Folk music is considered a golden treasure in Bangladesh, but it is the irony that the folk singers never get due recognition, which is growing apathy to many leading folk artistes, observe renowned folk singer Malay Kumar Ganguly, who is not interested to continue his musical career these days.
According to him folk singers are ‘under estimated’ compared to other music genres, however the music genre is the tradition of country and touch the hearts of the masses. He further claimed that except for the state owned Bangladesh Betar, folk music is played with due importance, though folk music is highlighted n the seminars and symposiums.
Special grade singer of radio and television, Malay had a long and vibrant musical career. A popular singer in the folk music arena, Ganguly has entertained the listeners with numbers of catchy songs including Guru Upay Balo Na or Rail Line Bohe Shomantoral and Bhromor Koiyo Giya. All of his so far released albums have attained popularity amongst the audience. Malay has received plaudits amongst the urban and rural audience in our country. He has also participated in shows in England, USA, France, Germany, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, Malaysia and India.
Since 1949, Malay has been rendering folksongs. Malay says, “I was introduced to music at the age of five. I received tutelage from Abdul Aziz Khan, Mohammad Osman Khan, Lokman Hossain Fakir and Abdul Halim Chowdhury. I’ve started my career on the radio in 1965 and on TV in 1967.”
Malay does not even perform much on stage. In his words, ‘Cultural diffusion by the satellite channels is changing the audience’s taste. As a result, the presentation of the stage programmes is witnessing a change. Nowadays, the audience expects “acrobatic” movements by performers on stage and like many it is not possible for me to live up to their expectation. That is why I only perform at selected stage shows.’
Sharing his experience of the current trend of folk music, Malay told New Age, ‘Excessive commercialisation of the production companies is harmful for the development as well as the preservation of folksongs. Sometimes without informing the singer the production companies release cassettes. As a result the singers are deprived of their royalty. And most of time they release folk albums with vulgar lyrics and substandard music. As a result sometimes the city dwellers misinterpret our rich tradition.”
Malay Kumar Ganguli does not believe that the thriving trend of fusion and remix will have an impact on folksongs. Malay, who himself is a music composer and working as the chief music composer of Bangladesh Betar, is optimistic about the revival of authentic folksongs.
-With New Age input
