Nazrul 1899 - 1976 (77)
The man comes with the thirst of the desert, the woman offers a drink of honey.
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Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976) was a West Bengal poet and songwriter who acquired Bangladeshi nationality and was named the "National Poet of Bangladesh".
He was born on May 24, 1899 in the village of Churulia in the Burdwan region of West Bengal and was the second of four children in his family. His father, a local mosque guard, died prematurely, at the age of 10, Nazrul had to work tosupport his family;he woeked as a laborer, cook, baker, and tea shop clerk. In 1914, he managed to return to school - which he had stopped for financial reasons - and studied Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian literature and Hindu classical music.
In 1917, he enlisted in the Indian Army as a soldier and served for three years. In 1922 he was imprisoned by the British government for some of his lyrics calling people to revolt. While in prison, he composed a large number of poems and songs until his release in December 1923. He continued to urge people to fight against the British rule while defending with his lyrics the poorest social classes. In later years, and probably because of the many problems he encountered in his life, his interest shifted to more religious and spiritual subjects, such as "namaz" (prayer), "roza" (fasting) and "hajj" (pilgrimage). ).
Nazrul was engaged in 1921 to the niece of a well-known Muslim publisher, but changed his mind on the day of the wedding and did not marry her. After 3 years he married a young Hindu woman. In 1926, he wrote one of his most famous poems entitled "Daridro" ("Pain or Poverty") which made him widely famous. In 1928 he became a lyricist, composer and music director of His Master's Voice Gramophone Company in India. One of his greatest works in the music industry was writing songs for an epic work called "Siraj-ud-Daula". In 1939 he worked for the Calcutta Radio. In 1945, he received the Gold Medal from the University of Calcutta for his work in Bengali Literature; in 1960 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan Prize, one of the highest honors for citizens of the Republic of India.
Nazrul for many years suffered from poverty, his first son died soon after his birth, his second son died a little older from smallpox. He had two other sons while in 1939, his wife fell ill and was paralyzed from the waist down. In 1942, Nazrul was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, since then he lived with many health problems and was often hospitalized in psychiatric institutions. He died on August 29, 1976 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, leaving a huge legacy of poems and songs.