The recent demise of pundit Ramkanai Das, a singer-guru-folk music researcher and collector, is an irrecoverable loss, said noted cultural activists of the country. Das’ contribution to collect and promote folk music is unparalleled, they expressed. English pop singer John Lydon once said, ‘The genuine root of culture is folk music’. Ramkani Das was a man in search of, and in touch with, the root of our culture. ‘Though our cultural arena is getting vibrant day by day, a man like Ramkanai Das is a rarity. The passion and humbleness he worked with is emblematic of a true enlightened soul. We have lost one of our cultural beacons’, said Asaduzzaman Noor, cultural affairs minister and a noted cultural activist.
Pandit Ramkanai Das, an Ekushey Padak winner, passed away on Friday at the neurosurgery ICU at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) around 11:15pm. Das fell ill at his home in Sylhet last week and was hurried to a local hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with massive brain hemorrhage.
He was brought to Dhaka and underwent a brain surgery on August 30. Post-surgery, he developed pneumonia, said his son Pinu Das and his doctor Kanak Kanti Barua. Ramkanai Das was born in 1935 in Sunamganj. His family has been practising folk music for generations. His parents Rashiklal Das and Dibyomoyee Das, grandfather Prakash Chandra Talukdar and great grandfather Ramcharan Talukdar were all practitioners of folk music.
Ramkanai, however, did not practice and nurture folk music only. He was similarly enthralled by the beauty of classical music. Throughout his illustrious life, he dedicated himself to these two genres of music.
Das has collected numerous folk songs and rendered many of these in his beautiful voice. His working zone was mainly the greater Sylhet region.
Ramkanai Das’ music albums include ‘Bandhur Banshi Baje’ (2004), ‘Suroddhonir Kinaray’ (2005), ‘Raganjali’ (2006), ‘Oshomoye Dhorlam Pari’ (2006), and ‘Pagla Majhi’ (2010).
Besides, his book on the fundamentals of classical music: Saral Sangeet Sikkha (2007) is a treasure to many.
Remebering Das, folk singer Chandana Majumder told New Age, ‘He was a fatherly figure to me. I am indebted to him for many reasons. Whenever I met him I found him full of insightful and helpful suggestions. I have never seen such a man with astonishing command on both classical and folk music’.
Noted singer Subir Nandi also expressed his shock at Das’ demise. ‘We have lost an immensely gifted man’, he said to New Age.
President Abdul Hamid and prime minister Sheikh Hasina mourned the death of Ramkanai Das in separate condolence messages. – See more at: http://newagebd.net/46814/ramkanai-das-in-search-and-touch-with-our-roots/#sthash.NUSmGkwP.dpuf
-With New Age input
