Dewan Hason Raja Chowdhury, or simply known as Hason Raja ( bn, হাসন রাজা; 21 December 1854 – 6 December 1922), was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

mystic

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

from

Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

(now

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

). His unique style of music made him one of the most prominent figures in Bengali folk culture.

Biography

Early life

Raja was born on December 1854 in Lakshmansree, now

Sunamganj Sunamganj ( bn, সুনামগঞ্জ) is a town in the Sylhet Division of northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquarters and largest town of Sunamganj District. It is located on the banks of the Surma River, approximately ...

to a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...

zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

family. His father was Dewan Ali Raja, the grandson of Birendraram Singhdev. His great-grandfather later converted from Hinduism to Islam and changed his name to Dewan Raja Babu Khan. Hason Raja's mother was Hurmat Jahan Bibi, the last and fifth wife of Dewan Ali Raja Chowdhury of Kauriya. Hurmat was previously a widow after the death of her former husband, Muhammad Asim Chowdhury. Hason Raja spent most of his childhood in Lakshmansree with his mother as his father married widow of his first cousin late Amir Baksh Chowdhury who was living at Lahshmansree (Sunamganj) the most north-eastern part of now Bangladesh. His father started on and off living in Lakshmanshree of Sunamganj, 33 miles away from Rampasha, for at least three or four months of the year. Ali supervised and managed his wife's properties at Lakshmansree. That is why Lakshmansree was his birthplace of the poet. The death of Raja's elder half-brother, Ubaidur Raja, followed by the death of his father (in about 40 days gap), put the power and responsibility of the whole family upon Hason Raja at a very young age. His sister Sahifa Bano would also become a poet, the first female poet from Sylhet; she wrote in the

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

. Raja established schools and religious centres like mosques and he is said to have been widely engaged in charities within his immediate communities. He donated vast land properties for the well-being of the people. He was interested in the well-being and protection of birds and animal life. He spent a large quantity of his money on those lives. The 12 June

1897 Assam earthquake The Assam earthquake of 1897 occurred on 12 June 1897, in Assam, British India at 11:06 UTC, and had an estimated moment magnitude of 8.2–8.3. It resulted in approximate 1,542 human casualties and caused catastrophic damage to infrastructure ...

was one of the biggest earthquakes that occurred in the

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

and Sylhet area. The largest known Indian interpolate earthquake (at 8.0 on the moment magnitude scale) resulted in the destruction of structures over much of the Plateau and surrounding areas, and caused widespread liquefaction and flooding in the

Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...

and Sylhet floodplains. He found out many of his kin and relatives as well as his people wounded and killed. His thatched house was fully damaged. He lost many of his tamed birds and animals.Khan Bahadur Dewan Ganiur Raja, "Din Panjika" Manuscript Diary, Sunamganj, 1932

Death

Raja died on 6 December 1922. Two museums were established in his name in two places. One, ''Hason Raja Museum'' sponsored by "Hason Raja Museum Trust" at Sunamganj at his birthplace, Lokkonshri, Sunamganj, and another,

Museum of Rajas' Museum of Rajas' is a folk museum in Sylhet, Bangladesh. The predecessor's home of Hason Raja has been transformed into today's famous Museum of Rajas', commonly known as Hason Raja Museum. It is situated at the heart (Zinda Bazar) of the Sylhet ...

at RajaKunjo, Sylhet, sponsored by "Educationist Dewan Talibur Raja Trust".

In popular culture

In 2002, the film ''

Hason Raja Dewan Hason Raja Chowdhury, or simply known as Hason Raja ( bn, হাসন রাজা; 21 December 1854 – 6 December 1922), was a Bengali mystic poet and songwriter from Sylhet, Bengal Presidency (now Bangladesh). His unique style of mu ...

'' was released, detailing his life and times, where Raja was played by

Helal Khan Helal Khan is a Bangladeshi film actor and producer. His debut film was ''Priyo Tumi'' (1995). In his career, he has acted over 50 films. Couple of times Khan received National Film Awards in the year 2002 and 2003. Personal life He is a supporte ...

. It was reported by '' Washington Bangla Radio'' in May 2013, that an epic

feature film ''

'' is under production, based on the life and music of Raja played by

Mithun Chakraborty Mithun Chakraborty (born Gouranga Chakraborty; 16 June 1950) is an Indian actor, producer and politician who predominantly worked in Hindi and Bengali language films. He is a former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. He is the recipient of three ...

, directed by Ruhul Amin, and produced by Galaxy Films between UK, India and Bangladesh. In 2017, the film was released. Raja's songs are collected in books ''Hason Udas'' and ''Shaukhin Bahar'' A volume called ''Hason Raja Samagra'' was also published. It contained 500 poems and songs.

Critical response

Author

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 200 ...

brought Hason Raja's work in limelight again in modern days after using Raja's various popular folk songs in his movies and television dramas. Author

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

quoted on Hason Raja, 'We realise it through admiration and love, through hope that soars beyond the actual, beyond our own span of life into an endless time wherein we live of all men.' and 'It is a village poet of

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

who preaches in a song the philosophical doctrine that the universe has its reality in its relation to the Person.'Rabindranath Tagore, "The Religion of Man: The Man of My Heart, Being The Hibbert Lectures for 1930", The MacMillan Company, New-York, 1931

Notes

References

External links

Hason Raja Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raja, Hason 1854 births 1922 deaths People from Bishwanath Upazila Bengali male poets 19th-century Bengali poets 20th-century Bengali poets