Legendary Musician
About
Ustad Shah Abdul Karim was a renowned Bangladeshi musician, composer, poet, and music teacher. He was born in 1916 and died in 2009. He elevated Baul music to new heights. He wrote around 500 songs during his career. In 2001, recognizing remarkable contribution to Bengali music, the Government of Bangladesh awarded him with Ekushey Padak.
Creation of Shah Abdul Karim
Along with the happiness of people in low-lying areas, his songs scream out against every injustice, superstition, and communalism. He found inspiration for his songs in the visions of the great Baul emperors Fakir Lalon Shah, Punju Shah, and Duddu Shah. Although he had to work in agriculture due to poverty, nothing could stop him in creating music. He acquired Baulgan initiation from Sadhak Rashid Uddin and Shah Ibrahim Mastan Baksh.
He has written and composed more than five hundred songs so far. 10 of his songs have been translated into English at the initiative of Bangla Academy. Even though he started writing songs from his teenage years, these songs were popular only among the people of low-lying region. A few years before his death, several artists re-singed Baul Shah Abdul Karim’s songs and he became widely popular.
This legendary person struggled with poverty for a large part of his life. Although various institutions came forward for his help at various times, he never accepted it. Note that in 2006, an audio publishing company called Sound Machine released an album of his popular 12 songs sung by various artists naming ‘Living Legend: Baul Shah Abdul Karim’ in his honor. The proceeds from the sale of this album were donated to his family for the treatment of his aging disease.
In 2007, folk culture researcher and essayist Sumankumar Dasedited and published the first book based on the life and work of Shah Abdul Karim during his lifetime, titled ‘Shah Abdul Karim ‘Sambardhan-Granth’. According to the request of the artist, on May 22, 2009 Sylhet Divisional Commissioner and Dr. Zafar Ahmed Khan, published a book ‘Shah Abdul Karim Rachana Samagra’ with his entire works.
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