Ahmed, Bashir
Ahmed, Bashir (1938-2014) famous singer of Bangladesh. He was simultaneously a singer, musician, lyricist, and music director. He was one of the pioneers of Bengali film songs.
Bashir Ahmed was born in a noble Muslim family on 18 November 1938 in Kolkata (West Bengal, India) at Khidirpur. His father’s name is Nasir Ahmed, and his mother's is Momena Khatun. Of his four brothers, he was the youngest one. He developed interest in songs since childhood. At that time, the youths of Khidirpur were used to sing the Islamic chorus at night during the month of Ramadan to awaken the people from sleep so that they could start fasting and having sehri (night meal in the month of Ramadan). This type of song was known as the Kafela song. A competition used to take place for this kind of song once a year. He topped the first position every year in this competition, which made him popular at a young age in Khidirpur.
The academic life of Bashir Ahmed started at Saint Barnabas High School in Kolkata. He passed the Matriculation examination from this school. Later, he studied Urdu literature at Aligarh University. Bashir Ahmed took his first formal lessons in music from Ustad Belayet Hussain Baka. Music-lover Bashir Ahmed left his home at fifteen in search of music.
He went straight to Bombay and had shelter at the residence of the lyricist Raza Mehedi. Mohammad Shafi assisted the famous musician Naushad in the Bombay film industry. Bashir Ahmed’s friendship developed with Mohammad Shafi. With his assistance, Bashir Ahmed got the opportunity to sing in the Bombay film industry. During 1954-55, he sang a duet with Gita Dutta and Asha Bhoshle. In Bombay, he came in close touch with Ustad Bore Golam Ali and became his disciple. He took lessons in classical music from him.
During his stay in Bombay, Bashir Ahmed’s intimacy developed with artist Talat Mahmud. In 1960 at the invitation of Malik Dosani-film producer and owner of Gulistan Cinema Hall- he visited Dhaka with Talat Mahmud. They sang together on the same stages in Dhaka, Chittagong, and Mymensingh towns. Afterwards, he often came to Dhaka. In 1963, he sang in the film ‘Talash' in Dhaka. Due to his growing engagement in the film industry, he finally moved to Dhaka permanently. In the 1960s, he dominated exclusively as a playback singer in Urdu and Bengali films. In 1969, he sang ‘Dekona Amare Tumi Kache Dekona’ in the film ‘Moynamati. This song was written by Syed Shamsul Haque. He also sang ‘Anek Sadher Moyna Amar badhan Kete Jay'. Gazi Mazharul Anwar wrote this song. Bashir Ahmed was the composer and singer of both songs.
The sky-high popularity of these two songs contributed to establish him as a music director and singer. In the 1960s, the leading media for music entertainment was radio. This time he sang two songs on the radio such as ‘Jare Jabi Jadi Ja’ and ‘Amake Porate Jadi Eto Lage Valo.' Through these two songs, Bashir Ahmed’s popularity rose to the peak to masses. Bashir had his own feature of singing as he received training in classical music. He could sing rag-based and metaphor-based songs with ease and sweetness. He was the composer and singer of many modern Bengali songs and songs in Bengali films.
His wife, Mina Bashir, was also a singer. She sang many popular songs solo and duet with Bashir Ahmed. They have one daughter, Humaira Bashir, and one son, Raza Bashir. Both are artists. Bashir Ahmed was a complete musical personality. He taught music to countless students besides singing, composing, and music direction. His students are now established singers in the country.
Bashir Ahmed received the best singer Medal in the National Film Award 2003. For his contribution to the field of music, he was awarded with ‘Ekushey Padak’ in 2005.
This famous singer died on 19 April 2014. [Azizur Rahman]
