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SUNAMGANJ, Dec 21, 2025 (BSS) - The 171st birthday of celebrated Bengali mystic poet and philosopher Hason Raja was observed today highlighting his lasting influence on Bengali literature and folk music.

Born on December 21, 1854, in Lakshmanshree village on the banks of the Surma River, Hason Raja devoted his life to spiritual reflection and emerged as one of the most distinctive voices in Bengali mystical music. 

He was the third son of landowner Dewan Ali Raja Chowdhury, and inherited vast estates across Sunamganj, Netrakona, Rampasha, Lakshmanshri and parts of Sylhet after the death of his elder brother in 1869.

He wrote many popular songs, including "Akhi Monjia Dekh Rup Re", Lokea Bole Ghorbari Bhalana Amar", "Ami Na Roilam Allahjir Nam Re" and "Agun Lagaiya Dilo Kune Hasan Rajar Mone". His songs, carrying the essence of Bengal's spiritual heritage, continue to resonate across generations.

According to late National Professor Dewan Mohammad Azraf, Hason Raja owned about 5 lakh 27 thousand bighas of land, which included several notable parganas of Sylhet and Sunamganj. 

Despite his privileged background, he crossed social and religious boundaries through his songs, which expressed devotion, humanism and a yearning for the Creator.

Hason Raja is believed to have composed around 200 songs, though many remain orally preserved among the people of Sylhet-Sunamganj. 

His landmark collection "Hasan Udas," featuring 206 songs, was published in 1907, while other works appeared in various periodicals such as "Hasan Rajar Tinpurush" and "Al Islah."

Although Sunamganj is widely regarded as the land of Hason Raja, public observances of his birth and death anniversaries remain modest, reflecting the quiet and contemplative life he led.

Rabindranath Tagore praised his compositions on several occasions, including in Kolkata in 1925 and later during the Hibbert Lectures in London in 1933, recognising his role in blending philosophy with music after the tradition of Lalon Shah.

Hason Raja passed away on December 6, 1922. He was buried next to his mother's grave in Lakshmanshree. He had prepared his grave himself before his death. It is said that Hason Raja composed the famous song 'Matir Pinjiraar Majhe Bandi Hoye Re, Kande Hason Rajar Mon Maina Re' about his grave. The epitaph of this song was inserted on the grave.

The month of Paush in the Bengali calendar is the month of Hason Raja's birth and death. Various events are held in the country and abroad in this month in memory of Hason Raja. Since 1967, the tradition of organising Hason Mela or Hason Lok Utsab every year in the month of Paush has been prevalent in the city of Sunamganj, his birthplace. That continuity was interrupted in 2007. The festival was interrupted after Hason Raja's great-grandson, poet Mominul Moujdin, died in a tragic road accident on November 15, 2007, while he was the chairman of Sunamganj municipality.

Local people have demanded that the relevant authorities organise the Hason Mela or Hason Folk Festival in the month of Paush in memory of Hason Raja.