Hemanga Biswas (14 December 1912 – 22 November 1987) was an Indian singer, composer, author and political activist, known for his literature in

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 ...

and Assamese, advocacy of peoples music, drawing from genres of folk music, including

Bhatiali Bhatiali or ''bhatiyali'' ( bn, ভাটিয়ালি) is a form of folk music in both Bangladesh and West Bengal. Bhatiali is a river song mostly sung by boatmen while going down streams of the river. The word ''bhatiyali'' comes from ''bh ...

originally popular among the fishermen of Bengal.

Early life

Biswas was born in Habiganj, Sylhet, British India (now in

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 ...

) on 14 December 1912 to Harakumar and Sarojini Biswas. He went to the Middle English School in Habiganj. He studied in the George Institution of

Dibrugarh Dibrugarh (pron: ˌdɪbru:ˈgɑ:) is an industrial city in Upper Assam with sprawling tea gardens. It is located 435 kms East from the state capital of Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of Dibrugarh district in the state of Assam in ...

from 1925 to 1927 when Nilmoni Phukan was its headmaster. There he became interested in

Assamese culture The culture of Assam is traditionally a hybrid one, developed due to cultural assimilation of different ethno-cultural groups under various political-economic systems in different periods of its history. Historical perspective The roots ...

. He attended Habiganj Government High School in 1930. He also studied in MC College,

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 ...

from 1930–1931. Biswas embraced the values of

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

during his college years, and wrote poems and plays on equal rights. During this time he started performing "gana sangeet." He did not complete his formal education. Biswas became involved in a movement to ensure the rights of tea garden laborers, farmers, and the underprivileged throughout the region. For his political convictions, he was arrested in 1930. He was also associated with the

Indian People's Theatre Association Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) is the oldest association of theatre-artists in India. IPTA was formed in 1943 during the British rule in India, and promoted themes related to the Indian freedom struggle. Its goal was to bring cultur ...

Musical work

Hemanga Biswas was responsible for a number of popular Bengali songs. A fierce debate once ensued between

Salil Choudhury Salil Chowdhury (19 November 1925 – 5 September 1995) was an Indian music director, songwriter, lyricist, writer and poet who predominantly composed for Bengali, Hindi and Malayalam films. He composed music for films in 13 languages. This incl ...

and him on the method of translating the ideal of people's art: He sang a duet with

Bhupen Hazarika Bhupen Hazarika () (8 September 1926 – 5 November 2011) was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet, actor, filmmaker and politician from Assam, widely known as ''Sudha Kontho'' (meaning cuckoo, literally "nectar-throated"). His ...

Debabrata Biswas Debabrata Biswas (also known as George Biswas and George-''da''; 22 August 1911 – 18 August 1980), was an Indian Rabindra Sangeet singer. Early life Biswas was born in 1911 in Barisal and then later came to Kishoreganj of Mymensingh distri ...

and

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

. Through his music, he had hoped to motivate the masses to fight for their rights, for them to be united, and for them to be vocal against any form of corruption. His beliefs in equal rights for all led him to repeatedly try to request and urge the then Congress Government headed by Siddhartha Shankar Roy to extend a helping hand to the labour class people. '' Banchbo Re Banchbo Amra'' was composed to motivate the laborers to improve their standard of living. His translation of ''

The Internationale "The Internationale" (french: "L'Internationale", italic=no, ) is an international anthem used by various communist and socialist groups; currently, it serves as the official anthem of the Communist Party of China. It has been a standard of th ...

'' into Bengali and his singing of such songs as ''Amra Karbo Joy, Ajadi Hoyni Tor,'' and ''Negro Bhai Amar'' aided the Bengali leftist movement. He was influenced by

Bhawaiya Bhawaiya is a musical form or a popular folk music that originated in Northern Bengal, especially the Rangpur Division in Bangladesh, Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, India, and the Undivided Goalpara district of Assam, India. It has recu ...

and

, and generated his own style, which combined those folk traditions with Sylhet culture's, which he called Bahirana.

Movies

Hemanga Biswas was the playback singer in '' Meghe Dhaka Tara'' (The Cloud Capped Star) (1960), ''Lalon Fakir'' (Deha Tari Dilam Chhariyo), Utpal Datta's ''Kallol'', and ''Komal Gandhar''.

Partial discography

* ''Hemanga Biswaser Gaan'' * ''Shankhachil''

Bibliography

Bengali

* ''Shankhachiler Gaan'' * ''Hemanga Biswaser Gaan'' * ''Lokasangeet Samiksha'' * ''Bangla O Assam'' * ''Abar Chin Dekhe Elam''

Assamese

* ''Kul Khurar Sutal'' * ''Akou Sin Sai Ahilu'' * ''Jiwon Xilpi Jyoti Prasad''

References

External links

*
Listen Songs by Hemango BiswasRhyming Revolution: Marxism and Culture in Colonial BengalTranslated chapter from Biswas's travelogue: "Abar Chin Dekhe Elam" (Trip To China Again), 1975

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biswas, Hemango Bengali singers Bengali-language singers Bengali playback singers University of Calcutta alumni 1912 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Indian male singers 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian writers Indian folk singers Indian folk-song collectors Indian folk musicians Indian People's Theatre Association people Communist Party of India politicians from West Bengal Singers from West Bengal