Bari Siddiqui (15 November 1954 – 24 November 2017) was a Bangladeshi singer-songwriter and flautist. His songs include ''Shua Chan Pakhi'', ''Amar Gaye Joto Dukkho Shoy'', ''Pubali Batashe'' and ''Manush Dhoro Manush Bhojo''.

Early life

Popularly known as Bari Siddiqui, Abdul Bari Siddiqui was born on November 15, 1954, in Barhatta,

Netrokona Netrokona ( bn, নেত্রকোনা) is a major town and District headquarter in Netrokona District in the division of Mymensingh. It is the largest town and urban centre of Netrokona District Netrokona ( bn, নেত্রকোণ� ...

, angladesh At the age of 12, he received formal vocal training from Gopal Dutt of

. Starting in 1981, Bari took lessons for six years under Ustad Aminur Rahman. He later received professional tutelage from V. G. Karnaad in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, India. Siddiqui completed intermediate studies at Netrokona Govt College and earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

. He joined

Bangladesh Television Bangladesh Television ( bn, বাংলাদেশ টেলিভিশন), commonly known by its acronym BTV ( bn, বিটিভি), is the state-owned television network of Bangladesh. The network was originally established as the East ...

around 1985.

Career

Siddiqui made his first appearance on television in 1995 on ''Ronger Baroi'', a musical program produced by

Humayun Ahmed Humayun Ahmed (; 13 November 1948 – 19 July 2012) was a Bangladeshi novelist, dramatist, screenwriter, filmmaker, songwriter, scholar, and professor. His breakthrough was his debut novel '' Nondito Noroke'' published in 1972. He wrote over 20 ...

, who is considered to be one of his patrons. He came into the mainstream media with the release of Humayun Ahmed's film '' Srabon Megher Din'' (1999). Siddiqui won a

Bachsas Award Bachsas ( Bangladesh Cholochitra Sangbadik Samity) Awards was introduced in 1972 to encourage the fledgling film industry of the country. Bangladesh Cholochchitra Shangbadik Samity (Bangladesh Cine-Journalists' Association) gave out their most p ...

for the Best Male Playback Singer for his song "Shua Chan Pakhi" in the movie ''Srabon Megher Din''. He also attended the World Flute Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, in November 1999. His songs mainly featured pain, love, human life, and existence. Siddiqui voiced around 160 tracks during his career and released a folk album titled ''Lokhkho Tara'' in April 2000. Some of his albums are ''Matir Deho'', ''Mone Boro Jala'', ''Matir Malikana''. Siddiqui also appeared in the films ''Rupkothar Golpo'' and ''Stories of Change''. In 2013, Siddiqui also appeared in the drama ''Pagla Ghora'', directed by Amol Palekar to extend his artistic expression.

Personal life

Bari Siddiqui was married to Farida Easmin, and together, they had three children - sons Sabbir and Bilash and daughter Elma.

Death and legacy

Siddiqui was admitted to Square Hospital in Dhaka on 17 November 2017 with heart disease and died on 24 November 2017. To continue the Baul tradition in music, Siddiqui established a Baul music research centre named "Baul Bari," near his home village in Netrokona, Bangladesh.

References

1954 births 2017 deaths People from Netrokona District University of Dhaka alumni 20th-century Bangladeshi male singers 20th-century Bangladeshi singers Bangladeshi playback singers Bangladeshi flautists 20th-century flautists {{Bangladesh-singer-stub