Music of bangladesh

Bangladesh and West Bengal, India are traditionally very rich in its musical heritage. From the ancient times, music documented the lives of the people and was widely patronized by the rulers.
Bangla music in ancient times was mostly linked to prayer. Due to the immense influence of Hindu mythology, most folk songs are related to some sort of praise of the gods and their creation. Songs were associated with particular groups of people, such as fishermen, cart-drivers, hermits and so on. Most songs were based on classical themes.

Classical song: Bangladeshi classical music is based on modes called ragas. All traditional Bangla music are based on classical music or on its variations. Some of the most talented classical musicians of the sub-continent come from Bangladesh including Ustad Allauddin Khan, Sangeetacharya Tarapada Chakraborty, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Manas Chakraborty, Ustad Ayet Ali Khan, Ustad Abed Hossain Khan and so on.

Rabindra sangeet: Rabindra sangeet is one of the best-known genres of Bangla music outside Bengal. The main origin of Rabindra sangeet is from the works of Nobel laureate poet, novelist and play writer, Rabindranath Tagore. (Rabindra sangeet literally means music of Rabindra).
Rabindra sangeet itself is broadly classified into few sub-genres:
• puja porjai (prayer songs)
• prem porjai (love songs) [some argue prem porjai is actually a part of puja porjai]
• bichitra porjai (variety songs)
• swadesh porjai (patriotic songs)

Nazrul Geeti: Nazrul Geeti literally meaning "music of Nazrul", are the works of kazi Nazrul Islam national poet of Bangladesh and active revolutionary during Indian independence movement. Unlike Rabindra sangeets mentioned above, Nazrul geetis incorporate revolutionary notions as well as more spiritual and philosophical themes. Islam used his music as a major way of disseminating his revolutionary notions, mainly by the use of strong words and powerful, but catchy, tunes. Among the revolutionary songs, Karar Oi Louho Kopat (Prison-doors of Steel) is best known and has been used several movies - especially those made during the pre-independence period of Bangladesh.

Folk: Bangla folk music has a long history. Several people contributed to what has become one of the most important musical influences in lives of Bengalis on both sides of the (West Bengal-Bangladesh) border. Among these are Lalon fakir, Hason Raja.

Adhunik: Adhunik songeet literally means "modern songs". Although, to outsiders, this may seem an extremely ambiguous way of nomenclature, it has particular motivations.
Bangla music traditionally has been classified mainly by the region of origin and the creators of the musical genre, such as Nazrul geeti (written and composed by Kazi Nazrul Islam), ghombhira (unique to a specific area in Bangladesh), etc. However, this prevented the ability to classify any music that failed to fit into any of the classes.
In the period just before Indian independence (Bengal, under British rule, was a part of one massive India that does not exactly correspond to the India of current day), several new minor musical groups emerged, mainly as playback songs for movies. These songs failed to fit into any particular genre, but seemed to be tied together by common theme of "music for the masses". Most of the music tended to be aimed at the mainstream audience - popular catchy tunes with simple words that were far moved from the classical ragas (modes). Hence, a miscellaneous category, Adhunik songeet, was created, since, at that time, this music was "modern".
Although over time these so-called "modern" songs have become fairly old, they continue to be called by the same name. Interestingly, this group of song has grown faster than any other, since it is a miscellaneous category that can accommodate anything that fails to fit elsewhere. The common theme continues to exist. So, although the nomenclature itself might not be as insightful, the genre itself is still well-defined.


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