stirs emotions but also tells tales of common people. With the accompaniment of the musical instruments, it has a universal appeal. Besides, folk music of Bangladesh is one of the good examples of a 'Nation-Thing. A 'Nation-Thing' is something that belongs to only one particular group or community of people. It represents itself from every aspect of life, art and culture of a nation in front of other countries of the world nationally as well as internationally. Above all, it is connected to a community's way of life, their traditions and social practices, rituals and myths. In this article my intention is to explore how folk songs play a dynamic role in representing Bangladeshi art and culture in different ways.

Comparative Media Arts Journal, Simon Fraser University, 2019

This article briefly explores the contemporary heterogeneous song-texts of Taskir Ali (popularly known as Baul Taskir) from Sunamgonj, in the district of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Bauls are nomadic communities in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, and they express their profound spiritual philosophy and thoughts through their songs and performance. Taskir Ali belongs to the Baul school of thoughts in Sylhet known as the dhamail. His musical creations address, explore, satirize, investigate, and protest against many historical and contemporary social issues in Bangladesh. The short analysis of his songs in this paper present a variety of aesthetics addressing materialism, eco-centrism, secularism, patriotism, and so forth. Baul tradition and culture are the central features of folklore in Bangladesh, and Taskir Ali's songs represent the fundamental aspects of diverse and inclusive spiritualties of South Asian oral literature and music.

Suddhasar, 2022

In the past two decades, professional performers of a genre of Hindu devotional song known as padāvalī-kīrtan have begun to introduce a variety of promotional techniques to further their careers. Advertising, media production, and transformations of musical style are but some examples of this trend. These recent changes have spurred journalists, kīrtan scholars, and kīrtan instructors in urban Kolkata to suggest that professional kīrtan musicians are guilty of transforming the musical style of this genre in order to attract new audiences, while further subverting the genre's association with themes of social prosperity. In this article, I study the social and musical values that surround this debate, as I argue that these negative critiques overlook the ways that money, music, and religious belief are intertwined in the lives of present-day musicians. Theories of musical commodification, neoliberal entrepreneurship, and the influence of capitalism on musical style are considered as I focus on a specific musical style of padāvalī-kīrtan that uses large meters and slow tempos in performance.

2016

For centuries, the songs of devotional poet-saints have been an integral part of Indian religious life. Countless regional traditions of bhajans (devotional songs) have been able to maintain their existence by adapting to serve the contemporary social needs of their participants. This dissertation draws on fieldwork conducted over 2014-2015 with contemporary bhajan performers from many different genres and styles throughout India. It highlights a specific tradition in the Central Indian region of Malwa based on poetry by Kabir and other Sants (anti-establishment poet-saints) performed by lower-caste singers. This tradition was largely unheard-of half a century ago, but is now a major part of Malwa’s cultural life that has facilitated the creation of lower-caste spiritual networks and created a space for those networks to engage in discourse about social issues. Malwa’s bhajan singers have also become part of India’s popular religious and musical life as certain performers have attai...

Journal of Sindhi Studies, 2021

This article presents a translation from the Sindhi oral tradition of bhagat. It originates in Sindh, Pakistan. Today it is practiced by Hindu narrators in post-Partition India. The song translated in this paper focuses upon Bhagat Kanvar Ram, who contemporary bhagat narrators mention frequently. This essay exemplifies his influence on the bhagat tradition in the areas of inspiration, authority, and performance style. It offers a glimpse of the dynamics of the live performances of oral texts.

The focus of this paper is to investigate the Non-Sectarian philosophy reflected in the folk songs of the Bengali poet Pagla Kanai. This paper unearths the oral tradition of Kanai's songs, mysticism, influence of his songs and philosophy in relation to the socio-cultural and historical context of contemporary Bangladesh. This study examines the issue based on primary and secondary sources. Finally, this paper reflects a new dimension in the arena of musicology and Bengali folk culture and literary criticism.

2019

when I was their student and later as a colleague in Jahangirnagar University. I thank them for believing in me when I did not dare to believe. Their unconditional love and support was my fuel for going on in the toughest journey of my life, and for keeping my intellectual quest alive. I am unbelievably privileged to have them as my teachers as they are the most excellent intellectual guides in contemporary Bangladesh. The idea for this research came out from the vibrant intellectual and passionate debates with my friends and colleagues, with whom I shared the emotional connection of Bangla folk songs especially with Faruk Wasif, and with my fierce friends Taslima Miji, Hana Shams Ahmed, Farzana Boby, Mithila Mahfuz and Sumi Reksona Parveen. I will be forever grateful to the fellow PhD candidates and colleagues in Maynooth University, Katja Seidal, Alex O'Connell and Anne Fitzgerald for their constant material and intellectual support and encouragement for this research. Moreover, the current graduates at Maynooth University Chrissy Skelton and Bhargavi Das helped me to forget that I am studying in abroad. I am indebted to the participants in my research of whom I was desperately over-demanding, and the people with whom I made contact, especially my host during the fieldwork, Sushanta Kumar Ghosh and Purnima Ghosh. Their hospitality is unforgettable. I am indebted to Nazmus Sakib Himel for helping me out in every difficult situations that I faced in my fieldwork. I cannot mention all the singers' names for the research ethics, but the ones whose real name I used were, Anusheh Anadil, Arup Rahee,