Abdul Latif (songwriter) - Biography

Biography

After matriculating from Ruphshahya High School, he went to Kolkata for higher education. He started singing for the Congress Literature Group from the age of 16. He went to Dhaka in July 1948 and joined Radio Pakistan the next month as a regular artist. He was regular in different stage shows and sang numerous songs to inspire the language activists. In 1952, he arranged Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano, written by Abdul Gaffar Choudhury. He wrote, arranged, and sung a large number of songs during his career. He also worked as a government employee at the Information Ministry. Abdul Latif: Singer of the soil Interview by Shahriar Salam and Nirvana Ferdousie

Shona, Shona, shona loke bole shona

Shona noi toto khati Bolo joto khati Tar cheyeo khati Bangladesher Mati. This is a song that reaches the core of every Bengali heart. It extols the precious soil of our country. “We have achieved Bangla We have paid for her She’s not from any one’s mercy. (Daam die kinechhi Bangla) These songs always touch us with their outstanding melodies and inner meanings. We just enjoy their essence but never spare a moment to find their origin. Do we know who is the creator of these songs? Yes, he is Abdul Latif — singer, composer, lyricist, palakar. He is the person who has made a place for our traditional ‘Puthi’ in modern art. He is one of the leading folk- singers of our country. His name is placed beside Abbasuddin and Abdul Alim. Last Friday we visited his house at Shyamoli. He had just taken his bath. His youngest son Shamsul Arefin and his wife Nazma Latif were quite doubtful whether he would be in a mood to talk with us. We came to know that just after having a terrible road accident in 1995, some of his brain tissue had begun shrinking, and he is a little unstable these days. He does not like any company, and does not share his thoughts with anyone. His wife said, “He is becoming a child day by day.” Then he came into the room. We were shocked to see such a prominent artiste look so old, shabby and broken down. He looked underweight and helpless. He stared at us and spoke in an annoyed voice, “Who are you people? Do I know you? What do you want from me now? Look at me; I am an old fellow without any strength. Do you know anything about my present physical condition? I have lost about thirty pounds within two months. I’m just like a field where no crops will grow. So, tell me what can I do for you?” Then he walked towards the dining table with his son and asked us to have breakfast with him. He joked at himself as he couldn’t eat anything these days and showed us his plate in which we could see a little bhaji and ruti. He said, “This is what Abdul Latif eats. It’s not korma or polao. This is the simple breakfast of a simple man.” After drinking a cup of tea there appeared a surprising change in his mood, and all of a sudden a he started talking, reminiscing about his working life and his old friends. He talked for more than two hours. Q - Can you recollect any memory of your childhood? A - Oh, how can I forget those happy days? I was born in the year 1927 at a small village called Raipasha, about four miles from the Barisal town. We also have a house in Barisal town. My father Amin Uddin was a man of strict principal. He was a great personality. You will be surprised to his handwriting — just like prit-letters! I stayed there until 1940 and had my early education there. Then I went to Kolkata and returned in the year 1948. Many days have gone by, but still I cannot forget the golden days of my boyhood for a single moment! Even today I can feel the warmth of the Kirtankhola river by just closing my eyes. He recited some lines from one of his songs in a very emotional voice: “My Kirtankhola river, I’d find peace of mind If I could again swim In your cool water!” His eyes became tearful. He took off his glasses for a while. “See, I am a son of this soil,” he said. “This earth is my mother. She is the one who has made me what I am today. I am nobody without her.” Q - When did you start writing songs? A - I cannot tell you the specific date. I always felt some tunes floating inside me and I hummed them with great enjoyment. But I never thought to write them in the form of lyrics. In early ’48, when I came to Dhaka and started working in Radio Pakistan, I sang a line one day that I had heard in my village in my childhood: “O, my mother, I don’t like my dark husband!” All my co-workers and friends — like Sohrab Hossain, Mamtaz Ali Khan, Amzad Ali Khan — started pressuring me, “You must write something as an answer to this.” I said I never wrote anything, but they insisted. Then suddenly I found a tune and words and wrote them down on paper. “The girl has dark skin, She has no quality, no beauty, Still she’s my soul-mate... I tried to sketch a picture of a native village girl and this way I started writing songs. I have written more than fifteen hundred songs in my life. Some of them became very famous. But many are still unsung. Some days ago I found some lines that I had written on the first birth anniversary of my grandson. Actually I never wrote consciously. It is my subconscious mind that gives birth to a particular thought and leads me to write. Q - Tell us something about the Language Movement. A - I was then living in a mess in the Kamalapur area. That was a time when there was instability in every section of the society. My heart was crying after I heard that Urdu was going to be the state language. In 1953 I wrote:- “Ora Amar Mukher Kotha Kaira Nite Chai...” But this verse didn’t come to light then. I was the one who had done the music of “Ekushey February”. But mine was not that modern, I think. Later Altaf Mahmud reproduced the song after making a few changes in my musical notation. But his melody was superb. I always welcome positive change. In 1953 I took the song ‘Ora Aamar Mukher…’ to show one of the most powerful poets of our times — Farrukh Ahmed — and he applauded me greatly. He said, “Latif, you have done a remarkable job! These are the words of millions of Bengalis. This song is a spark of fire to show us the path in this darkness.” Then life became more complicated. I was black-listed along with many other artistes of that time by the Pakistani rulers. My song ‘ Ora Amar Mukher Kotha…’ became very famous. One night, in 1954, a police inspector came to arrest me. The hilarious thing is that while arresting me he was praising me for my song! “Shona, Shona, Shona/ Loke Bole Shona...” was once being played somewhere. My wife asked some youths who were listening, “Do you know who is the writer and composer of this song?” They looked at her silently; they didn’t even know who I was! I am nobody, just an old singer in front of the new generation. I doubt whether they know my name. I am a living skeleton in this cruel world. But I also get honor from many people. Even these days, when I walk on the road, people both young and old ask me, “Latif bhai, how are you?” (Latif suddenly started crying like a little child.) I am not worth of this love. I am a simple Latif, I am not a heroic figure. Q - When we asked him about Sher-e-Bangla, B.D. Habibullah, Moulana Bhashani, he became nostalgic. A - B.D. Habibullah was a very humorous person. He loved me and my family dearly. Actually, in our times people were more dedicated, more patriotic. They never hunted name and fame and loved their countrymen unstintingly. Once in a cultural show, where Sher-e-Bangla was the chief guest, I had to sing a particular song. He was quite aged then. I told one of my friends “Oh! What can I sing for this old man?” Sher-e-Bangla overheard our conversation and suddenly said in his Barisal accent, “Ki koila? What did you say? I’m old? Come, fight ‘Panja’ with me.” This is one of the sweetest memories of this great man that I have treasured in my heart. Bhashani was a great hero. I was fortunate enough to come across this great man. He was a man of noble principle and led a very simple life. I visited his house in Tangail when he was alive. I can’t ever thank Allah enough for his blessings. Sometimes I feel so alone in this world; helpless, friendless, so lonely. Yesterday my heart was crying to see all my mates, great fellows like Jaheer Raihan.

Abdul Latif at a glance

Year of birth: 1927 Place: Raipasha, Barishal. Father’s name: Late Mr. Amin Uddin Year of work for music at Radio Pakistan: 1948. Year of retirement: 1993 as Deputy Director of Nimco Publications: Duare Aishache Palki published by Bangladesh Folklore Parishad; Bhashar Gaan, Desher Gaan published by Bangla Academy; Dilrobab published by Islamic Foundation. Official recognition:

• Tamghaye Khedmot by Pakistan Govt. It was refused by Abdul Latif during our liberation war in 1971; • Ekushe Padak in 1979; • Shadhinata Padak in 2002. •

Abdul Latif: the first composer of ‘Amar Bhaier Rakte Rangano Ekushe February/ Ami ki Bhulite Pari...’ Wife: Nazma Latif