Shah Abdul Karim
Encyclopedia
- Not to be confused with the Sindhi Sufi poet Shah Abdul Karim BulriShah Abdul Karim BulriShah Abdul Karim Bulri was a famous Sufi poet of the Sindhi language from Sindh, Pakistan. Shah Abdul Karim Bulri was the great-grandfather of the famous poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.-Life:...
Shah Abdul Karim (February 15, 1916 - September 12, 2009; ), was one of the most famous legends of Bangladeshi folk music. He specialized in Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
Baul music. Born and brought up in the village of Ujan Dhol, in Derai Upazila(Thana) of Sunamganj
Sunamganj District
The district of Sunamganj consists 3562 mosques, 560 temples and 61 churches.-History:The name Sunamganj is derived from its founder, Sipahi Sunamuddin, who established a bazaar on the bank of the river Surma. In the ancient period, Sunamganj was part of the Rarh Kingdom that included Sylhet,...
, he lived there until his death. He was awarded the Ekushey Padok in the year 2001 for his outstanding musical achievements. His contribution reflected by the modern singer Habib Wahid
Habib Wahid
Habib Wahid , better known as Habib , is a Bangladeshi composer and musician. He is notable for his fusion of traditional Bengali folk music with contemporary techno and urban beats. His music is mainly influenced by British Bangladeshis, while he was living there as a student...
. He also received Drouhee Kotha-shahitayk Abdur Rouf Choudhury
Abdur Rouf Choudhury
Abdur Rouf Choudhury was a Bengali writerChoudhury was born on 1 March 1929, in Habiganj District, Bangladesh where his father Azhar Choudhury, a land owner, and his mother Nazmun Nesa Choudhury, a house wife resided....
Award in 2000. He died in Sylhet on 12 September 2009 at 7:58 am Bangladesh time due to respiratory problems
Biography
Shah Abdul Karim was born on February 15, 1916 in Ujan Dhol village, Derai ThanaDerai Upazila
Derai is an Upazila of Sunamganj District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.-Geography:Derai is located at . It has 30041 units of house hold and total area 420.93 km².-Demographics:...
, in Sunamganj District
Sunamganj District
The district of Sunamganj consists 3562 mosques, 560 temples and 61 churches.-History:The name Sunamganj is derived from its founder, Sipahi Sunamuddin, who established a bazaar on the bank of the river Surma. In the ancient period, Sunamganj was part of the Rarh Kingdom that included Sylhet,...
in Sylhet Division
Sylhet Division
Sylhet Division , also known as Greater Sylhet or Sylhet region, is the northeastern division of Bangladesh, named after its main city, Sylhet...
, one of the remotest villages of Bangladesh. Growing up with poverty and hardship, he started expressing his thoughts and emotions musically from very early age. Ektara, a traditional single string instrument has been his constant companion. His songs had spell-binding effects on the people in and around his village, not to mention his melodic, soothing and pleasingly rustic voice. He was so indulged in music that unlike other typical Bangladeshis he failed to engage in some 'jobs' and continued entertaining people with his music (by and large, music is yet to be recognized as a full grown profession in Bangladesh). However, poverty forced him to get into agricultural labour. But nothing could stop him from making good music. As he was growing up, he received training on spiritual and baul music only from 'Shah Ibrahim Mastan Baksh'.
Shah Abdul Karim was made famous purely from the one and only respectable person Shah Ibrahim Mastan whoses bari was in Sreepur Phir Mohol. At one point Abdul Karim lost his voice and he then came to Shah Ibrahim Mostan's feet and begged for forgiven of his sins and then couple of years later Abdul Karim regained his voice again and even at the age of 90 years his voice was recognised to be the loudest yet beautiful for an elderly person, purely because of Shah Ibrahim Mostan.
Musical works
Baul Shah Abdul Karim has written and composed over 1600 songs. These songs are organized in six books, like: Aftab Sangeet, Gano Sangeet, Kalnir Dheu, Dholmela, Bhatir Chithi and Kalnir Kooley. Bangla AcademyBangla Academy
Bangla Academy , established on 3 December 1955, is the national academy for promoting Bangla language in Bangladesh. The main office of the organization is located at the Burdwan House, once a part of the campus of the University of Dhaka, beside Suhrawardy Udyan.-History:The importance of...
has translated ten of his songs into English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
Shah Abdul Karim, the legend of Baul songs and a versatile genius had all through lived a very simple life often faced with harsh reality. However, with the recent trend of popular 'modern' versions of his (and other) Baul songs in Bangladesh, he is now widely recognized and honoured by people, even by the younger generations who had never been 'fans of tradition folk songs'. Though much belated, his contributions to Bengali Music has now been officially recognized by the State and its people.
Most famous songs
- Jil Mil Jil Mil Kore
- Bonde Maya Lagaise
- Ashi Bole Gelo Bondhu
- Kano Piritee Barailarey Bondhu
- Gari Cholena Cholena
- Ami Koolhara Kolonkini
- Agey Ki Shundor Din Kataitham
- Ami Tomar Koler Gari
- Shokhi Kunjo Shajao
- Ailai Ma Ailai Aa
- Boshonto Batashey
- Krishno Aila Radhar Kunje
- Tumi bine akul poran