Singing Free - songs from Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra in 1971

Singing free

by Faizul Khan Tanim

Mora ekti phul ke bachabo boley judhdho kori mora ekti mukh er hashir jonno ostro dhori

Words such as these go beyond the tales of Mukti Bahini in 1971 and whip nationalistic feeling. Where words fall short of doing justice to those who gave up their lives for an independent Bangladesh, there are powerful songs of independence that pulsate within hearts of millions and bring memories to life. Irish activist James Connolly once said in 1907 that ‘No revolutionary movement is complete without its poetical expression. If such a movement has caught hold of the imagination of the masses, they will seek a vent in song for the aspirations, the fears and hopes, the loves and hatreds engendered by the struggle. Until the movement is marked by the joyous, defiant, singing of revolutionary songs, it lacks one of the most distinct marks of a popular revolutionary movement; it is a dogma of a few, and not the faith of the multitude’. During the liberation war, patriotic songs were transmitted from Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, a radio broadcasting centre in the Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta). The songs inspired strength and hope in the minds of those seeking liberation and the freedom fighters on the battle fields. The songs ‘Mora ekti phul ke bachabo’ or ‘Ek shagor rokter binimoy e’ composed by Apel Mahmud, who also sang the former song during the war of independence still stirs emotion in the hearts of Bangladeshis. These and other patriotic songs during the turbulent days of the war of independence have become fundamental parts in our liberation war music history. Apel Mahmud emotionally recalls that ‘In 1971 we were living in a house in Calcutta. Almost 50 people were accommodated in a single room and on many occasions we would lose pillows under our heads or blankets over us to our roommates. That passionate sharing kept us moving to produce more songs for the freedom seeking nation.’ That house in Kolkata became the centre for rehearsing, singing and recording. ‘It became a studio when it needed to be and we would record songs with the aid of harmonium and tabla. Once recorded, the songs were then transmitted from India for masses in Bangladesh to listen and get inspired,’ Mahmud says. ‘At that time, when Abdul Jabbar and I worked for the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, we raised almost 19 lakh taka for the nation.’ He said that it was the historic speech of March 7 by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman that inspired him to write lyrics and sing. ‘I was associated with student revolutions and got arrested plenty of times. So my songs were mostly about the deprived people and rights of the masses.’ ‘When I first read “Ek shagor rokter binimoy e” by Gobindo Haldar, I loved the lyrics and sat down to tune it. And that song became very popular after Swapna Roy first sang it on November 1971 and Shahin Samad in 1973,’ Mahmud remembers. One of his many powerful songs, ‘O amar jonmobhumi jononi’ was penned on September 1971, while ‘Teer hara ei dheu er shagor’ and ‘Rokter protishodh roktei nebo amra’ followed in June that year. Mahmud’s closing observation was ‘the liberation was never about a single person or anyone’s interest. It was always us fighting for a whole nation and that is why I sang “Mora ekti phul ke bachabo” — we will fight to save our nation, and we must never forget this bond of strength and unity.’ Indra Mohan Rajbongshi is another renowned folk singer who sang a number of songs from the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra in 1971. ‘At that time, there was a programme called Ognishikha transmitted on radio and the producer, Taher Sultan asked me to write one great song which would inspire all Bangladeshis to join the struggle for liberation. Keeping those lines in my mind as inspirational words, I wrote and tuned the song. The first verse goes: “Ke ke jabi aye re…chol jai re. Aye Bangali mukti shena Banglar maan bachai re.” I penned the song on June 2, finished recording by June 5 and it was aired on that same day. And from that day onwards, it was played everyday at 7pm from Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. The song was later used in a film Bagha Bangali on 1973,’ Rajbongshi added. Rajbongshi said there was an array of songs that were regularly played to keep the freedom fighters spirits up, such as ‘Bhebonago Maa tomar chelera hariye giyechhe’, which was tuned by Samar Das and sung by Hemanta Mukherjee. Other songs of Samar Das included ‘Purba digantey shurjo uthechey’ and ‘Nongar Tolo Tolo…shomoi je holo holo’, which were immensely popular. Shahin Samad, who was a member of the troupe featured in the film Muktir Gaan talked about her experiences and the songs she sang with her troupe. ‘We were singers in a troupe who went to refugee camps in India to inspire the heart-broken refugees. We performed in many temples and other places in Calcutta, Santiniketan and Delhi, to increase the awareness of the plight in Bangladesh and raise funds and relief material.’ Furthermore, Samad says, ‘we had a common script called Rupantorer Gaan and each place we went to appear with our presentation, the stage would be carefully and affectionately decorated by Mustafa Munawar and the commentary of the whole program was done by Syed Hasan Imam.’ She added, ‘We sang plenty of songs at that time and our list mostly included Tagore songs such as ‘Desh e desh e bhromi re’, ‘Oi pohailo timir o rati’, Nazrul’s ‘Karar oi louhokopat’, ‘Shikol pora chhol’, Sikandar Abu Jafor’s ‘Jonotar shongram cholbei’, Moshad Ali’s ‘Shonen shonen bhaishob’, ‘Pak poshuder marte hobe’, D L Roy’s ‘Dhonodhanno pushpe bhora’ and many more. Legendary singer Abdul Jabbar also remembers Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra in his own way. The lyrics of the songs ‘Salam salam hajar salam…shahid bhaier shoroney or Hajar bachhor pore abar asechhi phire…Banglar bookey achi dariye’ penned by Fazle Lohani and Shymal Gupta and sung by Abdul Jabbar during the war of independence still stir emotion in the hearts of the people of Bangladesh because these two songs and many more sung during the tumultuous days of the war of independence have become integral parts of our glorious history. In a 2005 interview with New Age he recalled how he along with his team, comprising writers and artistes who were passing the unsettling days in exile, used to perform different genres of music, especially patriotic songs. Jabbar also paid tribute to all the other singers, music directors, organisers and music hands, who spent hours at the Kendra to create all those memorable songs, which have now become parts of our legacy.

Songs of freedom

Some of the most popular songs played by Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra in 1971, compiled by Belal Mohammed of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra and author of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra:

First and second phase of song transmission (March 26 till May 25) from Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra were:

* Joi Bangla Banglar Joi

* Amar shonar bangla

* Karar oi louhokopat

* Durgom giri kantar moru

* Mora jhonjar moto uddom

* Kedo na kedo na Maa goo

Third phase of song transmission (May 25, 1971 till January 2, 1972):

* Jonotar shongram cholbei

* Bicharpoti tomar bichar

* Shona shona shona

* Salam salam hajar salam

* Ami shunechi shunechi amar

* Nongor tolo tolo

* Shono ekti Mujibor er thekey

* Ekti phul ke bachabo boley

* O bagila re, kan ba alu

* Barricade bayonet berajaal

* Amar neta Sheikh Mujib

* Onek rokto diyechi amra

* Ottacharer pashan kara jaliye dao

* Shonai morano Bangla moder

* Shaat koti aaj prohori prodip

* Roktei jodi fotey jiboner

* Teerhara ei dheu er shagor

* Chotoder boroder shokoler

* Akshagor rokter binimoye

* Sharey shaat koti manusher arekti naam

* Purba digantey shurjo uthechey

* Rokto diye naam likhechi

* Mujib baiya jao re

* Ami ak Banglai mukti shena

* Muktir akoi poth shongram

* Jogotbashi Bangladeshke jao dekhiya

* Rukhey darao

* Manush ho manush ho abar

* Amar protibaad er bhasha

* Amar bhai er rokte rangano

* Puthipath

**In the Photographs:- From left: Apel Mahmud, Shahin Samad, Indra Mohan Rajbongshi, Abdul Jabbar.