Khalid Hossain tells New Age
Seasoned singer Khalid Hossain has secured a special place in the hearts of numerous Nazrul Sangeet lovers in the country through his soulful rendition especially of devotional numbers of that genre.
Khalid Hossain observed that Nazrul Sangeet has a unique style of its own that must not be distorted.
‘Over the years different artistes have presented the same Nazrul songs in different ways; however, I am strictly against any such misrepresentation of the genre,’ revealed Hossain.
‘Everybody must follow the original style of classics be it Nazrul Geeti or Rabindra Sangeet. An artiste must remember that he/she should perform the songs exactly the way the creators of the genre wanted,’ shared Hossain.
However, Hossain is optimistic regarding the fact that people’s interest in learning Nazrul Sangeet has increased a lot. ‘It is a positive sign that many youngsters are willing to learn Nazrul Sangeet nowadays; however, I would suggest them to maintain the originality of the composition of the songs,’ shared Hossain, who also advised young learners to follow the notations created by Nazrul Institute for Nazrul songs.
‘They can also take help from old records of Nazrul’s contemporary singers like Angur Bala for accurate presentation,’ he added.
Though he achieved popularity as a Nazrul singer, Khalid Hossain began his career as a classical and contemporary singer under the tutelage of noted music gurus including Osman Goni, PC Gomes and Abu Bakar Khan.
‘I used to sing modern songs but in late 1960s I became increasingly interested in Nazrul Geeti and became fully engrossed in it,’ informed Hossain, ‘Actually whoever listens to Nazrul Geeti with full concentration will fall in love with it, such is the beauty of the songs,’ Hossain shared.
The artiste is a great enthusiast of Nazrul’s spiritual numbers. ‘I simply love them, whether the songs are hamd, naath or shyama sangeet.’
Khaild Hossain, in his long music career, has received several awards including Ekushey Padak in 2000 and other awards from Nazrul Academy, Anandadhara, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, West Bengal Nazrul Academy, National Press Club, Nazrul Sangeet Shilpi Parisad. He has recorded about 16 solo musical albums, and has been an enlisted singer and a music director of Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar for about five decades. The artiste also remains busy teaching Nazrul Geeti at Nazrul Institute, Nazrul Academy and Hindal Sangeet Academy. Hossain is the president of Bangladesh Nazrul Sangeet Sangstha.
-With New Age input
