How did Nirmalendu Chowdhury popularise Bangla folk songs

GB celebrates the man and his music and brings the nostalgia of lost beats. Though many Bengali bands have made folk songs their forte in recent times, no one can forget the contribution of Nirmalendu Chowdhury and how for the first time he made Bangla Folk popular across the globe. In this concluding part of the two-part series, we bring back that nostalgia.

Nirmalendu’s perspectives on life changed drastically after 1942. The fall of Burma and Singapore in 1942 brought Bengal close to the war front. Anticipating a Japanese invasion of British India via the eastern border of Bengal, the British military launched a pre-emptive, two-pronged scorched-earth initiative (military strategy to destroy food stocks and agricultural areas) in eastern and coastal Bengal. Its goal was to deny the expected invaders access to food supplies, transport and other resources. Rice exports from those countries were halted. The authorities stockpiled food to feed defending troops, and they exported considerable quantities to British forces in the Middle East. They also confiscated boats, carts, and elephants in Chittagong, where the invasion was expected. Millions were impoverished as the crisis overwhelmed large segments of the economy and catastrophically disrupted the social fabric. The anthropogenic famine shook the very foundation of faith and Nirmalendu the rebel realized his purpose in life -- music would be his weapon to counter fascism and repression and songs would be his voice of protest. He held on to this belief staunchly and stuck to his guns for the rest of his life.

As Japanese aggression intensified, apprehensions were rife about the Japanese targeting Sylhet. During this time, Nirmalendu met Khaled Chowdhury in Sylhet and the two hit it off instantly. Soon after, he   got introduced to Hemango Biswas, his ‘Lalu-Da,’ who also hailed from Sylhet. Biswas used to address Nirmalendu as ‘Nabani’.  Biswas was by then a well-known lyricist, composer and singer.  They were both political allies and worked for the Communist Party. Nirmalendu sang many of Biswas’s compositions in public rallies and meetings. As a member of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), he participated extensively in musical programmes and propaganda drama. He acted in plays like ‘Shaheeder Daak’ and also worked with his comrade and well-known thespian Utpal Dutt in Aungar, Pherari Phauj and Titas Ekti Nodir Naam.  

He recorded more than a hundred songs. He was also a reputed composer. His collection of songs was published as ‘Epar Bangla Opar Banglar Gaan’. He was instrumental in introducing and popularizing the rich and glorious heritage of folk songs to urban audience and the outer world. He established Lok Bharati, a school for folk music in Kolkata. He was associated with Pragati Lekhak Sangha (Progressive Writers’ Association) and Bharatiya Gana Natya Sangha.

Debabrata Biswas, Nirmalendu Chowdhury, Ramesh Shil, Salil Chowdhury, Subhash Mukherjee, Tulsi Lahiri, Shambhu Mitra, Arun Mitra, Sukanta Bhattacharya, Nibaran Pandit were notable names in the forefront of the progressive cultural activists of Bengal. They were all members of the Communist Party Cultural Squad as IPTA was yet to be conceived then. Khaled Chowdhury was fascinated by Nirmalendu’s songs. He would sometimes accompany Hemango and Nirmalendu on stage, singing with them.  

In 1944, the Communist Party had organized an anti-fascist rally at Shraddhanand Park. Hemango Biswas Biswas introduced the large audience to ‘Srihatta’s son’ Nirmalendu Chowdhury. His mind-blowing performance of folk music stirred the souls of his audience. With his very first show in Calcutta, he won the hearts of music lovers. He migrated from Sylhet after Independence and took up a tiny one-room rented apartment at Mahendra Goswami Lane in north Kolkata. The wounds of Partition left a deep and permanent dent in his soul. He got engaged in recording and preserving numerous lesser-known folk songs of Sylhet. In 1953, Hemango requested him to attend the all-India conference of IPTA. Ritwik Ghatak was one of the participants at the conference and he staged his play, ‘Daleel.’  Salil Chowdhury formed the Bombay Youth Choir, the first ever secular choir in India. Nirmalendu along with other singers of IPTA supported him wholeheartedly. He met Shobha Sen and Utpal Dutt in Bombay and performed in ‘Angaar’, both as actor and singer. The play was directed by Dutt. 

In 1953 Anil Kumar Chanda, the then-Deputy Minister for External Affairs, invited Nirmalendu and his brother Nirmalendu Chowdhury to join an Indian Cultural Delegation to Eastern European countries as a preparatory programme for Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru's visit to Soviet Union and other countries. Dancer Sitara Devi, vocalist Lalita S Ubhayakar, Rabidra Sangeet artist Dwijen Mukherjee, percussionist Pandit Shanta Prasad were among others in the delegation.

In 1954 Nirmalendu lent his voice for playback in the song "Maajhi re chal naiya, raam karega paar" in the Hindi movie Biraj Bahu, for which the music was composed by Salil Chowdhury. In 1955 he performed in the grand Bolshoi Theater in Moscow in the presence of Former Premier of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, and later won a gold medal singing at the International Folk Song Competition in Warsaw. He was part of several important cultural missions abroad. His performances in Warsaw, Sofia, Prague, Belgrade and Moscow were received with great accolade making Indian folk songs popular abroad. He visited many countries including Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Australia, New Zealand, China, UK, France, Germany, Holland, Finland, USA, Canada, and Japan. 

In 1955, his performance at the Banga Sanskrit Sammelan (Bengal Cultural Conference), in Kolkata was a huge hit. His popularity soared with his foray into Bengali films. He sang in Rajen Tarafdar’s cult film, ‘Ganga.’ Salil Chowdhury composed the music for the film. The folk song, 'Arre O Sundoira Naore Majhi' and ‘Ganga Gangar tarangey’ (lyrics by Salil Chowdhury) were super-duper hits. A series of hits followed and Nirmalendu was a much-sought-after artiste and composers vied to work with him. He also acted in a number of Bengali films, including Ganga, Kanchanmala, Notun Phasal and Dakater Hatey Bulu. 

Nirmalendu met Khaled Chowdhury in Sylhet and the two hit it off instantly. Soon after, he got introduced to Hemango Biswas, his ‘Lalu-Da,’ who also hailed from Sylhet. Biswas used to address Nirmalendu as ‘Nabani’. Biswas was by then a well-known lyricist, composer and singer. They were both political allies and worked for the Communist Party. Nirmalendu sang many of Biswas’s compositions in public rallies and meetings. As a member of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), he participated extensively in musical programmes and propaganda drama.

He recorded more than a hundred songs. He was also a reputed composer. His collection of songs was published as ‘Epar Bangla Opar Banglar Gaan’. He was instrumental in introducing and popularizing the rich and glorious heritage of folk songs to urban audience and the outer world.  He established Lok Bharati, a school for folk music in Kolkata. He was associated with Pragati Lekhak Sangha (Progressive Writers’ Association) and Bharatiya Gana Natya Sangha. He also worked briefly as a reader in the Music Department at Rabindra Bharati University. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to folk music.

Nirmalendu had dedicated his soul to music and lived and breathed music all his life. His collection of folk songs scribbled in exercise books, his favourite ‘Dotara’ (a musical instrument) are all preserved carefully in his deceased son’s flat in Salt Lake. He wanted to build a house in Santiniketan but his dream alluded him. Nirmalendu Chowdhury passed away in his rented apartment at 126, Linton Street in Park Circus on April 28, 1981. His death was the end of an era. Nirmalendu was born on July 27, 1922 and this is his centenary year but Bengalis seem to have forgotten this gifted singer/composer and his immense contribution in establishing folk music as a separate, independent genre and a legacy handed down to us as part of mainstream music.