The ruined ancestral palace of the mystic poet and composer Hason Raja contains no memories of the bard as only a rickety building lies abandoned in the place reminding of Hason Raja’s song Lukey Baley Balere, Garbari Bala Na Amar. The building at Rampasha of Bishwanath in Sylhet is in ramshackle in the absence of any initiatives for its conservation.
The dilapidated condition of the century-old house of the great zamindar Hason Raja disappoints his fans, who come very often from different parts of the country to visit Rampasha, the royal home of their favorite mystic poet.
Hason Raja was born on December 21, 1854 in a zamindar family at Lakshan Shree in Sunamganj of the then Shreehatta district. His father Dewan Ali Raja moved permanently to Rampasha of Bishwanath in Sylhet at his (Hason’s) childhood. Raja succeeded his father Dewan Ali Reza Chowdhury to the zamindari estate at the age of 15.
He did not take any formal education. But the self-taught person transformed his profound knowledge on mysticism through his songs when Hason Raja got inclined towards spiritualism at his mature age.
An anthology of Hason Raja’s 206 songs titled Hasan Udas was published in 1914.
These songs, composed in regional dialect of Sylhet, are the outcome of his creative genius manifesting the reflection of his philosophical and spiritual thoughts. The lucid style of expression of the spiritual knowledge in easy diction made these songs popular to the common people.
Theme of the songs, in general, deals with the concept of God, devotion to Him and the spiritual relation between the creator and the created beings.
Talking to New Age, a local author and cultural activist Saidur Rahman Sayeed told that they sometimes arrange such cultural programmes and discussion sessions on the works of Hason Raja at his Rampasha home.
‘We cannot hold any programme in the house because of its rundown state. So, we sit under the open sky at the premises of the house,’ Sayeed said. He stressed the need to repair the house atleast for accommodating the visitors.
Shamarin Dewan, secretary in the Hason Raja Parishad, which has been working to preserve the works of lyrical poet Hason Raja and to promote his songs since 1965, told New Age on Thursday that they have a plan to establish a museum at Hason Raja’s Rampasha home to preserve his memory.
‘We are talking about this among our family members. The plan will see the light, if the local administration comes forward to co-operate us in implementing the plan,’ said Samarin, also a descendant of Hason Raja.
-With New Age input
