FARIDPUR, March 14, 2018 (BSS) – The 42th death anniversary of poet Jasimuddin, popularly known as Palli Kabi (The Rural Bard) for his poems depicting the people and nature of rural areas of the country, was observed in a befitting manner in the district today.
The district administration with the assistance of Ministry of Cultural Affairs arranged different programs including placing floral wreaths at the graveyard of the poet, discussion, recitation, milad and doa mahfil.
The program was held at the yard of the bard’s own house in Ambikapur village of the town.
Deputy Commissioner Ommey Salma Tanzia spoke the discussion meeting as chief guest while ADC (general) Eradul Haque was in the chair.
Additional superintendent of police Jamal Pasha, poet’s son Jamal Anwar, writer Mafiz Imam Milon and poet Razzak Raza were present, among others.
Jasimuddin was born on January 1, 1903 at Tambulkhana village of Faridpur district in the then British India. The poet died on 13 March 1976 in Dhaka.
Jasimuddin is considered as one of the most important poets of Bangla literature. He started writing from an early age. When he was still a student of the Calcutta University his acclaimed poem Kabar, depicting a conversation between a grandfather and his grandson, was included in the entrance Bengali textbook.
His Nakshi Kanthar Maath (Field of the Embroidered Quilt) is considered a masterpiece and has been translated into many different languages. His some other noteworthy poems are Rakhali and Rangila Nayer Manjhi.
A prolific litterateur, Jasimuddin also composed numerous songs depicting the tradition of rural Bengal. During his collaboration with Abbas Uddin, the most popular folk singer of Bengal, some of the greatest gems in Bengali folk music were produced.He also wrote some patriotic and Islamic songs.
Jasimuddin received numerous awards for his contributions in the literary arena of the country including President’s Award for Pride of Performance, Pakistan (1958), DLitt by Rabindra Bharati University, India (1969), Ekushey Padak, Bangladesh (1976) and Independence Day Award (1978).
The poet had a bright academic and professional career also. He completed matriculation in 1921 from Faridpur Zila School. He completed IA from Rajendra College in 1924, and BA and MA in Bangla from the University of Calcutta in 1929 and 1931 respectively.
He began his career as an Assistant Research Fellow under noted folk researcher Dinesh Chandra Sen in 1931 and collected folk literature till 1937 under supervision of Dinesh.
He collected more than 10,000 folk songs, some of which has been included in his song compilations namely Jari Gaan and Murshida Gaan. In 1938 Jasimuddin joined the University of Dhaka as a Lecturer and taught there till 1944. He left the job and joined the Department of Information and Broadcasting and worked there until his retirement in 1962 as deputy director.