Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976)

111th birth anniversary of a rebel poet

Kazi Nazrul Islam was born in a poor Muslim family on this day in 1899 at Churulia village in Bardhwan district of the Indian State of West Bengal. He received religious education at his boyhood and also worked as a Muazzin of a mosque of his locality. He learned of poetry, drama, and literature while he was working with theatrical groups.

Nazrul wrote a large number of poems and songs in his life. His fiery poems had inspired the people to fight against injustice and repression of the then British colonial rule. The fearless voice of the poet also earned him the wrath of the British rulers who had jailed him several times for igniting people's desire for independence.

After independence of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh government gave this great poet Bangladeshi citizenship. He died on August 29, 1976 and was buried in front of Dhaka University central mosque according to his last wish.

Deoghar revisited

Sharing few shots of my last Deoghar (Baidyanath Dham) trip in 2009

Shantiniketan - Abode of Peace

Rabindranath Tagore founded the serene settlement of Shantiniketan in 1921. It is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, approximately 180 kilometers north of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).His aim was to establish an institution that followed the traditional Indian gurukul system of instruction where gurus would teach their disciples, while sitting on the grass under shady trees. The university also stressed the importance of community living, and specialized in all branches of the arts and humanities, with a special emphasis on Bengali culture.

Today known as the Visva Bharati University, its structure is more conventional, but certain traditions, such as open air lessons, remain sacrosanct. the place is still hallowed ground for admirers of Tagore. Shantiniketan is also a tourist attraction because Rabindranath wrote many of his literary classics here, and his house is a place of historical importance.

In the campus is the Uttarayan Complex, where the poet lived and worked for many years. Other department include Kala (Fine Arts) Bhavan, Sangeet (Music) Bhavan and China Bhavan, specializing in Chinese studies. Shantiniketan's association with contemporary Indian art is evident by the works on display by many of the country's leading artists, such as Binode Bihari Mukherjee (1904-80), Nandlal Bose (1882-1966) and Ram Kinkar Baij (1910-80). The Vichitra Museum has memorabilia from the poet's life, including his paintings, developed from the sketches he made in the margins of his written work. Excellent performances of Rabindra Sangeet (song written and set to music by Tagore) can be heard at the campus every evening. Santiniketan is also home to Amartya Sen, the 1998 Nobel Prize winner in Economics.

LYRICS OF PANCHHI NADIYAAN

"Panchhi nadiyaan" is one of my favorite song from Hindi movie REFUGEE. The Lyricist of this song is Javed Akhtar. Check out the lyrics:

Panchhi nadiyaan pazwan ke jhonke
Koi sarhad na inhein roke
Panchhi nadiyaan pazwan ke jhonke
Koi sarhad na inhein roke
Sarhad insaanon ke liye hai
Socho tum aur maine kya paaya
Insaan hoke

Panchhi nadiyaan pazwan ke jhonke
Koi sarhad na inhein roke
Sarhad insaanon ke liye hai
Socho tum aur maine kya paaya
Insaan hoke

Jo hum dono panchhi hote
Teirte hum is neele gagan mein
Pankh pasaare
Saari dharti apni hoti
Apne hote saare nazaare
Khuli fizaaon mein udte
Khuli fizaaon mein udte
Apne dilon mein hum saara pyaar samokhe

Panchhi nadiyaan pazwan ke jhonke
Koi sarhad na inhein roke
Sarhad insaanon ke liye hai
Socho tum aur maine kya paaya
Insaan hoke

Jo main hoti nadiya aur tum pawan ke johke to kya hota
O jo main hoti nadiya aur tum pawan ke johke to kya hota
Pawan ke jhonke nadi ke tan ko jab chhoote hain
Pawan ke jhonke nadi ke tan ko jab chhoote hain
Lehrein hi lehrein banti hain
Hum dono jab milte kuchh aisa hota
Sab kehte ye leher leher jo bhi jaaye na koi toke

Panchhi nadiyaan pazwan ke jhonke
Koi sarhad na inhein roke
Sarhad insaanon ke liye hai
Socho tum aur maine kya paaya
Insaan hoke

Panchhi nadiyaan pazwan ke jhonke
Koi sarhad na inhein roke




Song Title: PANCHHI NADIYAAN
Film: REFUGEE
Lyrics: JAVED AKHTAR
Music: ANU MALIK
Singer(s): SONU NIGAM & ALKA YAGNIK
Achievements: NATIONAL FILM AWARDS & FILMFARE AWARD FOR BEST LYRICS

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

150th birth anniversary of a Bengali polymath

Rabindranath Tagore was India’s ultimate Renaissance man and his influence is still felt in all branches of the arts, particularly in Bengal. He was born in 1861 into the rich and cultivated Tagore family. He was a versatile genius, - a poet, lyricist, novelist, short story writer, essayist, painter, choreographer, actor and singer. He is the composer of "Jana Gana Mana" the national anthem of India as well as "Amar Shonar Bangla" the national anthem of Bangladesh. Following the translation of his poem "Gitanjali" into English by William Butler Yeats, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1913 and became Asia’s first Nobel laureate. He was also knighted by the British government, but he returned the honour in protest against the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh. Mahatma Gandhi called him Gurudev (“Great Teacher”). Tagore died in August 1941, but his memory is still deeply revered by Bengalis and his portraits, if not his books, occupy pride of place in nearly all middleclass Bengali homes.

The necessity for excursions

The nature teaches us the best lessons of life. The knowledge that we get from our practical experience is the true knowledge in every aspect of our life and these are further written in various books of different subjects. We study these books in schools and colleges and find ourselves to hold the degrees of graduation, etc. But, we don't experience the exact things that we read and study in these books. Thus our knowledge that we get by reading the books is very limited and often restricts the enlightenment of our mind. And we have a misconception in our mind which is that the school-life of a person is the time for seeking knowledge about the facts and phases of life but we forget that a person's learning isn't restricted only to the school-life but he/she to learn and gain knowledge throughout his/her life.

In the 19th century the main motive of the Europeans were to create workers and not humans out the upcoming generations. Since the last 200 years we have taken mugging-up knowledge as our basic way of learning as it has proved to be the best way in providing us a job and a so-called successful career. This is why we haven't yet adapted excursion and other things as a method of learning and gaining various types of knowledge out of them. The developed countries of the western world take up excursion as a must for gaining knowledge. In countries like England, USA, etc. The students after completing their academic careers go for traveling around the globe in search of knowledge. During the travels they utilize the knowledge that they have gained in their academic careers. The knowledge that we gain from the outer world is a lot more than the bookish knowledge which we receive during our academic careers. This is why traveling and going out for excursions is a must for every individual of the world.