Today is the 87th death anniversary of legendary bard Hason Raja (1854-1922), whose full name was Dewan Hasan Raja Chowdhury, claimed at least three researchers.
Born on December 21, 1854 in a zamindar family in the village of Lakshmansree in Sunamganj, his father, Dewan Ali Raza Chowdhury, traced his ancestry to Ayodhya. Originally Hindus, they converted to Islam and moved permanently to Sunamganj.
Hason Raja did not have any formal education. Only at the age of 15, he had to assume the responsibility of zamindari after death of his father.
He founded Hasan M E School and set up a number of religious organisations and akhdas. He also used to bear the expenses of many needy students of the school. But all of these activities do not represent Hason Raja. He is most remembered for composing some wonderful mystic lyrics.
Hason Raja composed about a thousand mystic songs in regional dialects and in simple but engaging tunes. Local bauls and fakirs performed his songs which made him nationally famous. Like the songs of Lalon Shah, Hason Raja’s songs rise above communalism and are true for both Hindus and Muslims. In his songs, Hason Raja calls himself ‘pagla Hason Raja’ ‘udasi’, ‘dewana’, ‘baula’, meaning mad or lost in his love for God. Hason Raja’s songs are collected in a number of books such as ‘Hachhan Udas’, ‘Shaukhin Bahar’, ‘Hachhan Bahar’.
However, the great mystic bard, who is even popular amongst Bangla speaking people across the globe, is not getting his due honour. And sometimes, his songs are presented in ordinary manners. Sometimes, those are even distorted.
Former Bangladesh Betar official and singer, Akramul Islam, who has also done research on the Hason Raja said, ‘I don’t think his songs are practiced sincerely. We should play his songs in television channels and radio stations for our new generation. It seems no one wants to spend money on the promotion of different genres of folk songs in the country.’
Regarding the distortion of Hason Raja’s songs, Akramul Islam said that he had noticed that sometimes singers mistakenly change works of lyrics but singers try to maintain the tunes.
Dhaka University professor Mridul Kanti Chakrobarty, who conducted research on the life and works of the mystic poet, said that he had collected a total of 210 lyrics written in four different handwritings. He also said there are few people who are relentlessly working on his songs.
